Arson & Ache: A MFM Firefighter Romance (Surrender to Them Book 8)

by Kelli Callahan

  I was pretty sure that starting a fire and then leaving before it was out was not in the job description for Kincaid and Donovan, but that’s exactly what they did. The left a fire burning in my panties to go put one out. I wasn’t upset, because I knew that was their job, but I couldn’t help but be disappointed that our date was cut short. It was supposed to be a celebration. Instead, the serial arsonist decided to ruin it. After they were gone, I went back to my apartment and called my Dad. He was just as excited as my Mom and told me how proud he was of my accomplishment. I didn’t get off the phone without promising to come visit as soon as I could so we could go out to dinner as a family. I was definitely going home for Christmas, but I figured I could squeeze in at least one visit before then.

  That reminds me, I still need to get my brother something for Christmas. I guess I’ll be able to afford something better next year.

  My mind was still reeling from the kisses I shared with Kincaid and Donovan. It was like my fantasy brought to life, yet it was not imaginary. Kincaid kissed me with so much force and passion that he might have bruised my lip, but damn if it wasn’t the hottest thing that had ever happened to me—right before Donovan crushed my still-numb lips and made my head spin. I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t have been a virgin by the end of the date if we hadn’t been interrupted. I had never felt desire like that, and it was enough to make me question every ounce of morality I thought I had. I was seconds from agreeing to crawl into bed with both of them. I fantasized about it. Why couldn’t it become reality? Maybe dating was overrated. I might ruin any chance of building a relationship with them, but one night of mind-blowing passion could be worth it.

  How many girls can say they lost their virginity to two gorgeous firefighters? It would be one hell of a way to get my cherry popped.

  I was coming into my own at Livingston Capital and it seemed that I might finally get to embrace my sexuality too. What would I do when I was managing an account that made me rich enough to buy the apartment building I was currently staying in? Would that change me? I already had more confidence in myself. I danced with two guys at the same time—kissed two guys—wanted them to take me to bed. Feeling successful and desired at the same time was such a new feeling, but I liked it. I might even want to sit in Ms. Stone’s seat one day—although I would be a lot nicer to the people around me. Maybe that wasn’t reality either. Maybe the success would make me an ice queen too. I definitely needed to take advantage of the opportunity to heat things up if that was the case. Once I started my new job, I would be extremely busy. I might not even have time for one guy—much less two.

  I’ll just have to find the right balance…

  The next day

  “Why is everyone whispering so much?” I walked up to my desk and looked over at Hannah.

  “You haven’t heard?” Her eyes nearly bulged out of her head. “That serial arsonist guy—Fireball? He set Mr. Livingston’s house on fire last night!”

  “What!?” My eyes bulged more than Hannah’s and I almost dropped Ms. Stone’s coffee. “Is he okay?”

  “Yeah, but one of his maids didn’t make it.” Hannah’s face twisted into a pained grimace. “She’s Fireball’s first actual victim.”

  “Damn.” I put down Ms. Stone’s coffee and sat down behind my desk.

  That was where Kincaid and Donovan were headed last night. I should text them to see if they’re okay.

  “There was another fire in his neighborhood too. People are saying there was some sort of loud boom, like a bomb almost.” Hannah sighed and looked down at her desk.

  “That’s crazy…” I shook my head back and forth.

  Ms. Stone was in an unusually somber mood when she arrived, and I understood why. She took her coffee and immediately went to her office. I loaded up the reports that I needed to work on during the day and noticed that some of the funds we invested in had dropped when Wall Street opened. An article on the front page of the website that I frequented for news mentioned that there was concern—and rightfully so it seemed. The other house that was set on fire in Mr. Livingston’s neighborhood belonged to a hedge fund manager—one that had previously worked for Livingston Capital before he ventured out on his own. I didn’t recognize the name, but I had to assume some of the people at the office knew him. Thankfully, he wasn’t home when the fire started, and there were no additional casualties.

  “Uh oh.” Hannah looked up and I noticed that her face was pale.

  “What?” I raised my eyebrows inquisitively.

  “Fireball sent out another letter.” She turned back to her computer screen.

  Dear New York,

  Are your eyes open? Do you relish in your sins? The time of repentance has begun. A martyr has given their life for the Cleansing. Those who associate with the greedy are just as guilty as the ones who crush society for their own gain. Destruction for profit is unacceptable. The world cries for your loss, and I laugh at your misery. Monuments of greed are trophies for the weak. My strength is in the flames that consume them. Did you see my message? Do you hear it now? I’ll keep spelling it out for you until I’ve taken the last bloodstained penny from the grasp of those that make children cry. Separate yourself your idols unless you want to burn alongside them.

  -Fireball

  “This guy is freaking crazy!” I shook my head in disbelief as I read the letter that had been published. “I don’t understand what he’s trying to do.”

  “Yeah.” Hannah nodded quickly. “It can’t be a coincidence that he burned down Mr. Livingston’s house and someone that used to work here. I’m honestly quite terrified.”

  “I need to take an early lunch. Please cover for me.” I grabbed my purse and started to stand.

  “Where are you going?” Hannah blinked in surprise. “We haven’t even done the morning reports!”

  “I need to talk to someone.” I rushed towards the elevators as fast I could go on heels without falling on my face.

  I decided to just go see Kincaid and Donovan at the fire department instead of texting them. I was concerned that Fireball was hitting people that worked in the same industry I did. He was just a public nuisance to me when I heard people around the office talking about his letters, but Mr. Livingston owned the company I worked at. I didn’t know if Fireball had targeted the hedge fund manager who lived in Mr. Livingston’s neighborhood because he used to work at Livingston Capital or not, but it seemed to be more than a coincidence. I assumed Kincaid and Donovan already had that information, but I was curious to know if they had anything they could share with me. If nothing else, I wanted to at least see that they were safe. Even if they weren’t running into the buildings, there was still danger. The fire department was a bit of a madhouse when I arrived, but I quickly spotted Kincaid and Donovan at the back of the station in the area set aside for the investigators.

  “Marissa!” Donovan looked up at me as I approached and immediately smiled. “What are you doing here?”

  “I bet I can guess.” Kincaid walked over and gave me a hug. “We were going to call, but things got busy.”

  “Yeah.” I leaned back from his embrace and then hugged Donovan. “Fireball set Mr. Livingston’s house on fire!”

  “And another guy that used to work for your company.” Donovan nodded and sighed. “We’re still digging through stuff, but I’m not sure we’re going to find any clues.”

  “Do you guys think other people at Livingston Capital should be worried?” I looked back and forth between them. “The letter he wrote was pretty ominous.”

  “The police are finally invested in the case, and they’re going to be meeting with Veronica Stone later today.” Donovan nodded. “I wish I could tell you that there’s nothing to worry about, but we really don’t know what Fireball will do next.”

  “At least you’re not a billionaire yet.” Kincaid’s lips form a slight smile. “That should keep you off his radar for a few years.”

  Glad they can joke about it…

  “I kno
w it’s a bad timing, but I did have fun with you two before you got pulled away last night. Do you think you’ll be able to pull yourself away at some point this week, so we can try to finish our date?” I tilted my head to the side.

  “I think we’ll be busy—as much as that pains me to say.” Kincaid sighed. “Why don’t we try for Saturday night? I will be cross-eyed by then if I don’t get a break.”

  “I could do that.” I smiled and nodded.

  “Thanks for stopping by. It really is good to see you. We just have a ton of work to do right now.” Donovan pointed at a stack of files. “We’re going through everything from the beginning—probably with similar results, but we have to keep trying.”

  “Yeah.” Kincaid nodded in agreement. “Then we have to go sift through the houses that were hit last night. We couldn’t do anything this morning because the bomb squad wanted to check everything over just to be safe.”

  “Do they know what caused the explosion?” My eyebrows raised with concern.

  “They think the owner was storing something in the basement that was extremely flammable. Forensics aren’t back yet, but that’s what the bomb squad guy said. Fireball probably just set a regular fire and got quite a surprise. Thankfully, he hasn’t graduated to using actual bombs—yet.” Kincaid sighed and sat down behind his desk.

  “Alright, I need to get back to work. I’m glad your both safe.” I nodded and hugged them both again. “Send me a message and let me know for sure about this weekend.”

  “Will do.” Donovan nodded and held my hand for a second after our embrace. “Maybe we should skip the bar this time—find somewhere a little more intimate?”

  “I like the sound of that.” I grinned and nodded.

  I like the sound of that a lot. Things were just getting good when they got pulled away.

  I headed back to the office after my visit with Kincaid and Donovan and tried to quell some of the concern that was making my stomach churn. I didn’t feel any better about the fact people close to Livingston Capital were targeted, but at least I wasn’t worried that other people in the office were immediate targets. Mr. Livingston wasn’t just wealthy, he was closing in on Bill Gates for a spot at the top of the charts for the richest people in the United States. The other guy left Livingston Capital to start his own hedge fund and while he wasn’t as rich as Mr. Livingston, he probably had enough money in the bank to make Ms. Stone nod in appreciation. They were big fish—and I was kind of glad the rest of us were minnows compared to the two of them.

  At least I don’t feel like I’m in any immediate danger. I’ll keep telling myself that every time I get worried.

  Donovan

  A few days later

  Fireball was silent after his two fires on the night of our date. Kincaid and I sent some samples to the police department since they were finally helping with forensics and waited for the FBI to show up. A couple of days later, Chief Vance got the call—but it wasn’t the one we were expecting. Homeland Security had a potential terrorist threat that they were dealing with and had a number of agents on standby to assist. Once again, Fireball just wasn’t important enough to warrant the extra attention we needed to figure out who the fuck he was. I was looking forward to the weekend, because despite all the work we were doing, I felt like we were spinning in circles. A date would be nice, especially since I was pretty sure I knew where the last one was headed before we were interrupted.

  “Any word on the samples we sent over to Detective Lewis?” I walked over to Kincaid’s desk and sat down.

  “No.” He shook his head back and forth. “We should know something later today though. I’ll let you know.”

  “I don’t know how you do this every day. I’ve been at it less than a week and I feel like my brain is fried.” I took a sip of my coffee and put it on the edge of his desk. “Caffeine isn’t helping.”

  “It definitely isn’t what I had in mind when I accepted the position. I knew I would have a few tough cases, not I didn’t expect anything like this.” Kincaid sighed and looked down at his desk. “Sometimes I wonder if Chief Vance should have just asked to have a senior investigator moved here instead of giving this case to me.”

  “Don’t think like that.” I reached for my coffee while shaking my head in disagreement. “He knew you would put more work into this case than some guy nearing retirement. This is your case, no matter what. We’re going to figure it out.”

  “I hope so, and I hope we find something in these case files before another fucking fire—hey, I think your phone is buzzing.” Kincaid pointed over to my desk.

  “Oh? Yeah, thanks.” I reached over and grabbed my phone.

  It was my stepmother calling. My father had been rushed to the hospital after having chest pains. It wasn’t a heart attack, but they were keeping him overnight and there was a chance he could need surgery to repair a valve. I immediately grabbed my stuff, told Kincaid what was going on, and rushed to my car. Family came first—even if the world was burning down around me. I might not have been very close with my Dad, but I still cared about him. If something was going on and they were discussing surgery, I definitely had to be there. Luckily, he lived in upstate New York, so it wasn’t that bad of a drive once I got out of the city and hit the interstate. It was close enough that I should have visited more often, but I always seemed to have an excuse. I felt bad about that when I parked outside the hospital and walked into the emergency room.

  “Abby!” I walked up to my stepmother. “How is he?”

  “I’m still waiting on the doctor to come back out and talk to me.” She sighed and shook her head. “I think they’re moving him to a room now that he’s staying the night, but it hasn’t happened yet.”

  “Fuck!” I stared at the floor and grumbled under my breath. “I’ve been telling him for years those cigarettes were going to kill him.”

  “He tried to quit, but you know how he is.” She exhaled sharply. “Hey, have you heard from your sister?”

  “No?” I titled my head to the side. “Isn’t Janine still living with you guys?”

  “She moved out a few months ago and I haven’t been able to get in touch with her since your Dad was admitted.” Abby pulled out cell phone and checked it. “Maybe she’ll answer if you call.”

  Damn, it really has been a while since I’ve visited my Dad.

  I tried to call Janine, but it just went to voicemail. Sandy and I used to be really close when we were kids, but we drifted apart as we got older. I moved to New York City after high school and eventually ended up at the fire department. She decided to come stay with me after she graduated and ended up working at Livingston Capital. She was always really good with numbers, so I wasn’t surprised that she was drawn to the stock market and the potential to make real money utilizing what came naturally to her. She just didn’t have tough skin, and a woman like Victoria Stone was able to easily get under her skin. After she decided to leave Livingston Capital, she ended up in therapy, and moved back in with my Dad. That’s where I thought she still was, so I was a little concerned when I found out that she moved—especially since I didn’t even know she was gone.

  “Yeah, I got her voicemail too.” I walked back over to Abby and sat down. “I’m sure she’ll get the message when she checks her phone.”

  Outside of Janine, all of the people who still cared about my Dad were present in the emergency room. I had no idea where my Mom was. She left when we were kids and while I was over the resentment I used to feel, I had never really tried to look for her. Not that she would have come—unless she wanted to cheer on my Dad’s untimely demise. She was just one of many broken hearts he left along the way, but I never understood how she could abandon her children after her husband cheated on her. I blamed my Dad for destroying our family when I was old enough to understand what happened, but I still cared about him. At least he was there and did the best he could to provide us with what we needed, as long as we didn’t need a fucking role model. That was one thing he would neve
r be.

  The next day

  My Dad was moved to a room late in the evening, and we were finally able to go and see him. It was after visiting hours, but the hospital staff was kind enough to make an exception. He seemed to be in good spirits, despite the circumstances. The doctor decided that the valve didn’t need to be operated on immediately but wanted to see him in again in three months to make sure things weren’t getting any worse. If he changed his diet and stopped smoking, it might be manageable with medication. I wasn’t sure if my Dad was going to actually follow the doctor’s orders, but I made him swear that he would. I even made a quick trip to a store nearby and bought him an electronic cigarette so that he could at least wean himself off the cancer sticks if he really wanted to. Abby promised that she would lock him in a cage if he didn’t follow the doctor’s orders—he might have finally found a woman that was his match. I just hoped he treated her better than the last women he gave his last name too.

  “Your sister just called me. She’ll be here this afternoon.” Abby walked into the concession area near my father’s room and poured a cup of coffee.

  “Good.” I let out a sigh of relief and checked my phone. “I wonder why she didn’t call me back?”

  “She said she was busy last night. Honestly? She sounded hungover.” Abby’s face twisted into a grimace.

  “Great…” I shook my head back and forth. “As much as I’d like to see her, I need to get back to the city. I’m working on a big case and I can’t stay away too long.”

  “I’ll call you if anything changes with your Dad. I think he’ll be fine now.” She nodded and walked over for a hug. “Thank you so much for coming. He really does love you, even if he doesn’t say it much. He tells me all the time that he’s proud of the man you’ve become.”