Page 11 of Built of Flames

Afraid to be rejected again. Afraid her father still didn’t trust her or want her.

She shrugged. “The weird thing is, I was thinking about all of this today before you showed up. I was thinking it was time to reach out, find out if I was finally brave enough.”

“You’ve always been brave enough for anything.”

Maybe it was time to prove it.

Mitch couldn’t believe he was sitting in the middle of Vermont, talking to Isabella. He wanted to call Christo, but his friend was on shift and this was something his buddy would rather hear in private. He would call after shift change. Maybe with Izzy.

Her first words would be forever burned into his soul.

You don’t hate me?

With a question mark at the end and wariness in her eyes.

He and Christo had spent two years kicking their own asses, but they’d figured she was pissed. Done with them. She would have had every right to leave them behind her.

But all this time, she’d thought they hated her. Didn’t trust her. He had a lot of things to fix, but he’d found her. And he’d fix it.

“How’s Christo?”

Mitch grinned. “He’ll be better once you talk to him. His shift finishes in a few hours. You want to make the call with me?”

More wariness in her eyes, so he continued. “You don’t have to, but I know he’ll want to talk to you. He’s missed you.”

Her mouth twisted. “We weren’t exactly close before that. I was the pain-in-the-butt tagalong little sister.”

Mitch laughed. “You’re five years younger, Izz, that’s a lot of years when you’re kids. He loves you. He’s put hours into searching for you. We both have. Why didn’t we ever find you? Are you still using your name?” Had she changed it?

She nodded. “I didn’t change my name, I’m still Isabella Martinez, but I’ve been going by B. Martinez when I do my arson investigator work. And everyone calls me Bella.”

Roberto’s name for her. Mitch suddenly wondered if she was married. His gaze flashed to her finger. No ring, but that wasn’t definitive. “You’re not married?”

That brought a huff of a laugh and a roll of the eyes. “Not even close. You? Christo?”

Mitch shook his head. “No to both. Christo’s been seeing a great woman. Pediatric doctor. Regina. You’ll like each other.”

Her face blanched and Mitch realized she was still unsure of her welcome. “He’s going to be thrilled to hear from you, Izzy. I promise.”

“You’re sure?”

He nodded, let her look in his eyes to see how serious he was. “Positive. We can call him right now, but you know how he is with his phone on duty.”

Her lips quirked up. “Still Mr. Responsible then?”

Mitch nodded. “You know it.”

For a few minutes, they sat in silence, but he didn’t find it uncomfortable. There was so much to wrap his head around.

Relief swirled through any thought that tried to land. And desire swirled right along with it. Isabella was no longer off limits.

Unless she wanted to come back to work at the station. Which he didn’t think she would. She had hardly mentioned her dad, and he wasn’t sure how the Chief felt. He wasn’t one to share.

Mitch spotted the book she’d left on the table and grinned. “I was right. As Marcus pointed me in this direction, he called you by name for the first time. Just your first name but I nearly ran here to find out. Then I spotted you sitting reading a paperback, and I knew it was going to be an Agatha Christie mystery.”

Her cheeks flushed as she smiled. “You do remember things about me.”

The surprise evident in her voice had him mentally kicking his ass again. “I do.” He thought about confessing he’d been interested in her, but that was probably too much for her. For both of them. He was staying with Marcus for a week. That would give him lots of time to figure shit out.