Smoked and Smitten (The Titans of South Side Book 1)

by Carson Mackenzie

  I looked down at the paper and my eyes kinda bugged out and I looked up and blushed and said, “Stand up and move one chair to the left if you and your current lover has ever had sex at his office or place of work.”

  A few ladies stood up and Fi did as well, doing the same dance. I took a deep breath and then stood up and Serena screamed and laughed loudly. “Look at my boy being all adventurous.”

  I put my paper to my face and then sat down and looked around as the women were laughing and talking. Fi still dancing around, and looking carefree, Serena and Milana laughing as they put their arms around each other. It was awesome. Then I looked at Mona who was staring at me. I reared back when I saw the look of hatred in the woman’s eyes. What the hell? I had never seen someone look so intently full of hatred before. I stared at her for a few moments and then shifted my eyes slowly around the room. Everyone was still laughing, but the tone of the room changed with the obvious tension coming off Mona. Fi leaned forward and grabbed my hand and squeezed. I smiled and turned to her and nodded. She looked worried.

  “Well, now I will go over the questions quickly and then I will go out into the main room, and Fi will choose who to have come out one by one until you all get your chance to order,” I said and the women all nodded.

  I stood and pointedly ignored Mona whose eyes were following my every movement. Fi was watching the woman with a sharp angry look on her face, and Serena and Milana looked at little shaken. There was that much hatred running through the room coming from her to me.

  Chapter Twelve

  Kian

  “You’re really going to do it, bro?” Fergus said and slapped me on the back.

  “No, numbnuts, he spent a fortune to have that little box sit in his underwear drawer,” Brodie said and shook his head.

  “Was I talking to you, asshole?” Ferg said and glared at Brodie. “Christ, Brodie, what the fuck is wrong with you?”

  “Cuz, you still working that case?” Lanz asked as he looked over at Brodie.

  “Which one? I finish one and the ink is dry on the closed stamp before another one is on my desk,” Brodie said and rubbed his hand over his head, then down his face. “Got told by the captain today that the Deputy Chief is giving us one more week to come up with anything new on those three women murdered and then it is going into the cold case files.”

  “You can’t beat yourself up, Brodie. Shit fucking happens, you aren’t going to always solve every case. The odds are against us there, too many cases, too many criminals with new ones popping up every day,” Santo said and leaned back in the chair after taking a drink out of the can soda sitting on the table beside him.

  “Damn, ain’t that the truth. There are days I sit at my desk reading through case files that when I’m done, I want to go out in the street with a bullhorn and ask when the hell did everyone start to think it was okay to do some of the crazy shit in those files. ‘Cause shit, if we could figure that out, the crime rate would drop substantially,” Lanz said.

  “You catch yourselves being more conscientious with all the shit happening everywhere these days?” I asked, because though I knew my job wasn’t a walk through the park and that anytime I was out on a fire there was a chance I might not come home. But what makes me get up and go into the job, that was at times so unforgiving, was the look in a child’s eyes when they see a fireman up close for the first time or sit in a fire truck. Then again, as firemen, we didn’t worry too much about people throwing shit at us while we were in the middle of our jobs. I didn’t envy my brothers, Brodie and Sully, and my cousins, Lanz and Santo, for choosing law enforcement over the fire department.

  “We are always conscientious no matter what is going on. But people are going to hate whether I get up to do my job or not. Besides, those people aren’t the ones I go into work for. I go in for all the people who want and need me to protect them, it’s my job and I do that knowing that on any given day I could be protecting one of those haters. Protect and Serve means something to me, even when the country doesn’t mean anything to them. But now I do wish cellphone cameras were never invented, one, because when someone does video us, most only see the shit we did, not what actually went down and two, those damn selfies you see all over social media,” Brodie said and we all chuckled at the last part.

  “Been a long time since we were able to get together because we are off work at the same time and we spend it talking about work. Too bad, Keaton and Sully are on shift and missing out,” Ferg said.

  “Yeah, but what I want to know is when did we grow up?” Lanz asked.

  “No shit, it seems like all I do is work. So let’s talk about something else,” Zan piped in.

  “How about the party the women are at? Wonder what they do during those things?” Ferg asked and we all looked at him.

  “Really? Ana’s store is full of sexy things women wear to feel good about themselves and if men benefit from it, who are we to argue,” I said, thinking about the sexy scraps of material I got to remove that Ana had on under her clothing the last time we were together.

  “Bro, you got it so fucking bad. I don’t want to know what the hell you were thinking that made you groan and get that damn goofy look on your face,” Brodie said and the others laughed.

  “Fuck you, you’re just jealous,” I answered and flipped him off.

  “Damn straight I am. Ana is sweet, smart, and fucking hot, bro.” We all just stared at Brodie and no one said a word. “What?”

  “Dude, don’t let the parents hear you say that shit. They will have you over at their houses doing dumb shit, and when you show up, someone’s niece or granddaughter will have conveniently stopped by,” Zan said and did a fake shiver.

  “Laugh if you want. I find the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, I won’t have a problem handcuffing her ass to my bed until she agrees.” Brodie took a drink, then set his glass down. I laughed because I could see my brother doing just that.

  “Where are the dads tonight, anyway? They always sneak out of the house when all of us get together,” Santo asked.

  “Brady is watching Lily for Ana so he took her and went to our house. Your dad is over there too. I told them we were going to get together, watch the game, and that they were welcome if they wanted to come. Dad said no, they would just watch the game at home,” I said and shrugged.

  “You know I stopped by one day on my way to shift to visit for a few minutes and Mom was out getting her hair done. I went in and I heard men singing. Dude,” Ferg’s voice dropped to a whisper, “they got quiet when they spotted me. It was Dad, Uncle Sal, and Brady with Lily and she was clapping and babbling along with them. I recognized the song, just can’t recall the name, but it’s a bar song.” We started laughing.

  I was still laughing when my cell rang. When I looked down at the caller ID, it read Sully. I answered, “Bro, you are missing a good time...” I stood, “What? Yeah, meet you there. Got it.” I disconnected and looked at the others, “Ana’s store is on fire. Sully said the call came into the station and he is headed over there.” I grabbed my keys and the others were on their feet and ready to go.

  “Did he at least know if everyone got out?” Ferg said as we headed out the door.

  “No, he said all he knew was the store was on fire and Engine Houses 103, 26, and 14 were dispatched along with a the 12th being called because they were going to need crowd control if it’s ugly. They sent a truck from all three houses because of the stores so close together.” We were at the vehicles before I finished talking.

  “Wait,” both Ferg and Zan yelled and took off toward their vehicles and when they reached them, they popped the trunks and pulled out a bag each. Slammed the trunk closed and jogged back, tossing the bags in the back of my truck.

  “Extra gear in case they need help,” Ferg said and opened the door he stood by.

  “Me too,” said Zan as he opened the door on the other side.

  “Yeah, my bag is already in the back,” I said and jumped in the driver
’s seat and started the truck.

  “Keaton should be there. He will make sure everyone is safe,” Lanz said as he and the others got into the SUV and we pulled onto the road.

  “Yeah, plus Fi’s there and Mona Ritchie, the fire investigator,” I said and floored the gas. For whatever reason something didn’t feel right.

  And I always trusted my gut.

  The closer we got, the more traffic we encountered but between us we knew most of the shortcuts through the city. Before we even got to the street Sassy and Sexy was on we could see the smoke rising in the air. From the density and color of the smoke, the boys had water on it.

  When I turned down the block I knew we weren’t going to get close because the street was lined with cars and the cops had the road blocked so no one would get in the way of the firemen doing their jobs.

  “Park on the fucking sidewalk. No one’s going to write you up,” Santo said from the back. I didn’t waste time, I found a spot that had no pedestrians standing on the sidewalk and jumped the curb and stopped.

  “Damn, look at that shit,” Ferg said as we got out and I popped the back so we could grab our gear.

  People looked at us as we yelled for them to get out of the way as we ran passed toward the fire. I spotted Engine House 103’s ladder truck and knew Keaton had made it on site. As I scanned the area as we got closer, I saw Ma and Aunt Milana huddled together sharing a blanket and sitting on the back of the paramedic’s opened back door on their wagon. Next to come into view was Fi who stood close by with Sully, one arm flaying as he held her onto her other and on the other side of her was Ana’s mother, Dana, with a cell to her ear. I recognized some of the other women who would have been there getting looked at by EMTs at another ambulance parked next to the one where my mother and aunt sat.

  But no fucking Ana!

  By the time I reached Sully my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest.

  “Where is Ana? I don’t see her!” I asked, dropped my bag and started pulling my gear out. Ferg and Zan did the same beside me.

  “She’s still inside! Oh, Kian, they wouldn’t let me go back in,” Fi said and yanked her arm out of Sully’s grip.

  “What the fuck?” I started pulling on my gear as I waited for Sully to catch me up to par.

  “Sis, I told you that they are trying to get to her. You would have only gotten in the way,” Sully said to Fi, then he looked back at me.

  “When I got here the engine houses were already hooked up and working to keep it contained just in Ana’s store. The fucking sprinkles didn’t activate in the place either. Fi and the other women were already out of the building and standing here. The wagons pulled up and started checking them out. Fi and Dana are the ones who noticed Ana wasn’t with them when Investigator Richie told them to wait here and she would go back in and find her.”

  “Everything in that store passed inspection, including the sprinkler system. I was working with Mona the day she went through the place.”

  “I don’t know anything else, just what I got told when I got here.” I knew Sully was telling me everything he knew.

  “Where the fuck are they?” I asked no one in particular and Dana touched my arm and when I looked at her, she had tears in her eyes but she was far from breaking down.

  “Mona nor Ana came out. That is when Fi wanted to go in but the trucks pulled up. They’re working on getting to them,” she said and I turned toward the building to go help find Ana.

  No way was I losing her after I just found her but Dana tightened her grip on my arm.

  “The last place we know she went was to the bathroom, then the fire started. Since she never came out we are only assuming that is where she is. It’s located in the storage room in the back.”

  I nodded. I knew where it was located from the inspection. “How are you so damn calm with your daughter in that building?” I asked as I looked at the flames engulfing the front and shooting from the roof as it battled with the water raining down on it. Not wanting to give in.

  “Because I have to believe in the fact she is her father’s daughter and Brady taught both his girls how to survive in a fire. Kian, she knows what to do, believe in that. Now go help get her out.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” I said and started toward the building. The store sat in the middle of the block but instead of them all being attached, they were connected in increments of four. Ana’s was the third in her grouping, the fourth beside her was a craft store and on the outside of it, a breezeway ran between it and the next grouping of four. Ferg, Zan, and I cut through to the back of the building into the alley. The heat in the air the closer we got to the structure the hotter it was. We cut the corner of the building and walked right into chaos.

  “Holy shit!” Ferg yelled.

  “Hey, Engine House 14’s bucket truck is back here,” Zan said and pointed. “They got men in the bucket dousing the roof and men on the ground.”

  We reached the back to Ana’s building and the LT from Engine House 14 stopped us. “You can’t go any further.”

  “My damn girlfriend is in there. We are related to Lieutenant Russo from 103. Have you seen him? I’m Lieutenant O’Malley from 29, my brother from 60, and cousin from 18.” I pointed as I introduce us. “What can we do to help?”

  “I know you want to go in there, O’Malley, but I can’t allow that right now. I got four men already in there searching for two women who we only hope are where the others told us, in the back room here.” LT lifted his chin to the back entrance that had not only been engulfed in flames but had been ripped away for easy access. “O’Malley, we haven’t heard any sounds come from the area. No bang, no yelling, nothing.”

  “She alive, LT, I won’t accept anything else.” He nodded at my words and continued filling me in.

  “The structure is weakened and the boys in the bucket say the roof isn’t going to support much more water soaked into its material, it’s buckling. The ceiling in the back part of the building is already collapsed and the rest of it and the walls are already buckling inward. We need to find them soon. Whatever was used to set this fire, burnt hot and fast once it got going but it’s almost out. The crew inside is moving shit out of there way trying to get to the corner of that room where the bathroom is but between the material being hot and some still falling around them it is slow process.”

  “You think this fire was started?” I asked.

  “I know there will have to be an inspection, but from my experience and the way the fire burned, along with the fast rise in the temperature versus the ease of getting it put out. Yeah, it was set. My guess was an accelerant that would destroy anything in its path, quickly.”

  “Kian!” Keaton ran up to us. I looked him over and he was cover in soot.

  “You been inside? Did you find her?” I asked and he shook his head.

  “No, my crew worked their way through but the support rafter dropped along with most of the ceiling in the middle. We can’t get to the back room without bringing in heavy equipment and we don’t have time for that. When I came out, Sully told me you were back here.” He looked over at the LT of Engine House 14, “Any luck? We got the front contained. Do you need me to bring a few of my men back here to help?”

  The LT informed Keaton of the situation and just as he finished, the ground under us shook and all our heads turned to the building. The radio blasted with voices yelling out what took place inside and my heart leaped into my throat and Keaton and others turned to look at me.

  “Just a setback, man. We’ll get to her,” Keaton turned back to the LT. “I’m bringing a few of my guys back here.” His tone clarified he wasn’t asking and then he spoke in his mic. I wasn’t waiting any longer. Ana needed out now.

  “You can give permission or not but going in, LT, you can have my captain write me up later.” I started toward the opening.

  “Goddamn, just find them but if you get hurt, O’Malley, I’m telling your captain you went in without clearance!”

  �
��Good, you can tell mine too,” Zan said.

  “What about you?” I didn’t turn around but I figured he was speaking to Ferg.

  “Whatever you got to do, LT,” Ferg answered.

  “I’m not even going to bother with you?”

  “Probably wise,” Keaton said and by the time I reached the opening and stepped through, they were behind me.

  “Your woman, your lead, cuz. Let’s do this.”

  With visors down we moved to where two of Engine House 14’s men worked carefully moving piece by piece of the debris blocking the path to the corner. Metal shelves bent from the heat, ceiling tiles, walls that had gave way when a rafter between the ceiling and the roof had caved bringing them down like a house of cards.

  We focused on one spot and worked together. If we could get an opening big enough, I didn’t care if I had to crawl through it to get to her.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Ana

  The door wasn’t budging when I pushed. As I twisted the deadbolt lock left and right to see if it was jammed, I berated myself for not changing out the old lock and handles that were on the bathroom door in the first place. This was what happened when you put things off. I had every intention of getting to it but something else would take priority on my to-do list. Well, thank God it happened to me and not one of the other women at the party.

  I looked around the small bathroom for something to use to bang on the door. Being all the way in the stock room corner, I wasn’t too sure if they would even hear me. The trashcan in the corner by the sink caught my eye. It was metal with the foot petal on the bottom. Should work. If the door opened inward, I could have at least tried to know the hedge bolts out and taken the door off but that would have been too easy.

  Fifteen swings and thuds later, I looked at the small trashcan with the petal hanging off, the lid now unattached, and covered in dents and shook my head. Nothing was made to last nowadays. I placed my ear on the door to listen to hear if someone might be coming.