“Oh. You’re right. You’re not a prude.” She smirked. Then she finished her right eyebrow and moved on to the left. “You should at the very least show off your tattoos tonight. You always cover them up at work. And they’re beautiful.”
I sighed and tugged self-consciously at the long sleeves of my black shirt. It was tight fitting, which I thought was revealing enough. “I don’t know what I would wear.”
“It’s a concert in the park. You could literally wear a T-shirt. Or a crop top. Do you even own a crop top?”
“What do you think?”
“No. Okay. Then a T-shirt is fine. You can show off the tats on your arms. Not many girls have full sleeves like yours, and they’re masterpieces.” She uncrossed her legs and marched over to my closet. She threw open the doors with a flourish and sifted through my shirts. It didn’t take her long to settle on a dark gray one with cut outs on the shoulders. She nodded decisively and held it out to me. “Here. Put this one on. It will look cute.”
I sucked on my bottom lip. “Fine.”
After changing, I stood back to look at my reflection. My tattoos were on full display. Swirling dark ink flowed in tribal patterns and gave way to floral pieces that were spattered in watercolor-style ink. They were special to me. I’d gotten them to mark a big milestone in my life, not to show them to other people. They were for me and no one else.
The reflection in the mirror looked like a woman I barely knew.
She was lean, with dark red hair. Light green eyes. Full lips. Good posture. Bruised shins from walking into patients’ beds in the ER. Black nail polish on her toes that needed to be redone. Purple bags under her eyes from lack of sleep. A scar on her right knee.
“You look hot as hell,” Emily said.
I blinked and looked away from the mirror. “Thank you.”
Emily fluffed up her hair and gave me an excited smile. “You ready to go or what?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I muttered.
* * *
Searing Park had been turned into a massive outdoor festival for the concert—something Emily had neglected to mention when she invited me. There had to be over two thousand people there, and standing in line outside the pop-up fence already had me anxious. I didn’t do crowds. The ER was enough for me.
Emily could tell I was getting nervous, and she put her hand on my wrist. “Katie, relax. This is a super chill place. Everyone is just here to dance. Maybe have a couple drinks and smoke a little. Nothing crazy. Okay?”
“Nothing crazy. Right.” I wiped my sweaty palms on my denim skirt.
Emily sighed beside me as we stepped up to go through security. The guards checked our purses, put a stamp on the inside of our wrists, and told us to hurry along. Soon, I found myself out on the grass, surrounded by too many people with a red solo cup of beer in my hand.
The first band played rock music, which was not my cup of tea, and the whole park became filled with people singing along to hardcore music I had never heard before. Heads were bobbing to the beat, and girls were on the shoulders of their dates. Neon-colored glow sticks bounced around in the crowd in a dizzying rhythm.
I wanted to go home.
Emily tapped the side of her almost empty beer cup against mine. “Drink up! I want to go back for another. Might as well grab one for both of us.”
“I’m good.”
“Are you sure?”
I nodded.
Emily’s shoulders slumped a little, and I watched her weave through the crowd to the beer tent. I knew I was disappointing her. She just wanted to be out having a good time, dancing, and I just wanted to be on my sofa under a fleece blanket with a book in my lap. I liked reading about adventure and excitement. I didn’t like living it. Working in the ER was enough action for me. Enough blood and noise and body odor. This was just more of that.
Somebody bumped into me. Their drink sprayed all up my side and in my hair as the heel of their shoe came down on my toe. I yelped and stumbled backward into a guy in a neon yellow tank top. He caught me and brought me back to my feet.
“Thank you,” I muttered, resisting the urge to whimper with pain at my aching toe.
“You’re welcome, cutie. Want a drink?” He had a cute smile and curly blonde hair. By most standards, he’d be classified as a hottie. But I wasn’t interested.
“No, thank you.”
He shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
I needed space. I brushed by him and wove through the crowd, my eyes set on the gate and entrance to the park. Despite being outside, I needed air. I needed to stand in a space where I could lift both my arms out on either side and touch nothing.
As I made my way over, I spotted a fire truck that hadn’t been there when we first arrived. Four firemen were leaning up against it, talking.
Someone stopped me on my way out when they fell across the grass in front of me. I had to hop over them at the last minute to avoid stepping on them.
I turned around and dropped to a crouch beside the young girl. “Are you all right?” I called over the raging music.
She shook her head.
The girl couldn’t have been more than sixteen. She had short black hair that was shaved on one side, a ring in her nose, and dark blue eye shadow. She was pale—more so than I thought was normal, despite her clear lack of spending time in the sun. There was sweat on her upper lip, and loose strands of hair were matted to her forehead.
As she pushed herself up to her knees, I gently rested a hand on her shoulder. The concert was loud, so I had to yell for her to hear me. “What’s the matter?”
She shook her head and tried to speak, but no words came out. Instead, her eyes widened a bit, and she pressed her hand to her chest.
“Do you have asthma?” I asked.
She shook her head again.
“Do you suffer from panic attacks?”
She nodded.
All right. There we go. Now I had an answer and something to work with. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and gave her a tight, reassuring squeeze. “Out through the front gate are some firemen who will be able to help you. Come on. Let’s get you away from all these people so you can catch your breath and sit down somewhere safe and quiet. Just stick with me. I’ve got you.”
She clung to the front of my gray T-shirt as I guided her to her feet and steered her through the crowd. It was not my nature to do so, but I had to yell at people to get out of our way. Yelling wasn’t the best option, so when people didn’t hear me over the crash of the drums on stage, I was forced to use my elbows to steer them away from our path.
We broke free of the crowd. “What’s your name?” I asked the girl. I wanted to distract her.
She finally found her voice and managed to say, “Kelly.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Katie. I work as a nurse at Searing General. So, don’t worry. You’re in good hands, okay?”
She nodded and clung to me tighter as we approached the gate. One of the security guards stepped out from under the tent and gave us a skeptical look. “You two all right? She been drinking? We’re strict about underage—”
“No, she hasn’t been drinking,” I said. “She’s having a panic attack. I’m a nurse. I just want to get her away from all these people so she can get some fresh air.”
“You’re already outside,” he said flatly.
I pursed my lips to refrain from saying something rude. “I realize that. But crowds are not where you want to be when you’re having a panic attack. Excuse us, please.”
He stepped aside, and we slipped under the tent and emerged on the other side to the sidewalk. Kelly loosened her grip on my shirt as soon as we rounded the corner, and I took her to the edge of the sidewalk, and we sat down on the curb. Gently, I placed my hand on her upper back and rubbed in slow circles. “You’re going to be all right. Just focus on taking slow and deep breaths. It will pass.”
Kelly gripped her arms and drew her knees up. This was a common position for someone to take when they wer
e feeling overwhelmed. Drawing inward made her feel safe.
I looked down the sidewalk to the fire truck. “Excuse me?” I called.
All four of them looked over.
“Could we have a bit of help, please?”
They walked down the sidewalk and stepped under the light of the lamppost above us. All four of them were built like trees, clean shaven, and handsome. None of that mattered.
One of them, a tall beast of a man with black hair, crouched down in front of Kelly. “Hey there,” he said. “My name is Hayden. Can you tell me what happened?”
Kelly seemed nervous, so I answered for her. “She had a panic attack out on the field. I think she almost fainted because she fell and I nearly stepped on her. I brought her out here, and she seems to be doing better.”
Hayden smiled at me. “You made the right call getting her out here.”
“I’m a nurse,” I said.
He nodded. “Then you’re a lucky girl, Kelly. You happened to be at the right place at the right time. I’m going to grab you a bottle of water, okay? Just sit here and don’t rush yourself.”
Kelly nodded, and I continued rubbing her back as Hayden got up and walked back to the truck. The other three firefighters stood around, looking down at us. One of them, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed God of a man, nodded his chin to me. “You said you’re a nurse?”
I nodded. “I work in the ER at Searing General. I’ve seen you guys come in before with patients.”
He nodded and eased his hands into his pockets, leaving his thumbs outside. “I feel like a fool. I would think I’d recognize a pretty face like yours.”
I frowned.
“Maybe it’s the tattoos,” he said. “I’ve never seen anyone in the ER with tats like that before.”
I was suddenly very self-conscious about my bare arms. “I wear long-sleeved shirts under my scrubs.”
“You shouldn’t. They’re cool. They suit you.” He winked.
Ugh. And this shit was the reason why I didn’t like firefighters.
Hayden came back with the water bottle he’d promised and unscrewed the cap before handing it to Kelly, who drank thankfully. I ceased rubbing her back and asked her how she was feeling.
“Much better,” she said.
“Are your friends still inside?”
Kelly nodded. “Yeah. I came in with my boyfriend.”
“He should be looking for you.”
“Probably not,” Kelly said.
I blinked at her. Hayden was still balancing on the balls of his feet in front of her. He rested his elbow on his knee and his chin on his knuckles. “You know, Kelly, maybe he’s not—”
“I know,” Kelly said.
Hayden and I exchanged a look, and then I was distracted by someone calling my name down the sidewalk. I looked to my right and saw Emily hurrying over to us. “Katie, are you okay? I came back from the bar and you were just gone.”
I got to my feet. “Yeah. Sorry.”
Emily tucked her hair behind her ears and smiled around at all the firemen, who smiled right back at her. I got to my feet and took her hand. “I want to go home now.”
“But—”
“Now,” I said firmly. And then I bent down and rested a hand on Kelly’s shoulder. “Are you all right here with Hayden?” She nodded. “Okay. Feel better, Kelly.”
She smiled at me. “Thank you.”
Then I pulled Emily away from the firemen and down the sidewalk. She stumbled along beside me as she continuously glanced back at the firemen. “They’re so hot. That blonde one? Did you give him your number?”
“No,” I said. “You know how I feel about them. He was more concerned about hitting on me than taking care of Kelly. They’re all only worried about one thing.”
Emily giggled. “Well, that might be true. And I’d be willing to give that one thing up to them for a night. Did you see those eyes?”
5
Derek
I pulled up to the station on my bike as Hayden arrived in his truck. He closed his door as I swung my leg over the seat and pulled my helmet off to hang it on the handlebars. Hayden waited for me, and I met him on the sidewalk.
He clapped me on the shoulder in greeting as we both walked up the drive toward the garage doors. “How’s it hanging?”
I shrugged. “Would be better if I didn’t have to sit around and wait on medical calls all day. And spend my time with Allen.”
Hayden chuckled. “It won’t be that bad, man. Come on. Lighten up.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not on the chief’s shit list.”
“No. But I have been. So you should take my advice rather than insist on being a moody ass about the whole thing.”
“Derek’s always a moody ass,” Mav chimed in as he appeared from around the back of one of the fire trucks. He’d started the inspection before the shift change. He hung the clipboard up and hooked his thumbs in the belt loops of his pants. “He can’t help himself. It’s like a reflex.”
“Yeah, screw you too, Mav,” I said.
Hayden looked back and forth between us. “Listen. Just keep your head down, and get your work done. The chief will see your effort, and you’ll be back on search and rescue in no time. The whole reason he put you in the box is because of your attitude. He’s trying to help you.”
“He’s trying to punish me.”
“They can feel like the same thing. I know. But that’s not what he’s doing. Trust me.”
I waved Hayden off. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll keep my mouth shut and do my job.”
Mav snickered. “Keep your mouth shut? In what century would that ever be possible?”
I scowled. “Ha. Ha.”
Mav nodded behind us, and I faced the garage doors where the rest of the crew were coming in for their shift. Trace, Allen, and Maddox came in, and Trace nodded my way. “Hey, box boy.”
“Fuck off.”
Mav chuckled. “Mouth.”
I seethed. “Fine. Shut up.”
As we all made our way inside, Hayden checked his phone. The corner of his mouth curled up in a smile, and he tucked it back in his pocket.
“Let me guess. Mel?”
Hayden glanced at me. “Yeah.”
“How is she?”
Hayden smiled. “She’s good. Busy though. She launched a new menu at her restaurant last week and, since then, has had to work almost every night because they’ve been so busy. She’s realizing she’s going to have to hire more servers to keep up with everything. Which is good. She’s just stressed is all. And she wishes she had more time to spend with Kylee, of course.”
“Of course,” I said sarcastically. Kylee was Mel’s daughter, and since Hayden and her had started dating, the little girl had been the subject of many conversations. I understood that my best friend was completely enamoured with his new life, but talking about kids had never been interesting to me. In fact, it was the opposite of interesting.
Hayden held open the door to the kitchen for me, and I stepped inside behind the other guys. Allen was already sitting at the communal table. Lo and behold, he had his book out. I sighed and looked imploringly at Hayden, who chuckled and shook his head at me. He tapped his lips, as if to remind me not to say anything that would fall under the “asshole” category, and went over to the coffee machine and began brewing a batch for all of us.
I went and slid into the seat beside Allen. “So, it’s me and you today, man.”
He nodded and turned the page in his book.
“It’s been a while since I rode in the box.” Starting a conversation with Allen had never been easy. He was pretty withdrawn and liked to keep to himself. But I was his opposite in that regard. If I was going to be spending the next few weeks—possibly more—with him in the box, I was going to need to get some sort of conversation going with him.
Otherwise, I might lose my edge.
Maybe that was the chief’s plan all along. Clever bastard.
Allen’s eyes slid across the page. “It’s l
ike riding a bicycle. It’ll come right back to you.”
I grunted. “Perfect. That’s exactly what I want.”
I nearly jumped out of my skin when someone dropped a pot in the kitchen. It crashed to the floor with a loud bang, and the instant the sound rang through the room, Allen shoved his chair backward and looked like he was prepared to launch himself into battle.
I blinked at him. “Relax, man. It was just the rookie making a mess.”
Allen’s chest rose and fell as he breathed sharply.
“It was just a pot,” I said.
Allen looked shaky when he picked up his book. “I’m going to read in the ambulance. You’ve got twenty minutes before we have to start a route.”
I watched him leave, and he cast wary glances at Maddox as he stooped to pick up the pot he’d dropped.
“That was weird,” I muttered as Hayden slid into the chair beside me.
Hayden shrugged. “Allen’s always been a bit jumpy.”
* * *
Twenty minutes later, I was full of toast and coffee and sitting in the passenger seat of the ambulance while Allen pulled out of the garage and took a right on Searing Avenue. He hadn’t said a word since I got in the box, and he kept his eyes on the road as we drove in silence for the first five minutes.
“So,” I said, hoping he’d respond to a little bit of dialogue. “Did you hear the chief put Maddox on search and rescue to cover for me while I’m doing this shit?”
Allen glanced at me. “I did.”
“Such bullshit. That position is earned. It shouldn’t just be handed to a twenty-one-year-old punk who won’t have a clue how to handle a rescue call with Hayden.”
“He has to learn someday. What better way to learn than to be thrust into it?”
“If he gets Hayden into trouble, I’ll be pissed.”
“Hayden knows what he’s doing. He won’t put himself at risk when he has a rookie covering his ass. He’s smarter than that.”
I hadn’t thought about it like that, but Allen was right. Hayden wouldn’t be rushing into fires he knew were too dangerous to go into with a rookie. And if there was a call like that, the chief would probably step in and cover for Maddox.
Set the Night on Fire: A Bad Boy Firefighter Novel Page 3
