Captain Bennett nodded and pulled his phone from his pocket. “I want to show you two some pictures.” His tone and demeanor were out of character for him. What was going on?
He turned his phone around and showed them. A blazing inferno filled the screen. “Swipe left.”
Liam took the phone and moved so they could look together. “That’s the slaughterhouse.”
Liam swiped through two similar photos before he landed on a photo of the cold storage. It was still standing. The flames had been put out.
“Keep going,” Captain said.
The next photo was taken in the hallway that Dean had led her down. There were some scorch marks on the ground, where gas had been poured and lit on fire. The damage was inconsistent with what she knew about fires. Her heart thudded in her chest.
The next photo was of the open room containing the freezers. There were still puddles of gasoline all throughout the room.
But there were no burn marks.
Sam gasped. “It should have burned.”
Liam’s gaze was focused on the photo. “It was God.”
Sam shook her head. “What?”
“God protected you and the girls. Just like He led me to you.” Liam shrugged. “I’m sure forensics will go through there, and they’ll tell us some scientific reason why it didn’t burn up and why you all survived. But by natural means or otherwise, God saved you.”
“You think so?” Had God been in the midst of it all this whole time?
“I believe He saved you.” Liam nodded. “When I got there, both buildings were on fire. I didn’t know which one to choose. I was afraid of being wrong. God nudged me to the right building and to the right freezer so that I could get you all out.”
There was no use in denying it. She hadn’t been alone in that warehouse, just like she hadn’t been alone all along.
“Sam, God was looking out for the four of you today,” Captain Bennett said.
A tear rolled down her cheek. She looked to Liam. “God really did protect us today. He’s been holding on to me this whole time, and I’m finally seeing it.”
Liam brushed her tear away with his thumb. Relief softened his face.
Peace that could only come from God settled over her—steady, quiet, real. “I’m so grateful.”
Liam handed the phone back to Captain Bennett. “Thank you, sir.”
The captain stood. “I’ll leave you two alone for now, but there will be an official investigation into both fires. The fire marshal will be in touch.”
All she could do was nod.
He let himself out of the room.
“Liam, what does all of this mean?” she asked.
He looked her in the eyes and cupped her face with his free hand. “It means God has a plan for your life, and He wasn’t going to let Dean or anyone else interfere.”
“I still feel like I have so many questions. So much to learn. And yet, at the same time, somehow I feel…peace.”
Liam smiled. “That’s actually a pretty good description of faith.”
She reached over and slid her hand across his cheek. “Will you help me?”
Pain flashed in his eyes, and he gulped like her touch cut him open.
Was it pity? Regret? Or something deeper—something she was too afraid to hope for?
