Never Forget The Past (The Men 0f Fire Beach Book 4)

by Lorana Hoopes

  “Women, specifically,” Makenna said, joining in. “Women who happened to die in fires and all had some connection to Matt.”

  “You didn’t honestly think he was responsible, did you?” Cassidy asked. Daggers flew from her eyes and laced her voice.

  Bubba had to smile at Cassidy. She was the only female firefighter in their unit, and she was like his little sister. He was fiercely protective of her, and it appeared she was of him as well.

  “We didn’t have much to go on,” Makenna said sadly. “Nothing is ever left at the scene, and the only link seemed to be Matt.”

  “So, what changed your mind?” Officer Alayna “Al” Parker asked.

  “When I became a victim,” Bubba said. “Maybe it was because I’m always around fires, but the smell woke me up, and I escaped. Makenna decided then that I wasn’t the perpetrator and that it would be safer if I left town and changed my name. She helped me set up this new identity. I didn’t mean to lie to you all.” Bubba meant every word, but he also couldn’t deny feeling lighter finally sharing his past with his friends.

  “That all makes sense,” Jordan said, “but why are you back now?”

  Makenna bit her lip and then sighed as she caught Bubba’s eye. “Because the murders have started again.”

  Bubba’s heart sank at the words, and a seed of anger sprouted in his chest. Makenna had told him that whoever was behind the killings held a vendetta against him for some reason and would stop with the news of his death. He had believed her. He had let his family believe he was dead and broken all communication with them. And for what? Nothing, it appeared now.

  “I know you have no reason to come back, but I’m hoping that you will. You were the only victim who survived, though the killer doesn’t know that. I’m hoping that seeing that you survived might fluster him enough to mess up and give us some clue as to who he is.”

  Bubba leaned back as he thought about her request. He owed her nothing. He’d spent the last five years trying to put Woodville out of his mind, to pretend he didn’t miss his family. And he was happy here in Fire Beach, mostly. But there had always been that nagging thought in his head. The thought that wondered if he would really ever forget Matt Fisher and truly be Billy Campbell. The thought that the killer had some connection to him and by running, he had put more people in danger.

  “I’ll do it,” he said finally. The thought of going back to Woodville held a sense of relief along with a feeling of terror, but it also felt right.

  “Are you sure, Bubba?” Cassidy asked. “It sounds dangerous. Maybe Jordan should go with you.” She looked to her boyfriend, but his face was impassive.

  “I’m about out of leave, but I’ll check with Stone and see if he’ll give me some more leave.”

  “I could go,” Al said. “I’m pretty certain I have some leave saved up.”

  “Guys, I’ll be fine,” Bubba said, though inside he wondered if that were true. He’d gone through a lot of counseling after leaving Woodville. He’d spent an abundant amount of time trying to forget the women who were killed, trying to forget his family. Could he really go back and relive it all again? What would his parents say?

  “Thank you, Matt. I guess it’s settled then,” Makenna said.

  But it didn’t feel settled to Bubba. Could he really face his old demons? What if he didn’t make it back this time? No, that was out of his hands. God had protected him last time, and He would do it again this time if it was His will. Bubba shook his head to clear the voices and turned to Makenna. “When do we leave?”

  Chapter 3

  Makenna felt like a trespasser as she stood in Matt’s apartment waiting for him to gather some items. She had told him to pack for a week, but what if it turned out to be longer? What if Matt wasn’t the link and seeing him did nothing? What if it really was a copycat who would have little knowledge of Matt Fisher at all? Then she would have disrupted his life for nothing.

  Trust. She had to trust God that this was the right move. She’d learned to trust her instincts when she became a cop, and they had rarely proved her wrong. But, she knew that trusting God was even more important, and she felt sure He’d led her back to Matt Fisher.

  She’d begun looking to God after the case from five years ago. She’d needed a way to deal with her anger and frustration at not finding the killer. Then, the promotions had happened and stress had consumed her life. Church and her time with God had been the only sanity-saving times for a while.

  “Almost ready,” he called from the bedroom.

  His place was small - a one bedroom apartment, but he had decorated it tastefully. The furniture matched, and the pictures on the wall complemented them. She wondered if he had decorated the place himself or if a woman had?

  There had been several women at the restaurant where she’d found him, but none of them appeared to be more than a friend, and she saw no sign of a woman living in the apartment. Of course, it was none of her business if he did have a woman, but for some reason the thought that he didn’t... affected her. She told herself it was simply because she too was single and she liked the validation that it was okay to be in your thirties and still single, but if she were honest with herself, she would acknowledge that Matt had a place in her heart.

  She had truly believed sending him away was saving not only his life but the lives of his family and friends, but she had never forgotten him. She’d thought often of checking up on him to see how he was doing, but she hadn’t wanted to chance the killer finding out he was still alive and coming after him. Now, here he was back in her life. As strong and handsome as he had been five years ago.

  “You ready?” he asked.

  His voice shook her back to reality, and she nodded. “Do you have anyone to look after the place while you’re gone?” It was a cowardly way to ask, but his answer would tell her if he was seeing someone or not.

  “Cassidy and Luca both offered to check in on the place.”

  Makenna nodded and stepped out the front door. “They seem nice. Your friends.”

  “They are. And protective. They’re all I’ve had for the last five years.” She heard no condemnation in his voice, but she felt it all the same - a tiny tug on the invisible chain she wore around her neck.

  “I’m sorry, Matt.” She hated those words. They sounded trite and empty, but what could she say? There was no manual for situations like this, no course taught at the academy. Even the previous cases she had handled had never forced her to fake a death and destroy a family.

  He held up a hand and shook his head. “Let’s not rehash the past. You did what you thought was right, and I went along with it. Let’s just hope it ends differently this time.”

  Makenna nodded. What could she say to that? He locked the front door and followed her to her car, but the tension lay heavy between them. Like an unseen barrier. She hoped she hadn’t made a mistake coming back here and upending his life. Again.

  She turned the key and let the hum of the engine break the silence for a moment. Then she shifted the gear into drive and pulled away. Her fingers tapped against the steering wheel - her nervous gesture - and she searched her mind for anything to say.

  “There’s a radio,” she said, tapping the button on the console. “You can turn it to whatever you want. The country station comes in super clear, but the other ones are a little finicky.” She was rambling, but she couldn’t seem to keep the words from falling out of her mouth.

  “I don’t need music, Makenna.”

  “Right. Sorry.” What was she thinking? Of course he didn’t need music. He probably needed to process, but why did he seem so comfortable with the silence while it ate her alive?

  Although maybe he wasn’t comfortable. His posture was so stiff that it looked as if a metal rod had replaced his spine, and his eyes stared vacantly out the window. She wished that she could see what was going on in his head. Was he scared? Nervous? He certainly had every right to be. She sure was. It had been a nightmare working this case five years ago,
but she’d still been learning then. Now, she was running the department which meant that more responsibility lay on her shoulders. She had to catch this guy.

  “Why Bubba?” she asked. The sound of her voice surprised her. She had been wondering about the nickname from the moment she heard it, but she hadn’t meant to ask the question aloud. At least, not yet.

  Matt shrugged and turned his head slowly in her direction. “Bubba seemed to fit the Southern personality I had created. Once I said it out loud, it just sort of stuck.”

  “Should I call you that?” Makenna wasn’t sure what to call him. She knew him as Matt, but she also knew he’d been living under a different name for the last few years. How odd must that be? She didn’t even like nicknames though her old captain had called her Mac. He was the only one though.

  Matt appeared to think for a minute as the knuckles of his right hand ran down the side of his square jaw. She’d forgotten how solid he was, but now that he was in her car, it was hard not to notice how his broad shoulders filled every inch of the passenger seat and how the seatbelt accentuated his muscular chest.

  “Yeah, Bubba would be nice. It’s the only name that’s felt right since I quit being Matt.”

  “Was it hard to adjust?”

  The seatbelt groaned as it stretched with his deep breath. “It was at first. Especially leaving my life behind. How is my family anyway?”

  “They’re fine,” Makenna said, careful to keep her voice even, but she knew that was far from the truth. His parents had been devastated by Matt’s “death,” and the grief had aged them faster than they might have without it. She knew he probably had other siblings, but the only one she had ever met was Felicity, his sister who worked for a local doctor. She had grieved briefly, but then she had seemed to continue on as if nothing had happened. Perhaps, it was because of her job. Maybe her boss had given her counseling, but it had still given Makenna pause. His parents, however, would probably be overjoyed to see him now and know he was alive, but Makenna knew they would rain fire down on her for the lie, even if it had been a lie to keep him safe.

  “That was the hardest part,” he continued. Makenna breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn’t pressed about his family any further. “Not seeing my family and learning to respond to a different name. It’s not something I ever thought I would have to do, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I often felt like I was developing multiple personalities.”

  Makenna could understand that. Even though she knew he was the same person, the man sitting next to her was different from the one who had left five years ago. His voice was softer. His eyes carried a little more sadness. Even some of his mannerisms seemed different.

  “I’m sorry. I thought it was the best way to keep you safe.” She hated that she kept apologizing - it made the words sound trite - but what else could she say?

  He shrugged again and turned his face back to the window. “It probably was.”

  Silence filled the car, and Makenna forced her mouth shut. She wanted to ask him more questions. About the last few years, about what he remembered from the previous case, about how he was feeling, but she could tell he wasn’t ready to throw that door wide open yet.

  “Why do you think he started again?” Matt asked as he turned to her suddenly. No, not Matt. Bubba. He wanted her to call him Bubba, and she would try and honor that. The name felt weird in her head and she imagined it would on her tongue as well, but she would bury her discomfort for him. She owed him that much.

  Makenna shook her head but kept her gaze focused on the road in front of her. “I’m not sure. Something definitely triggered him. Maybe a death.” She paused, unsure if she should tell him the rest of the issue now or when they could look over the evidence.

  “What aren’t you saying?”

  Her eyes flicked from the road to meet his steely gaze. Now, it was. If he hadn’t become a firefighter, he would have made a great cop. “Something in the MO changed.”

  “A copycat?” Bubba asked.

  Makenna shook her head. “No, we’re pretty sure it’s the same guy. Same details. Fire started at an open window, gas for accelerant, single match found at the scene. Details we never released to the public.”

  “So, what’s changed?”

  “The victim. When he struck five years ago, all the victims were women. Except for you. Our current victim is another man.”

  “What does that mean?” Bubba asked as he shook his head.

  “We don’t know. We’re hoping maybe you can help us figure that out.”

  * * *

  Bubba swallowed the lump that clogged his throat as they passed the small green “Welcome to Woodville” sign. Conflicting emotions raged within him. On one hand, he was excited to see his parents and his sister, who still lived in the town, but coming back here also brought back a flood of memories.

  Bubba’s eyes snapped open. For a second, he wasn’t sure what had woken him, but then the odor hit his nose - the acrid smell of smoke. Light but definitely there. Once you’ve been in a burning building, the smell of the smoke never leaves you, and he had been in enough buildings to never mistake the scent no matter how faint it was. Then the soft crackle of the fire met his ears. He threw his covers back and could already feel the gentle tease of the approaching heat. Out! He had to get out.

  He touched the handle of his door and quickly pulled his hand back. An intense heat coated the metal. The fire was right outside of the door then. No opening the door to make it to an exit. No using his fire extinguisher to tame the fire. The idea of losing his house and belongings was sobering. Pictures of his family had been hung around the living room, and his favorite Toby Mac CD was probably melted into the coffee table his parents had bought for him when he first moved out. Even his computer, the Mac he had saved the last few paychecks to get, would be a puddle of melted plastic and metal, but they were just things. As much as he would miss them, things could be replaced, but he hadn’t started this fire. Someone else had. Someone who could be the same arsonist who had killed three women in fires recently. Someone who could still be around - watching, waiting to see if Bubba escaped. From his years in the department, Bubba knew many arsonists liked to stay and watch the fires.

  Bubba turned from the door and scanned his room. There wasn’t time to take much, but he could grab his cell phone and a pair of shoes. No need to destroy his feet as he climbed out of the window or ran to safety. Safety. Could the killer be out there? Waiting for him to open the window? He crossed to the window and peered into the darkness but saw no one waiting in the immediate vicinity. Still, what if the killer was waiting outside? He could be lurking in the shadows of the large oak tree. Just waiting and watching to make sure Bubba didn’t escape. He should have trimmed the tree or better yet removed it altogether, but how could he have known?

  It didn’t matter if the killer was out there. It was a chance he had to take. At least outside, he had a possibility of escape. If he stayed in this room, the smoke would choke him, and the fire would eat him alive. And he had no desire to become the fire’s victim.

  He grabbed his cell phone and threw on a pair of shoes, and then he opened the window and knocked out the screen. It would be a tight squeeze for his large frame, but he thought he would just fit.

  The cool night air sent a shiver down his back as it dispelled the heat he had felt just moments before. He should have grabbed a shirt too or a jacket. His feet hit the ground, and he stepped back. The fire had already claimed half of his house, and the flames licked closer to where he stood. With a final glance around him, Bubba shot off in the direction farthest from the fire’s origin. Only when he felt he was far enough away not to be seen or heard did he pull his cell phone out and dial 911.

  Bubba squeezed his eyes shut to dispel the images of the past and then took a deep breath. He could do this.

  “You okay?” Makenna asked beside him.

  “Yeah, just dealing with a few old demons.”

  She didn’t press the issue
for which Bubba was glad. He didn’t want to relive the nightmare out loud. He’d done enough of that in counseling when he’d first moved to Fire Beach. The therapist had been cleared and sworn to secrecy, but Bubba had still been relieved when the sessions ended.

  “I know you want to see your family, but I have a feeling it might be a long and emotional reunion, so do you mind if we hit the station first? I want to see what we’ve found out about our victim.”

  “Fine.” Bubba did want to see his parents and his sister, but he was nervous about it as well. He wouldn’t mind the extra time to prepare himself mentally. “Is anybody else from the old case still here?” An unspoken code existed among departments, and so even when he had been a suspect, most of the cops had treated him with respect, but there’d been one, an older, gruff man who had glared at Bubba every time he’d come around.

  “Just Tad Brewer. You might not even remember him because he was so new back then, but he’s my lieutenant now. Everyone else either retired or took a position in another town.”

  “Couldn’t handle the pressure of the investigation?” Bubba asked.

  She glanced at him as she pulled into the parking lot. “I’m sure that was the issue for a few of them - the ones who have always tied everything up with a nice bow. For the others,” she shrugged, “I think they thought a small town would be less work.”

  Bubba chuckled at that, but he bet she was right. Fire Beach couldn’t really be classified as a small town, but he had known a few people who had joined the fire department thinking it would be easy money only to find out they stayed relatively busy. Not Chicago busy, but not slow either.

  “You ready?” she asked as she turned off the engine.

  “As I’ll ever be, I guess.” Could one ever be ready for something like this? To step back into the fire after narrowly escaping with his life? What if the killer found out he was still alive and went after him again? No. Trust. He had to trust. He whispered a silent prayer as he put his hand on the door.