20. Zoe

After Kit,Kieran, and I called every single person on the fire crew the next morning, we piled into Kieran’s black truck and headed to the local police station. As I sat in the passenger’s seat, I stared at my mom’s folder full of research in my lap, an invisible rubber band winding around my lungs.

I was excited about finally getting to the bottom of all this, but I would’ve been lying if I said I wasn’t scared out of my mind a little. What the hell were we going to find? What was my mom having to sneak around to gather evidence on?

Whatever it was, it was dangerous. She’d risked her life for the information in my lap. I didn’t want any of it to be in vain.

“If the police can figure out who the guys in the photo are, we’ve got a shot at figuring out who is behind all of this,” Kieran said as he turned onto the street that led to the police station.

“None of this ever felt personal,” I stated as I shook my head. “The locations didn’t have a pattern. It didn’t seem like a revenge act.”

“Which leaves what?” Kit asked from the backseat.

I chewed on the inside of my cheek as I stared out of the windshield.

“I guess we’ll see,” I replied as the small police station came into view up ahead.

Police cars were parked out front in their usual spots, but I also spotted familiar cars and trucks that belonged to the other guys. I’d called Matty and Paolo, and it sounded like both broke out into a run to get to their vehicles by the end of our call.

This was what we had all been waiting for.

Once Kieran parked, all three of us hopped out of the truck and met the rest of the crew on the sidewalk. I had to pause for a second, taking a moment to process the fact that everyone was here at the same time. The whole crew.

My heart skipped as my eyes roamed over every single one of them, individual memories playing out in my head. We had all shared so many memories together. Some old, some new. Our experiences and our shared goal to end these fires intertwined us.

When this all ended, would we unravel? Or was there a chance that we could take at least a second and process what was going on between us? Because, at least to me, it wasn’t just lust. We were in sync, physically and emotionally.

We were… a team.

“I know we already gave you a small rundown on the phone, but my mom was investigating the arson cases that happened a few years ago. She died before she could release the proof that she found,” I explained as I held the folder against my chest, afraid to let it out of my sight for even a second. “But it’s all right here. Hopefully, the police can make sense of some of the things that are in here.”

Paolo stepped closer to me, all eyes shifting to him.

“Your mom was a brave woman,” he stated. “Let’s finish what she started.”

Pride swelled in my chest as a determined smile crossed my face. He was right. It was time to finish this.

“Whatever we find out, we’re with you,” Matty spoke up as he nodded to me.

“One hundred percent,” Cohen added as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Their words of encouragement filled my heart with pure happiness, eliminating any restraints. I nodded and led them into the police station, my confidence increasing with each step as I maintained the lead.

“I need to speak with a detective,” I told the secretary, whose eyes widened at the sight of the crew standing behind me.

“What is this pertaining to?” the secretary asked.

“The arson case,” I said. “I really need you to get me a detective.”

The secretary glanced behind me, staring at ten stoic faces. She finally nodded and hurried off, returning a few minutes later with a blazer-clad woman with shoulder length, brown hair and a serious resting face.

“I’m Detective Jennifer Hastings. You said you have information on the arson case?” she questioned me.

I nodded and motioned to the folder.

“My mom was investigating the string of fires that happened a few years ago. It must be the same people doing it now too. The patterns seem the same, and how can there be two different serial arsonists in one small town?” I explained. “She has notes and pictures and even maps that could help us figure out the suspects.”

“And what are you gentlemen doing here?” Detective Jennifer asked the firemen.

“We’ve been working with her,” Gabe spoke up. “You need to see what’s in that folder.”

Detective Jennifer motioned for us to follow her past the secretary’s desk to her office. It was a tight fit, but we managed to all fit inside, crowding her desk as I slid the folder over to her. She flipped open the top and started looking over all the notes.

I fidgeted a little on the spot, trying to stay quiet so that she could focus on all the content before her. Maybe there was a clue or two that would stick out to her, and she could piece some things together. I must’ve been doing a bad job of hiding my nervousness because I felt Angus’s hand on the back of my arm as he gave me a gentle squeeze.

Breathing in through my nose, I focused on the comfort of their presence and relaxed. A little. As much as my lack of patience allowed me to relax.

Detective Jennifer’s face maintained its naturally stony demeanor until she looked at the picture that my mom took of the four men. She straightened up in her chair, her eyes widening.

“I know that man,” she stated as she turned the photo around to point at the tallest, dark-haired man in the photo with the scariest looking face. “That’s Armand Deviau. He’s a known leader of a drug cartel that’s been wreaking havoc in this region of the United States.”

My heartbeat thudded in my head, almost drowning out her voice. A cartel leader?

“Wait, are you sure?” I asked her, my face screwing up in shock and confusion. I thought they were possibly run of the mill criminals. Not related to a cartel!

“Oh, I know that face,” Detective Jennifer assured me as she took another look at the photograph. “He was on our radar for a while.”

“He needs to be arrested,” Paolo stated as he crossed his arms.

“He already has been. He was put in prison not too long ago, but that doesn’t mean his lackeys aren’t continuing his legacy and wreaking havoc on innocent people,” Detective Jennifer pointed out.

“But why fires?” Tobin questioned her. “What kind of cartel starts burning down buildings periodically?”

“Is it a call sign or something?” Garrett added, sharing a confused look with Kieran and Kit.

Detective Jennifer’s brow furrowed as she thought for a few seconds. She then turned to her computer and started typing, tense silence filling the room as we all waited for her input. If anyone could piece things together, it was her.

“I don’t think it’s a call sign. From what we know about them, they’re pretty sneaky. They package and transport drugs under the radar. Acts of violence can be common too,” Detective Jennifer replied. “We’ve had reports of assault and vehicle theft for the past few months. No suspects found. One car was found and had traces of drugs in the trunk.”

“Transport?” Kit spoke up. “Maybe the car was stolen to transport drugs without the crime being linked to the criminal. They wouldn’t use their own car.”

“That’s very possible,” Detective Jennifer replied.

“So, do you think the cartel is running their operations in Rockview?” I asked her before shuffling around in the paperwork until I found the map. I pointed at the red circles. “Do these locations mean anything? Are they possible hideouts or headquarters?”

Detective Jennifer inspected the map before nodding.

“From what I remember, all of these buildings are abandoned,” she said. “It’d be easy for them to run operations in areas we don’t typically patrol a lot.”

My mind started working, taking every little fragmented piece and putting them together. I had a theory, and it sort of made sense pieced with some of the things that I’d read in my mom’s notes.

“The fires must be a cover up. They’re doing everything they can to stay under the radar, but the best way to hide is behind a distraction,” I stated before turning and looking at the guys. “There is no pattern to the fires. No suspects. No specific victims.”

“It’s random. They’re just picking places to burn to make all local authorities focus on the fires,” Tobin added, building on top of my point.

“What are they doing while the fires are going on?” Gabe asked.

“Drug business. Transporting. Dealing. Whatever they do,” Matty replied with wide eyes of realization.

“Sons of bitches,” Cohen gritted out as he shook his head, the atmosphere turning heated. And not in a good way. Fury crackled in the air as we all realized that we were being tricked. We were pawns in a twisted, corrupt game.

“We need to take these guys down. We already have possible locations!” Paolo told Detective Jennifer, frustrated mutters sounding behind him as the guys spoke to each other.

I ground my teeth a little, thinking of all the pointless destruction that this cartel had imposed on this innocent town. My mom was determined to stop them years ago, but they came back to wreak havoc all over again.

This time, they were going to be taken down.

Detective Jennifer put her hands up to make everyone calm down.

“Alright, hold on. Everyone is angry and ready to take action, but that isn’t how things work. I need to process this evidence, and then a plan will be made,” Detective Jennifer explained. “We have to make sure we’re headed in the right direction.

As frustrating as that was to hear, she was right. There were legalities to consider, and if we wanted these guys to go down, things had to be done right.

“You’ll give us an update?” I asked her.

Detective Jennifer nodded.

“Leave your contact information with me. I’ll keep you in the loop,” she promised.

All we had to do was hold on a little longer. The end was near, but as the firefighters stood behind me and had my back, I couldn’t help but wonder what all was going to come to an end once everything was said and done.