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"This is proof whoever started the fire was targeting Monica," Luke confirmed.
"Yes, and if you hadn't mentioned the possibility, there's a good chance I would've missed this. Exposures this close catch on fire all the time. I never would've thought to check over here. My primary focus would've been the main structure. This changes my report."
Well, son of a bitch. It was one thing to suspect Monica had been the target, but it was another altogether to learn the truth.
"I appreciate you taking the time to bring me out here to show me this."
They waited to finish their conversation until he and Brad climbed back down the ladder.
"I was hoping you were wrong,” Brad said. “It's quite devious to burn down another person's residence just to target their neighbor. I didn't want you to be right."
He hadn't wanted to be right. There was no telling what lengths Fletcher would go to and that was unnerving.
Luke's ringing phone interrupted them. Pulling it out of his pocket, Luke frowned when he saw who was calling.
"Excuse me a moment." Luke stepped away and answered. "Is everything okay?" Ryker rarely checked in during the day unless he asked for a report.
Fire alarms blaring through the speaker caught him off guard.
"Ryker?"
"Monica's missing."
He couldn't have heard his friend correctly. There was no way.
"I'm sorry. What was that?"
The alarm was only getting louder, instead of the fading that would signify a person was exiting the building.
"Monica is missing. She didn't come down with the rest of the staff when the alarms started going off. I went up to check while Dom stayed in the lobby but there's no sign of her."
"I'm on my way."
He couldn't comprehend anything other than Monica was missing. She was supposed to be safe. Ryker was stationed downstairs in the lobby, and Dom was outside watching the entrance. Building security wasn't allowing anyone upstairs unless their information was given to the front desk. Her place of employment was as safe as they could make it. But the building housed more than just Monica's company and one of the floors was under construction.
It was his biggest fear coming to life.
"I'm sorry, I need to leave." Luke wasn't talking to anyone in particular and he didn't care if he sounded rude. Monica needed him.
"Was that a fire alarm I heard going off?" Brad rushed to keep pace with him.
"Yes," he replied in a clipped tone. "It's going off at Monica's office building. They can't find her, so I need to go."
"I'll come with you."
Luke wasn't about to stop and argue; that would require wasting precious time he didn't have. If the fire marshal wanted to join him, then so be it. An extra set of hands was never a bad thing.
He was racing across town when Brad spoke again from his passenger seat. "Do they know if it's an actual fire or did someone just pull the alarm?"
Luke tried to think back to what Ryker had told him. He was ashamed to admit that after his friend uttered the word “missing,” he hadn't paid much attention to anything Ryker might have said.
"I'm not sure. I don't think Ryker gave me that information, but honestly, I was only concerned about the first sentence. Monica's missing is the only thing I could comprehend."
"What's the address? I can see what information I can find out before we get there."
Luke rattled off Monica's business address and then went back to focusing on his driving. He was only five minutes away, but traffic was at a standstill. Hadn't that been the reason Monica's client canceled earlier? That seemed like so long ago.
"Small fire on one of the floors that’s under construction," Brad explained a few minutes later. "The bulk of the fire was taken care of before the first company arrived and they are in the process of completing overhaul now. The chief was just about to call me. They’re thinking it was purposely set."
