HEART OF FIRE

by Venez, Sedona

“I bet you are,” she said before hopping onto the bike behind me and wrapping her arms around my waist tight enough to stay close.

  I pushed backward, my ass coming into contact with her upper thighs, and took off down the street. Kendra leaned into me, her breasts pressing into my back. The roar of the engine, and the feeling of Kendra behind me, was exhilarating. Throughout the ride, all I could think about was her curvy body, her curly hair she’d pulled back into a ponytail for riding. Her lips were full and very kissable. And I’d fantasized about all the hot, dirty things I’d do to her once I got her into my bed again. By the time I pulled into the driveway at my house, I was starving but not for food.

  I kept my hands to myself until we got into the house and then dragged Kendra into my arms, kissing her. “It’s still early,” I said, pulling back. “I think there’s enough time for seconds on dinner and dessert.”

  Kendra snickered. “Greedy, greedy. Are you counting on me staying the night?”

  I nodded. “Oh, I have been counting on it since before we got into bed.” I arched a brow. “Or would you rather preserve whatever illusions your grandma has about your romantic life?”

  Kendra laughed, kissing the side of my neck. “I don’t think she has any. As long as I’m not having sex under her roof, I’m sure it’s a don’t ask, don’t tell situation.”

  I turned her face to mine and kissed her again. “Then let’s heat up some of those leftovers and see where the night takes us.”

  “Now that’s an idea I can get behind,” Kendra commented, following me into the kitchen.

  I started scooping up pasta and sauce and some leftover meat to feed us as I thought about Kendra’s hesitation with the sheriff. “You know, if you wanted to give yourself a chance to heal and do the work without risking much in the way of flashbacks, Wampanoag isn’t exactly Mayberry, but it also isn’t Brooklyn or the Bronx.”

  “I know,” Kendra said, shrugging as she took a plate from me and put it in the microwave to heat. “I’m thinking about it.”

  I looked at her for a second or two and then wrapped my arms around her, kissing the back of her neck. I would just have to give her a little time.

  10

  Kendra

  “Okay,” I said, stepping back to where the camera stood on its tripod. “Hold exactly like that.” I grinned, still a little amazed at the way everything had fallen into place.

  It had been just over a week since Grandma’s birthday. I’d decided I would rather do the photo shoot for the firefighters’ calendar as soon as possible. So a flurry of signing paperwork, checking out the equipment, and looking at previous editions—along with the current roster of both firefighters and animals to adopt—had all sped past. It had been ages since I’d done a shoot, but I fell right into the usual rhythm of setting up the shot, adjusting, and then shooting, letting my models change their positions a bit and kept going.

  “I’m getting a cramp,” one firefighter told me jokingly.

  “Consider it a training exercise,” I called back, stepping behind the camera and looking through the viewfinder. I took a quick breath, waited for exactly the right moment, and clicked the shutter. “Good! See if you can give me a little more smolder, though,” I said to the two firefighters holding kittens.

  “This isn’t enough smolder?” one of them—Conrad—asked.

  “Come on,” I retorted. “You’ve got to get the ladies sweating.” The two men laughed, shifting their positions so their muscles showed to the best advantage. They were almost as good as professional models—they’d done it a few times before. Only a few of the guys in the fire department were newbies, and I’d already taken care of their shots. I’d chosen a spot away from the station for about half of the photos, where I’d have a little more space to work with. Lukas was up the next day since the guys had to take turns being available to respond to emergencies while I was doing the shoots. I had to admit, I was looking forward to my photo shoot with Lukas.

  I took a few more shots, getting Conrad and Finn to switch things up a bit each time, barely paying attention to the clock. I didn’t have unlimited access to the firefighters during their sessions—the normal business of the day had to go on after all—but I had time enough to move around the groups, pairs, and solo shooting subjects. I got Conrad and Finn on their own, with different cats in their arms, cuddling them for the camera.

  I finished up and sent the two firefighters on their way in order to set up for my next pair of men to take pictures of. “Tell everyone to take a shower before they come to see me,” I told Conrad jokingly as he went off to enjoy the rest of his day.

  “I’ll tell them you will hose them down if they don’t,” Conrad joked back.

  I’d done a shoot earlier in the day—while Conrad and Finn had waited their turn—featuring two other guys at the firehouse and two oversized puppies that would grow up into monsters. The only appropriate way to handle the muddiness of the firefighters and the energy of the dogs had been to hose everyone down and capture the results.

  I put away the props for one setup and chatted with the handlers from the shelter, looking at the different animals they’d brought to include in the calendar. “I think it would be amazing to get big, buff Germaine with two tiny Chihuahuas,” I said, looking into the kennel at Chatzi and Trinket—two little one-year-old Chihuahuas taken from an elderly woman who’d been hoarding pets—cuddled up to each other.

  “Oh god—yeah, that would be perfect,” Sherry, who was friends with my grandma, agreed. “And maybe Boscoe with that bean pole, Andrew?”

  “Perfect,” I said. Boscoe was an overweight Maine Coon, dark tabby colored, and he would look amazing in the arms of Lukas’s fellow firefighter, Andrew—who was even taller than Lukas and had never grown out of his lanky phase.

  I started getting my stuff together for the next set, and my cell rang. I took it out of my pocket, thinking it might be Lukas or Grandma—but the number that came up was the sheriff. I considered letting it roll over to voice mail, but my guilt nagged at me. If the sheriff was calling me, it was probably important. I tapped “accept.”

  “Hey, Kendra,” Sheriff Baker said as soon as the line connected. “I know I don’t have you in any official capacity and you still haven’t decided what you want to do, career-wise, but I was wondering if I could ask you the favor of coming in and helping me out.”

  “What’s going on, Sheriff?” I asked, stepping away from the ladies and the prospective pets, closer to my car. I could feel the twinge in my leg from standing and moving around so much, but I told myself I wouldn’t have to stay on it for too much longer.

  “Our B&E suspect has gone for it again,” the sheriff informed me. “Last night. This time, he killed the victim, which is why we’re only just now hearing about it. Could I have you come down to the station, look over the evidence we’ve collected?”

  I thought about it hard. I didn’t think I was ready for full-time police work again, but this was just one case. I wasn’t sure I could deal with seeing a body—but if the prowler had graduated to murder after committing arson, we needed to catch him sooner rather than later, and the sheriff didn’t have enough help on his force to get the job done.

  “What kind of evidence do you have?” I questioned. That, at least, would give me an idea of whether I could handle it.

  “We’ve got the body here,” Sheriff Baker said. “I’m not expecting you to look at it—County ME is coming to pick it up and take it to the morgue. We’re going over it for initial evidence. Medical examiner will give us anything we can’t see with our own eyes. I’ve also got photos and some other details to look at.”

  I took a deep breath. This is going to be tough. But I hoped I could handle it.

  “What’s the clear cause of death?” If the ME was coming to take the body away, they only had the suspected cause to go by.

  “Strangulation,” Sheriff Baker replied. “Doc Soames determined that at the scene, so we could clear it. The victim, a male, had a
female roommate—she didn’t need to see all that, coming back from family shit.”

  I smiled to myself. That was the one big difference between small-town policing and New York City; the sheriff’s consideration for the female roommate would never be on the list back in the city. There just wasn’t time for it.

  “I’m kind of in the middle of something,” I told the sheriff. “Let me check on the progress of this project I’m on, and I’ll get back to you in five to ten minutes.”

  “Sure thing,” the sheriff answered. “I’m here all afternoon—the escalation of this criminal means I will need to field some calls, reassuring folks we’re taking it seriously.”

  “Maybe you can get some extra resources from the state out of it,” I suggested, smiling a bit despite how nervous the prospect of police work made me. “At least a bigger budget.”

  “Our very own special task force,” the sheriff said, chuckling at the idea. “Turn Wampanoag into the biggest crime town in Vermont, outside of Burlington.”

  “Get that pretty face of yours on the news,” I suggested.

  Sheriff Baker laughed at that. “If there will be TV work, I’ll get them to pay whatever it would take to lure you away from the NYPD to do it for me,” he said. “You’d make a much better face of law enforcement in this town than I do.” I laughed off the idea and hung up the phone, walking the rest of the way to my car to sit down.

  I was undecided about what I wanted. On the one hand, I’d sworn an oath, and even though I’d done that in New York City, didn’t it apply just as much anywhere else?

  I had the skills and the experience Sheriff Baker needed to close this case, and if the only reason I didn’t help him was concern about my mental state, what kind of cop was I?

  My sergeant back at the precinct had called the day before, asking when I was going to take my evals to see if I could get back on duty.

  If I wasn’t ready, how much help would I be on a single case, even just as a consultant? I looked at my cell, pulling up Lukas’s contact information, and started my text.

  Hi, Lukas. There’s been another B&E, and this time, someone died…strangulation.

  The sheriff wants me to come by and look at the full evidence for all the incidents, help him out.

  I tapped Send and looked around.

  “Everything okay?” Sherry asked.

  I nodded. “But I may have to reschedule,” I told the women from the animal shelter. “Sheriff Baker wants my help on something.”

  “No worries,” Sherry’s partner, Jessica, said. “The critters enjoy being out and about, getting away from the shelter. We can bring them back another day.”

  My cell pinged. It was a message from Lukas.

  Are you sure you want to do it? Want me to come with?

  I sent a text back.

  I can handle it, I think. You’re on call, right? I’ll see what the sheriff has for me, what I can do for him.

  I started gathering up my gear to make sure it wouldn’t be damaged by any random weather and loaded it into my SUV. By the time I was packed to go, I had another text from Lukas.

  Call me if you need me. If it’s too much, you know? Otherwise, call me when you finish up.

  I smiled, promising him I would in a reply.

  I called the sheriff, letting him know I was on my way in, then said goodbye to Sherry and Jessica.

  11

  Lukas

  As soon as Kendra told me she would work with the sheriff, I occupied myself as much as possible.

  Being on call just meant hanging around, playing video games, eating at mealtimes with the rest of the crew—not that different from being on watch in the Army when it was a low-alert status. But I got to work doing side jobs, waiting to hear from Kendra. Not that I didn’t think she could handle it, but I wanted to be ready to get to her if there was an issue.

  While I worked, I thought about the past week, how fast things had gone between Kendra and me. Some of it was definitely because we’d known each other so well as kids. But there was something about how quickly we’d gone from coffee to practically being a couple that set off alarm bells in my head.

  I’d grown up watching the dynamic between Mom and the man that I called my sperm donor. The way he’d treated her like shit, being verbally abusive, controlling her, making her life a living hell. As I cleaned a pair of spare boots to get them ready for the next muster, I wondered how his verbal abuse started.

  My cell rang as I put away my boots, and I almost dropped it trying to pick it up fast. It was Kendra. “Hey, how are you?” I probed as soon as the line connected.

  Kendra’s breath hitched over the line. My chest tightened with worry.

  “I need help,” she whispered. “I’m not in danger, but…”

  “What happened?”

  Kendra sighed. “Toward the end of my meeting with the sheriff, a bunch of men did drills with their weapons. I could hold it together to finish up with Baker, but I’m not sure I’m okay to drive.”

  I had my keys in my hand before Kendra even finished her sentence. “I’ll be right there. The sheriff’s office is only two blocks away.” I couldn’t stay on the phone with her and ride my bike, so I ended the call, walking out of the building, and headed straight for my cycle. Nobody was likely to miss me for the ten or fifteen minutes it would take to check on Kendra and bring her back. I doubted there would be two fires at once in that time.

  When I arrived, Kendra was in a corner of the parking lot, still shivering in her SUV. Right away, I knew there would not be a good way to get her to ride with me on my bike—she was too shaky and out of it. I took her keys from her, pulling her into my arms and holding her tightly. On instinct, I rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head, feeling her curly hair against my face.

  I held her for a few minutes until she stopped trembling so hard. Pulling back, I asked, “I will drive you to the station, okay?”

  Kendra frowned. “You’re just going to leave the bike here?”

  I shrugged. “It’s not that far. I can get someone to drop me off on the way home or something. Worst-case scenario, I can walk it at the end of shift.”

  Kendra still looked doubtful. “I don’t want to put you out. Maybe…”

  I put my finger on her lips, stopping her from saying another word. “Kendra, get in the passenger side, and let me take you to the station to chill for a bit.” I stared into her beautiful hazel eyes until she nodded her agreement.

  Hurrying over to the passenger side, I helped Kendra inside before climbing into the driver’s seat, turning on the vehicle, and taking off toward the firehouse. A few blocks later, we arrived, and I led Kendra away from where the rest of the guys were having a Fortnite tournament in the rec area.

  I hugged her again. “Do you want something to eat? Drink?”

  Kendra shook her head, taking a few deep breaths. “I think the worst part of it is over. It was just…” Her eyes darted away then back to me. “Hearing the noise. And then it was being so fucking pissed at myself for still losing my shit so easily.”

  “Kendra, take it easy on yourself. It takes time to get through these kinds of things. And you can’t keep trying to be the person you were before it happened—otherwise, you’re just going to keep getting pissed at yourself.” I kissed her lightly on the lips and smiled.

  “I know,” Kendra said, her face starting to look a little less tense. “Thank you for being there.”

  “Whatever you need from me, I’ll be there for you, baby,” I replied huskily, and I meant it. Whenever she needed me, regardless of whether she stayed in town, I’d be there for her.

  She laced her fingers together behind my neck. “You know, I seem to recall a promise that you made. Something about if I stayed in town and if I had flashbacks.”

  I laughed. I could tell she was joking—but I couldn’t deny that just having her in my arms, feeling her body against mine, and seeing her start to look better had stirred something primal in me.

  �
�There are beds in the on-call room,” I pointed out, letting my hands drop to her waist and giving her a careful squeeze. “And the guys are loud enough on Fortnite that we could make all kinds of noise, and nobody would even notice.”

  Kendra laughed and gave me a playful shove against my shoulder. “You just want everyone to know for sure you’re sleeping with me.”

  “Well, that would be a bonus,” I joked. “You’re the hottest woman in town.” Plus, I was a territorial bastard. I’d seen the looks Kendra got from most of the men at the firehouse and in town. I wanted to stake my claim on the most beautiful, smartest, toughest woman around.

  Kendra rolled her eyes. “You are a perv.”

  I cupped her ass. “Only with you.”

  The alarm went off, and I released my hold on her butt and pinned her to my side.

  “Fire! 2254 West Elmbrook!” The chief shouted over the PA. The men on duty rushed past to get geared up and on the truck, and I held on to Kendra, worried the emergency might trigger her again. Instead, she just wrapped her arm around my waist. Once the fury of a bunch of men rushing out subsided, she looked up into my face and said, “Wow! That was interesting.”

  “More than half the crew left,” I pointed out. “We could just go lie down and cuddle for a bit.”

  “You really want me in bed, huh?” Kendra asked, giving me that playful, defiant look that only made me hornier.

  I reached down and cupped her ass. “Desperately.” Clutching her hand, I led her back through the station to the on-call rooms. By the time I got the door closed and locked behind us, I was more than ready to pin Kendra against it and kiss her harder, letting my hands move over her tight, curvy body. I tugged her T-shirt free of her jeans and touched the impossibly soft, hot skin underneath.

  “You better not get too loud,” Kendra murmured as I cupped her full breasts in my hands through her bra.

  “Me? Better worry about yourself,” I countered before kissing her again. We stayed like that for a few minutes, kissing and stroking each other until I couldn’t take it anymore. I pulled Kendra away from the door and started stripping her down, hauling her shirt over her head and tossing it aside. I buried my face against her chest, nuzzling her breasts and reaching around to her back to unhook her bra. She got to work on my jeans, getting the fly open and starting to tug them down before my shirt was even off.