Caught in Flames

by Lexy Timms

  “The roses, you didn’t like them?”

  “Some bastard has a sick sense of humor.” She threw the glass vase in on top of the flowers, which now lie shredded in the bin. She stared at them when a thought hit her. “Uh, they were from you?”

  “Yeah,” he said, chuckling nervously. “I thought you liked white flowers, and I heard you were ill so I just stopped by...”

  “Oh.” Shit! Wait, what the hell? Becca felt that pit of fear in her stomach. The flowers were from Trevor, who seemed to know her more than she knew him. She started to back away slowly, smiling as she moved, hoping he wouldn’t follow. “Yeah, very ill. I should actually be lying down right now.”

  “Well let’s get you back into bed then.”

  Trevor had a smirk on his lips as he spoke, causing Becca to panic and look around the hall for something she could use to defend herself with. She never doubted her defense skills, but Trevor towered over her a little too much for her comfort. “I can manage, but thank you for the flowers.”

  “It’s no trouble. I want to see you safe in bed.” Trevor started walking toward her, his hand reaching out as if to grab her.

  Just then, Becca heard Sam’s voice coming from down the hall. “Becks, is that you? You okay?”

  “Sam!” Phew! “I’m feeling a little woozy.”

  Trevor smiled mischievously at Becca and winked at her. “Guess I’ll have to tend to you some other time. Maybe over dinner?”

  She smiled nervously in response, not sure if her paranoia had come from a gut feeling or because she was feeling ill. It was strange he was at the fire department. Did he come here just to drop flowers off?

  Sam came around the corner just as Trevor turned to go. They bumped shoulders and Sam jumped in surprise. “Sorry, man. Trevor? I didn’t know you were here.”

  “No worries. I just stopped by to check on Becca. See ya around, Sam.” Trevor headed around the corner, but not before waving at Becca. “Maybe we’ll do that dinner, eh?”

  Sam looked at Becca, confused, and nodded his head at Trevor. Becca just shook her head and gave him a worried look, waiting for Trevor to be out of earshot before she opened her mouth.

  Once she was positive he was gone, she spoke up, “I think I know who the arsonist is.”

  “That’s not funny, Becca.”

  “No seriously. I think its Trevor.”

  “Is that why he was here? Did he threaten you?” Sam shifted, as if ready to run down the hall and stop Trevor.

  “No. I don’t know.” The room began to spin and she suddenly had trouble breathing. “Ugh, I don’t feel good.”

  “Maybe you should lie down. You’re crazy pale.”

  “We could stop him, Sam, actually stop the arsonist.”

  “How do you even know its Trevor?” Sam didn’t look convinced.

  “Umm...”

  “Yeah, you want to be sure before you go accusing the guy.”

  “He’s good for it, I swear.”

  “Says the firefighter who fell over in shock over news of a fire.”

  Sam rolled his eyes at Becca as he helped her back to the cots, laying her down on it before he took a seat beside her. He scooped up her hand with both of his and held them in his lap.

  “Just get better, we’ll figure it out after. I don’t want you fainting in any more parking lots.”

  Becca nodded. She couldn’t find the strength to argue with Sam and she knew that he was only looking out for her. However, it seemed so obvious and she swore Trevor was tormenting her. Like a psychopath—at least it seemed like it.

  “Knock, Knock.” Luke was at the door, his head peeking in through the crack of the door. “Is it ok to come in?”

  “Luke, come on in.”

  Luke smiled and came in to the room, bringing a small bouquet of flowers and a single bottle of beer. “I heard you had a bit of a misstep outside. Everything all right?” He glanced at Sam as Becca quickly pulled her hand out Sam’s lap.

  “I’ll leave you two to it.” Sam stood and nodded his head toward Luke, heading for the door without looking back.

  That was weird. Becca turned her attention to the handsome guy beside her. She suddenly felt a little better. “Flowers and beer?”

  “Flowers to get well, beer because we never got that drink.”

  “Oh, crap. I totally forgot.”

  “It’s ok. It’s been a stressful few days. Anyway, I just came to drop these off, didn’t mean to scare Sam away.”

  “Nah, he’s fine. Probably off looking for a fire.”

  “Aren’t we all?” Luke grinned mischievously at Becca and she giggled. “We’ll I’ll let you rest. Don’t do too much too fast, or you’ll end up right back in bed.” Luke patted her knee and stood up, giving her a wink before heading for the door, leaving her alone in the overnight room.

  Except she had no desire to be alone. She counted to hundred twice, and then quickly jumped up and left the room, wanting to find Sam and talk to him about Trevor. She found him in the truck bay, leaning against one of the engines. He looked like he was... sulking?

  “You ok?” she asked.

  He jumped at the sound of her voice. “Where’d you come from?” Then he scowled as he gazed at her. “Shouldn’t you be ‘resting’?” He made air quotes as he said the word resting.

  “Probably, but I came to find you instead.” Knucklehead.

  “Oh, yeah? Why’s that?”

  “Why are you suddenly pissed at me?” Was he mad because they’d slept together? He probably regretted it now. Shit!

  “I’m not.”

  “You’re a crappy liar.”

  “Takes one to know one.”

  She stared at him, arms crossed over her chest. “Seriously? How old are you?”

  He glared back, his lips pressed in a thin line.

  “I want to talk to you about the arsonist.”

  “Would you just drop it, Becca? Even the Chief’s asked you to keep your nose out of it.”

  “But if I know who it is...”

  “Then the police will figure it out, too. They aren’t stupid.”

  “Maybe they are. Not asking fire professionals about fire is seriously stupid.”

  Sam threw his hands up and scoffed at her, shaking his head and pushing himself up off the truck. “If you’re so sure, why don’t you go tell them who it is right now?”

  “Because I’m not sure...” Suddenly it became hard to concentrate. She tried to finish her sentence, but felt lightheaded. “Sorry,” she mumbled, “I just feel a bit woozy. Gimme a sec.”

  “Whoa! Watch it, girl.” Sam was quick to grab a hold of her, keeping her upright while she found her balance. He moved a piece of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear, staring into her eyes. “Those damn pretty blues, eh? You make it impossible to stay mad.” He smiled sweetly at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her tight against his side. “We should get you home.”

  “Yeah, and food. We should get food.” She hadn’t eaten, that’s why she was dizzy. She ignored the burning in her cheeks. She never got sick, never acted like a big wimp, and here she was, passing out and being a useless twig. She needed to get a grip. Seriously.

  Sam laughed, shaking her gently as he walked her to the truck, making sure she climbed into the passenger side of the cab. He fastened her seatbelt. “Hold on a sec. I’ll be right back.” He closed the door and jogged back into the station.

  Becca leaned her head against the cool window. Maybe it was the Arizona heat, or the coming back, the lack of food, the absurd amount of alcohol, or dealing with white roses, or stupid Trevor. Who knew, maybe it was none of it, or maybe it was all of it. She just felt ill. Almost like the flu bug that hits for twenty-four hours and leaves you begging to be knocked out.

  Sam appeared on the driver’s side of her truck. He opened the door and climbed in. “Had to clear it with Chief to bring you home. You feeling okay?”

  “I think so.” She didn’t move her head from the
window-rest. “I think I caught some kind of bug.”

  He reached over to a semi-conscious Becca and dug through her pocket until he found the keys, and then started up the truck and drove off toward his apartment.

  Becca kept her eyes half-closed but opened them suddenly when she heard a sharp intake of breath from Sam. She looked up to see smoke. Familiar smoke. “Where’s the fire?”

  “I’m not sure. It’s close by my place.” He sped up and turned a corner sharply.

  The liquor store only one block from his apartment building was caught in a giant blaze, screams coming from inside. Sam slammed on the brakes and turned off the truck. He immediately ran toward the blaze, looking for somewhere he could slip into, in order to get inside.

  Becca tried to focus on him but she felt nearly delirious. There couldn’t be a fire. Liquor stores would blow up from all the alcohol. She heard him yell and realized he was on his phone.

  She squinted and tried to see where he was. He jumped into the window of the liquor store and called out for the people trapped inside. She struggled to focus but the heat felt like it was coming from inside the truck. She leaned over to ask Sam to turn on the air conditioner but fell over when her hand reached for Sam’s shoulder and it wasn’t there. Had he really run into a burning fire?

  She had an odd thought and wondered if she’d been drugged. Why would she be so off today?

  Just before she passed out completely, she saw a figure hovering over her. She could only make out the shadow of a man. Sam.

  She tried to sit up but couldn’t. “Sam, what happened?”

  She didn’t know if her words came out fully formed or if they were tired slurs, and she only became more confused when all she heard was a laugh in response. The laughter sounded familiar and she figured Sam was laughing at her clumsy self. “Home, please?”

  She drifted off, feeling safe that Sam was back with her and taking her home.

  Chapter 14

  “Oh, my friggin’ goodness! What the hell!”

  Becca could faintly hear the loud screaming of someone. She tried to wake herself up enough to understand the words, but her mind was moving too slowly.

  “Becca! Becca, wake up!” Sam shook her awake, over and over, until her eyes were starting to open. He pulled her eyelids back to ensure she was just asleep and not dead. “Becca, come on! Becca, wake up.”

  “Hmm, what? Are we home?”

  “Home? Seriously, Becca? Have you been unconscious this whole time?”

  “Huh, what?” She tried desperately to shake off the haze, but was only able to shake off enough to open her eyes and barely keep them open. They opened wider when they realized Sam was covered in soot.

  “Was there a fire?” She remembered vaguely but it all seemed such a haze.

  He wiped his brow, a line of black marking around his forehead. It looked really cute on him.

  She shook her head, the fog clearing by the moment, lifting and bringing slow reality back to her. “I don’t know what happened. I must’ve passed out.” She rubbed her eyes.

  “Where the hell did that come from?”

  Becca looked over to where Sam was pointing. She immediately opened her door and jumped out of her seat, struggling with her seatbelt until she ripped it off of herself. She stood outside of the truck, staring at the dashboard as she gasped for air and wrapped her arms around herself. “Th-That’s not mine.” Her teeth chattered as she fought down new waves of nausea.

  “How did it get into your truck?”

  Becca just shook her head, not wanting to believe it happened again. She wanted to close her eyes and make it all go away. But the flower stayed pressed in her memory, taunting her. Her body was shaking as she backed up and let herself fall on the curb.

  Sam was there in seconds wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “What the hell’s going on? You’re acting like you’ve been drugged.”

  “I don’t... I don’t know how it got in there.” She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the blackened and once-white rose.

  “Did you see who put it there?”

  Becca shook her head, wiping away a tear that had escaped the corner of her eye. The fresh air seemed to help her breathing. Even though it carried the smell of burning, it seemed to erase the fog and drowsiness.

  Sam stared at her and she finally tore her eyes from the truck and looked into his concerned, dark brown eyes. “You have to have some idea, Becks. Nobody randomly puts a burnt rose in someone’s vehicle. You’re being followed.” He glanced around.

  “I think the arsonist is taunting me.”

  His head swung back to her. “Why would they do that?”

  “I don’t know.” Becca sniffled and leaned her head to rest it on Sam’s shoulder. Sam squeezed her tight and let her curl into the crook of his arm.

  “Ok, let’s do it.”

  “Do what?” Becca lifted her head to look up at Sam, completely confused at what he was talking about.

  “Let’s track down this arsonist. Seems they’ve taken an interest in you. Big mistake, if you ask me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Nobody messes with Corey’s little sister.” His jaw clenched and the muscles near his cheekbones grew tight. “You think you can find him, right? You have an idea of who it is, don’t you? That’s why he’s taunting you today.”

  It wasn’t the first time. She wasn’t sure if she would tell him that. “But the police, the Chief, it would be stupid.”

  “Then let’s be stupid. Better than seeing you like this.”

  Becca smiled softly at Sam and placed her head back on his shoulder, wrapping both her arms around his side to squeeze him in a tight hug. “Thank you, Sam.”

  ‘Don’t thank me yet. I make a terrible detective.”

  Becca laughed sweetly, wiping away the wetness from her eyes.

  He touched the tip of her nose. “There we go, a smile. That’s what I wanted.”

  “You really think we can help catch him?”

  “Can’t hurt to try, right? Besides, you’re a very stubborn girl, you’d probably turn yourself in just so the police had someone.”

  Becca snorted and smiled, moving so she could hug Sam properly and kissed him on the cheek. “You’re the best.”

  “I know.”

  “And so modest.” Becca nudged him with her side and climbed up off of the curb. When she turned to the line of stores, she realized that the liquor store had caught on fire. Another station’s trucks were finishing off what was left of the blaze. “What the hell happened?” How had she not noticed the scent in the air? Or seen the people, fire, or trucks? She glanced at where she’d been sitting and realized the truck had covered her view. Maybe she had been drugged. She shook her head. It didn’t make sense. Who would have done that? And how?

  “Liquor store was on fire, three people inside. I saved them, don’t worry.” Sam was trying to be obvious about his modesty, grinning and holding his hands up to his chest, pretending to hold the sides of his coat as if he were the most heroic man alive.

  “My stupid hero,” Becca teased. Walking up and pressing her chest against Sam’s, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him sweetly on the lips.

  He groaned at the touch, as if it had ignited a fire instantly inside of him.

  She felt it, too. They were firefighters and she was more interested in flirting with her brother’s high school buddy? Yeah, she’d definitely taken something unknowingly. Still, it didn’t stop her from teasing him, “How shall I ever thank Sam the hero?”

  “I have a few ideas.” Sam wiggled his eyebrows and licked his lips, making Becca laugh again.

  “You’re terrible! You just climbed into a burning building with no gear and you’re already trying to jump me.”

  “Well, Corey did always say I was going to fight fires for the women.” Sam was still grinning as he wrapped his arms around Becca, his hands planted firmly on her rear and giving it a gently squeeze.

  “Alright, stud, l
et’s get you home. I think I’m going to walk, though...”

  Becca turned her head and stared at the rose ashes on her dashboard, her body cringing for only a moment before Sam pulled her eyes back to his and smiled.

  “A walk sounds good, fresh air and all.” He called out to the firemen and one of them waved in acknowledgement. “We can grab the truck later. We’re about a block from my place.”

  Becca nodded. Sam began walking beside her, leaning his arm down just enough to snake his hand into hers, lacing their fingers together and giving her a comforting squeeze. He inhaled deeply. “Doesn’t Phoenix have the best fresh air?”

  Becca snorted at Sam’s sarcasm, taking a deep breath of the air and grinning at him. “It has some sort of air; it could be considered fresh... kind of like air fresheners are fresh.”

  “Ah, the new and improved car freshener ‘Phoenix Mist’.”

  Becca laughed. “Burnt desert would be another one. Or burning cacti. So many choices.” She nearly tripped on her own feet as she laughed. Sam could turn a terrible moment into something okay. She knew she should be worrying about what had happened, but after trying to deal with losing Corey, it had become easier to push things she couldn’t handle away. Sex was a good distraction. She could focus on immediate gratification instead of the unbearable. She stumbled again when she turned to look at Sam’s handsome face.

  He grinned. “Am I going to have to carry you?”

  “Possibly. Firemen are good at that, right? At carrying people?”

  “You know the old term ‘fireman’s carry’, right?” When she nodded, he continued, “Well, at the station we each came up with a nickname for each of our own versions of carrying people.”

  “What’s yours?”

  He hesitated before answering. “Dorsal side up.”

  She started laughing. “Pardon?”

  “You heard me.” He tried to keep a straight face. “One time on a 9-1-1 call, this woman needed assistance getting out of a house. She couldn’t walk.”

  “Oh, was she injured?”

  His face reddened slightly. “Sort of. There wasn’t a fire.”

  Becca stopped walking. They were just outside his apartment but she wanted to hear his story. “And...?”