On A Night Like This (Callaways #1)

long," his grandfather said. "They don't know yet. They don't know whether she'll even be able to come…" His voice cracked. "They don't know yet," he repeated, as if he couldn't bear to look further down the road. He got to his feet. "I need to get back. I don't want her to wake up and not see anyone she recognizes."
    "I'll walk you out," Jack said, accompanying his father out of the room.
    As they left, Lynda, Burke, Emma and Nicole turned their questioning eyes on him.
    "Where have you been?" Emma asked, breaking the silence first.
    "Why don't you ever return calls?" Burke demanded.
    "Let him talk," Lynda interrupted.
    "Are you all right?" Nicole asked.
    "And where's Sara?' Emma said.
    He put up a hand to slow down the questions. "First, I didn't return your calls, because I needed to figure some things out. Second, Sara is fine. She's at her house now, and then she's headed to the hospital to speak to her dad. Third, I've discovered some new information."
    Sara's plea to tell the truth had been going around and around in his head. Kyle had gone to great pains to keep his problem private, but Aiden didn't want to lie to his family. He'd seen the pain on Vicky's face when she'd realized her husband had been keeping his illness from her. And he'd seen the devastation in Sara's eyes when she'd realized her parents had kept something monumentally big away from her. The Callaways had always valued honesty. It was a code they lived by, and he didn't want to be the one to break that code.
    "Aiden," Lynda said gently. "Whatever it is, you can tell us."
    "I know. But what I have to tell you can't leave this room. And I'm not sure that's fair to ask."
    "Of course it is," Emma said. "We'll put it in the Callaway vault."
    "Just say what you have to say," Burke said.
    He looked into his older brother's eyes, knowing that he was probably the one most likely to understand the position Kyle had been in. "Kyle had an illness that he didn't want anyone to know about. It wasn't life threatening, but it was quite possibly career-ending. Unfortunately, his problem played a part in his death in a way that I'm sure he didn't expect. Vicky asked me to keep his secret, to protect his name. She wants her son's father to be a hero."
    "You can't do that," Burke said immediately. "You're putting your career on the line, Aiden. I understand that you want to protect Kyle and his family, but you have to think of your future."
    Burke had always been practical, able to cut emotion out of a decision, but it didn't seem nearly as cut and dried to Aiden.
    "Kyle wouldn't want you to suffer for what he did," Nicole said quietly. "You have to know that, Aiden."
    "It sounds like he kept a secret to protect his job. But as sad as it is, that's not an issue anymore," Emma said. "You have to tell the people he worked with."
    "You owe them that," Burke added. "If Kyle's illness was career threatening and it played into his death, then he jeopardized everyone on his team by hiding it. This isn't just about clearing your name, Aiden. Your fellow firefighters need to know the truth, because you're not the only one blaming yourself. I guarantee each and every one of them is asking themselves if they could have done something differently." He paused. "But you already know that, Aiden."
    He did know what he needed to do, but Burke's impassioned speech had solidified his decision. He couldn't let anyone else carry the guilt of Kyle's death, not when he knew what had really happened.
    "Burke is right," Emma put in. "Everyone who knew Kyle is hurting, and one of the reasons you got the blame, was because they needed to point the finger at someone else besides themselves."
    "Listen to your sister, she's smart," Burke said.
    Emma smiled. "About time one of you big lugs figured that out."
    "Hopefully you're being smart when it comes to your own job," Burke added.
    Emma's smile faded. "Of course. Has someone said differently?"
    "No, but I know you, and these latest fires are hitting a little too close to home. I heard that Sister Margaret is missing, and her disappearance is suspicious, which might mean that your firebug may have jumped from arson to murder."
    "God, I hope not," Emma said. "At least you aren't suggesting that Sister Margaret had something to do with the fire at St. Andrew's like that annoying Inspector Harrison."
    "Just be careful."
    "I am being careful. I really hope that Sister Margaret is okay and that her disappearance is not connected to the fire,