Brian Nickels had no clue what was about to befall him. I was going to break the fucker’s door down if I had to.
I couldn’t explain the rage that was tearing up my insides. I’d been hit before. My ex had been an abusive, angry, violent man, and Emily’s face looked exactly the same way mine did whenever he came home from the bar. Just like my dad. He was the reason I never wanted to date again.
But being with Derek had shown me that there were men out there who didn’t need to use violence. Who could be calm, and still, and gentle. I needed that more than I needed anything else.
However, after seeing what Brian had done to my friend, I also needed to fight for her. She’d been there for me when I packed up my things and moved out of my ex’s place. She’d held her ground and told him to stay away while I crammed things into suitcases. If it wasn’t for her, I might not have ever found the nerve to leave.
Now it was my turn to look evil in the eye and tell it to fuck off.
And I wanted to.
“What are you thinking about, Katie?”
“Nothing. You know what helped me feel better? A nice hot shower. What do you say?”
Emily nodded. “That would be nice. I haven’t showered in two days.”
I knew she’d say something like that. I’d been the exact same way. The kettle started whistling on the stove, and I got up and went to the counter to fix us each a cup of tea. When we were done, she could have a shower, and then I would see how she was feeling. Maybe she would be up to confronting Brian. If not, I could wait.
I could wait however long it took.
When I heard the shower turn on down the hall, I stepped out onto the front porch and called Derek, like I’d said I would. He answered on the second ring, and the first thing he said was, “How’s Emily?”
He was such a good man. He cared about my friend. But I didn’t know what to say to him. I didn’t want to lie, but I also didn’t want to tell him about Brian for fear of what he might do. He was already in hot water with the local reporters, and I didn’t want to complicate things even more.
“Katie?”
“She’s okay. Or she will be. Everything is just kind of messed up right now.”
“Are you all right?”
Why did I have to start crying now? Why couldn’t I have held it together like I did when I was sitting with Emily in her kitchen?
The emotions rolled through me, and I sank down to the bench in front of the kitchen window on the porch. I leaned forward, burying my face in one hand as I tried to desperately hold on to the sob that was threatening to suffocate me.
It came anyway.
Derek was quiet for a minute. “Katie. What’s happened? Where are you?”
“I’m safe,” I managed to say. I didn’t want him worrying about me.
“These tears are for your friend?”
“Yes.”
“Is she safe?”
I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. “She is now.”
“What does that mean?”
I took a shaky breath. I had to tell him now. I had him worried, and I owed him the truth. “I came to her house, and she wouldn’t open the door. I made her let me in. And then I saw why she’d been avoiding me. She’s all beaten up, Derek.”
“Who did it?” His voice sounded like acid on the phone line.
“It doesn’t matter. She’s through with him. It’s done.”
“Give me his name.”
“No.”
“Katie, I know people. Let me handle this guy so he’s not walking around after what he did. I can help.”
“Know people?”
“I’m a fireman. I have connections.”
Right. Of course he did. I licked my lips. “Brian Nickels.”
25
Derek
“Do you know him?” Katie asked.
The name rang in my ears. Brian Nickels. Yeah, I knew him. We went to high school together. He was one of the kids I robbed the gas station with. Him and his younger brother Jacob who was in some state prison on the other side of the country for smuggling marijuana across the border from Canada.
“Derek?” Katie asked.
I wasn’t sure how long I’d been quiet for, but the blood was rushing in my ears, and her voice sounded very, very far away. “I’m here.”
“Do you know him?”
“Yeah.”
I heard her swallow. “Please tell me you’re not going to do anything.”
“You don’t need to worry about it. You just focus your energy on Emily. She needs you right now.”
“I know. But what are you going to do?”
“It’s fine.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. I was sitting on my bike. Hayden and I had just left the diner, and I could see him walking down the sidewalk toward his car. I tried to calm the storm raging inside my chest, but it was no use. The anger was building.
How dare that prick lay a hand on a woman?
“Everything is going to be fine, Katie. Don’t worry about it. Listen, I have to go, but we’ll talk in a bit, okay? You just stay with Emily and make sure she’s all right.”
I hung up the phone, put it on silent, and slipped it into my pocket. Then I put on my helmet and tore away from the curb without looking over my shoulder. Somebody honked. I didn’t give a damn.
All I was concerned about was getting across town as fast as I could. Hopefully, Brian still lived in the same house he used to. And hopefully, he was home.
Because there were some things he and I needed to sort out.
* * *
I was off my bike by the time the engine died. The house was two stories with a garage door in need of desperate repair and grass that hadn’t been mowed in months. I marched up the driveway to the front door and knocked. Hard.
“Just a minute!”
I knocked again.
When the door opened, it was Brian Nickels smiling at me on the other side. He looked almost the same as I remembered: dishevelled light-brown hair, brown eyes, and a scar above his lip from a fight that went badly when we were young. I had a scar on my knee from that same fight when a kid cut me with a broken piece of glass from his beer bottle.
“Derek Janson. No fucking way! How have you been man?” Brian seemed genuinely happy to see me. His smile stretched his cheeks, showing dimples I’d forgotten he had, and he looked me up and down. “Shit, you got big. Like a damn tree. They treating you all right up at the firehouse?”
I hooked a thumb over my shoulder. “Come outside. I need to talk to you.”
He frowned. “What’s up?”
“Outside.”
Brian had never been the sharpest tool in the shed, so he followed me out to his driveway without hesitation. He was wearing sweatpants that were worn at the knees and a loose gray T-shirt that had a mustard stain on the collar. What a prize he was.
Brian raked his fingers through his shaggy hair and nodded his chin at me. “What are you doing here anyway? This is unexpected.”
“I came to ask you about Emily.”
“Emily.”
“You heard me.”
Brian cocked his head to the side as he processed how he wanted to handle this situation. I waited as he made his calculations. He could run, which I knew he wouldn’t. He could start throwing fists, which I also knew he wouldn’t. Or he could lie his ass off. That was where I was putting my money.
“Emily who?”
“The girl you roughed up the other night.”
“I didn’t—”
“Don’t waste my fucking time, Brian. I already know you hurt her. Don’t be a coward.”
A smug look passed across his face, and he shook his head at me. “What? You think that because you’re a firefighter now that you can look down your nose at me? Is that it?”
I moved in on him and jabbed him in the chest with one finger. “No. I can look down my nose at you because you’re a piece of shit who hits women.”
“What the hell do you care? She was just some dumb bitch who wouldn’t suck me off after I took her out and—”
My fist slammed into his jaw.
Brian staggered back, clutched his hand over his jaw, and let out a surprised yell. He managed to regain his balance before he toppled backward on his ass, and he whirled to face me, his eyes wide with anger and surprise. Then he started laughing.
I shook my hand out. It had been a while since I swung like that at someone’s face. My knuckles burned.
“Don’t tell me you have the hots for Emily?” Brian snickered as he massaged his jaw. “She’s pretty, sure, but she’s not easy.”
I was in no mood for talking. Nothing was going to be said that changed what happened. But I needed somewhere to put all this rage, and the only place I could think to dispose of it was all over Brian’s face.
I went after him again.
Brian took a couple of steps back before he remembered he could fight back. He lifted his fists and blocked his face as I took another two swings at him. Then he let one fly of his own. I ducked under his hit and came back up to deliver two successive punches to his ribs.
Whump. Whump.
I heard the air get knocked from his lungs as he wheezed and clutched his stomach.
I didn’t give him time to recover. Fuck him. He probably hadn’t given Emily time to recover either.
I grabbed him by the back of his shirt and hauled him back up to strike him square in the nose. Brian let out a shriek of pain as blood sprayed out of his broken nose. He cupped his hands beneath the flood, spat out a red mouthful of spit, and glared at me as he wheezed to catch his breath. “Fuck you.”
“Yeah. Fuck you too.”
He charged me. He dropped his head and, like a total psychopath, ran at me with his head down.
The top of his head slammed into my stomach as he wrapped his arms around my legs and took me to the pavement of the driveway. The back of my head clapped against the cement, and stars burst in my vision like little dazzling lights hellbent on distracting me.
I didn’t see his fist coming until it was too late.
His knuckles struck me across the right side of my jaw.
I spat blood.
Brian wound back to hit me again, but this time, I was ready for him. I drove the heel of my hand up into his ribs. He grunted and doubled over, bringing his face within range of my fists again. I struck him, rolled him off me, and planted myself on top of him.
And that was when I really let him have it.
His face was a bloody mess by the time I’d landed three hits on him. He started begging me to stop.
“Did Emily ask you stop?” I yelled at him as I gathered the front of his shirt in my hands and hauled him upward.
HIs mouth was thick with blood. He spat another mouthful to the side. “I’m sorry, all right? Fuck! I’m sorry!”
“You’ll stay away from her. Do you hear me? If I catch wind of you setting foot near her again, I’ll make this look like a walk in the park. You’ll be begging me to kill you by the time I’m done with you. Do you hear me? Answer me!” I shook him roughly. More bloody saliva leaked out of the corner of his mouth.
Brian nodded frantically. “I hear you!”
I let go of his shirt and shoved him down to the pavement before getting to my feet. I wiped my split and bloody knuckles on my jeans before turning back to my bike.
And that was when I saw that half the neighborhood had rushed out of their homes to see the fight. And past the line of people in their polo shirts, khaki pants, tennis skirts, white jeans, and floral blouses were four police cruisers coming down the street.
“Damn,” I breathed.
The first cop car that arrived spat out two police officers, who yelled at the crowd to part and told me to get down on my knees.
Apparently, this was the sort of force required when the fight was already over.
I obeyed and went to my knees. I put my hands over my head, and by the time the first two cops were on me, the other cruisers had pulled up and were forcing the neighbors to back up. One of the officers went to Brian, who started telling them that he had no idea what happened.
“He just knocked on my door, told me to come outside, and started wailing on me,” Brian said.
I shook my head. “Liar.”
One of the officers, a big guy with a buzzcut similar to Rinehart’s, shook me roughly and pulled my hands down behind my back. He tightened handcuffs on my wrists and hauled me to my feet by the back of my shirt. Then he read me my rights as he walked me to the car.
He slammed me into the side of the cruiser, where he held me as he opened the back door.
Somewhere nearby, I could still hear Brian trying to save his own ass. He was spewing nonsense and still spitting blood when another car pulled up. A little red coupe.
Katie got out of the passenger seat.
It didn’t take her long to spot me. We locked eyes as the cop put his hand on my head and pushed me into the back of the cop car.
I watched Katie as her eyes went from me to Brian, who was receiving tissues from a female officer to stop the bleeding of his nose. Katie’s eyes widened with shock.
When she looked back at me, I could see a lot of things in her eyes: anger, disappointment, fear.
I looked down at my lap as those same feelings rose up inside of me.
I’d just screwed myself out of my job, and I might have jeopardized Rinehart’s too. I might have jeopardized the whole station.
26
Katie
Emily gripped my upper arm and tried to tug me back to the street where the rest of the neighborhood had gathered outside the run-down two-story house. The grass was almost up to my hips, and the house needed a good pressure washing. Mold and mildew clung to the siding, and the roof was faded from direct sun. Clumps of stuff were spilling out of the gutters.
There was a man on the driveway sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest. His wrists were draped over his knees, and his hands dangled until he lifted one to run it under his nose, which was leaking thick dark blood. It smeared across the back of his hand, and he leaned over to spit more blood on the pavement.
I knew Emily didn’t want to go anywhere near that mean. That was Brian.
But I didn’t give a damn about any of that. I gave a damn about the fact that Derek had just been shoved into the back of a police car. He’d met my eye for the briefest second, and now he sat in the back, his head down, refusing to look back up at me.
“Derek!” I called out to him.
I jerked my arm out of Emily’s viselike grip and moved toward the cruiser. My path was blocked by a young cop with blue eyes and light-brown hair. He shook his head at me. “Sorry miss, you can’t pass this line.”
“But I know him—”
“He’s been arrested for assault.”
“Assault?”
The cop nodded and pointed at Brian. “Neighbors say they saw him show up, invite Mr. Nickels outside, and then proceeded to beat him up.”
“Yeah, because he’s a piece of shit.”
“Apparently,” the cop said.
“Wait. No. Not Derek. Brian Nickels is a piece of shit. He—”
The cop held up his hand to silence me. “Miss, I’m sorry, but if you have a problem, you will have to take it up at the police station. Mallory works at the front desk. She’ll be able to point you in the right direction.”
“Can I at least talk to him?” I asked. A hot lump was burning my throat and creeping steadily upward. I forced myself to swallow and winced. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Please don’t cry.
The cop shook his head. “No. I’m sorry. We’ll be taking him to the station once we have our statement from Mr. Nickels and a few of the neighbors.”
“That sounds incredibly biased,” Emily muttered beside me.
“Your friend will have a chance to give us his side if he wishes. Although I’d suggest he call his lawyer.”
I rolled my eyes, grab
bed Emily by the hand, and steered her back to her little red coupe. “Fucking cops,” I growled.
“He’s just doing his job.”
“I know. That’s why it’s even more frustrating. What the hell was Derek thinking? I told him not to do anything! I was very specific.”
I got in the driver’s seat of Emily’s car and slammed the door. She got in the passenger side. She hadn’t been up for driving when I finally managed to convince her to come down to Brian’s house to confront him with me. I’d been fine with that. Driving helped me clear my head and organize my thoughts anyway.
But now my mind was racing a mile a minute. I was furious with Derek for putting himself in this situation, and I couldn’t help but let my thoughts spiral. If reporters caught wind of this, he’d be in big trouble.
I ran my hands down my face. “I can’t believe this happened.”
Emily didn’t say anything.
I peered over at her between my fingers. “Am I overreacting? Should I be mad at him?”
Emily shrugged. “I don’t know. I can’t tell you how to feel. But I can say that I felt pretty good when I saw Brian’s bloody face. Like really good.”
I sighed. That was fair enough. But she didn’t know about the potential repercussions his actions were going to have on him and, possibly, the fire station.
I started the car and gritted my teeth.
“Where are we going?” Emily asked.
“The police station.”
The drive was silent. Emily was nervous and jittery, and I was too furious to try to calm her down. Anything I said would probably only make things worse, and I wasn’t up to doing that. She was having a rough enough day as it was.
When we parked outside the station, I turned the car off and looked at her. “You don’t have to come with me. But I’m going to make sure they know what sort of man Brian is. If you don’t want to make a statement about what he did to you, stay here. I’ll be as fast as I can.”
Emily nodded. “Thanks, Katie.”
My heart sank. I’d been hoping she would walk in there with me, bruises displayed like evidence, and tell them all what a piece of shit Brian was. But I understood why she didn’t want to. When I’d gone through this, I didn’t have the strength to turn in my boyfriend. I’d hidden it for months before Emily even found out he was hitting me.
Set the Night on Fire: A Bad Boy Firefighter Novel Page 15
