Page 23 of Built of Flames

She’d separated them into groups, going by gut instinct. Kids playing games. Targeted individual personal attack. Covering up a theft. Insurance fraud. The four fires she considered the work of the serial arsonist working in Kelsor. And three that didn’t fit anywhere.

She watched Mitch as he moved from one group to the next, figuring out why she’d put each fire where she had. Leaning back against the table, she watched him reach out a few times to tap on a specific fire and then to compare it to other groups.

And if her eyes drifted to his sexy ass in the jeans or the broad shoulders stretching his t-shirt, who could blame her?

Mitch backed up a step and took in the entire board, arms crossed over his chest. “I’ve got some of it, but not all. I’m assuming these are prank fires and these feel personal, but they’re not related to each other.”

He tilted his head. “Help me out. What are you seeing that I’m not?”

“Maybe nothing. I think my emotions are tangled up in Kelsor, so I might be connecting dots that aren’t there.”

“Tell me anyway.”

Bella blew out a breath. “Okay. I think these could be insurance fraud. And these might be cover-ups for robberies.”

Mitch nodded then pointed out the last group. “And these?”

“I think those are personal.”

Mitch frowned and looked them over. “But they’re all different. What’s the personal connection?”

“My family.”

“What? Wait.” Mitch looked from her to the grouping and frowned.

He tapped one magnet. “This is the warehouse fire where Roberto had his heart attack.”

Bella nodded. The fire that had irrevocably changed her life. “That’s my concern. Are all my emotions out of whack because I’m focused on how much damage that fire did?”

Mitch pulled her into a sidearm hug. “To you, your family, Roberto, the firehall.”

“The firehall?”

Mitch’s chuckle held no humor. “The Chief exposed himself as fallible to everyone in the squad that day. His actions caused lots of ripples. Losing you was the biggest, but there were more.”

Bella’s heart tripped in her chest. “Like what?”

“Everyone became more aware of the old boys’ club mentality. When we needed to hire more people, the team insisted we hire more women.”

“Really?”

He turned to her and kissed her on the forehead. “Your words that day were the impetus for some positive changes in the department. We now have four female squad members.”

Her heart swelled. “And the Chief agreed to hire them?”

“He did.”

Did he hate her because he’d been forced to change his ways? He’d always said women weren’t strong enough to be firefighters. She’d had to score far higher than the minimum standards on the tests before he finally agreed to have her as a recruit.

“Do the guys accept them? Do they include them in conversations? Are they part of the team or in their own little segment within the team?”

Mitch lifted her chin gently with his hand. “I’m sorry we weren’t better about including you. I’m so sorry you didn’t feel like part of the team.”

He kissed her lightly while she battled tears.

“I had Christo and you.”

He huffed out a noise that wasn’t quite a laugh. “Damn lot of good that did you. We let you down, Izzy.”