Chapter 7

Rawlings didn’t grab me. He didn’t have to. He just laid it out in that soft, reasonable chief’s voice that made my skin crawl.

“Sean stole charity funds,” Rawlings said smoothly. “We have the bank transfers and audit records in my office. He hid evidence from a fatal fire. He threatened a fellow officer. If you go public with that notebook, I’ll make sure the state’s attorney hears how you broke into a firehouse locker and stole department property.”

Sean stepped forward, placing his arm between us. “Leave her out of it.”

“You should have thought of that before you played hero.” Rawlings turned his cold gaze back to me. “Give me the ledger. I’ll let Sean resign quietly on medical leave. You keep your job at dispatch. Micah keeps his school. Everyone moves on.”

I looked at Sean. His eyes were wet, his jaw clenched tight against despair. He gave me a small, broken nod-a silent permission to save myself and Micah. I almost handed it over. The sheer weight of the threat pressed down on my chest until I couldn't breathe.

Then I thought of Drew’s voice on the recording: Tell Nora I’m sorry. Tell Micah-

Drew hadn't hidden. He had walked into danger to stop this man from killing other firefighters with rotten gear. He had wanted Micah to know the truth, not a cowardly lie bought with silence.

“No,” I said.

Rawlings’s face hardened into stone. “Then you’ll all burn.”

Sean lunged forward, tackling Rawlings into the metal lockers. One of Rawlings’s men hit Sean viciously in the stomach, dropping him to his knees. I bolted through the side door into the rain. Tuck was waiting in the alley with his truck, engine running and passenger door open. I jumped in, and we tore out of the lot while Rawlings shouted into his phone.

By noon, the fire department had announced an internal investigation into Captain Sean Ellis for theft and suspected arson. By evening, my landlord had called about an immediate eviction over a missed payment. By ten, a marked police cruiser was parked outside my duplex.

I called the state fire marshal’s office again. This time I gave my real name. Then I took Micah and the ledger to Tuck’s cabin and didn’t sleep a single minute.

The next morning, the marshal called back. She wanted a meeting. She wanted the notebook. She wanted Nora Ellis to testify.