by Susan Stoker
Gritting her teeth, she refused to let the tears hovering just behind her lids fall. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing exactly how deep his words cut, even if he didn’t mean them.
Turning on her heel, Sophie walked away.
The second she was out of sight, a woman came out of the nearby doorway and sat next to Tadd. She gripped her knees close to her chest. She wasn’t short and she wasn’t tall. She was on the slender side, although it was hard to tell with the amount of clothes she was wearing. Her dark hair was quite short, almost a buzz cut.
“That wasn’t nice,” she said softly.
“What did you want me to do, Blythe?” Tadd asked wearily. “She wasn’t going to drop it. She was going to keep on us to move into a shelter, get help. And when this building does come down, she was going to make herself sick worrying about us.”
“Would that have been so bad?” Blythe asked, more to herself than the old man sitting next to her. “No one has worried about me in years. I’ve always been the one worrying about others.”
“It was for the best,” Tadd insisted without much enthusiasm.
“She’s a good person. You hurt her. She’s not going to come back,” Blythe insisted.
“I know. Mission accomplished.”
Blythe shook her head in disappointment. “Unlike you, I didn’t ask to be here. I don’t like it. I don’t like that I never feel safe. I don’t like that people look through me. Sophie saw us. Truly saw us as human beings. I don’t understand why you’d do something like that.” Then, without giving him a chance to respond, Blythe stood and shuffled back through the cracked and broken door leading into the condemned building.
Tadd sat on the sidewalk for a long time after that. Petting his dog and thinking about his life. How he’d gotten to where he was. He wanted to regret what he’d said to Sophie, but couldn’t. She was destined for better things. Worrying about a bunch of homeless bums wasn’t something she should be doing. But she probably hated him now.
It was better this way. It was. And if he felt as if a piece of his heart had been torn out and lay bleeding at his feet…he had only himself to blame.
Sophie would forget about them, about him, soon enough. He’d made sure of it.
Chapter 15
The next few weeks went by quickly for Chief. He’d never been happier. He and Sophie spent every night he wasn’t at work together, usually at his house. They took turns cooking and they talked on the phone every chance they got.
Diontray was doing great as a junior fire trooper at the station near his house. Chief had stopped in to see the teenager a few times, and not only were his burns healing, but his mom was excelling in her new job as well. The neighborhood they lived in wasn’t the best, but at the moment, both Washingtons were staying off the local gang’s radar, so all was good there.
Work at Station 7 was about as expected. Daxton Chambers, the Texas Ranger they were friends with, had reported there had been two arrests in the arsonist case that had plagued the area. Turned out it was two college kids who were bored, and when they’d had too much to drink, thought it’d be fun to burn down abandoned buildings. Idiots.
He and Sophie had FaceTimed a couple more times with her mom. She was funny and outgoing, and they’d already planned for her to come to San Antonio to visit soon.
Chief wanted to take Sophie out to the reservation so she could meet his own mother and the other people who were important in his life, but so far they hadn’t been able to coordinate their schedules. He was patient though. His culture and history would be waiting for when they could make it out there.
And Sophie. Chief couldn’t believe how much having her in his life improved it. He was less grumpy, he actually looked forward to going home, and he’d laughed more than he could ever remember laughing in the past.
Even Crash had mentioned it. One weekend they’d all gone out to The Sloppy Cow. Moose, Penelope, Sledge and Beth, Crash and Adeline, Squirrel, Conor Paxton, the game warden, and TJ Rockwell, a highway patrolman who was also a retired Army sniper.
Chief had been worried Beth wouldn’t be comfortable, and would have to leave early on account of her agoraphobia, but Sophie had sat next to her, and kept her entertained and distracted from her demons all night.
Everyone had laughed when, not long after they’d all arrived, Conor had ditched their little party to hang out at the bar and flirt with Erin, the pretty bartender.
Sophie had asked TJ a million questions about why he pulled people over and how fast she could speed and not get pulled over herself. The man hadn’t been offended and had them all in stitches.
But it was the nights with Sophie in his bed that Chief loved the most. His woman might not have had a lot of experience before him, but her enthusiasm more than made up for it. She was up for whatever he wanted to try. They’d made love in every conceivable position, and all over each of their houses. She loved going down on him almost as much as he loved returning the favor.
And she never held back. She wasn’t exactly a screamer, but Sophie had no problem letting him know she liked what he did to her. She moaned, groaned, squeaked, wiggled, and clung to him with her little fingernails. And he loved every sound. Loved knowing he was the one she was with and that he was the one who made her express herself that way.
The only blight in their otherwise happy life was Sophie’s sorrow over what had happened with Tadd. She’d tried to tell Chief that it was okay, she was over it, but he could tell she wasn’t. It didn’t help that her friend, Mark, continued to see and talk to Tadd. Sophie said it hurt when he’d come into the hospital and talk about seeing her former friend and petting Charlie. But Mark wouldn’t understand what had happened to their once close friendship, and Sophie couldn’t explain it to him, as she didn’t understand herself.
Chief had tried to find Tadd one morning when he knew Sophie would be in a meeting at the hospital. He wanted the man to explain to his face why he’d done what he’d done to a woman who had been nothing but generous and nice to him.
He’d gone as far as stomping around inside the building next to the hospital, with no luck. He’d seen the mysterious Blythe peeking her head around a corner, but by the time he’d gotten to where he’d seen her, she’d disappeared.
Knowing the homeless men and women knew the building better than he ever would, Chief had given up. It was probably better he didn’t find Tadd. He wasn’t sure he would’ve been able to keep from beating the shit out of him. And hitting an old man wasn’t high on his list of things he would’ve been proud of, but no one hurt his Sophie and got away with it. Since he couldn’t find the man to take out his frustrations on, he had to get over it…and help Sophie move on as well.
One thing Chief hoped would help Sophie’s mood was a charity game of touch football that he’d helped set up. Thankfully the guys had vetoed hockey, agreeing that it would be too dangerous since most of them hadn’t ever ice-skated before, and they’d compromised with the touch football.
As usual, it would be their group of law enforcement friends against the Station 7 firefighters. Mackenzie, Daxton’s girlfriend, was in charge of drumming up interest and donations, since she basically did that sort of thing for a living, and she’d been wildly successful.
The game was scheduled for the next weekend, and Sophie had been looking forward to it since he’d told her about it. She, Adeline, and Beth planned to meet up beforehand and have lunch, then go together to the YMCA fields where it would be held.
They had a rivalry going with Mackenzie, Mickie, Corrie, Laine, and Boone…the partners of the law enforcement folks. Every day, Sophie was showing him texts and emails from the “other side” talking smack.
It was just the thing to take Sophie’s mind off Tadd and how much he’d hurt her. Chief knew she avoided walking past the abandoned building. She used the crosswalk between the lab and the hospital now.
It was early, really early, and Chief was in his bed with Sophie and he’d been watchi
ng her sleep for the last twenty minutes or so. He was propped up next to her, his head resting on his hand, his other on her belly. She was on her back, her face tilted toward his, her legs spread open, hogging as much of the bed as she could. Mósí was sleeping between her legs, contentedly curled into a ball.
Chief couldn’t help but think his life was perfect. Yes, his house was messier than it had been before Sophie’d practically moved in, and he didn’t get to see his friends as much as he used to, but he also laughed more, felt more content, and got to wake up next to the most beautiful woman he’d ever known…inside and out.
Turning his head to look at the clock, Chief knew they didn’t have a lot of time. Sophie was meeting with a new potential patient that morning, the parents of a Latino boy who’d pulled a pan of boiling water off the stove and received burns on his head and shoulders as a result. Chief also had to be at the station for his three-day shift in a few hours. He wouldn’t get to be with Soph for seventy-two hours…he’d never make it if he didn’t get his fix now.
Moving his hand up her belly slowly, he covered one of Sophie’s naked breasts. He gently caressed it at the same time he leaned forward and nuzzled the underside of her jaw.
“Mmmmm,” she murmured as she stretched. Mósí woke with her movements and quickly jumped off the bed. He’d been around his masters enough in the mornings to know they got energetic, and he didn’t want to be anywhere around them when they did.
“Morning, shi ásdząą,” Chief said, moving his hand from her breast to her cheek, holding her in place as he leaned in to ravish her mouth.
When Sophie was panting, Chief moved his hand down her body to between her legs. Moving quickly, he rolled over, grabbed a condom, and returned to cover her body with his own. She immediately spread her legs, giving him the access he so badly needed.
Their lovemaking was quick, but no less heartfelt than any other time they came together. When they’d both found their release, they lay in each other’s arms, trying to catch their breaths.
“Good m-morning,” Sophie said softly, the first words she’d spoken since waking up.
Chief smiled. “Morning, Soph. I love you.”
“Love you too.” She paused, then asked, “How attached to those condoms are you?”
“What do you mean?” Chief asked, propping himself up over her.
“It’s just that…I’m on the pill and have been for a while. S-So if you could deal with the m-mess it would cause…you don’t need to use them.”
“You sayin’ I could take you bare?” Chief asked, wanting clarification.
“Yeah, Chief. That’s what I’m s-sayin’. I don’t know for s-sure, as I’ve never done it that way, but I would think it would probably be kinda m-messy, and I know how you feel about that. Although it probably will be m-mostly m-messy for m-me, not you, but s-still. I could—”
Not letting her finish her thought, Chief leaned down and once again took her mouth with his. Shutting her up and showing her through his actions rather than with words what her offer meant to him.
After several minutes of making out, Sophie asked with a smile, “S-So I guess the answer is yes?”
“Fuck, yes,” Chief said reverently, running his hands over her hair gently. “And while we’re talking about it, I want babies with you. Lots of them. Running amuck. Messing up my clean house. Spreading germs. And you know I wouldn’t say that to anyone but you. But the thought of little Sophies running around makes me not even care about the mess.”
“What about little Chiefs?” Sophie asked. “I’d love to have a dark s-skinned baby who looked just like you.”
“I don’t care. As long as I put them in your belly and you’re safe and healthy when you have them, they could be little baby shifters and I’d still love them more than I could ever put into words.”
They looked at each other for a long moment before Chief smiled. “Ayóó ánííníshní.”
“Ah yo, Ah knee nesh yay,” Sophie returned. Then she wrinkled her nose. “We really need to get up. I have to get ready and you need to m-make m-me breakfast.”
“Thank you, Soph.”
“For what?”
“For being mine. For being brave enough to bring up the topic of ditching the condoms. For all of it.”
“Roman, I’ve loved you forever. I didn’t know you, but I think I loved you anyway. This is no hardship, believe m-me.”
He chuckled. “Good. Glad that’s settled. Come on,” he said pulling out of her body and sitting up. “Let’s conserve water and shower together.”
“We really do need to get ready,” Sophie warned, but allowed him to pull her upright and tow her toward the bathroom.
“I know. We’ll be fast.”
“You think we can be?”
“Soph, I’m gonna take you for the first time without anything between me and your hot, wet pussy. It’s gonna be so fast you’ll be calling me the two-second wonder.”
She giggled. “Whatever. I have faith in you.”
“Yeah, that’s because you know I’ll take care of you.”
“I do know,” she said seriously. “You do it s-so well.”
“Come on. I’m gonna eat you, then fuck you fast and fill you up. You want to feel my come dripping out of you all day?”
Chief stopped in front of the shower, reached in. and turned it on. He turned in time to catch her wrinkled nose.
“Uh, gross. No.”
He laughed. “I was kidding, but yeah, at night, right before we go to sleep? I’m not lettin’ you clean up after I come inside you.”
“That I’m okay with…as long as you s-sleep on the wet s-spot. Think you can handle that, M-Mister OCD?”
“Who’s been sleeping on it every night as it is?” Chief asked, still smiling. “Me. And I don’t mind in the least, you know why?”
“Not s-sure I want to know why,” she told him with a smile.
“Because I know it’s wet because I got you that way. And you were so excited you dripped all over our sheets. That’s why.”
She wrinkled her nose again. “Whatever.”
Chief stepped inside the shower stall and held out his hand. “Come on, shi ásdząą, you need to get ready and I need to make you breakfast.”
She smiled and stepped inside the small space.
* * *
“How’d your meeting go?” Chief asked Sophie later that morning.
Sophie smiled as she walked down the hall. He’d texted to see if she was free, and when she’d said that yes, she was, he’d immediately called.
“As good as it could go,” Sophie told him. “The parents are devastated and feel extremely guilty for what happened to Roberto, but they’re interested in the s-study. I gave them the forms and s-set up a m-meeting with the hospital lawyer to go over them. Hopefully they’ll s-sign them later today and we can get s-started with the s-special s-spray for their little boy.”
“Sounds good, baby.”
“Yeah.”
“I miss you.”
Sophie grinned. Chief didn’t have any problems letting her know how much she meant to him. It was one of a million things she loved about him. “M-Miss you too. Anything exciting planned for the day?”
“Not really. We’ll be going over all the ways we can cheat and beat the cops next weekend.”
Sophie giggled. She was looking forward to witnessing the craziness that was the cop versus firefighter fundraiser for herself. She’d heard stories from some of the cops’ girlfriends…and Adeline and Beth had told her all about the softball game they’d watched. She couldn’t wait.
“You getting home at the normal time?” Chief asked. “You going out with your girls tonight or anything?”
“Nope. After I talk to Roberto’s parents this afternoon and get s-some paperwork done at the lab, I’m headed home.”
“Good. I’ll talk to you around dinner then, as long as we’re not on a call.”
“S-Sounds good. Be s-safe.”
“Always. La
ter, shi ásdząą.”
Sophie shivered. Every time he called her “woman” in his native language, it went straight between her legs. “Bye.”
She clicked off the phone and took a deep breath. Bossiness be damned…she’d take Chief exactly how he was…OCD and all. Smiling, Sophie pocketed her phone and continued for the lab. She wanted to talk to her friends about Roberto and what they thought the best treatment would be for him. He was younger than a lot of their patients and that could be both good and bad as far as his treatment went. After she saw them, she’d go and talk to Doctor Harris or Adams.
She’d been avoiding Doctor Kingsley because he was a douchebag. If her luck stayed strong, he wouldn’t be assigned to Roberto and she could get on with her medical trial without his harassment and so-called input.
Around three-thirty in the afternoon, Sophie was in little Roberto’s room, reassuring his parents that they’d done the right thing in signing the papers and making sure they understood that all costs associated with his hospital stay and treatment would be covered by the lab, when Mark stuck his head in the door and said urgently, “S-Sophie! Oh my God. It’s awful!”
She turned to look at Mark. Her thoughts immediately went to some of her patients. Had one of them taken a turn for the worse? She stood and went over to the door. “What? What’s wrong?”
“Tadd’s house is on fire!”
Sophie stared at him for a long moment, his words not sinking in. “What?”
Mark grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the hospital room into the hall. “The building next door! It’s on fire. Everyone’s running around moving patients away from the rooms on that side. But S-Sophie…what if Charlie and Tadd are in there? Who will move them away from the fire? Do you think they’re okay? Will you go find them?”
Sophie looked at Mark in horror. My God. It wasn’t so much the building that she cared about, but Tadd. And Frank and Sam. And Blythe and Louise. Were they out? What about all the other homeless people she didn’t know?
Without answering Mark, she turned on her heel, and ran down the hall toward the stairway. There wasn’t time to wait for the elevator. Sophie had to make sure someone knew about the people inside the burning building.
