Riverbend Road. RaeAnne Thayne

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СКАЧАТЬ could have endangered others.”

      “How?” she demanded.

      “You turned off your radio, didn’t you? You had no idea what the status of the other responding personnel might have been. Nor did we have anybody on scene to provide status reports on the fire until the first engine rolled up.”

      She had no answer to that, especially not when he reached down and unclipped her radio from her shoulder. When he turned the dial up the air was immediately filled with voices and static as Chief Gallegos and his team communicated through the airwaves with dispatch about their needs.

      “I made a judgment call,” she said. It sounded weak, even to her. Okay, maybe she had ignored department policy, but those two boys chattering to the EMTs were proof that her judgment call had paid off.

      “The wrong one. I’ll see you in seven days,” he answered tersely, then turned and stalked over to the fire command center.

      * * *

      CADE HAD NEVER been more angry.

      The fury prowled through him, harsh and wild like the fire burning through Darwin Twitchell’s dilapidated barn.

      He had to be able to trust her to do exactly what he asked. Out of all six officers in this small ragtag Haven Point police department, he trusted Wynona most. She was smart, hardworking, compassionate and insightful.

      She had natural instincts and seemed to always find the perfect way to allay any tense situation, from drunk altercations down at the Mad Dog tavern to hot tempers between neighbors.

      He figured she came by those instincts naturally, since she was fourth-generation law enforcement in these parts.

      He didn’t want to suspend her, especially not when they were in the middle of their busiest time of the year with the summer tourist season heading into full swing. But what alternative did he have? This wasn’t the first time she had ignored his orders but he vowed it would be the last. He wasn’t a control freak but he had to know that his officers would follow the chain of command.

      He glanced back at the ambulance. She looked so fragile and vulnerable sitting there in the grass, her cheek sooty and strands of wheat-colored hair slipping free of the thick braid she always wore on duty.

      Beneath his anger lurked something else, something he didn’t want to look at too closely. He only knew that he couldn’t remember ever feeling that bone-deep fear that had sent him racing out of the station to his vehicle and then bulleting through town to the fire scene.

      She was a police officer. One of his police officers. He would have worried about any of his guys who stopped responding while out on a call.

      He put it away when he saw Erik Gallegos heading in his direction.

      “What’s the status?” he asked the fire chief.

      “Barn looks like it’s going to be a total loss,” Erik answered. “Old thing was about to fall over anyway, next time a stiff wind blew off the lake. At this point, my crew is just trying to put out the flames and make sure it doesn’t spread to the undergrowth.”

      “That a concern?”

      Erik shrugged. “Not really. All the rain we’ve had the last few weeks has reduced the threat level for now, but you never know.”

      Cade hoped they had another six or seven weeks before fire season hit, especially since some places in the higher elevations were still covered in snow.

      The chief jerked his head toward his EMTs. “Wynona okay?”

      He followed the other man’s gaze, where Wynona was smiling and saying something to the younger of the Keegan boys. “Seems to be.”

      He thought about leaving the situation there but figured word would spread soon anyway and he might as well get out in front of it.

      “I gave her a week’s suspension for disobeying a direct order and for turning off her comm.”

      Erik snorted. “Seriously? Harsh. You know you would have done the exact same thing.”

      That was different, though Cade couldn’t quite pin a finger on why. “Your guys were four minutes behind her. She should have waited for somebody who could search the premises wearing proper gear.”

      “Four minutes is a long time for two scared little boys,” the fire chief said.

      Cade still knew he had made the right call. That had been four minutes of hell he never wanted to live through again, trying to raise her on the radio, then rolling up to the scene a half minute before the fire crews to find the place engulfed and no sign of her.

      When she had burst out of that door seconds later like she was some kind of freaking avenging angel, carrying two kids with smoke and flames pouring out behind her, his blood had turned as cold as a jump into Lake Haven in January.

      His stomach still felt hollow and shaky.

      “It could have been a hell of a lot worse, if not for Wyn. I’ll take a little mild smoke inhalation and a broken ankle over the alternative.”

      “Yeah. I know.”

      “Lindy-Grace and Ron are both on their way. I asked Ed and Terri to wait a minute longer for the boys’ parents to make it here before they roll out to Lake Haven hospital.”

      Erik gave him a careful look. “You going to refer the boys to juvie court for trespassing and vandalism?”

      “We can cross that bridge eventually.”

      He should probably have a word with the boys before they left the scene. He could always catch them at the hospital or after they were discharged, but in his experience, time sometimes had a way of distorting the truth.

      He should have remembered his duty, first and foremost. Yet another reason to be pissed at Wynona.

      He headed back toward the ambulance. She had risen from the grass and now leaned into the rear of the ambulance trading jokes with the boys, who still looked small and frightened.

      He had gone to school with their mom, Lindy-Grace, and considered her a friend. She was a sweetheart who threw the best barbecues in town and often dropped off baked goods at the police station.

      He had heard rumors that LG and Ron were going through a trial separation. That must be tough on the boys. He didn’t want to pile it on when they were already scared and one was injured, but he really did have a job to do, trying to find out what happened.

      When he neared the ambulance, Wyn gave him a wary look and stepped aside, as if afraid he was going to yell at her again. He ignored her and stuck his head into the ambulance.

      “Hey, boys. How we doing in here?”

      The older one—Caleb—paled another shade when he spotted him. The EMTs must have given him something for the pain of his ankle, which was encased in an inflatable splint. “Are you gonna take us to jail because we started the fire, Chief Emmett?” he asked.

      “We didn’t mean to do it,” the younger boy whimpered before Cade could answer. СКАЧАТЬ