Free On Fire by Sylvia Day

knowing it was fucking him up, he couldn’t stay away.
    Trish straightened, frowning at him. “I’ll be interested in hearing your thoughts when you get through surveying all three scenes. On paper, I’m missing the connection. I find it odd that the subject would be so meticulous in his timing and the creation of the incendiary devices, and yet so random in his location choices.”
    “Join the club.” Jared pushed his shades onto his face. “Once we find the connection, we’ll crack this case wide open.”
    Darcy said good-bye and moved back to her car. He was right behind her. They headed to the fire station to change vehicles. It was just Jared’s luck that the guy he least wanted to see approached Darcy the moment they entered the building.
    “You didn’t have to come in on your day off,” Ralston said asshe searched the rack on the wall for the keys to the department’s truck. “I can help Deputy Cameron with whatever he needs.”
    Jared smiled grimly. The easiest card Darcy could have played to gain some distance was one she hadn’t used—she wasn’t working today. He took it as a good sign, as far as signs went.
    “Actually, Inspector,” Jared replied, “we could use your help reining Sheriff Miller in. He’s pushing for a press conference, which will either feed the ego of our subject, run him off, or both.”
    Ralston sighed. “The last thing we need is media scrutiny. We’d never get anything done. We know that all too well. Don’t we, Darcy?”
    “He’ll listen to you, Jim. You have a way with people.”
    “Chris will listen to you, too. He’s still got a soft spot for you. Don’t suppose you noticed that he keeps a picture from prom in his office.”
    “Oh, God. I didn’t want to know that. I’m going to take Deputy Cameron up to the Animal Friends site, then back around to the Sweet Spot.”
    Stepping closer, Ralston lowered his voice and said, “Let me take care of the one for you. You shouldn’t have to go up there again.”
    She exhaled harshly. “It’s okay. You’ve got to deal with Miller, and Deputies Cameron and Morales need to make as much progress as possible before we have another blaze. The sooner we get through the sites, the better. I’ll be all right.”
    “You keep saying that, darlin’, but sayin’ it doesn’t make it so.”
    Jared took a step forward, reminding the other man that he was there. He did nothing overt, didn’t reach out to Darcy or make any proprietary moves. He didn’t have to. The look he shot the inspector said it all and more—evolution hadn’t altered the silent communication between males.
    Ralston sized him up again. There was no challenge in the once-over he gave Jared. Just quiet, calm curiosity.
    “I can do this,” Darcy said, oblivious to the exchange taking place over her head. “I probably need to.”
    Ralston glanced at her again. “Okay. I just don’t want you pushing yourself into something you might not be ready for.”
    She responded with more assurances, then asked, “Do you know where the truck keys are?”
    “Mitch had it around back, giving it a wash.”
    They went to collect the truck, with Darcy explaining that aside from two trained EMTs on payroll, the other firemen were local volunteers. “Mitch Quinn is one of the most active,” she said as they rounded the corner and found a trim blond man in dark blue uniform drying off the pickup. “I’m hoping he’ll get a permanent position if the city ever approves a budget increase. He deserves it.”
    She made quick introductions, then hopped in the cab, raring to go. They cleared the town quickly, then turned off the coastal highway and began climbing into the wooded area that scaled one end of the U-shaped ridge of hills that hugged Lion’s Bay to the ocean. Darcy’s knuckles turned white on the steering wheel and her lips thinned. Mentally, she drifted away from him, became lost in some thought or memory that absorbed all of her vitality.
    “Tell me