Into the Flames

by Multi-Author

  Finally, when they’d tumbled down the mountainside, he pulled her to him. Silently, he urged her to rest her head on his chest, as shudders slowed to aftershocks, and finally those aftershocks subsided. He could feel her heartbeat thudding against his chest, feel the warm breeze of her breath, and he thought that was just as erotic as anything they’d done tonight.

  Noah had no idea how long they lay there like that, connected by more than the joining of their bodies. He brushed the damp stands of hair from her face and idly caressed her cheek, enjoying the satin feel of her skin. Finally, he figured he’d better take care of the condom before they did any damage to it. He eased Randi up and away from his body, settling her beside him before padding to the en suite bathroom.

  He ditched the condom and used the facilities. As he stood at the sink, washing his hands, he caught sight of himself in the mirror. The hunger in his eyes still flared, but he knew it had to do with more than sex. He was hungry for the whole woman. He wanted another chance with her. That meant dealing with his own demons, as Jeff had so bluntly pointed out.

  Right now, he didn’t want to think about that. Right now, he just wanted to climb back into bed with the warm, sexy woman who held his heart in the palm of her hand and hold her next to him all night long. Except, of course, he would wake her a time or two, so they could make slow, delicious love, savoring each moment and each other.

  When he reached the bed, he stood there, not sure what to do. Wow! Noah Cutler uncertain? Stop the presses.

  Randi looked up at him standing there, the expression on her face unreadable. She was silent for so long he was ready to start picking up his clothes and getting out of there before he embarrassed himself by begging to stay. Finally, she answered his unspoken question by pulling back the covers and patting the space next to her.

  “It’s okay if you want to stay the night.” Her smile was half welcoming, half shy. “No need for you to go back to the hotel. But I warn you. I get up very early in the morning.”

  “That’s okay. So do I.” He slid in beside her and pulled the covers over both of them. “But I give you fair warning. You may not get to sleep through the night.”

  “Promises, promises.” She grinned. “If that’s the case, we’d better fall asleep quickly. You’ll need your rest.”

  He spooned her against him, wrapping one arm around her and cupping her breast in a palm. Tentatively, he took the nipple between thumb and forefinger, waiting to see if she’d push his hand away, tell him he was bothering her. Instead, she wriggled her ass tighter against him, waking up his dick that was begging for rest before round two.

  As he drifted off to sleep, two things chased around in his mind. The first was if he could get Randi to give him another chance, more than just this one night together. The other was coming to terms with her chosen profession. She might not be on the line anymore, but arson investigators still often found themselves in tough situations.

  If you want her, you’ll adjust. That’s what love is.

  Yes, he loved her, and yes, he wanted her. He just had to get his head on straight.

  Chapter Six

  Noah pulled his car to the curb in front of the firehouse the next morning, put the gear into park, and turned toward Randi.

  “I think your minder is waiting for you,” he joked, inclining his head toward the building.

  Sure enough, Dan Kessler was waiting for her outside the firehouse, leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets. He stared at the car, his forehead creased in a scowl.

  “I hope that look doesn’t mean he thinks revisiting the scenes is a dead end. We really need to do this.

  “I think it’s more likely he doesn’t like your choice of companions.”

  “That’s not his business,” she told him. “Anyway, we’re just work partners. Nothing more. He knows that.”

  Noah shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. Listen, Randi, do me a favor.”

  “What?”

  “Be very careful out there, will you, please? Just…be extra careful.”

  She lifted an eyebrow. “Is this another way you’re telling me my job is too dangerous? Because I thought we got past that.”

  “I worry about you. Sue me. I just…. Please be careful, okay?”

  She scowled at him. “Is there something I should know here? Am I missing something?”

  “Only that I want you to be safe.”

  Randi sat for a moment, trying to figure out what to say next before she got out of the car. I had a great night? Thanks for the terrific sex? Will you be in town long enough for a repeat performance? Their connection was still as hot and intense as ever, but they hadn’t addressed any of the other questions. Noah might have told her he regretted the way he’d left things and that he’d been a jerk, but so what? Had he changed how he felt or where he wanted to live?

  He draped his arm across her shoulders and stroked the nape of her neck beneath the fall of her hair. There was that damn shiver again. While she was still trying to think of a good exit line, he pulled her to him and leaned over for a hot, deep kiss. A really deep kiss, that seemed to go on forever. They’d showered together when they got up, and the memory of it still danced in her brain, especially when the scent of her soap on his skin reminded her of it. When he finally released her, she was dizzy with desire.

  “Better get to work,” he grinned. “Like I said, your minder is waiting for you.”

  “Huh? What?” She blinked and tried to clear her brain.

  “You have my cell number,” he reminded her. “I programmed it into your phone. Call me when you’re finished for the day. We’ll meet up.”

  “Uh, okay. I will.”

  “What? Did you think I was just going to say thanks for the great night? See you?” He sighed. “I’m really going to have to do something about your opinion of me.” He ran the pad of his thumb over her cheek. “So call, all right?”

  She drew in a calming breath. “Just remember, it could be late.”

  “I can keep myself busy. No worries.” Hand cupping her head, he pulled her in for one last deep kiss before letting her go.

  Dan looked at her through narrowed eyes as she crossed the sidewalk. “That was some see-you-later clinch. I take it you had an overnight guest.”

  Okay, she thought. Enough.

  “I really think that’s my business, Dan. Good partners stay out of each other’s personal lives.”

  He shrugged. “Have it your way. I just heard rumors about what happened when he left town.”

  “Rumors?” She glared at him. “And where would you be hearing them?”

  “We know a lot of the same people. They talk. Rumors fly.”

  “Is that a fact? Well, you ought to know better than to pay attention to gossip.” She hitched the strap of her messenger bag over her shoulder. “Now. Let’s go inside and get down to business.”

  The lab had texted her that new reports were waiting for them, so she booted up her computer and opened the files. Dan pulled an empty chair over to sit next to her.

  “That’s strange.” She frowned and nibbled on her lower lip.

  “What?” Dan leaned forward, as if getting closer to the screen might give him answers.

  “I went back and got some additional samples on my own. I—”

  “You what?” He frowned. “Why would you do that without me?”

  “Because it was a simple thing for me to do, and I didn’t want to bother you. No biggie.”

  “We work as a team,” he reminded her.

  “Okay, okay. Anyway, Tran, the lab tech working on these, says when he retested the latest samples, he got totally different results. Look there.” She pointed to some text on the screen. “He said it almost looks as if samples from different scenes were mixed together.” She frowned. “How is that even possible? We were so careful with those samples.”

  “Fuck.” Dan grimaced. “What the hell does that mean?”

  “Fuck is rig
ht. It means either we weren’t careful enough when we took the most recent samples, or someone in the lab sabotaged them.” She shook her head. “Our lab is very, very meticulous.”

  “Yeah, but so are we,” Dan reminded her. “You are, even more than me. You’re meticulous. That’s what makes you such a good arson investigator.”

  “Well, something’s screwed up here. I damn sure want to find out what it is before we get another one to investigate.” She glanced at Dan. “I want to visit the sites again. Today.”

  “More samples?” Dan asked. “What are you looking for now?”

  “Some clue as to why the last samples I gave them were so hinky. Have you had any more luck finding a connection between the four corporate owners?”

  “No, damn it.” He rubbed his chin. “When I get back to my office today, though, I’m going to pull all the files and start at the very beginning again. I want to make sure I didn’t miss anything.”

  They drove to the four sites in Dan’s car, and Randi did her thing while he watched. She was systematic about using the portable sniffer, taking more photos so she could diagram the burn patterns, and collecting yet more samples in the nylon bags she had with her. By the time they finished with all the sites, it was early afternoon, and she realized she’d eaten nothing since the bagel she’d grabbed on the way out the door that morning.

  “You’re driving,” she said as she climbed into the car after the final stop. “How about we drop these samples at the lab and I’ll spring for lunch. Your choice.”

  “I’ll take you up on that offer,” Dan said. “My stomach’s been sending me signals. That diner right near the firehouse work for you?”

  She nodded. “I eat there a lot. I think they have the best burgers in town.”

  “Done.”

  “Okay. Good.”

  The drive to the station was a short one, and they parked at the curb in front.

  “I’ll run these up to the lab if you want,” Dan said, locking the car. “You can get us a table or a booth.”

  “Thanks for the offer, but I’d better hand carry these babies myself.” Every now and then Dan handed over evidence for her, but she was so itchy and antsy about these fires, she wasn’t letting anything out of her hands until they’d caught whoever was doing this.

  “Are you saying you don’t trust me?” His tone of voice was only half joking.

  “Not at all. But this is my job, and I need to make sure I have total chain of custody.” She frowned at him. “You can understand that, right? You have the same thing.”

  “I do, and you’re right.” Any resentment or irritation disappeared from his face. “I’ll take care of the booth. Meet you in a few.”

  Randi was very specific when she logged the nylon bags in with Tran.

  “Run every test possible to determine if any of the accelerants or ILS compounds are related. If one could appear as another or mask another. I’ll be doing the burn patterns again in a little while.”

  “Randi, you’re going to kill yourself,” he cautioned, “but I know you. You’ll run full out until you get this solved. That’s what makes you so good.”

  “Thanks for that.” She paused. “When do you think you’ll have something for me?”

  “The captain has said to make this a priority, so tomorrow at the latest.”

  “Good. And thanks. A lot. Really.”

  “I’ll get right on it,” Tran assured her. “I want to get this bastard as much as you do.”

  * * *

  “How goes it?”

  Noah looked up from his cell phone as Jeff dropped into the seat across the table from him.

  “Better than I figured, not as good as I’d like.” He gave his friend a rueful grin. “About the way it usually goes.”

  The waitress came by to take Jeff’s drink order and leave them menus. Noah had chosen to meet at the River Walk, the number one tourist attraction in Texas and a place he had always loved. Paved walkways wound around on both sides of the narrow San Antonio River, lined with restaurants and shops and other businesses that were tourist-oriented. Casa Rio, where the two men were having lunch, was the first place he’d ever taken Randi. They had come back frequently, and today he wanted to relive those memories as well as feel the connection. He had a lot of work to do to repair his relationship with her, and he hoped this place would inspire him.

  They made small talk while they studied the menus and then ordered lunch. The mechanics out of the way, Jeff leaned forward with a questioning look on his face.

  “Okay, give. I want a report.”

  Noah set his cell phone down. “Sorry, just looking for a text. Well, not a whole lot to tell, although I have what could turn out to be a very good lead if I could put the pieces together. I need to see a couple more people this afternoon.”

  “That’s terrific, but I really want the dirt on you and Randi. The text last night that you were leaving and taking her home really ramped up my curiosity.”

  Noah laughed. “What, are we in high school or something? I’m not into gossip.”

  “I don’t want gossip.” Jeff’s face lost the smile, replaced by a sober expression. “I want to know if last night went well. If there’s a chance you can get your head out of your ass and get back together with her.”

  “Oh. Well. That.” Noah leaned back and blew out a breath.

  “Yeah, that. Give.”

  Noah rubbed his jaw, trying to find the right words. “Let’s say I think it could be a good possibility.”

  “Wow. That’s about as noncommittal an answer as I’ve ever heard.”

  “That’s because I don’t have another one.” He swallowed some of his cold drink. “Last night was great, but I want more than one night with her. And I want her to know I’m there for her. That she’s very important to me.”

  “And have you come to terms with where the two of you would live and what she’s chosen as a career?”

  “Where we’d live is no longer a problem. I spoke to my assignment editor before I left New York. I’m solid enough at the news agency, plus we’re such an electronic world that I can relocate if I want to. Once a month meetings in New York, and that’s it.”

  “And the other?” Jeff pushed.

  Noah blew out a breath. “That’s all on me. If I want her—and I do—I have to figure out how to live with what she does for a living and not make her miserable over it.”

  “At least she’s not running into active fires anymore,” Jeff pointed out.

  “But some of these firebugs are dangerous,” Noah objected. “I’ve heard stories, too, about investigators going into buildings and the arsonist setting another fire to get rid of them.”

  “She could get killed in an auto accident just as easily,” Jeff told him. “Maybe if you talked to her about her job, got the particulars so you understood it better?”

  Noah shrugged. “Maybe.” No maybe about it.

  “So, what’s up with your story?”

  They paused while the waitress delivered their plates and they took a moment to sample a few bites of food.

  Noah washed his food down with another swallow of his drink and cleared his throat.

  “I stumbled over something when I was at city hall, trying to chase down who the owners of the various properties were and if there is any connection.”

  “See there?” Jeff poked a tortilla chip loaded with guacamole at him. “Randi could have helped you there. She and Dan have been all over it. They got nada.”

  “Ah, but they were looking for the wrong things.” He popped his own loaded chip in his mouth and crunched thoughtfully, watching Jeff’s face.

  “Okay.” His friend made a “come on” gesture with his hand. “Give.”

  “Do you know those properties are all adjacent to areas that are about to be rezoned a combination of residential and commercial? The plan is for a combination of retail, offices, restaurants, and condos. High end. If you look at a
map, you’ll see each complex is at the edge of an area being redeveloped.”

  Jeff let out a slow whistle. “You’re shitting me.”

  “Not even a little.” Noah took a bite of tamale, chewed thoughtfully, and swallowed. “If a developer approached the owners of that land, they’d get a hell of a lot more than they would by just rebuilding the apartments. Assuming they could, that is.”

  Jeff frowned. “But the city or county or whoever has jurisdiction can’t just arbitrarily rezone parcels of land and tell people they have to get out, can they?”

  “No.” Noah shook his head. “That’s true. First of all, the rezoning request has to be consistent with the long range plans of the governing body, which in this case it would.”

  A look of anger washed over Jeff’s face. “But the owners can’t simply tell the tenants to get out, even if they tried to relocate them.”

  Noah nodded. “Right. Besides which, it would cost money they don’t want to spend or maybe don’t have. They’ve already given relocation stipends to those tenants burned out by the fire. If they damage the complex sufficiently, and the tenants are informed they don’t intend to rebuild….”

  “And if they don’t want to live in an unsafe place with the rubble from burned out buildings,” Jeff went on for him, “they can move on their own, find other places. Cheaper for the owners to give everyone relocation money so they can move forward with their plans. And the owners are free to have the remaining units knocked down, the rubble cleared, and sell the land for high dollars to the developers.”

  “Got it in one.”

  “Well, shit.” He frowned. “Wait a minute. When were those apartments bought by the current owners? And wouldn’t they have to have had notice this was happening?”

  “They would,” Noah agreed. “This particular long range plan was adopted by the council three years ago.”

  “Three years?” Jeff almost shouted the words. “Three fucking years?”

  Noah thought it was a damn good thing it was so noisy on the River Walk. Otherwise, people would be staring at them and trying to overhear whatever conversation inspired such expletives.