knew she wouldn’t be able to get you to talk,” the superintendent said.
She hadn’t gotten him to talk, but she’d gotten him to kiss her. Why the hell had he done that?
It wasn’t as if he’d believed her sad little sigh and claim of having been rejected already. What idiot would reject a kiss from a woman like her? Not him.
But maybe he’d been a bigger idiot to kiss her—to risk her getting under his skin...
Cody laughed. “Hell, we can barely get him to talk.”
Wyatt nodded in agreement. “It’s like pulling teeth.”
Dawson held back a chuckle and glared at them both. “Who can get a word in edgewise with you two smart-asses?”
Cody laughed harder.
“You are better at getting other people to talk than talking yourself,” Zimmer said.
“See? It’s your fault we talk so much,” Cody said.
Dawson snorted.
“Did you get the reporter to talk?”
He’d gotten her to stop talking—when he’d covered her mouth with his, when he’d driven his tongue between her lips and deepened that kiss.
“Was I supposed to?” he asked his boss.
Zimmer nodded. “I wonder what she’s doing back in Northern Lakes. Other reporters have given up. Why hasn’t she?”
“She’s a hometown girl,” Dawson said. “And two of the Boy Scouts were her nephews.”
Zimmer grinned. “You did get her to talk.”
He shrugged. “She talks all the time—like all reporters. They love to hear themselves talk—just like Wyatt and Cody here.”
Wyatt flipped him off.
“Get her to talk some more,” Zimmer suggested. “Find out if she suspects there’s more to the Northern Lakes fire.”
She did. Him. But he wasn’t about to admit that to these guys. He’d never hear the end of it. And it wasn’t as if he was going to allow her to do a special feature on him anyway.
Dawson narrowed his eyes and studied his boss’s face. “I thought the idea was to not draw attention to that fire—to the arsonist.”
“We don’t want to,” Zimmer said. “And we haven’t. Maybe that’s compelled the arsonist to act.”
“We haven’t proved yet that he set the other fires,” Wyatt said.
But maybe the other fires that had flared up in Northern Lakes hadn’t been hot spots. Maybe failing to burn down the town the first time made the arsonist want to keep trying.
“He might act in other ways,” Zimmer said. “He could have contacted a reporter to claim credit for the fire.”
Dawson’s stomach muscles tightened. “You think the arsonist could have reached out to Avery Kincaid?”
“She’d be the most likely choice,” Zimmer said. “Like you said, she’s a hometown girl who made it big. Her nephews were even in the fire. She has a personal connection to it.”
And that was probably her only reason for pursuing a story that other reporters had let die. She was still upset about what had nearly happened to her nephews. Unless she had been contacted...
He recognized that tightness in his gut as fear. But it wasn’t fear for himself. It was fear for her. If the arsonist had contacted her, she could be in danger. While the guy probably wanted attention, there was no way he’d want to get caught. If she dug too deep and discovered more than she should...
“And if he has,” Zimmer continued, “maybe he’s given her a clue to his real identity.”
“But she would have run the story then,” Dawson said. “It would be a very special feature for her.” Much more special than anything about him. But it would also put her life at risk.
“She didn’t get to where she is in her career without checking sources,” Zimmer said. “She would want to confirm that the fire had been ruled arson before she’d believe some guy claiming responsibility for it.”
She would. She might be ambitious, but she wouldn’t have been hired by a national network if she wasn’t good. Had she been fishing for information? If he’d agreed to an interview, was that where it would have led?
Cody uttered a sigh of feigned resignation. “I volunteer,” he said. “I know it’s a tough assignment. But I’ll sacrifice myself to find out what the hot lady reporter knows.”
Wyatt snorted. “I know your fragile ego can’t handle it, but she’s clearly not interested in you.”
“She’s not interested in you, either,” Cody told him.
“Good thing,” Dawson murmured.
They looked at him with shock—as if they thought he was jealous or something. That was so not him. He dated, but he’d never had any serious relationships. His job would always come first, and most women weren’t willing to take second place. Most women weren’t willing to get involved with a man with such a dangerous career.
Wyatt was lucky his insurance agent girlfriend had disregarded the risk of falling for a Hotshot. And even though a Hotshot from another team had recently died in the wildfires out West, she hadn’t broken up with him. She loved him enough to accept what he did and the risk involved.
“Because Fiona would kick her ass,” Dawson explained. Wyatt’s hot little redhead had a temper to match her hair.
Wyatt chuckled but didn’t deny it. He had fallen hard for Fiona O’Brien. Dawson wondered at his bravery after they’d all seen how their boss’s marriage had crashed and burned. Braden’s cheating ex was so cruel she’d even invited him to her wedding.
That was one cold woman. Fiona was nothing like her. Was Avery Kincaid? Would she be as callous with someone’s heart?
He suspected she might—that what mattered most to her was her career. That was probably the only thing he and Avery had in common. But his job helped people. Hers could harm them. And herself. Her career mattered so much that she would probably willingly put herself in danger with the arsonist.
“I’ll find out what the reporter knows,” Dawson begrudgingly volunteered. It wasn’t as if he needed to worry about his heart with her. He would never fall for a reporter.
Cody shook his head. “I’m not sure you’re up to this assignment.”
“I think he’s up for it.” Wyatt pointed toward Dawson’s mouth. “That’s not his shade of lipstick.”
“You kissed her?” Cody asked, his green eyes wide with shock. Then he chuckled. “Maybe you’re not as slow as I thought you were...”
Ever
