Fire: Book 4 of the Mythical Beings Soulmate Series (Taehyung X Reader)

Chapter 6: "Or maybe we are just soulmates?"

Y/N POV:

"Damn it!"  I couldn't help but shout out as I studied the photos and paperwork in front of me.  Angelo and I had spent close to four hours at the yard, going over the remains of the boat with a fine-toothed comb.  We had found nothing.  The boat had been in the water too long and the fire had destroyed every piece of possible evidence, every thing that could have helped us figure out who had done this and maybe even what their next steps were.  The realization that this was going to be much harder than I had wanted pissed me off and I couldn't help but yank my hat off and sling it on the floor.

Staring down at the photos again, I tried to think of something, anything.  Tried to figure out what we could do to make things easier, but I knew that once the fire destroyed the evidence, there was no way to bring it back.  No way to figure it out and now we were stuck.  Stuck with a destroyed boat and nowhere to go from here.  Slumping down in my chair, I dropped my head back, trying to holding in the frustrated scream that was building up in the back of my throat.

"You good chick?"  Elena's voice was worried and when I looked up, she was standing in the door of my office, a cup of coffee in hand. 

"Not really.  That damn fire from the pier is making me crazy."  I dropped my head onto my desk with a thud, trying to think of something, anything.  A rustling sound caught my attention and I opened my eyes to see Elena shoving the papers aside and setting the coffee on my desk, instantly knowing I needed the caffeine.

"Here.  Drink this.  You might feel better after having some unhealthy amounts of sugar in your system."  Elena had a grin on her face and I gave her a grateful smile as I picked up the cup and took a sip.

It was sweet, just like I love it and I shook my head.  "You're right.  It does have unhealthy amounts of sugar in it, but that's okay with me."  Taking another sip, I set the cup on the desk then pulled the papers back over towards me, hoping I could look at them with a fresh eye. 

"Why don't you step away from it for a moment?  You need a break."  Elena's voice was insistent and I couldn't help but laugh. 

"I probably should, but I can't.  I have to figure this out.  Especially knowing this isn't the end of it all."  The message on the boat kept replaying through my head and I couldn't get it out my mind.  "They said this is going to be one of many.  I don't... don't want to see anyone get hurt and I have a feeling that if we don't stop them, someone could."

Elena came around the side of the desk, placing a hand on my arm.  "I know.  I know about him.  And you can't blame yourself especially since I know you do."

Surprised by her words, I whipped my head around.  I never spoke about Alex so the fact that she knew about stunned me.  He had died the year before I had applied for the fire investigations unit, his death being one of the reasons I needed to get out of the fire department and into a new field.  We had been in an office building downtown when the floor collapsed underneath him.  I tried to catch him, but it was too late.  By the time I could get anywhere close to him, he was gone.  The fall from the first floor to the basement wouldn't have killed him, but the falling lumber did. 

It was something I had nightmares about for close to a year before Antonio, his brother, insisted I go through therapy.  Antonio had also tried to convince me that Alex's death wasn't my fault, but I couldn't help but feel guilty, feel that there was something I should have been able to do.  Patting Elena's hand, I gave her another grateful smile, this one a little dimmer than before.  "Thanks.  I appreciate it."

Squeezing my shoulder, Elena left me to my thoughts, realizing I needed a moment to pull myself together.  I pulled the photos back and let out a sigh when a noise from the door caught my attention.  I looked up to see Angelo standing there.  "It's going to be okay.  We're going to figure it out."