Crash: Crash & Burn Duet Book 1 (Shaken)

by Grahame Claire

“You’re gonna be safe soon,” I promised. I didn’t know that old woman in the van, but from the moment we’d spoken on the phone, I’d trusted she could help these poor creatures.

  The door swung open, sunlight streaming inside. I froze but exhaled with relief when it was just the old lady.

  “Are we doing this today?” Frown lines formed around her eyes when she saw Lola. “Can she walk?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”

  The lady stooped and gently scooped Lola off the floor. How could she pick up a dog of that size? I was less than half her age and it was a struggle. But she marched out to the van, so I opened Jasper’s and Finn’s kennels.

  They followed me out to the van, and we loaded them inside. The two of them went without straying as if they knew we were helping them.

  There was no time for goodbye. If we didn’t hurry we’d be caught.

  I kissed both their noses.

  “I could use some help at the rescue,” the woman said.

  I looked back toward the kennels. What if another dog needed me here? They were my . . . family.

  Shrill, sharp barks sounded like crazy from inside. Crap. Someone was in there.

  “Let me buy you breakfast and you can think about it,” she said as she hurried back into the driver’s seat.

  She threw the van in gear.

  Stay. Go. Stay. Go.

  As she backed up, I jumped inside.

  “I need to go let the dogs out before bed.” Abruptly, I got to my feet.

  “I’ll help,” Mr. October said.

  “No.” I cleared my throat and tried again. “I’ve got it. I’m sure you need to go home anyway.”

  “Actually, I don’t.”

  Chapter Eight

  Teague

  “You take all these dogs out every night by yourself?”

  Pepper looped a leash around the dog she called Sadie. She wrangled another and made it look easy.

  “I do it in the morning and afternoon too,” she snapped.

  Something had happened upstairs. She hadn’t been friendly the entire night, but her mood had darkened.

  I took one of the leashes from her hand, and she scowled. “I’ll help. It’s not safe to be walking around at night.”

  She snorted. “What do you propose I do? The dogs need exercise and bathroom breaks whether it’s safe or not.”

  “Promise me you won’t go out after dark alone anymore.”

  Her back was to me, but I didn’t miss the way she stiffened. “I can’t do that.”

  I followed her—more like was dragged by two excited greyhounds—out the front door of the rescue. She locked it behind us as if she was empty-handed instead of handling two dogs of her own.

  As soon as they heard the lock click, they shot off down the sidewalk. “Easy, guys. It’s slick out.”

  I caught up to her. The four dogs pranced with their noses working overtime. They seemed to know where they were going, while I was along for the ride.

  “Should I let them hose down your truck?” She pointed her chin toward my parked vehicle.

  “As I recall, you owe me a wash.” I bumped her shoulder and a mischievous curve shaped her lips.

  “Why is your truck so muddy anyway?” she asked as we continued in perfect rhythm down the sidewalk.

  “Went to Jersey to do some training.” Sadie stopped to sniff. “By the way, you’re not getting out of washing my truck.” I smirked. “Especially since I cooked dinner for you.”

  “If I’d have had it my way, you wouldn’t have,” she muttered.

  We continued down the street in silence for a few minutes. A couple stopped to let us pass since we took up the whole sidewalk. Another man went around through the parked cars.

  “Why don’t you date?”

  She whipped her head around. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me. Why. Don’t. You. Date?”

  With every enunciation, her scowl deepened.

  “That’s none of your concern,” she said shortly.

  “I don’t date that much either,” I volunteered. She looked at me skeptically. “Crazy hours. Dangerous job. Dirty truck.” I attempted to lighten the mood, but she didn’t crack a smile.

  “Sounds like you date your job.”

  “Looks like you do too.”

  “This isn’t a job for me,” she said, her voice reverent.

  Images of the way she treated the dogs and Miss Adeline flashed through my head. What little I’d seen, she behaved like they were everything.

  Then it occurred to me being a firefighter wasn’t just a job for me either. It was a calling. While part of me had cooked dinner for Pepper and Miss Adeline just to get under Pepper’s skin, I’d done it to keep myself occupied because I should’ve been doing it for the guys at the station tonight.

  Anger bubbled up. I’d serve this suspension. There was no point in fighting through the bureaucracy bullcrap that might get me sidelined even longer. But if Captain thought I’d take this quietly, he didn’t know me well. And he should. He’d held the position thirteen of my fifteen years. I followed orders I believed in but wasn't afraid to buck the system. Our relationship had been strained the entire time because of that.

  One of Pepper’s dogs jetted forward. She stumbled but didn’t fall. “Oscar. Easy. I know we’re almost there.”

  She was so good with them. Patient. Kind. She spoke to them as if they understood. Judging by the way Oscar slowed his gait, maybe they did.

  “So that’s Oscar. And that’s Sadie.” I lifted one of the leashes in my hands. “I know Muffy and Ash. But who else do we have?”

  That skeptical look was back. Like she didn’t want to bother because I’d just forget later.

  “You haven’t exactly introduced yourself either,” she said.

  “You’ve been dying to know my name, haven’t you? And here I thought you were content to continue calling me Mr. October.”

  “Miss Adeline is,” she muttered.

  I’d never been a fan of the photo shoot for the calendar. The photographers always had us in the weirdest positions. We were oiled down, shirtless—always—and had to hold the hoses and other things nothing like we’d hold them if on the job. But Miss Adeline calling me Mr. October had been amusing, and Pepper’s irritation by it even funnier.

  “Teague. I like to go on long walks, prepare gourmet meals, and rescue cats.”

  Oscar jerked his head around at the word cats.

  Pepper laughed, though I wasn’t sure if it was at Oscar or me. “He likes cats too. I’m just not sure rescuing is the right description.”

  “Milwaukee, but Millie for short.” She motioned toward the other dog in my grasp. “And Jet.”

  And there were nine more dogs. That was a lot to keep up with, especially for one person.

  “How often do you call one of them the wrong name?” I strolled beside her, fascinated with how easy she made this look.

  Sadie stopped to sniff a food wrapper that had been discarded on the sidewalk. I paused to pick it up, but Jet kept moving. As my arms stretched in two directions, I felt like Gumby.

  Sadie wouldn’t let go of the hamburger wrapper and Jet had picked up speed as another dog approached. I tugged on the leash, but that only made him more excited.

  The paper ripped in half. Part of it was in my fist, along with Sadie’s leash, the other dangling from her mouth.

  “Teague,” Pepper said urgently.

  Jet was almost to the approaching Yorkie. The man walking the dog scooped him up just before he reached them.

  He cradled the small fur ball and nuzzled him. And then sent a death glare in my direction. “You need to control that beast.”

  “You’re a dog owner. You should understand sometimes they get excited,” I said as Jet stared up at the Yorkie, panting.

  The man muttered something under his breath and scooted past. Jet looked after them, like he couldn’t understand why they’d left.

  Pepper gaped at me.

>   I saved people from burning buildings, but walking two dogs at a time had proved to be too much for me.

  “You took up for Jet?” she asked in disbelief.

  “Of course I did. He’s just curious.” I shrugged and attempted to get the paper still dangling from Sadie’s mouth.

  She backed up.

  I followed.

  She took another step back.

  I managed to get a corner of the wrapper, but most of it remained in her mouth.

  Then she pranced forward, and Jet fell in step. I had no choice but to follow.

  Pepper, Oscar, and Millie joined us.

  “But yesterday. You were so mad at Muffy.”

  I looked toward Pepper. Her hair was a disaster. She had a stain on the side of her shirt I hadn’t noticed before that I really couldn’t be sure what it was. Kinda looked green. There were deep-set lines around her eyes. Yet she hadn’t complained once about being tired when it was obvious she was.

  “Umm . . .” She pointed to Jet, who had wound his way around a streetlamp pole.

  I managed to untangle him, while Sadie looked on with that wrapper still in her mouth like she was taunting me.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I’d just gotten off a bad phone call and took it out on the two of you. It won’t happen again.”

  Pepper nodded once. “Apology accepted.”

  Some sort of weight I didn’t realize was bearing down on me lifted.

  I wasn’t normally a jerk, but there were times after an especially long shift that I was less patient than others. Add in a call from my father? I had wronged Pepper, though, and it was right to apologize. Right for her too if the surprise in her eyes was anything to go by.

  I grinned. “But you still owe me a truck wash.”

  Chapter Nine

  Teague

  “What’s up, big brother?”

  I smacked Lincoln on the shoulder and tossed my gym bag on the bench beside him.

  “You’re early.”

  “By five minutes.”

  “Might as well be an hour for you.” He tied his sneaker and stood. “How are you holding up?”

  Considering yesterday Pepper had distracted me and today I was playing basketball with my brother, I hadn’t had a lot of time to dwell on the suspension.

  “Not bad,” I answered honestly. “Dad let you out of work for a morning?” The bitterness that always laced my voice when I spoke of our father was no less present now. I hated that he elicited any kind of emotion from me, but I couldn’t stop it.

  “It’s Sunday.”

  “Since when does that matter? The company comes first.” Tension tightened my shoulders. I willed them to relax to no avail.

  “You gentlemen going to play or stand around and chitchat all day?” Daniel Elliott strolled in, twirling his key ring around his finger.

  “That trash talk isn’t going to help you win.” I slapped hands with him.

  “Your jump shot isn’t going to help you either,” he fired back as he playfully punched me in the stomach. I winced. He hadn’t hit me hard, but I was still sore. “I barely touched you.” There was apology and worry on his face.

  I lifted my shirt. His eyes bulged at the bruise across my stomach.

  “A beam fell on me,” I said proudly.

  “Shit, man. That looks vicious.”

  My brother circled around to examine me for himself. He scowled. “Have you had someone look at this?”

  “Nah. It’ll heal.” I'd avoided having the paramedics on scene look at my injury. That was the one break in protocol Captain didn't seem to mind. I waved my hand toward the court. “Are we going to do this?”

  I grabbed a ball from the rack and dribbled toward the basket, executing a perfect layup. It didn’t feel great on my sore stomach, but I could get through it.

  Daniel scooped up the basketball and ran toward the opposite basket. Lincoln intercepted and stole the ball from his grasp.

  “Not bad for an old guy,” Daniel said, hustling after my brother.

  “I’m a year younger than you.” He paused, took a three-point shot, and the ball whooshed through the net.

  “And I’m not forty yet,” I taunted, though I was close. That earned a lethal glare from them, who were both over that hump.

  Daniel took his own shot and scored. “It’s been a while but looks like none of us are rusty.” He passed the ball to me. “Your brother has his own court to practice so it’s no wonder he drilled that three-pointer.”

  Lincoln’s face turned a deeper shade of red that wasn’t from working up a sweat. He was the most confident man I knew, yet flashing his wealth made him uncomfortable, even around people who had money of their own.

  “And you’re on that court right now. So keep talking. I’ll keep scoring,” he said as he swiped the ball from me.

  “No mercy for your own brother?” I complained as I chased him.

  “Nope.” But that was a lie. Maybe not in a fun game of basketball, but in everything else, he was my rock.

  “At least I know you two won’t team up against me.”

  We’d been friends with Daniel for a few years. He and Lincoln hit it off over a business deal and were close. I was part of that by extension. My brother didn’t let people in easily, and that had only gotten worse the older we became. I didn’t blame him. We’d learned early on that we’d lose the people we loved.

  The ball sailed into my chest and bounced back to Lincoln.

  “Where are you?” he asked. “I thought you wanted the ball?”

  I shook it off. “Are you trying to give me a cracked rib?” I scooped the basketball up.

  “You watched me score. I was showing mercy.”

  Daniel stepped between us and held up both hands. “Are we going to need to hire a referee next time?”

  I took off around him. “Nope. You can referee since you never have the ball.”

  “Hollingsworth,” he shouted as he chased me.

  “He shoots.” I lined up on the three-point line. “He scores,” I yelled as the ball swished through the net. He curls in a ball in pain. My stomach felt like an elephant had sat on it.

  “I need a break,” Lincoln said, tossing both of us a bottle of water.

  He’d barely broken a sweat, was in as good a shape as I was even though he sat behind a desk. And he could read me like a book.

  “Go get that checked out, little brother,” he murmured where only I could hear.

  “Vivian and Muriella are organizing a fundraiser and adoption event. I want you both to come.” Daniel wiped the cold bottle of water across his forehead.

  “In case you haven’t noticed, we’re both blissfully unattached. I don’t think either of us are ready for kids.” I lifted my T-shirt to clean the sweat from my face. A punch landed on my arm. “Ow. What was that for?”

  “Not kids. Dogs.”

  I dropped my shirt. “I’d love to have a dog, but are you gonna babysit when I’m at the station?” Muffy, Ash, Sadie, and Jet popped into my head. They were a handful, but hanging around with them had been fun. Actually, it had been more than that. I hadn’t had a dog since I was a kid and I’d missed the companionship. Or maybe a certain smoky-eyed creature had more to do with the experience being enjoyable.

  Daniel glared at me. “Vivian and Muriella worked hard on this. You don’t have to adopt a dog, but a donation and your support would be nice.”

  “Tell me when and where. I’ll be there.” Lincoln said.

  “I’m in too.” I chugged cold water. “What’s the shelter?”

  “Grey Paws.”

  I nearly dropped the bottle. Everything in my life seemed to be circling around that rescue lately.

  “Well, well. Both of my sons have forgone work to play games. I certainly didn’t teach you that.”

  I jerked my head toward the edge of the court. The last person I wanted to see stood tall in his customary suit and polished dress shoes.

  My father.

  Chapter Ten
/>   Teague

  “You knew he was coming over?”

  The question directed at my brother came out as more of an accusatory hiss.

  He glared at me. “I wouldn’t do that to you.”

  And what he didn’t say was I should trust him more than that.

  “I don’t like unannounced visits.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  Daniel sidled up beside me. “Want me to stay? Referee? Because there is some serious tension going on here.”

  “No. You shouldn’t be involved in family drama,” Lincoln said.

  Our father waited impatiently in the door to the basketball court. He’d come without warning, yet expected us to hop to his demands.

  “Mr. Hollingsworth.” Daniel lifted his chin but didn’t shake my father’s hand before he turned to my brother and me. “Good game. Do it again soon?”

  “Soon,” I said, doing my best to appear unaffected by the looming presence a few feet away.

  Eight months.

  That was how long it had been since I’d seen or spoken to the man.

  “Call you later,” Lincoln said as Daniel held up his phone.

  He had barely disappeared when our father started in. “I told you that career of yours was a dead end.”

  Not that I’d expect any concern for my well-being, but if he knew I’d been suspended, he most definitely knew the reason why. Would it have killed him to ask if I was okay?

  “I’m out.” I spoke to my brother as if our father wasn’t there. “Meet me later this week? With Beau?”

  It was petty, but I wanted Dad to know we were a family without him. We didn’t need him. I didn’t want him.

  “Yeah. She’s staying with me when she gets in.”

  I nodded. At least my sister arriving was good news.

  Our father didn’t move from where his hulking frame took up the doorway.

  “You nearly got a man killed. Did you think of the consequences of that?” He wore that same stern look he’d had all my life. An exterior of stone. “Who do you think that family is going to come after? You’ll cost me everything I’ve worked for while you’ve been out attempting to play superhero.”