Chapter 16

SIXTEEN

J ulio headed down the hospital hallway, toward the room where the nurse had told him he might find Mitchell Sylvana. He'd run out and grabbed a sandwich, checked in with the firehouse, and come back. But before he went to Samantha's room, he wanted to check on the arsonist's son.

The nurse hadn't been able to give him any information about the guy's condition, which wasn't surprising given HIPAA regulations. However, the fact that he was in a room and not in the morgue told him enough information about whether or not they'd succeeded in saving his life.

Julio still couldn't shake the image of finding Samantha on the ground, that guy on top of her.

If it hadn't been for Bristol and her ability to locate Samantha's phone, he might never have found her. She could have been choked to death on the street and he'd have had no idea.

Until it was too late.

His hands shook. Abrasions and bruising covered his knuckles where he'd slammed his fist into that guy. Julio probably would've kept going long enough to kill the guy—or at least do some serious damage—if it wasn't for the fact that Samantha had been watching.

They needed to know if he was the arsonist.

Something they might not have been able to find out if Julio had killed him.

She should get credit for the arrest, and things would not be messed up because of him. At least as far as he could control things. Which, given she nearly died, might not be too much. Although the anger in him had subsided some, he wasn't exactly ready to jump back in with both feet and claim to be a Christian again.

He might have lived a quiet life for the last two years, but his actions before that didn't exactly spell out the kind of person who followed the Bible.

Julio stopped outside the room, turning so he could lean back against the wall. The most he could say was a quiet thank-you to God for getting him there in time. For the fact she was still alive right now, even if they weren't entirely out of the woods. He didn't think the doctors would keep her overnight, but someone needed to monitor her condition. Swelling in the throat could have nasty consequences.

His own throat closed reflexively. He swallowed against it and knocked on the door.

He heard a quiet, "Come in," but it wasn't a male voice.

Julio turned the handle and stayed by the doorway. She sat in a chair beside the bed, dark hair that had been dyed and a heavy metal band T-shirt. She had a pale face and dark-red lips.

The man in the bed lay tucked under the sheets, bandages on the areas of his skin that were visible. Tubes had been placed across his face with little notches in his nostrils, adding a clean air mix to what he breathed.

"I'm Captain Julio Espinoza-Vasquez from the fire department. I'm working on an arson investigation taskforce, and I was with the detective when we found Mr. Sylvana."

"You're one of the ones?" She sat up a little straighter, her voice low and graveled. "I'm Terri."

"That's right, my partner is a police detective and we'd come to talk to Mitchell. I'm just glad that we found him in time."

Her shoulders tensed. "Talk to him about what?"

"Is Mitchell a friend of yours?" Julio asked. "Or a boyfriend?"

Dodging his question, she said, "Is he being suspected of those fires, like the ones his father set?"

"He isn't one of our suspects." At least, he wasn't once they had stepped inside the house and found him. "We only wanted to see if he could shed any light on the situation."

"He didn't have anything to do with it."

Julio studied her. "What makes you so sure of that?"

Maybe she didn't know him as well as she thought she did. Probably the police would want to question her and Mitchell when he awoke, but there was no reason why he couldn't establish a rapport between her and the arson investigation taskforce.

"He hates his father and everything he did. But his mom ditched when his dad got arrested, so he wound up in a foster home. Same one as me."

Julio frowned. "His grandmother didn't offer to take him in?"

The woman looked confused. "What grandmother?"

He wasn't sure he wanted to explain that she was the first victim of this current arsonist. "She changed her name, so maybe she wanted nothing to do with the family. Seems like Mitchell may not have been so lucky."

Not that what had happened to either of them—Mitchell and his grandmother—could be considered good fortune.

"He didn't even want to talk about the fires, or his parents." She shook her head. "The kids at school never left him alone for one second through the trial and after. Our school was miserable for him, but we stuck together. We've been friends ever since."

"I'm sure he's very grateful to have someone like you in his life."

Julio's existence the past two years had been pretty solitary, even though he'd taken a couple of trips to see his parents. It wasn't like he had a ton of people who would show up to his hospital room if he were here, hurt. Even just one who cared enough to be the only person that showed up—like Terri with Mitchell, or he and Bristol with Samantha.

Who would've shown up for him?

Until recently, not even Samantha would have. Although, he had never removed her as his next of kin.

If something happened to him on the job, the entire waiting room would be full of firefighters. But that was about standing with a brother who had been hurt putting his life on the line. It didn't matter who it was. Everyone turned out.

To him, it almost had more meaning when a single person would sit by a hospital bedside.

"Do you have any idea why someone might want to hurt Mitchell?" It had almost seemed as if they were interrogating him, or at the least punishing him for something. Whether it was about gaining information or not.

"He keeps his head down. He doesn't bother anyone, and he expects people not to bother him." She shrugged one shoulder. "Sometimes they do, but when the police figure out who he is, they don't seem to be interested in stopping the harassment."

Julio wasn't a cop, so he couldn't speak to that. But he didn't think it was appropriate for the police to do that. He should ask Samantha to look up Mitchell in the PD reports. "Anyone in particular you can think of lately? Someone who might want to hurt him?"

"Not really." She brushed her hair back. "But he doesn't always tell me about it. Since there's nothing either of us can do."

"Thank you for talking to me." He pulled a business card from his wallet. "If you think of anything, or if you and Mitchell need any help, feel free to call me or anyone at my firehouse."

She blinked at the card, then looked at him. "Thanks."

Julio stepped back out into the hallway and made his way back to Samantha's room. She had the door closed, so he repeated the same knock he'd done with Mitchell's room.

"One second."

He eased his stance over and leaned on the doorframe.

When the door finally opened, Samantha stood there. Pale skin, and dark circles under her eyes. They didn't match the bruising around her neck, but she still needed rest.

She had changed into black leggings and a comfortable-looking T-shirt, a sweater pulled over her shoulders and now hanging down by her sides even though it was warm out. On her feet she had a pair of flat canvas shoes. She looked a lot like the girl he had known, once upon a time. Not so much like the tough-as-nails police detective he had been working with.

Truth be told, he liked both sides of her. The strong and the vulnerable. The way she knew how to accept help at the right time, and also how to stand up for herself when needed.

But the best part of who she was would always be the way she stood up for other people.

Julio glanced around. "Did Bristol take off?"

"Romeo was hungry, so I told them to get something to eat and go home. I figured when you came back, I could ask you for a ride."

"Good call." He absolutely wanted to be the one to drive her back to her house. "You have everything?"

"Except a clean bill of health, but that's a problem for tomorrow-Samantha. Today-Samantha is interested in getting where she's going so she can sit with her eyes closed and try to figure out how to eat pizza with a sore throat." She handed him some papers and a plastic sack.

Julio chuckled. "How about soup?"

"Depends what kind of soup it is."

"We could run by the store on the way to your house and pick something up?"

She scrunched up her face. "I probably have something in the cupboard like chicken noodle or tomato that we haven't eaten yet."

"We?"

"Bristol and I have been roommates since…"

Julio reached out and snagged her hand, curling his fingers around hers. Just a little measure of solidarity, but it was enough for right now. "That's good."

"How about you? Do you live with anyone?"

"Just me."

He often rattled around in that empty house, wondering if he should get a dog and then dismissing the idea because he was at the firehouse way too much. One of the guys at work already had a dog he brought with him to be their mascot. She liked to chew the pillows on the couch when they were out on calls and had pooped in the women's bathroom at least twice.

"So, anyway…" Samantha began but didn't finish.

Yeah, he hadn't explained where he lived. Or what kind of place it was. As soon as he did, she would realize far too much.

"Soup and some soft bread," Julio said. "Maybe a soggy cheese sandwich that's all gooey."

"That sounds terrible and intriguing at the same time."

"You are really good to get out of here?" He hit the button for the elevator either way.

She nodded. "Because of you."

Julio tugged her over and wound his arms around her, giving her a supportive hug. It occurred to him that when it all shook out, this might be all she was prepared to give him. That they might be forever destined to remain friends. Never more than that, because of their shared history.

All the pain they'd been through might eclipse anything good they could have, like flying too close to the sun. No matter if you were happy, you'd still burn up.

But was it worth a shot at survival? At the chance for something good on the other end?

When the orderly came over with a wheelchair, she flashed her badge at him. The guy backed away. Julio walked her to the lobby and had her sit while he retrieved his truck. When he parked at the curb out front, she came out. Walking slowly enough, he hopped out and went around to the passenger side, pulled the door open for her, and held her hand while she climbed in.

When he got in the driver's side, she had already entered her address in the GPS.

He knew that side of town, not under the purview of his firehouse. Probably on purpose, in case of a fire. Two lives running side by side but never intersecting.

Until a few days ago.

"Wake me when we get there."

She had to feel terrible if she was willing to let down her guard enough to go to sleep while he drove. Julio kept the music low, taking an easy route to her house and wondering as he did if this was all part of some bigger plan for them to restart their relationship.

And all he needed to do was yield to it.