Chapter 22

Hours pass as we work through the fire while also keeping an eye on each other’s backs.

“The idea was to get us to that part of the building,” Wyatt surmises.

We’ve practically collapsed in the back of our truck, utterly exhausted. Most of the people were safely evacuated. The death toll was around thirty the last we heard, with about three hundred injured, most from smoke inhalation. The city has been working overtime sending patients to each major hospital with a burn unit available.

It’ll be a while before they can make sense of the whole thing and figure out what happened, what started the fire in the first place.

At this point, there’s not much left for us to do. Three more fire stations sent people over to help. My brothers and I are merely resting while waiting for Holt and the other fire chiefs on scene to finish debriefing the Dallas PD. We watch in exhausted awe as the last of the flames finally die down .

The warehouse itself has been completely destroyed. It will require a controlled demolition once an investigation is completed, but the general consensus is already settled on accidental combustion, likely from faulty wiring and exacerbated by a lacking fire safety system.

“Nothing else makes sense,” Wyatt says, still thinking about the attack. “They had breathing masks and tanks, axes and crowbars, and marched right toward the building to blend in with the rest of us.”

“We were definitely the target,” I say. “But I’m still confused about how they planned it. There were a ton of firefighters here. What were they gonna do? Work side by side with fire and rescue, hoping they bumped into us?”

Eric frowns. “I’m thinking they had someone on the inside. Or they tapped into our radio line. Which can easily be done with store-bought equipment and minimal knowledge of frequencies and how they work.”

“It was risky and bold,” I reply. “They were clearly determined to kill us and—”

“Blame it on the fire,” Wyatt cuts in. “It would have looked like we died in the line of duty. I swear, man, my blood is boiling…”

“Yeah, I’m itching for a do-over,” I growl. “What about that one we took down?”

Eric gives me a hard look. “Charlie and his team are over there now, securing the crime scene,” he says. “They’ll run his prints through the system. If we’re lucky, he’ll get a hit.”

It all happened so fast, I barely registered the details. I was already going in with a fighter’s mindset but my enemy was supposed to be the flames, not other people. The minute I saw them coming, it was as if a switch was flipped in my head. I became somebody else, the version of me that I’d thought was long gone. Then again, that same version did rear his nasty head when I dealt with Colby Nash.

Almost instantly, my synapses start connecting some of the dots. I give Eric a troubled look, wondering if I should bring that name up, but I notice he’s staring somewhere else. I follow his gaze, and so does Wyatt. We watch our colleagues bring a few more bodies out of the mostly extinguished warehouse.

The choppers are done dumping their water. I can still hear them hovering above the neighborhood, flying in wide circles and ready to assist if needed. Ambulances wail everywhere, darting in every direction toward whatever hospital they can. Cops roam all around the warehouse, keeping curious bystanders and members of the press at bay.

It’s complete mayhem by the northern gate, where most of the uninjured warehouse workers have gathered along with terrified folks still looking for their unaccounted for loved ones.

It’s going to be a grim week for the city, followed by months of hearings and investigations. We’ve done our job, though. We did the best we could in the given circumstances, but the damage is done, and it’s on the warehouse owner’s head to handle the fallout.

“This was a bad one,” Eric states the obvious. “We haven’t had a blaze like this in a long time.”

“You do realize the department is gonna double inspections throughout the rest of the year, right?” Wyatt replies. “We’ll be sent out in the field along with the city inspectors for this.

”

“I don’t mind working overtime if it means preventing this sort of shit from happening again,” Eric says, slowly shaking his head. He checks his phone. “I let Halle know we’re okay. She’s still at the firehouse. All good over there.”

“Here comes Charlie,” I say, spotting him as he heads our way.

My skin tingles all over. I’m hot and sweaty, covered in soot and chemical residue from all the stuff that burned up inside the warehouse. We got squirted off while still in our equipment when we first emerged from the fire, but small bits still remain. I’ll need a long shower and a whole bottle of scotch to come down from this nightmare.

“How’s it looking?” Eric asks our friend.

Charlie takes a deep breath and flips through several files on his phone before showing us a high-resolution mugshot. “Well, we identified your assailant. The dead one, anyway. Liam Moriarty,” he says. “Past associations with the Nash crime family. A riveting criminal record at first glance, but they could never get him to testify. They tried. He chose to do time, instead.”

“Fucking hell,” I hiss. “I had a feeling.”

“You weren’t the only one,” Wyatt adds.

“We’ll open a separate investigation with Major Crimes for this,” Charlie says. “I reckon the Feds will want to get involved too. We’ve got Colby Nash still out there with a BOLO and his face all over the bulletin boards. And now this. They’ll make the connection.”

“Do you think those scum bags were here on behalf of Colby or Harriet Nash?” Eric asks .

Charlie gives us a slow, cautious nod. “After Chase’s incident with Colby? I wouldn’t put it past him. This feels more like a Colby thing, not Harriet. She may be ruthless and with an army of hitmen at her disposal, but honestly this whole thing was reckless. I don’t think she’d take that chance, not when she’s trying to get custody of Halle’s children.”

“Colby, on the other hand, is sufficiently unhinged,” Wyatt concludes.

“It doesn’t help that I threatened him, either” I mutter.

Charlie offers a casual shrug. “He has it out for anybody who’s trying to get between him and Halle. If not you, then someone else would bear the brunt. Either way, I’m confident in making a connection here and adding a couple more points to that BOLO. We’re gonna look into Liam’s associates, as well, and send a few units out to chase them down and bring them in for questioning. Warrants et al. We also have uniformed officers combing through the surrounding neighborhoods as we speak.”

As the words come out of his mouth, the grim reality begins to set in.

We’re not safe. Halle isn’t safe. She won’t be safe until we get Colby and his whole family out of the picture, by any means necessary. I care about Halle and her kids, and so do my brothers. We want them in our lives. Despite the uncertainty and her complicated past, she’s been a godsend. She is the only woman that we have fallen in love with, truly and deeply. She’s in a higher league, and she is bringing out the best in each of us on a daily basis. Halle is the universe’s gift to us. We intend to keep her, to cherish and protect her. But if there are people gunning for us because of this, then we need to do something about it .

“Do you think we should move out of the house? For Halle and the kids?” Eric asks Charlie.

“I’ll send a black-and-white to keep an eye on your place, twenty-four-seven,” he replies. “I doubt they’ll try to hit the firehouse.”

“What about the daycare? Our parents?” Wyatt asks.

“They were targeting you, specifically,” Charlie says. “I think you need to be more vigilant while we broaden the investigation. I’ll personally reach out to the FBI, too, in the meantime. If we get more law enforcement involved, it might be enough to deter future attacks. Even Colby’s henchmen have their limits, after all. He may be fixated on Halle, but his mother won’t risk destroying the entire clan over this.”

“Fair enough. Harriet believes she can beat Halle in court,” Eric replies.

“Fat chance of that happening anytime soon,” Charlie scoffs. “In fact, feel free to call us in as witnesses. There are so many open case files to build upon. No judge in their right mind will ever grant Harriet anything at this point. Not even visitation rights.”

“Well, let’s call that a silver lining and roll with the rest of the punches,” Eric exhales sharply. “Once the chief’s done with his debriefing, let’s swing by the station and take Halle home. We can go back to finish up our reports once she’s safe at the house.”

Whatever it is that Colby is trying to do it’s far from over. This attack may have been reckless but it could’ve ended much worse. I wonder if the bastard did his homework where we’re concerned, because I doubt his hitmen would’ve come after us if they’d known about our military history. No man in his right mind pulls a stunt like that with former Navy SEALs. This, in turn, tells me something else. Something that might end up working in our favor soon enough.

Colby Nash is an uncontrolled prick. His narcissistic ego keeps getting the better of him, and it will eventually drive a wedge between him and his mother. If his old man were still alive, I think things would’ve unfolded differently.

But he’s not. The Devil is dead.

We’re left dealing with his idiot son and his money-grubbing widow.

I just hope we’re able to keep Halle and the kids safe until they’re all in prison or simply out of this plane of existence altogether. The gloves are coming off and I don’t take prisoners. Not when it comes to my woman or my family.