Chapter 1
Ryan
Wake up, make the bed, shower, dress in khakis and a button down with tie, or a polo if it"s a casual day. Comb my hair, brush my teeth, put on my socks and shoes, then head to the kitchen where my coffee is already programmed to be waiting. I fix a quick breakfast of avocado toast and bowl of overnight oatmeal I prepped the night before. Then I sit down to eat while going over my schedule for the day. This simple, quiet routine every morning started my day off right.
I looked down at my dress shirt and frowned. Today I was going to be meeting with the chief at the firehouse. Clarence Grimes was one of our newest council members with the Grimes family only recently earning representation.
It was about damn time if you asked me. And of course, the fact that his daughter was mated to my older brother, Elias, meant I was probably a bit soft towards the struggles of the Grimes Flock.
As mayor of Ravenden I strongly felt that it was my job to represent all of my town, even those Flocks others would deem less important. They were all important to me.
Finishing up my breakfast and with a good idea of how my day was going to go, I got up and took my dishes to the sink. I never understood why anyone would leave dirty dishes in the sink when it only took a minute to quickly wash, rinse, dry, and put them away. It just made no sense why I wouldn"t take that minute of my life when it would mean returning to a clean home.
I liked things neat and tidy. I didn"t think anyone had ever taught me that or enforced it with me. As far as I knew, I"d always been that way and sometimes I struggled to understand how others weren"t always like me.
Keeping things organized and efficient had led me into leadership, becoming the youngest mayor of Ravenden at only twenty-five years old.
Many said I was far older in spirit. My siblings sometimes teased me that I was a little old man stuck in a young man"s body.
That had never bothered me though. I was particular about the way I liked things and that was okay with me. I didn"t project those expectations onto others, well, most of the time I didn"t.
Feeling satisfied that everything was in order, I retrieved my keys from the hook by the door and left my apartment. As I was getting in the elevator, the only other door on the top floor of my complex flew open and Kim rushed out.
"Ryan, hold the elevator," she yelled, looking a little disheveled and only further proving my theory that sticking to a timely routine was the right way to start my day.
"Good morning, Kim," I said with a chuckle, shaking my head.
This wasn"t an uncommon part of my day lately.
"Blame Elias," she muttered.
I didn"t even want to consider why she would make that statement, but knowing they were still relatively newly mated, I had my suspicions.
She smoothed down her hair and threw it up into a long sleek ponytail.
"What are you up to today?" she asked.
I knew she was just making idle conversation.
"I"m meeting with your father this morning, actually. He requested it. Not sure why. Do you?"
She shrugged. "Who knows. Could be Council business or could be that fire they had out by the cliff last night."
"Fire? I didn"t hear about this?"
"Happened late last night. I was on the phone with my brother Andrew when the call came in. He checked in around one this morning to let me know everyone was okay."
I frowned. "Couldn"t be that. He hit me up yesterday morning about this."
She shrugged. "Probably some grand idea he wants to run by you. Don"t look at me, you guys are the ones that voted him onto the Council."
I laughed as the elevator opened to the garage level. Kim gave a quick wave and ran for her car, clearly running late.
Checking the time, I knew I needed to speed up or I was going to be late too.
The drive to the firehouse was short. It was a beautiful day, and I could have walked over, but I was planning to go into the office afterwards and knew it would be more practical to have my car with me. I had no idea how long this meeting would take.
My preference was to always walk into a room prepared for whatever was about to be thrown my way. Life had taught me that simply wasn"t always the case. I was used to dodging bullets and facing things on the fly, even if it wasn"t entirely within my comfort zone.
Today, I was walking in blind. Clarence had given me no indication of why he"d asked to speak with me. So I would smile and just wing it. Setting people at ease with a warm smile and smooth-talking even when I didn"t feel equipped to handle things, had gotten me this far in life. No reason to suspect they"d fail me now.
When I pulled up to the station, I got out of my car and stood a little taller, held my chin just a little higher, and smiled until my cheeks hurt. I could do this. Despite my outward appearance of confidence, I often felt like I was still just a kid playing in an adult world, especially times like this.
"Hey Ryan," Andrew Grimes said, offering me his hand.
"Kim said there was an incident last night. Everything okay?"
"Yeah, nothing too serious. Just a minor brush fire out by the cliff. "
"Did you find the cause?"
"Still looking into it. Dad will tell you all about it."
I gave a curt nod. "I"m sure he will."
"Coffee"s hot and fresh if you need a cup. Otherwise, make yourself at home in his office. He"s finishing up his rounds now."
"Thanks."
I walked into the station and down the hall to Clarence"s office, but there was a commotion in one of the bunk rooms as I passed.
"Chief, you can"t bench me right now. I was able to quickly and efficiently put that fire out last night single-handedly."
"At what cost, Gracie? You have got to stop taking so many risks."
"But I"m fine. Nothing happened. Nothing ever happens to me."
"That"s not the point. You were reckless and you"re setting a bad example to the others. We have rookies on the team, or have you forgotten? They look up to you. I can"t have you running half-cocked into a fire like that again. So, yes, you are benched for the remainder of the week."
"But . . ."
"Do not argue with me over this or I"ll make it two weeks," he said sternly. "Am I clear?"
"Yes, sir," she said through gritted teeth.
It was clear she wasn"t happy about it which made me bite back a smile. I knew if she saw me, it would only piss her off more.
Gracie Montgomery had always walked to the beat of her own drum. She never conformed to anything. I laughed when I heard she joined the fire station. At the time, all the members of the station in Ravenden had been male. It had caused a bit of a stir, but when I was asked my opinion, I"d sided with her.
I wasn"t certain what her power was exactly, but being a Montgomery, it was inevitable that it had something to do with fire manipulation. Many from the Montgomery Flock served in our town"s fire department, too. The majority of the rest of the unit was made up by those from the Grimes Flock.
Grimes ravens wielded the power of water. Combined with the Montgomerys, it just made sense for their kin to perform the job. Not that I wouldn"t support someone from another Flock who was interested in the position. It just wasn"t something that happened often. But I liked to think that I was open-minded enough to give everything and everyone an equal chance.
Clarence stepped out and nearly ran into me.
"Sorry," I mumbled under my breath.
"Ryan," he said, looking down at his watch. "You"re early."
I checked the time myself. We were scheduled to meet in just five minutes. That was hardly early by my standards.
"Sorry, you did say eight o"clock, right?" I asked, fearing maybe my assistant had screwed up the time.
"Right, I guess I did. Give me five minutes to wrap up and I"ll meet you in my office."
I nodded as he ran off like he was ready to put out a fire. And why did I suspect that fire had Gracie Montgomery"s name written all over it?
I"d already heard him speaking with her and he hadn"t exactly sounded happy. I could only imagine what she"d done this time. She was wild and reckless. She often jumped before knowing if she could fly. She"d been that way as long as I could remember her. But then we had been well into high school before Gracie Montgomery had hit my radar.
She was a pretty little thing and if she didn"t terrify me with some of the antics she pulled and dares she accepted, I may even have asked her out. It was for the best. I"d seen her pull one too many stunts to know it was best for my sanity to stay far away from this woman.
But I also didn"t hate her or even dislike her. Most of the time Clarence even vouched for her and said she was a great asset to the team.
Then there were other moments when I would swear I could see his hair turning gray just at the mention of her name.
Poor bastard. I had no doubt that today was one of those days.
Shaking my head, I made myself comfortable in Clarence"s office. Then I pulled out my phone and checked emails and my calendar for the day. It looked like it was going to be a rare quiet day. I couldn"t believe this meeting was the only thing I had on my calendar.
Frowning, I dialed Jennifer"s number. She"d been my assistant since day one and I wasn"t sure what I would do without her.
"Good morning, Ryan. How"d the meeting with Clarence go?"
"Hasn"t started. He"s finishing up rounds now. But after this my calendar is blank. Can you check to see what happened? I know there was a video call with Westin Force and a meeting with someone else, I just can"t remember who scheduled for this afternoon."
"Canceled. Both. Your day is clear."
I froze. "What did you just say?"
She snorted into the phone. "You don"t have anything pressing today, Ry. So finish up with Clarence and take the day off."
"And do what? Do you even know who I am anymore?"
She laughed. "Don"t be dramatic. Maybe try relaxing for a change."
"I guess I am due for a haircut."
"Next Friday, it"s on your calendar."
"Maybe Dad needs help with something."
"He and your mom are at the springs all week and asked not to be disturbed, according to Janice, who I just spoke with ten minutes ago. So I doubt anything"s changed. Why don"t you follow his example and do something for yourself for a change."
I groaned. "Forward me over those contracts for the repairs on the bridge and I"ll go over them this afternoon from home."
"No."
"No? Did you just tell me no?"
"I did. No contracts. No meetings. My boss is taking some time off whether he likes it or not."
"Jennifer, are you trying to get me to fire you."
Her laugh was easy and so familiar to me now. Just the sound of it made the tension in my body ease and a smile tip my lips.
"As if you could live without me. Tell Clarence hi and then I don"t want to talk to you or see you for the rest of the day."
"What if there"s an emergency?"
"Then I"ll call you, but you don"t call me."
"Hey, I thought I was the boss."
"Only because I let you believe that."
Before I could argue, even though she was probably right, Clarence rushed in.
"I"m really sorry for keeping you waiting, Ryan."
"Jennifer, I"ve got to go. Talk to you later."
"Better not," I heard her warn as I clicked the disconnect button.
"Oh, sorry. Didn"t realize you were on the phone."
"It"s just my assistant being a pain in the ass," I said with a chuckle.
Jennifer Montgomery was the best. And I truly didn"t know what I would do without her.
"I"m sure she keeps you in line."
"Whether I want her to or not," I admitted, but there was no malice in my voice. I loved her for it, and she damn well knew it. "So, what"s going on?"
I was never one to beat around the bush. Good news or bad, just give it to me straight so I could accept it and deal with it.
He closed the door and then took a seat behind his desk.
"We had a fire last night down by the cliffs."
"I heard. Kim told me this morning. Is everyone okay?"
"Oh, yeah, sure. No incidents to report . . . yet."
"Yet?"
"Ryan, it"s the fifth one in as many days. I set up this meeting after the third because something in my gut tells me this isn"t right. Now there"ve been two more. Nothing serious, but it"s strange."
"Strange how?"
"Five fires in five days. We rarely have more than one incident a month, especially after so much rain. And they"ve all been in more remote places."
"Remote? How did you find them?"
"Anonymous tips through 9-1-1."
"You think they were set on purpose?"
"I do. And last night"s could have gotten out of control."
"But it didn"t thanks to Gracie?"
There was no point in denying I heard part of their conversation.
"That girl, I swear. Every gray hair on my head has her name on it, not my kids', hers. That being said, we"re still looking for a cause or some sort of link connecting them all. Aside from the emergency call by a blocked number each time, there"s been no obvious connection. Maybe I"m overlooking something. Anyway, I just thought you needed to be notified, and I'd like for you to accompany her down to the site of last night"s fire, maybe you could give a fresh perspective."
"What aren"t you telling me?"
He sighed. "I fear we have an arsonist in Ravenden."