Lie With Me (Stonewall Investigations Miami Book 2)

by Max Walker

  But he did like spending time with Ricky. He wished they could do it more often. Hell, he wanted to see Ricky let go, show he was human like Enzo was. “An hour, that’s all. Come hang out with your little brother.”

  Enzo wrapped an arm around Ricky, who smiled, and he knew he had him. “You’re so damn spoiled. Hold on a second. Let me call Ellie and tell her.”

  Enzo watched his brother call his wife, feeling excitement skitter through him. They needed this, to let loose together and have a good time.

  The moment they walked inside he felt a strange tingle at the base of his spine. Ultra was packed even though it was only a little after ten.

  They had a drink, then another and another. Ricky wasn’t a big drinker, but he was having fun—Enzo could see it.

  They stayed longer than an hour.

  If only they had left earlier.

  If only Enzo hadn’t pressured Ricky to go.

  It took a while for the smoke to alert them something was going on. It felt like everyone in the full building noticed the fire at the same time. They all ran. People screamed and pushed and fell as they fought their way toward the doors.

  “Keep going! I’m right behind you!” Ricky yelled at him. Enzo kept glancing over his shoulder, making sure Ricky was there. He saw a woman fall and pulled her up before she got trampled.

  Part of the roof fell in, beams coming down around them. The doorways were jammed. His heart raced as he glanced at Ricky again.

  Fuck, he needed to get his brother out of there. He had a family. Had shit to lose.

  “Over here!” Ricky called, and he saw a second door, an emergency exit that wasn’t as busy, as though not everyone had seen it. He held on to the woman, ran for the door, and they stumbled out, Ricky beside them.

  Enzo fell to the ground, coughed, dry heaved. His throat, lungs, and eyes were on fire as he sat on the asphalt, trying to catch his breath.

  “Lorenzo, you good, fratello?”

  “Yeah,” Enzo managed to reply as he coughed.

  “Shit, there are still people in there.”

  Enzo continued to dry heave. When he looked up, his brother was gone, and in that moment he knew, fucking knew Ricky had played the hero and gone back in to help people.

  “Ricky!” Enzo yelled as he ran back toward the building. The fire department had shown up. He tried to fight his way through the mass of people leaving the club, around the police officers and firefighters blocking him from getting back inside. “Ricky! My brother is in there. I need to get my brother out.” He shoved past an officer just as more people ran out. Something, he didn’t know what, hit him in the head, and Enzo fell to the asphalt.

  Ricky! was his last thought before his world went black.

  ______________

  Pick up a copy of Endless Stretch of Blue by tapping here!

  Also by Max Walker

  The Stonewall Investigation Series

  A Hard Call

  A Lethal Love

  A Tangled Truth

  A Lover’s Game

  The Stonewall Investigation Series - Miami

  Bad Idea

  Lie With Me

  The Sierra View Series

  Code Silver

  Code Red

  Code Blue

  Code White

  The Guardian Series

  Books 1-4 Box Set

  Audiobooks:

  A Hard Call - narrated by Greg Boudreaux

  A Lethal Love - narrated by Greg Boudreaux

  A Tangled Truth - narrated by Greg Boudreaux

  A Lover’s Game - narrated by Greg Boudreaux

  Deck the Halls - narrated by Greg Boudreaux

  Code Silver - narrated by Jason Frazier

  Christmas Stories:

  Daddy Kissing Santa Claus

  Daddy, It’s Cold Outside

  Deck the Halls - A Stonewall Story