All gone.
Debbie's face was concerned and understanding when she re-opened her eyes. “Is there anything I can get you? Anything you need?”
Her apartment, all her things gone, and a second-degree burn on her leg, but she couldn’t think of anything to ask for. “No, I’m okay.”
Debbie patted her hand and slung her large bag over her shoulder. “Okay. I've got to go type this up for the morning. If there's anything else you need, just let me know, okay?” A quick kiss to Brooke's cheek, and she turned away.
Before Debbie made it all the way out the door, Brooke came to a decision. She had to know more.
“Debbie?” she asked with a croak.
Her boss stopped with her hand on the door and looked back at her. “Yes?”
Brooke stared down at the sheet she was strangling in her hands. “Did anybody say anything about a man? From the fire?”
“A man?”
Brooke nodded, glancing up at Debbie.
Debbie turned back into the room, her face serious. “Well honey, there was a man killed in the fire. Another resident. Did you know him?”
Brooke was shaking her head before Debbie even finished. Yes, she'd heard, and she felt bad for not wanting to think about him, but her mind was set instead on her rescuer.
“No, there was another man there. He saved me,” she said.
Debbie cocked her head to the side. “Do you mean a firefighter?”
“No, he was—” Different? God-like? On fire? “—good looking. Dark hair, light eyes. Black leather jacket. He got me out of there,” she said, tapering off to a hoarse whisper. And the way he did it… seemed like more than just her imagination.
“No, no one's mentioned anything about it.” Debbie’s eyes lit with interest and she came to her bedside once again. “You said he saved you?” Her notepad and pen came out, and Debbie scribbled across the pad.
Nodding, Brooke said, “I was stuck in the stairwell. I couldn’t find my way out, and I couldn't catch my breath. I was dizzy. My leg… ” Brooke paused, twisting the sheets in her hands again. “He carried me out.” Of a hole in the wall that he’d made himself. A man who could do things like that, on the sidewalk in front of her building, moments before it caught fire… if he could do that, maybe he started it in the first place.
Arsonist.
“Did he go back into the building?” Debbie asked.
Brooke frowned at the new and horrifying possibility. What if he did go back into the burning building? But if what she remembered were true, he would have been okay, right? “I don't know. He wasn't there when I woke, just the paramedics.”
"Can you give us a description? Will you talk to Cecil tomorrow?"
Cecil was their crime-beat reporter, and a retired police artist. Brooke nodded.
"Great," Debbie said with a grin, "We'll find him!" Then she rushed out the door, calling out, “Anything you need, call me!”
The door snapped shut.
Brooke sighed as she laid back, gaze once again on the tiny slice of orange city lights. Debbie would help her find him. But what if he didn't want to be found? Her forehead wrinkled. A man with those kinds of abilities probably wanted to keep a low profile. But her apartment, her belongings were all gone, and she was alive.
She desperately wanted—needed—to say thank you for rescuing her from the blaze in her apartment building.
And to find out if he was the one who started it.
Chapter Three
"What the hell is this?"
A newspaper slapped down on the table in front of Levi as he ate his energy bar. They were always ravenous after using any of their power, and since his control was tenuous, he ended up needing more calories than usual. Saving the human female had seriously depleted him. These bars were the most efficient way of getting the massive amount of calories his powers required in one go. He’d been eating them almost non-stop, and the shakiness and headaches were just starting to fade.
He looked at the paper and then at Walker who stood there implacable, arms crossed.
"A newspaper?" he drawled, ignoring it on the table.
"No shit. Open it." Walker stood at the head of the table with his legs planted. Face hard and empty.
Levi chewed slowly, eying him. Walker didn't so much as blink. With a sigh, he flipped the paper open, looking for whatever ticked his commander off today. He skimmed the pages as he turned them.
"Stop."
He focused on the page before him, and his hands curled, wrinkling the paper. He purposely relaxed them.
Mysterious Hero Saves Woman From Fatal Fire.
She was okay then. Good. A little bit of the tension he'd been carrying around the last few days drained away.
But wait, this was a problem. Half way down the page was a sketch of his face. A very good one. He didn't bother reading the article because that was enough. In a small town like Topaz Ridge? Someone was bound to recognize his face at some point, especially since he’d had patrols all over. They kept a seriously low profile, but in a town where everybody knew everybody, strangers were noticed. He folded it up and tossed the paper on the table.
It skidded to a stop, and Walker slapped it up. Pointing it at him, he said, "You need to fix this. We can’t risk this kind of exposure, Levi, these kinds of mistakes.”
His chest tightened. No, he hadn’t been able to save the Erratic, and people had been put in danger. One more life lost, one more point in the enemy’s favor, and that fucking sucked. He could understand what Walker was saying, these kinds of tragedies happened enough already.
But his only fault was not finding the guy in time, and not for lack of trying. The thirty seconds he wasted deliberating whether or not to call the other Warriors before the blast wouldn’t have made any difference. The difference would have been if he hadn’t been broken, if he’d been able to find and kill the Chaolt in time. The knowledge sat under his skin like a thorn, pricking him. And every time he thought about it, his powers surged, so he tried not to. "I told you—"
"I know what you told me, and what I saw. Look, I’m not pissed that you saved her. I’m pissed that you didn’t prevent the situation in the first place, because you were chasing after some tail."
Levi felt his powers flare, and he knew his eyes were starting to glow. "That wasn't it.”
They all chased some occasionally, seeing to the needs of their bodies to keep their minds sharp. And yes, he'd been known for chasing his fair share. Maybe not to the extent Ajax did, but he was no monk. That was more Micah's deal. Sex was free and uncomplicated when there were so many willing human women. A one night stand left little risk of exposure, so they all 'chased' when they needed to. Even Walker.
But that wasn't what had happened at all. If he’d wanted tail, he could have gotten it that night from the bartender. “She wasn’t some bar fly, and if I had been chasing tail, I wouldn’t have turned down her invitation for coffee to look for the Erratic instead.” And as attractive as the woman he’d danced with had been, as hungry as she'd made him… Something had been wrong. “I couldn’t sense them," He ground out. He took shallow breaths, keeping the flames of his shame and anger at bay. Barely.
His expression hard and unreadable, Walker said, “Take care of this, today. I know you don’t have anything else to do."
Walker left the room while he yanked back hard on his anger, the heat shimmer before his eyes an indication that he was way out of control. No, he had nothing better to do.
With a deep breath, he leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head. Breathe in, breathe out, mind blank. Well, not blank. He held a picture there of a smile that burned him in a different way, and slowly the fire inside him subsided.
He'd find her and take care of this. He couldn't wait to, actually. What did that mean?
Levi approached gingerly across the grass, not wanting to startle her.
She sat by the creek at her cozy new rental home, courtesy of the apartment management company. He'd
knocked on her door, but got no answer. When he'd gone around to see if she was in the backyard, he'd seen her sitting there in the sunlight.
Her eyes were closed, arms crossed over her knees, face turned up to and outlined by the sunshine. Her silky braid hung down her back, shining with coppery light.
She took his breath away.
He hung back a minute, lingering in the shade of a nearby evergreen. With a thought, he extinguished his cigarette and put it back behind his ear.
It had been a week and a half since the fire. She looked good, healthy. Back to normal.
Her mouth turned down and she put her cheek down on her knees. Perhaps normal was still a ways away.
A slight pressure in his chest caused his voice to come out raspy. “Hey. ” He cleared his throat. “Sorry to bother you.”
She sat straighter, swiping away the moisture that had gathered in her eyes. Surprise registered on her face as she looked his way. He almost smiled, she looked so shocked.
She stood up, wiping her palms on her denim capris. “Um, hi.” Her gaze skittered from his face to his hands and back again.
Suddenly he was unsure of himself, palms sweaty. It was an odd feeling. “I… I just wanted to see how you were. Since the fire.”
She kind of nodded. “I'm okay. You know… Thanks to you.”
He rubbed his neck and looked at her from under his brow. “I’m surprised you remember.” She’d been out of it, loopy, even before she lost consciousness.
She turned her gaze to the river. “I was in and out of it, but I can remember a lot.” She turned back to him, tilting her head to the side. “It's kind of hard to forget a guy with glowing eyes and hands, controlling fire as he carries you to safety.”
His chest tightened, and he peered at her from the shade. Shit.
With a shake of his head, he crossed his arms. “You must have been hallucinating. That much smoke inhalation… ” He smiled in a way he hoped looked understanding, but it felt tight and flat.
She shook her own head, looking down at the ground. “I thought maybe I was at first, but the evidence suggests otherwise.” She gestured at her still bandaged leg. Meeting his gaze again, she said, “There was no way I was getting out under my own power. There was no way anyone was getting out of there. And I don’t think anyone else would have either, especially not unscathed,” she said, waving her hand to indicate him. “The whole building was in flames, the roof coming down… It would’ve taken a miracle.”
“No miracle,” he said, leaning forward for emphasis. “Just lots of luck.”
She considered him, unsmiling. “I remember you burning the hole in the wall.” She paused a second. “I know what I saw, and they mentioned it in the paper.”
Dammit. Levi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, his mood suddenly really fucking sour. He didn't need this. “Look, you were delusional. Dying.”
The moment he'd seen her in the stairwell had almost stopped his heart. She'd looked relieved. Happy. And mostly dead. Even now, his chest hurt a little remembering it.
He looked her in the eyes. Blue, stubborn, living. “I didn't do anything but run you out of there. Anything more is your imagination.” He gritted his teeth and added, “The police put my picture in the paper. Please ask them to stop. Tell them you made me up, or imagined it, or—"
"It was me."
"What?"
"It was me. I work at the paper, and I asked my boss to help me find you. She pretty much loves me, so she said yes."
"Why?"
"To thank you. For saving my life." She turned to the side and blew out a breath. "And to see…" she gestured with one hand, "If what I remembered was real."
"It wasn't."
She nodded with a shallow smile. "Thank you. How ever you did it. I'll tell them to stop printing your picture now."
His eyebrows went up. She was letting it go too easy, but he’d take it.
She walked closer, until she stood in the shadow of the tree with him. She looked up at him. Here in the shadows her eyes were darker, endless. Beautiful.
She offered her uncrossed hand. "I'm Brooke Simmonds."
Levi gave her hand a slow shake. “Nice to meet you, Brooke.”
It suited her, suited the smile he remembered that sparkled like the creek behind her. She wasn’t smiling now, though, and this close he could see dark skin under her eyes and how pale she was.
She cocked her head to the side, her soft, cool hand still in his grasp. “How did you find me?”
Levi squinted at her, wondering how she would react. “We first met outside the post office. I waited there until you checked your mail this morning, and then followed you back to your house.”
Her eyebrows went up, and then went even higher. “You followed me?”
He stared at her, hoping she wouldn’t freak out and call the police. Hoping she wouldn’t read too much into it. “I didn’t want to have this conversation in public. I didn’t know of another way.”
She nodded, looking pretty calm and reasonable. He blew out a short breath.
“Can I ask your name?”
He considered a moment. Did it matter if she learned it now? As long as she didn’t need it to call the police. Not that his name would do them any good, because it wasn’t in any human system.
“Levi.” But normal people had last names, right? “Levi… Aediniri,” he said, giving the proper name for those of his kind.
“Levi,” she said, and then nodded. “Thank you again, Levi.”
He nodded and then let her hand go, even though he didn’t want to. Even though he didn’t want to leave yet. The silence stretched between them as they stared at one another.
“Okay then,” he said. “Glad you're okay. See you around.” No use drawing it out.
With a two-finger salute he turned to leave. He'd only taken a couple of steps when he heard her say his name. “Yeah?”
“There was one more thing I wanted to know.” She walked into the sunlight, favoring her left leg.
“Sure,” he said, putting his hands in his back pockets.
She wrapped her arms around her middle, and when she looked at him, she looked troubled. “Did you start the fire?”
“You’re accusing me of the setting the fire?” Levi asked quietly. He crossed his arms, his leather jacket creaking with the motion.
Brooke couldn’t miss the warning undertones of his voice, and her chin went up a notch. “I think I’d be stupid not to. I almost died in that fire, and I—” Her voice broke, and she shook her head and looked away blindly. “And even though you saved me, I just can’t excuse that if you did. That other guy, he died, and a lot of people lost their homes.”
"Of course I didn't. I saved you.”
“Let’s pretend for a second that I hallucinated everything I saw—”
“Christ, this again.” He turned away, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“—You were still there, in front of the building when we ran into each other. Twice. Why? Topaz Ridge doesn’t exactly have a booming tourism industry,” she finished. Quieter, she added, “Now let’s pretend that I really did see all of that. What am I supposed to think?” The frustration she’d felt for days leaked into her voice, making it raspy and wavering. “That it’s just one huge coincidence that a guy who can somehow control fire just happened to be outside my building before it exploded and burned?”
She kept thinking of the other resident, how he might have died. How he might have passed out just like her, only to awaken when it was too late. How it must have felt to have burns like the one on her ankle and foot, but everywhere. She had nightmares every night.
“Brooke, I didn’t start the fire. All I did was get you out.” Levi said, gentler. “After we bumped into each other, I’d only gone a few blocks when everything happened. I saw you walk in to that building and I… ” Levi shook his head. “I was wishing I could say yes to coffee. So when the building exploded, I just went looking for you.”
She swa
llowed. He'd wanted to say yes to coffee. With her. And it seemed like all she could blame him for was not saying yes.
She put her hands in her hair and gripped it, closing her eyes. Why couldn’t she just let it go? Chalk it up to the chemicals in the air and the lack of oxygen instead of this crazy idea? But it had been so real.
“Did I lose my mind, Levi?” She looked at him again, eyes damp and pleading, heart pounding. “Did I see you controlling fire? When you saved me?”
He only paused a second, but the look in his eyes was enough to convince her he was telling the truth.
Pity.
She had imagined it.
“You were hallucinating. There are a lot of fumes in fires, a lot of chemicals… ” He shrugged. “Who knows what you were breathing in.”
Brooke’s shoulders slumped. “Yeah, I guess.” She gave a humorless laugh and scrubbed her eye with the heel of her hand. “Sorry. For the picture. For the craziness.”
Levi closed the gap between them, stopping just a foot away.
“You’ve been through a lot, Brooke. Take it easy on yourself. You’re not crazy.”
She looked at him with a ‘yeah right’ expression, and he smiled at her, causing her heart to thump in her chest.
“All humans are a little crazy. The world is crazy." His smile dissolved. "Chaotic."
She sighed and nodded, feeling like an idiot. He had to be right. What she thought she saw wasn't real. Couldn't be real.
“You just need a little time. I’m sorry this happened to you, but you’ll be okay.”
He was right, of course. She’d been okay when her dad left, she’d been okay being the sole provider for her and her mother, and she would be okay now.
“Thanks, Levi,” she said with a little smile as she looked up at him. She immediately blushed and looked away. This close he was even more handsome, and his eyes… They were too direct and too warm for her comfort.
Her breath caught in her chest when his hand came up, and she looked back up at him, heart in her throat. It stopped inches from her cheek, and then he let it drop.
Burn (Elemental Hearts Book 1) Page 3
