by Andrew Grey
“The kilt-party idea is awesome,” Tristan said as his gaze traveled over to the office door, where Harry was just coming out onto the club floor. “I bet Harry would look good in a kilt. He has great legs.”
“So does Bull,” Zach said.
“Lowell would never wear a kilt—too conspicuous—but if we’re talking about our boyfriends’ legs, then Lowell’s are pretty awesome.” Of course he looked over to where Spook stood off to the side watching the crowd. Kevin sighed and refrained from saying anything out loud. Angus’s legs had them all beat; that he was pretty sure of. He was also the only one whose boyfriend wasn’t there.
“I have a few questions for Bull about the benefit,” Kevin said, slipping out of his seat and walking carefully around the dance floor to where Bull stood talking with Harry.
“Hey, Kevin,” Bull said without pulling his attention off the floor.
“I was wondering if I could talk to you about a benefit I want to hold here at the club.” He followed Bull’s gaze and waited.
“Sure. Go on into the office. I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Bull explained, and Kevin used the access code to unlock the door and head inside. The door closed behind him, and he went down the short hallway toward the office. As he approached the door, it opened and a man came out. Kevin didn’t recognize him until he turned at just the right angle.
“What are you doing here?” Kevin asked as the arsonist turned toward the back door to get away. The scent of petroleum reached Kevin’s nose.
“I wouldn’t suggest that,” the arsonist said as he grinned and pointed inside the office. “I’ve already laced the room with gasoline. All I have to do is light a match and it goes up in a whirl of dancing flame.”
Jesus, the guy thinks he’s a poet or something. “What do you want?”
“You, Hero Boy. My nemesis. I want you to see that I’m better than you, and that I get what I want. Your apartment was gorgeous: flames reaching for the sky, shooting out of windows, and the building collapse was spectacular.” The guy was practically salivating, and Kevin couldn’t miss the prominent bulge in his pants. God, he was sick.
“You hurt people,” Kevin said quietly.
“I never meant to. All I wanted was to build a spectacular fire, bigger and higher than before.” He shook and trembled with excitement. Kevin could almost feel it. The guy was getting off on what he’d done and what he thought he was going to do. “I just wanted to see my work on the news, to be able to watch it over and over again.”
Chills went up Kevin’s spine, and he wondered how in the hell he was going to get out of this. “What do you want with me? I never did anything to you,” Kevin said as gently as he could, wishing he had a baseball bat to knock the guy’s head in. “People are going to be coming back here soon.” The gasoline aroma was getting stronger, starting to burn his nose.
He shrugged and smiled. “Let them. As soon as that door opens again, I’ll light the office and the air flow will carry the flames out to the club like a flamethrower. It’ll be glorious, a pyre worthy of a master of fire.”
“Okay,” Kevin said, worried Bull was going to come in at any time. “What do you want?”
“I want you to see my work up close and personal. You stopped me here once, but not a second time.” He smiled and pulled a lighter out of his pocket, his eyes wild and his gaze darting around. “If the door stays closed, there will be time for everyone in the club to get out. But if it opens, whoosh!” He waved his arms over his head, and when he did, the lighter dropped to the floor. Kevin knew it was now or never so he rushed him, knocking the man to the ground. He didn’t get up right away, and Kevin grabbed the lighter and ran for the door, burst through it, and slammed it behind him. He knew he might have just seconds.
“Bull, get everyone out,” Kevin said as he yanked on his arm. “He’s in the back and it’s doused with gasoline.” He was surprised he didn’t cough. “The arsonist—he’s going to set the club on fire.” Bull raced over and pulled the newly installed fire alarm behind the bar. Lights flashed and an alarm sounded. The music in the club died instantly, and people hurried toward the doors. Additional alarms sounded as secondary door alarms went off, but no one paid attention. The overlapping sound was nearly deafening.
“Everyone out! Go to the nearest exit. That includes the front doors as well as all emergency exits. Don’t run, but move quickly,” Bull boomed over the din.
The club emptied of people quickly, and Kevin was about to follow when he saw the office door open. He tried to slam it closed but was too late. For a second the air seemed to get sucked away, and then flame burst through the door. Kevin got knocked to the ground, but he remained conscious. He stooped and hurried to the front door. He made it and looked back to see Bull lying still on the club floor. He hurried back inside and grabbed him by the arms, then started dragging him toward the door.
Flames seemed to be everywhere above him, and the heat intensified by the second. Glass shattered and exploded, then the bar off to the side became a blaze of fire as bottles broke or fell to the floor, adding fuel to the already manic flames.
Slowly he pulled Bull closer to the door. “You gotta wake up, Bull.” He kept moving as the smoke built, making him cough and then want to throw up. But he kept going as best he could. He turned and saw light for a few seconds, but then it was gone. Kevin hoped he was going in the right direction. The fire was less intense over there, so he hoped like hell it was the way out.
Someone in a firefighter suit and mask pulled him away. Kevin pointed, and the figure grabbed Bull and together they got him moving. The firefighter pointed toward the front, and Kevin understood that he needed to get out. Bull was in good hands, and they were near the door. He got to the opening and stepped out as a crash sounded behind him.
He turned in time to see part of the ceiling fall. Kevin was about to rush inside when he was grabbed around the waist and moved farther away. Kevin saw two other firefighters race into the inferno. He couldn’t help wondering if one of them was Angus.
“Can you breathe? Are you okay?” the firefighter asked when he pulled off his mask.
“Yes. I’m okay,” Kevin said and then coughed a few times. His lungs settled down, and he took a deep breath of fresh air. “Go do what you need to. I’ll be fine.”
Tristan, Jeremy, and Zach rushed over, and the four of them shared a group hug.
“Have you seen Bull?” Zach asked.
Kevin looked toward the door as two firefighters came out with Bull between them. Zach broke away and hurried to where they were laying Bull on the ground. By Kevin’s count there was still one firefighter unaccounted for, and the thought had him coughing again.
“It’s too dangerous,” he heard the fire captain say, holding his men back.
Flames leaped high into the air as parts of the club collapsed. Kevin found it hard to breathe as he watched the door. In his heart he knew the man who’d first helped him was Angus. He hadn’t been able to see his face, but he just knew it was him. And he knew where he was now.
A figure appeared in the doorway, lumbering out of the wrecked club. He took a few steps and went down onto his knees. Men scrambled to help him as water was poured onto the dying nightclub, steam and smoke rising high into the air.
Zach hurried over to where Kevin waited with Jeremy and Tristan. He threw his arms around Kevin. “You saved Bull. He’s going to be okay,” Zach sobbed. Kevin wasn’t going to argue. He hugged Zach back and let him release the fear and panic that had obviously gripped him.
After a minute Zach calmed slightly and went back to where Bull was being loaded onto a stretcher. Zach got into the ambulance with him. Kevin stayed with the other guys as the outside walls of Bronco’s, their home away from home for years, collapsed in on themselves. Kevin held the other two and did his best to keep the tears from falling.
“It’s gone,” Jeremy said softly.
Harry and Spook joined their group. Soon the only one not being comforted was
Kevin. But finally he saw Angus looking around, searching for someone. Kevin realized it was him as soon as Angus looked his way.
“Don’t you ever do that again,” Angus yelled, but Kevin didn’t get to find out what he’d done because his arms were filled with firefighter and then Angus was kissing him, hard, right there in front of everyone. “You scared the shit out of me when I saw you in that building,” Angus said when he broke away.
“You should have gotten out earlier.” Kevin whacked him on the shoulder. “I knew it was you inside the building. I saw the roof collapse and thought you were gone. Then they got Bull out, but….” Kevin closed his eyes. “Fuck, I’m not going to cry like a baby.”
“I’m fine,” Angus said.
“I know that. But I’m angry with you.” Kevin shook and he wasn’t sure why. He only knew he was angry and totally overwhelmed.
“Come with me. They need to check you out and make sure you’re okay.” Angus gently guided him toward an ambulance.
“I don’t need to be checked out. All I need is to know that this is over and that I’m not going to have anything else burned out from under me—the club, my home, my work, now the club again.” The trembling got worse. “He was here. I talked to him.”
Angus stopped. “You what?” he asked in disbelief.
“He was in the office. He doused it with gasoline and set the place on fire. I hit him and got out. Bull was getting people out of the club when the arsonist opened the door. I think everyone got out but Bull and me. The flames roared through the place, and Bull got knocked to the floor, so I was trying to pull him out.” Kevin coughed and reached into his pocket. Fuck… no inhaler.
“I saw. I would have told you it was me, but all I could think about was getting you out of the fire. When I got in there and saw it was you, it was all I could do to stick to my job and not carry you out of there right away.”
“I think the arsonist probably died in his own fire, unless he went out through the back exit, but I doubt it. That’s past Harry and Bull’s office, and that’s where he started the fire,” Kevin explained and began coughing once again. “That’s from last time. I wasn’t in there long enough to hurt.”
Angus was having none of it. He got Kevin over to an ambulance.
“What happened?” one of the EMTs asked. “Oh, it’s you… again. What is it with you and fires?”
Kevin looked into a familiar face. He didn’t know his name, but he was the man who helped him at the fire Mrs. V had started. As soon as that thought entered his mind, Kevin put his hands over his face and did his best not to cry. He failed, and the tears came quickly.
“Not a good question,” Angus said. “Our fire starter fixated on him after the last incident at the club. So he lost his apartment building as well as a friend, and now another friend’s club, so he’s been through a lot.” Angus gently stroked the back of his neck, and Kevin leaned in, needing the touch. “Captain,” Angus called.
Kevin didn’t lift his gaze. He just soaked in the comfort as the EMT put an oxygen mask over his mouth. Then he leaned against Angus and breathed.
“Did you find a note?” Angus asked.
“Not this time.”
“Kevin here said the arsonist confronted him in the office area and he doesn’t think he made it out. We’ll need to look for a body when the heat dies.” Angus turned to him. “Just nod. Were you and Bull the last people in the club?”
Kevin nodded. “I think so. We were trying to get people out.”
“Dang it, kid,” the captain said to him. “Have you ever thought of being a firefighter? You sure have the guts for it.”
Kevin smiled and shook his head. He was all through with fires for the rest of his life.
“I got a call from the unit at your house. There was no real damage,” the captain said.
Kevin pulled off the mask. “Your house?”
“Put the mask back on. Yeah, he set a fire at my house, probably as a diversion. We were there fast and put it right out. Basically my garden shed in the back is a total loss. This was obviously his main target.” Angus turned to the captain, and Kevin put his mask back on. “I wonder how he got into the office.”
“According to the owners, it uses a numeric code to get in, and he probably watched until he had the code, maybe over the last few days.”
Kevin nodded his agreement. “What I really want to know is how he got gasoline inside and past security.”
“Gasoline?” Angus said.
“Yeah. I could smell it, and he said he’d coated the office with it.” Kevin handed the mask back to the EMT. “I’m okay now. Thank you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I wish I had my inhaler, but other than that I’ll be fine.” As long as people quit burning things down around me. “Maybe someone helped him,” Kevin offered.
“These guys generally work alone. We’ll sift through everything and see what we can find once the fire is out. It’s too early for speculation. But thank you for all your help.” Angus’s captain came closer. “I know you’ve been through a lot lately, but you really were brave and cool under fire. Most people would have run screaming from the building, but you stayed and tried to help.”
“I brought Bull partway,” Kevin said.
“And that could very well have saved his life. I’m told the roof at the back of the club went first. So you have something to be proud of. I know you lost a lot, especially in the fire that took your apartment.”
“And cost my friend her life,” Kevin said, sniffling and wishing he had a tissue.
“Yes. I hope all this is over now.” The captain turned toward where his team was still pouring water on the pile of rubble and partial walls that had once been Bronco’s.
“Is Bull okay?” Kevin asked Angus.
“Yes. They transported him because he was knocked out and we aren’t sure if he has a concussion or not, but he was awake and talking when I saw him last. Everyone else seems to have made it out. The police are double-checking, but it looks like the only possible loss of life is the one who started it all.”
“He was sick,” Kevin whispered.
“How do you mean?”
“He got off on setting fires. Like, it turned him on.” Kevin sighed.
“That happens. Sometimes it’s hard to understand why they do what they do, but sexual gratification is a powerful motivator.” Angus gently stroked his hair. “I hate to say this, but I have to go back to work. I don’t really want to leave you alone.” Angus strode away, and Kevin saw him talking to his captain, then he returned.
“What’s going on?” Kevin asked when Angus began herding him away.
“I’m taking you home. He said we’ve had enough excitement.”
“You don’t have to do that for me. I can stay with Jeremy or Tristan.”
“You’re coming home with me. My shift was over this morning, and the captain said he can get someone to cover for me tonight. We have each other’s backs, and I’ve helped out the other guys plenty. I just have to get back to the station to get my gear.”
“I can take you,” Kevin said hopefully.
“Meet me there in an hour. I have to help get this wrapped up and make sure the fire marshal and the police have my statement.”
“They’re going to want mine too,” Kevin said and yawned. It had been a long day, so he sat on a tiny patch of grass and waited. He stifled a groan when Antonio came over to him. “Are you going to be civil?”
“I’m always civil,” Antonio said. He stood as though he expected Kevin to get up. That wasn’t going to happen. Antonio could either sit or stand; Kevin was beyond caring. “I understand you saw him.”
“He was in the office area when I went back there. I was planning a benefit, and I wanted to ask Bull some questions, so he said to wait for him there. The same guy who had posed as the gas man before my building burned down was back there, and he was pretty crazy.” Kevin told him everything as close to word for word as he could. “I thin
k he may still be in the building, but I’m not sure. The fire captain said they’d check once the fire was out.”
“Okay. Is there anything else?”
“This whole thing has ripped my life apart, and I want a chance to put it back together.” A new apartment, an opportunity to lay Mrs. V to rest, time to take a chance on Angus and see what happened, maybe get a chance to see him in a kilt and find out just how little was under it. “I’m tired and I’ve been through a lot.” Kevin had cried enough, and he wasn’t going to do it again. “Angus said a fire was set at his house as a decoy or something. Apparently his shed is gone, but the house is okay. I just hope it’s over.”
“We’ll check once we can get in what’s left of the building.”
“I hope he’s in there, and I hope he’s fried completely,” Kevin said acidly. “And I hope if he is, that it was miserable and that he died painfully, writhing and choking. And I hope now that he is dead that he’s in hell and it’s even hotter and more miserable than I could ever imagine.”
“Not in a forgiving mood?”
“He tried to kill me, and all my friends. He did kill Mrs. V, and that guy who got trampled the first time he set a fire in the club. I think forgiveness is something that’s long beyond him. None of us deserved the hell he heaped at all our doorsteps. Bull and Harry didn’t deserve to lose their club, and I didn’t deserve to lose my home and my friend, so don’t try to mention the word forgiveness in the same breath with that asshole. If he’s dead, the world is better off,” Kevin spat and then coughed. Another reminder of the piece of shit.
“He’s not likely to get any sympathy from me,” Antonio said, and Kevin nodded. “I understand you were venting and you can do that all you want. But are there any facts you haven’t shared with me?”
“I don’t think so,” Kevin said.
“Okay. Will you call me if you remember anything else?”
Kevin nodded. “You know sometimes you sound like one of those guys on television. Maybe you should try to come up with a different shtick.” Antonio grunted at him, and Kevin got to his feet. “Thanks for everything. I know I give you a hard time because of what happened that first time we met, but I appreciate everything you did.”
