Rekindle The Flames (The Men of CLE-FD Book 4)

by Toye Lawson Brown

  He put his arm around her and drew her close to him. “You have a lot stored inside of you. It had to come out eventually.”

  An orderly showed up to take Ryan to his room. Megan put the washcloth in the sink. She went to unhook his IV bag from the pole and turn off the oxygen flow on the wall. “Your ride is here. I’ll get the rest of your stuff for you.”

  He smacked his lips. “Great. I have to sleep in an uncomfortable bed and without you tonight.” Getting off the bed he lost his balance and stumbled. The orderly and Megan caught him. “Damn, what was in that crap Gabby gave me?”

  “The medication will make you dizzy and probably sleepy.” They eased him over to the wheelchair. “As the drug wears off, you’ll feel better,” she said tucking the IV bag behind his shoulder.

  Megan made sure Ryan had what he needed until she finished her shift. Her supervisors suggested she be with her family to grieve the death of her mother. She refused and decided to keep working. They didn’t understand her reasoning but didn’t argue and let her complete her shift. She finally clocked out. It had been a long 15-hour day, and she was tired. Whenever thoughts of Iona entered her head, she pushed them away. She did not want to grieve this woman or shed a tear for her.

  Megan made a detour before going to Ryan’s room. In the basement of the hospital, she entered the morgue. Speaking with the attendant, he escorted her to the refrigerator that held Iona’s body.

  “Do you want me to open it?” The attendant asked.

  She nodded slowly. “Yes, please.”

  He opened the drawer and pulled the metal shelf halfway from the compartment. “I’m not authorized to open the bag, Megan.”

  “I don’t need to see her. Can I have a minute alone with her?”

  “Yeah, sure. Let me know when you’re done.”

  The pungent smell of burnt flesh and smoke filled Megan’s nose. The contents of her stomach turned making her sick. She unzipped the bag exposing Iona’s face. It was horribly disfigured by the fire, and her eyes were open displaying an empty soul.

  Megan looked away not able to look at the woman she once adored. Iona would be upset if she knew someone was viewing her without her makeup perfect and her hair flawless. What they would see now is a crisp burnt skin and wisps of hair that managed to escape the scorch of the fire. Flesh hung from her cheeks and ears.

  “Wow, this is my final memory of you, Mom. How funny the tables got turned and you are lying on that cold slab of metal and not me as you wished. My heart aches for Connor because he didn’t feel your wrath. So to a degree he still loves you, he just couldn’t tolerate your meddling. While Conner is in a bad way now, he’s going to be okay. I’ll make sure of it. Me on the other hand, I have yet to shed a tear for you and I probably won’t. It will be hard for me to forget what you did to me and feel any sadness for you now that you’re gone.” She paused gathering her thoughts. “I don’t believe you intended to be an evil person. I think greed, having status and even Dad mistreating you led you to be the person you are.” She zipped the bag up unable to take Iona’s lifeless eyes staring into space. “Goodbye, Iona. I can only hope your soul will find peace somewhere now.”

  Megan returned to Ryan’s room. He was sleeping peacefully. She stood by the side of his bed wishing she had his strength. He risked his life running into burning buildings to save people. The tears flowed down her face as her heart became heavy. She could have lost him today.

  Touching his hair with her fingers, he moved his head and opened his eyes. “Hey, you’re back.”

  “Of course I’m back. I’m not leaving this place until you leave.”

  “Don’t. Don’t do that.” He sat up, pulling the oxygen off his face and held her hand. “You don’t have to worry about me. I swear, I’m fine. Come, lay with me.”

  She felt his strong arms wrap her up, and everything felt like it should be. She rolled to her side, letting him spoon her from behind. His kissed her neck, and she melted in his arms, realizing this was what she needed. The tears fell harder, but they were happy tears.

  Chapter Twenty Six

  Two months had passed since Iona’s tragic death. James Jones retired and relocated to Miami, Florida now that Iona was no longer a thorn in his side. He was happily living with the love of his life and enjoyed being a grandfather to Connor’s children. Ryan patiently waited for the day when he could announce another grandchild would be joining the family. However, that news still eluded him. As often as they tried, Megan had not yet gotten pregnant.

  The alarm at the fire house blared getting the attention of the men lazing around. The day had been uneventful which was unusual for Station 30. The unit requested to respond was Rescue Squad 1. Ryan dropped his fork on the plate and ran to the squad yelling behind him. “Hey, don’t throw my plate away,” he instructed.

  They cut in and out of traffic making their way to Edgewater Park where a report of people stranded on a boat was in flames. One person was in the water. Ryan suited up in his water rescue gear. This was his first water rescue and he was nervous.

  Once they got to the lake, the occupants of the boat had managed to put the small fire out. Ryan swam out to help secure the boat until it could be towed back to the docks. Diving under water to make sure the boat was secured, he spotted a body floating in a dense patch of seaweed. He swam to the surface and radioed his lieutenant. “Lieutenant, get CPD out here. I got a floater about five feet under.”

  Rescue workers cut the body free of its watery grave and transported it to the beach. The coroner removed the plastic bag that covered the deceased victim’s head. “Shit!” Ryan grumbled as he walked away from the gruesome scene. He got on the squad and dropped his head in his hands—again he would have to deliver bad news to Megan.

  At the station, Ryan went to the dorm. He called Eddie. “Hey, I need to see you. Can you come to the station?”

  “What’s going on, Ryan? I’m kinda in the middle of something if you know what I mean. I got up the courage to ask Lolita out.”

  Ryan took the phone from his ear and looked at it. Wonderful! I have another complication to throw on an already hot fire. He returned to the call and said, “She’ll have to wait to get her boots knocked later, Eddie. My unit pulled Emin from Lake Erie today. I need answers, man.”

  Eddie arrived at the firehouse within the hour. Ryan met him outside to keep the conversation private. Ryan paced the driveway. The nip in the air was an indication colder weather was on the horizon, along with the increase in house fires due to residents using space heaters and other alternative heating sources improperly.

  “What’s going on, Eddie? I have to tell Megan that another person that was once close to her is dead.”

  Eddie put his hands on his hips. “I don’t know what happened to Emin. I’m as surprised as you are that he is dead.”

  “You’re telling me this is all by coincidence? First, Iona is burned alive at a spa she is visiting, and two months later Emin is sea food? I’m not buying it, man. Something ain’t right with this picture.” Ryan glared at his brother hoping to get him to spill what he knew.

  “I’m not a killer, Ryan. I don’t go around throwing people in the lake with cement blocks tied to their ankles. My hands are clean of this. But, as I see it—good riddance. Both of those assholes are finally out of Megan’s life.”

  He nodded. “In a sick way it is good this is finally over. Nonetheless, I have to know if foul play was involved. What if the police start an investigation? I want to make sure none of this shit comes back to anyone in our family. You got me, bro?” The shift in Eddie’s eyes sent a jolt through Ryan.

  “I got you, bro. If you're done with me, there is a lady at my house waiting for my return.” Eddie gave Ryan a playful smack on the cheek. “Don’t forget who is older, Ryan. I fix your messes and keep you out of trouble. So before you start barking orders at me; you might want to rethink ever doing that again.”

  “This mess was never been fixed, Eddie. We’re talking abou
t possible murder. Megan is not stupid. She will automatically assume her father had something to do with it.”

  Eddie scanned the area around him before he spoke to Ryan in a low voice. “Look, Mr. Jones removed me from any dealing with Iona and Emin after he saw how upset you got the day at his office. He had someone else watching Iona’s every move. Somehow, Emin gave them the slip. Mr. Jones stopped looking for him and assumed he fled to Armenia. Are you satisfied now? I had nothing to do with his death.”

  Ryan shoved his hands in his pants to ward off the chill. “I believe you. I hope I can convince Megan her father is not involved if she starts to ask questions.”

  Eddie hit the chirp on his car to unlock the door. “I can’t stop her from jumping to conclusions about her father. I suggest you forget about this for tonight and when your shift ends, go home to your beautiful wife and enjoy your life without the threat of Emin coming after her.”

  Eddie waited until Ryan was inside the firehouse. He made a call on his cell phone. “Emin has been located.”

  “Excellent. I hope he’s in the morgue.”

  “He is. Firefighters pulled his body from Lake Erie hours ago. I think I was able to convince Ryan you had nothing to do with Emin’s death.”

  “Eddie, I didn’t have anything to do with the fire that caused Iona’s death. She had made an enemy out of Emin and knew she had a price tag on her head.”

  “I heard the fire at the spa was arson. It’s still an ongoing investigation. Do you think Emin had anything to do with it?”

  “Between me and you, he did. According to my sources, Emin and Iona were in a heated argument at the spa. When he learned Megan wasn’t Iona’s biological daughter, that caused the argument to turn physical, and he choked Iona. One of the spa workers saw the fight and Iona sprawled on the floor. Emin panicked thinking Iona was dead. He locked the attendant in a room with Iona and set the area on fire. The fire quickly spread to the rest of the building.”

  “That’s jacked up, Mr. Jones. What about Emin? Was his death revenge for what he did to Iona?”

  “You’re asking too many questions, Eddie. But it’s no secret my ex-wife, and I didn’t care for each other. Regardless of that, she was my son’s mother. Connor had to have an ending too.”

  “Got it. Good night, Mr. Jones.”

  “Good night, Eddie.”

  *****

  Ryan went straight home after his shift to check on Megan. He hated to give her the news over the phone about Emin’s death, but with the every news agency getting ready to report it, he wanted her to hear it from him first. She seemed to take it with a grain of salt, but he knew his wife. She would be upset and shaken.

  “Megan! Megan, I’m home.” He closed the front door and looked around the front room. Nothing was out of order in the house, and her car was in the driveway. He checked the bedroom. She was sitting on the bed tying a big red bow around the neck of a St. Bernard.

  “Baby, what are you doing with that dog?”

  She petted the lovable dog on the head. “I wanted to surprise you. I know Herman won’t replace Sparky, but I know how much you miss him. Are you upset with me?”

  Ryan put his hands on his hips feeling some sort of way. “How can I be mad at you? This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.” He whistled for the dog, and he immediately came over to sniff his hand. “He’s beautifully groomed. Is he trained?”

  “Yes, fully trained. I got him from a doctor at work. His new wife is scared to death of dogs. I figured since we can’t have a baby; Herman would be our big baby.”

  Ryan sat next to her on the bed. “We’re going to have a baby, Megan. We just have to be patient. Um, do you want to talk about Emin?”

  Megan folded her arms tightly across her chest. “Not really.”

  “He was once your boyfriend. You have memories of him before he went off the deep end.”

  Tears filled her eyes. “I would mourn him if he were the same person I knew years ago. Why do money and power have to change people? Ryan, he should not be dead…Iona is the cause of his death too. She turned a decent man with a bright future ahead of him into a monster just like her.”

  “I’m not standing up for Iona, but Emin had his own agenda. He didn’t care that you were married. Even when I checked him on that, he still tried to get you. So, if I sound cruel, it’s because I didn’t see him as a good man. It may have cost him some dollars, but he was willing to pay any amount to get you.”

  Megan wiped her face. “That is all behind us now. We have a new lease on life, Ryan. Herman is a new addition to our family, and we should show him off by taking a walk around the neighborhood with him.”

  “That’s a great idea, babe,” Ryan said amazed how his wife bounced back from heartbreaking tragedies.

  *****

  Megan dragged most of the morning. Every negative remark a doctor made or if a patient complained too much sent her into a crazed fit. She couldn’t wait until lunch to get away from the ER and its patients for an hour.

  When she returned to the nurses’ station, the head nurse was on the telephone having an unpleasant conversation with someone. Johanna DeSantis was the one head nurse she didn’t get along with. Megan felt Johanna was a ducker. When the ER was busy to the point not one nurse could take a break or be forced to do overtime, Johanna found time to take her breaks and leave at the end of her shift. She delegated all her work to a staff that was already oversaturated and she didn’t care. Although the nurses complained about Johanna’s leadership among themselves, not one was willing to complain to the people in charge to get the situation rectified.

  Johanna held up her finger to get Megan’s attention. Finally, she hung up the phone after Megan stood waiting for ten minutes. Ten minutes that could’ve have been spent doing a productive task.

  “I’m sorry to keep you waiting, Megan. We’re going to be short a nurse today. Lisa is sick and since you have the least seniority, you’re covering her shift. Sorry, hun, but it will be a long one for you today, but the money will look nice on the paycheck.”

  Megan fumed inside. “You’re out of you mind if you think I’m doing a double shift on short notice.” She said it with a smile and knew she was on the borderline of insubordination at the same time.

  She blinked. “Excuse me?”

  Her perfect smile slipped, becoming brittle. “You didn’t hear me? I said no. I’m not staying past my shift. I do have a life outside of this hospital.”

  Johanna raised her brow. “You don’t have an option, Megan. You are staying or I’ll assume you don’t want this job.”

  “Hmm, I have a union rep that will challenge that decision.” Megan shook her head, her brittle smile staying in place. She had to keep the smile in order to make her sound less defensive. “There are floaters to do call-offs; I used to be one. Did you even call for one of them to come in?”

  Johanna leaned into her with a smirk on her thick lips. “I don’t want a floater. I oversee the staff of the ER and I need a nurse that is familiar with our department.”

  “In that case, I guess you’ll have to ask one of the other nurses to stay tonight. I have a husband at home and would like to spend my evening with him and not in the ER. If you excuse me, I’m going to lunch.”

  Megan walked away, her stomach was bubbling. She didn’t know what was wrong with her lately. She’d mouth off at a doctor again and now Johanna. Though, it felt right to tell her demeaning butt off. Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. Pressing the button for the elevator she removed her phone and read the text message from Gabby.

  She made her way to the respiratory department. Gabrielle was in her office with Pam. “Why did you want me to meet you all here instead of the cafeteria?”

  “Girl, sit down,” Pam said in her usual cut-to-the chase manner. “We need to have a talk with you.”

  Megan hunched her shoulders. “What did I do?”

  Gabby bit her bottom lip and said, “We know you have been through a lot lat
ely. It is understandable that you’re releasing that tension unknowingly, but recently you’ve been a little mean to people.”

  “I have not!” Megan said raising her voice.

  “Then what’s that?” Pam questioned. “You are high-strung, Megan. I bet if I touched you right now you’d bounce off the walls like a ping-pong ball.”

  Megan sighed. It must be true if her friends sought to sit her down and tell her about it. “I guess I have been wound a bit tight. I just snapped at Johanna. She wanted me to work a double tonight. Ryan is off tonight and we have plans.”

  Pam chuckled. “We’ll give you a pass on Johanna, she deserved to be put in her place…she’s such a hag.”

  Gabby took a box out of her drawer. “We all agree Johanna deserved it. However, before you really piss someone off at the top and lose your job, Megan; please take this test.”

  Megan shook the box in her hand and frowned. “A pregnancy test? Really?”

  Gabrielle nodded. “Yes, really. I remember when I was pregnant and how moody and unfriendly I could be to people.”

  “I’m not pregnant. Ryan and I have been trying for months and nothing! I’m moody and obnoxious because I’m mad as hell and don’t know how to handle it.” She heard herself yelling again. The look on Pam and Gabby’s faces, she’d never see before. Dammit! Anger coursed through her.

  Gabby hugged her. “You have every right to be angry and obnoxious considering what you’ve been through, Megan. I’m asking as a friend that you take the pregnancy test to make sure it is your hormones causing you to become unscrewed.”

  Megan hesitated to take the test; she couldn’t face another failed pregnancy test. “Fine. I’ll take the damn test to prove to both of you that I’m not pregnant, but a basket case waiting for a room in the psych ward.”

  *****