Page 8 of Built of Flames
Mitch laughed and followed his friend. He’d been fascinated when his friend had told him about this woman and the crew around her.
When he’d had a week of vacation, he’d come to Vermont to spend the week with Marcus. They’d met years before at a seminar for New England first responders and had kept in contact ever since.
Marcus was trying to convince Mitch to relocate and start up a fire service in Phail. Phail Firefighters didn’t have a quality ring to it, but the idea was tempting. Christo was primed to take over when Chief Martinez stepped down in another year or two. Mitch planned to be deputy chief. He and Christo would make a good team. But being in charge of his own crew was tempting.
Kelsor had to have more on-the-job excitement than a town named Phail. Well, maybe not. It seemed the town was growing, in part due to Tansy and her fiancé.
As if reading his thoughts, Marcus spoke again. “Sam and Graham are creating something really good with Midnight Security. We’ve got people coming in from a few states for their training already, and they’ve only been off the ground for a couple of months. You’d like some of the classes.”
“Like what?”
“Offensive and defensive driving, vehicle safety and sabotage, shooting, personal fitness, indoor and outdoor tracking and investigative skills.”
“That’s a lot.”
Marcus nodded. “Sam’s a former FBI agent and has multiple black belts. Graham’s former Army, an electrician, and a mechanic. And the guy can pull more maneuvers with a car than anyone I know.”
Marcus told him about a recent issue they’d had with counterfeiters using the Midnight Lake property for a drop zone. And how they’d taken them down.
“There’s more to this sleepy town than you’d expect with a name like Phail.”
Marcus laughed. “I know. I’ve tried for years to get Troy and his family to change it. Go back to MacPhail or choose something new. But they’re used to it, and they say it makes the town memorable.”
“It might be better if it was memorable in a good way.” Mitch looked up at the sound of dogs barking ahead. They must be close to the lodge. A German shepherd and a lab mix bounded down the trail, tongues lolling and tails wagging. Both dogs greeted Marcus first and then circled Mitch with as much enthusiasm.
“The shepherd is Jetson, and the lab is Willow. They belong to the gang.”
Mitch hadn’t had a dog while growing up. Not enough money for anything frivolous. He’d spent a lot of his teen years at the Martinez household, but they hadn’t had pets either. Chief Martinez spent most of his time at the station, as did Christo, once he’d been hired.
And Isabella had wanted nothing more than to be like her dad and brother. As always happened when he thought of Izzy, Mitch’s heart ached. None of them had seen her in two years. She’d left after the worst day in Mitch’s career.
Isabella was a couple of years younger than Mitch, and he’d always liked the quiet kid. Then she’d grown up and had become a sexy-as-hell woman with a sharp mind and a wide open heart.
A heart he, Christo, and the Chief had stomped into tiny pieces. He didn’t know where she was, but he hoped she was well. Hoped she was kicking ass at life and enjoying the hell out of it.
Was she still a firefighter? He’d searched her name many times online, but had never found her. She’d ditched her social media, and Martinez was too common of a surname to narrow it down.
Once he was back home, he’d look again. He knew Christo tried often as well. No one had dared to ask the Chief if he’d done the same.
The man hadn’t spoken her name since she’d left the fire station. Actually, now that he thought about it, the Chief had always called his daughter Martinez. He did the same to Christo unless it was just the three of them. Had the man called Izzy by name at home? Mitch hoped so, but wouldn’t be surprised if that wasn’t true.
His first view of Midnight Lake and the lodge on its edge shook Mitch’s head clear of the past. The building was as old as the sawmill, although it sported solar panels and new windows, most of which were open to the summer breeze.
“It’s bigger than I expected. There have to be dozens of rooms.”
Marcus nodded. “I’m sure you’ll get a tour at some point. The entire property is incredible. Several outbuildings back at the front of the property. The lodge, garage, and ten cabins back here. A couple of boat houses along the lake.”
A huge amount of property. Definitely larger than the duplex he and Christo shared.
“The cabin housing Midnight Security is over there on the right, and Bella’s cabin is that way on the left.”
Bella? That was a wild coincidence.
Funny how the name of the arson investigator had never come up. Marcus had called her Tansy’s friend and Mitch had never asked. He just wanted some input on a theory of his.
How many Bellas were there in the firefighting world? Probably a lot. Just because he’d been thinking about his Izzy didn’t mean it was her.
A whistle sounded from the right, and the dogs loped off. Mitch looked over to see another dog and a couple of men outside the cabin Marcus had pointed out. Probably Sam and Graham.