by Olivia Arran
Footsteps sounded behind me, loud and heavy.
“Need some help?” Ted’s voice sounded strange and tinny through the breathing apparatus, but there was no mistaking his tall, lanky frame. Or the fire fighting rig he wore.
“I’m going to lift the shelving and I need you to pull Amy free.”
When he moved around to her shoulders, I nodded. “On three. One, two … three!” Pushing from my knees, I shouldered the heavy metal, lifting it clear in the air. Adrenaline thundered through me, chasing the edge of exhaustion away.
Ted lifted Amy into his arms.
“Get her out of here,” I gasped out, letting the metal fall back to the floor with a clang.
“Sure thing, Chief.” He turned, clomping his way back to the small corridor, pausing to wrap a blanket over the unconscious woman to protect her from the flames.
Striding right behind him, the hair prickled on the nape of my neck.
“Here,” he said, then turned back to me with his arms empty. “Jeanie’s taken her out.”
“Jeanie’s in here?” I roared, the prickle turning into full blown panic at the thought of my mate walking through a wall of fire.
“She does work for you, Chief.”
“Move,” I ordered, determined to catch up with the little spitfire and tell her exactly what I thought of her strolling in here and risking her own life. The thought of Amy going the same way as Tia had turned my stomach, but imagining Jeanie meeting the same end? For the first time in my life I was terrified.
“Yeah … sorry, I can’t.”
Ted’s words weaved through the fog of panic. “What?” I took a step forward, until we were chest to chest. “Move, Ted,” I growled.
“No.” His voice held an edge of ice.
And then I felt it, the cold edge of steel jammed against my stomach. I froze.
“I have no idea how you survived last time, but I promise you, it won’t happen again. Now, back up and sit down.”
Raising my hands, I considered lunging for the gun, but he had it pressed so tight to my stomach, I had no chance of getting it off him before he pulled the trigger. “Ted, don’t be an idiot. We need to get out of here.” I could hear the hiss of gas, a silent predator stalking the room.
“We’re not going anywhere, freak. Yes, I know what you are. A freak. A man that turns into an animal,” he replied with a calmness that hinted at deranged. With his free hand, he pulled down his respirator, letting it dangle around his neck. “Before, in the forest, I was going to kill you, clean and simple. No messing around, no dramatics. Over and done with. Then I could move on. But now? I’m fucking angry. You survived. She didn’t. So, now I want you to know exactly why you’re going to die.”
I backed away, dread filling me when I realized I couldn’t go for his gun even now. If he fired, the gas might ignite. I was screwed. Think, dammit! “Why, Ted? What have I ever done to you?”
“It’s a life for a life.”
“Who?” Even as I asked the question, the truth dawned on me.
“Tia. My half-sister.”
Chapter Fourteen
Jeanie
Stumbling out of the store, I staggered away from the heat, Amy in a fireman’s grip over my shoulder. It wasn’t her weight that had my knees giving out, or the blasting heat from inside the bakery. I was covered up tight in protective clothing, having already been at work looking for a certain someone when the call had come in.
It was Max. He was in there.
My breathing sounded heavy in my ears, the respirator echoing it back to me time and time again. Hands lifted the weight off my shoulder, gathering Amy in.
Ryan collapsed to his knees, his face distraught as his brother, Jack, kneeled over the unconscious woman.
I was marching back to the door when a hand landed on my shoulder.
“Give him a minute.”
I glared at Ralph, my scowl fading as I took in the sight of him cradling a woman I recognized as the owner of the store. Pale and limp, her light brown hair trailed over his arm. An arm covered in burns and soot.
“You’re hurt.”
“I’ll heal. And so will he. Give him a minute.”
I held his eyes, a look of understanding passing between us. He saw it as his duty to protect his brother’s … well, mate, I supposed, while I needed to do anything I could to prevent someone else dying on my watch. Luckily, he didn’t have both his hands free.
“She needs seeing to.”
His arms tightened, as did his mouth. “She’s going to be fine,” he forced out through gritted teeth, causing me to wonder if it were him I should be worrying about. “I can hear her heartbeat; it’s steady and strong. She’ll wake up soon and I’ll have my brother check her out.” The way he said it left no doubt in my mind: he didn’t want another man touching this woman, but he’d do anything to make sure that she was okay.
That’s how they were, these bear shifter brothers, loyal and fierce and protective of those they claimed as their own. Their clan.
And Max had claimed me as his, in front of everyone. Then he’d let me walk away, also in front of everyone. Aw, shit. My heart sank into my stomach, along with the dawning certainty that I was an idiot. He’d offered me everything and I’d asked him for time to think about it.
Now it might be too late.
“I’m going back in. Don’t try and stop me.”
“I’ll go.”
Pushing down my respirator, I scowled at him. “This is my job, so back off.”
The look he gave me could only be described as approval. “Max said you were a little spitfire.”
Pleasure lit a fire inside me, pushing away the remaining nerves. I could do this, Max wasn’t a boy trapped inside a car, already courting death. “I’ll be back in a moment.”
Tugging my mask back on, I plunged into the building, threading my way through a burning path of flames, the crackle and spit a living thing as they flared around me, lighting the room with an orange glow. Why the hell hasn’t Ted started dousing the flames? Following the reinforced hosepipe to the back of the room, I pulled up short in shock. The hose lay discarded on the floor, dropped in the exact place where I had handed it over to Ted only minutes ago. Has something happened to him? Scooping up the hose, I froze, my foot halfway across the threshold to the kitchen, my eyes unable to believe was I was seeing.
Max sat on the floor, his hands up high, his eyes glued to the man in front of him.
The sigh of relief I’d been about to let out caught in my throat. What’s going on? Instinct had me placing my foot down and backing away, careful not to make a sound.
“She trusted you, the man she worked for, the man she idolized, and you left her to burn.” Ted’s voice was rough and hoarse with emotion.
“It wasn’t like—”
Ted lurched forward. “Shut up! She died because of you!”
Fear eclipsed everything as I caught a glimpse of what he was waving in Max’s direction.
Max squeezed his eyes shut, pain bracketing his mouth. “And I’ve blamed myself for her death every day. But, it was a mistake. An honest one. We didn’t know that the floor was about to go, no one could have called it. When it happened, I tried to reach her, tried to pull her free, but it was too late. The building collapsed around us, Ted.” Anguish coated Max’s words, an old pain flaring bright and fresh.
“You survived.” It was an accusation fired with venom nurtured over time.
“Don’t you think I wish I hadn’t? That I wouldn’t have gladly given my life for hers? Every goddamn day I asked myself the same question.”
Alarm bells were ringing, triggered by the resignation in Max’s voice. He needed to fight, dammit! He wasn’t allowed to give up, not now, not after he’d made all those promises. I pushed away from the wall, determination to set him straight blinding me to the fact that this might not be the brightest idea I’d ever had.
Max’s eyes locked onto me, widening a fraction before he shut his face down, but
there was no disguising the horror shining back at me.
I hesitated.
“It’s fitting that a fire chief, hailed a hero by everyone, dies in a fire, don’t you think?”
Max’s gaze snapped back to Ted. “You did this?”
“What? You think the bakery spontaneously decided to set itself on fire?” Even without being able to see Ted’s face, I could hear the sneer in his voice.
Max lurched to his feet, fury on his face. Tucking his hand out of sight, he flicked his fingers at me. “You could have killed Connie and Amy—”
Like I had a clue what that signal meant.
“Stay where you are!”
“Don’t you care who dies? Is this vendetta that important to you?”
Ted shrugged, his gun wavering in front of him. “I was planning on saving them.”
“Being the hero.”
“Exactly. And we will mourn you. This infatuation Jeanie has with you will be forgotten, she’ll mourn you, but I’ll offer her a shoulder to cry on.”
Max’s fingers stopped flicking, curling up into the palm of his hand, his face tightening in a look that was unmistakable.
“Ah, ah, ah! Not so fast,” Ted mocked, tapping the barrel of his gun.
“There’s a gas leak, the place is going to go up any second now,” Max growled in a low voice, and I knew the words were meant for me.
He wanted me to leave him here, he was telling me to go.
Well. Fuck that shit. He’d promised he’d never leave me and I was holding him to it. Steeling myself, I crept closer. The hose jammed in my hands, caught on something. A quick yank and it was free again.
Watching my approach, Max took a step forward, holding Ted’s attention.
Another step and I was behind the bastard that was threatening the man who had fast become everything to me. Here goes nothing! “Hey, Ted!”
“Wha—?” Ted swung around. “Jeanie?”
“I choose him,” I spat out, grunting as I swung the end of the hose at him, the metal hitting him in the head with a sickening thud.
Face slack, he crumpled to the floor, the gun clattering out of his hand.
Stunned, I stared down at him. I’d attacked a man. Assaulted him. Maybe killed him. “Is he—?” I couldn’t say it.
“No. But we will be soon if we don’t get out of here.” Max grabbed my hand.
“No. We can save the bakery.”
Max followed my gaze. In seconds he had the hose tucked under his arm, cranked to full.
Nothing. The fire roared behind me, pushing into the room.
I shoved up my mask, spluttering on a lungful of smoke and heat. The roar of the flames was near deafening. “Got to be a kink in the line,” I shouted.
“Sweetheart—”
“I can do this!” Without waiting for an answer, I pulled my mask down and headed back into the main store. Flames licked the walls, fighting for space, the ceiling crashing down in great chunks and floor bowing beneath my feet. I followed the hose, looking for the kink. Where the hell was it? Frustration and panic welled up inside me. Max was back there in that room, depending on me. Where … where … where? Then I saw it, and I knew that we were screwed. The hose didn’t have a kink; it had been completed squashed underneath a fallen beam. Circling it from all angles didn’t throw up an answer, the floor creaking and bending underneath my weight. No way in hell would I be able to—
Nearly falling over my feet, I sprinted back to the kitchen. “You need to lift the beam off the hose. I can’t—”
“I’m not leaving you in here when it could blow at any minute.”
My insides quaked, but I took a deep breath, the inside of my mask misting. “Max. I trust you. You’re going to free the hose and we’re going to put this fire out. Then I’m going to kiss the living hell out of you before you take me home to bed.”
“Home?”
“That’s what you’re going to focus on? Not the bed part?”
“Our home?”
Geez, he was a stubborn fool! “Yes! Our home. Now go fix that hose!” Yanking off my mask, I held it out to him.
Ignoring it, he grabbed me, pressing his lips against mine in a kiss swift and sweet and filled with so much more hope than this dark, smoky room.
“Go,” I whispered, then he was gone, sprinting away from me and leaving me with the distinct uneasy feeling that I was tempting fate.
A fate I had once escaped.
I crossed my fingers, praying that fate believed in second chances.
Chapter Fifteen
Jeanie
Minutes passed as I stood alone in the dark room, the flickering light from the flames creeping up the hallway and curling around the door hypnotic and deadly.
Ted coughed at my feet, his fingers twitching.
The hose spluttered to life with a soft pop, then a rush of water threw me back. Bracing myself, I leaned into the pressure, dousing the walls around the oven and chasing the fire across the wall.
A loud groan sounded below me. A hand grabbed my ankle.
Then the crunch of a fist slamming into a face. Disgustingly satisfying. Then arms wrapped around me, steadying me as we shuffled toward the doorway, pushing back the flames.
“You took your time,” I huffed, my arms cramping with the strain of holding the stream of water steady.
“It was a big beam,” he replied, sliding his hands around mine and taking the weight.
Inch by inch, we made our way toward the front door, the floor creaking and groaning. “Wait!” I slammed on the brakes.
And he slammed into my back, nearly sending me flying. “What is it?” His voice was husky and hoarse from the smoke.
“There.” I pointed in front of me, where my foot had landed on the floor, just past where the fallen beam had lain. Where I’d felt it start to give. The water chugged on, drenching everything around us. It was probably safe. I pressed my weight down.
“No!” It was a roar, then the hose was flicked off and abandoned, and I was sailing through the air, wrapped in rock solid arms and pressed against a hard, hot chest. “You’ve got to promise me you’ll never take chances with your life.”
Bright sunlight blinded me, dazzling me with the reminder that it was still only early morning. Sliding off my mask, I threw it over his shoulder. “Only if you promise the same.”
“Deal.” The speed in which he replied had me wondering if I should have demanded a couple more provisos.
We’d stopped moving, but he hadn’t released me. “And—”
“Maybe we should take this conversation private?” As he repeated back to me my words from the other day, I glanced around, pressing my face against his chest at the sight of everyone staring at us. There had to be the whole town standing out here, including Max’s family who were giving us smug knowing looks.
Then I wrinkled my nose. His shirt stank to high heaven, which meant I probably did too. Not to mention the attractive layer of soot I most likely had lining where my mask had been. “Okay,” I whispered.
We moved through the crowd, not stopping for anyone. A few tried to speak, but Max’s low growl had them stepping aside.
“How do you explain that?”
He glanced down in confusion. “What?”
“The whole growling thing.”
He frowned, soot gathering in the deep lines. “I don’t know; I’ve never really gone about growling before.”
I didn’t have a reply to that.
We swayed to a halt. “Ryan, Ted is inside, still out cold hopefully. It was him that started the fire and that shot me the other day.” Ryan opened his mouth, but Max beat him to it, “Tomorrow, okay? You’ll get your statement, just lock him up for now. Oh, and you’re going to want to have people rain some more water down on the building for another half hour, or so.” At Ryan’s nod, I shimmied out of my breathing rig and handed it over, then we resumed our path down Main Street.
“You’re going to let the law deal with him?”
He
tilted his head, a smirk playing on his lips. “What? Did you think we were animals?”
“Uh … no, but…” Yeah, I had nothing.
“He had his reasons for hating me, reasons I’d give anything to fix. Now, if he’d tried to hurt you…” His eyes flashed silver, a low, rumble starting in his chest.
Reaching up, I traced the stubble on his jaw, laughing when he nipped at my fingers. “I love you, too.” The words tumbled out as easily as opening my eyes on a morning or enjoying a good cup of coffee. It felt right. Natural. I shivered at the look on his face, the barely constrained heat that told me he was thinking exactly the same thing I was…
He stiffened, happiness lifting the stress of the day from his eyes. “That’s not fair,” he grumbled, but his voice was light, teasing.
My finger dragged from his lips, up to his hair. “What isn’t?”
“You said it first.” Turning off the main street, he pushed open the door to the station, bypassing the main corridor and heading straight for the stairs.
“I think you’ll find you confessed your undying love for me the other day.”
“Yesterday.”
Was it really only a day ago? “You admit it then?”
Mischief lit his eyes. “It’ll cost you a kiss.”
I grinned, clinging a little tighter as he bounded up the stairs, taking them two at a time. “That can be arranged.”
Wiggling his hand under my butt, he somehow managed to get the door open, carrying me across the threshold and into his apartment. Not stopping, he strode straight to the bathroom and flicked the shower on.
I squirmed in his arms, the reality of what was about to happen setting in. Anticipation pulsed inside of me, competing with the unsteady flutter of my heart. “Are you going to put me down?”
He didn’t answer, instead depositing me on the edge of the sink, his large hands cupping my ass and squeezing. Nudging my knees, he pushed them apart and squeezed into the gap. His eyes held mine, the vivid blue flashing with streaks of silver. Then he pulled me forward, fitting me against him as he tasted me in a long, lingering kiss, our lips moving and caressing with a sweetness that blurred the edge of lust, pressure building and coiling as my hands slid up his hard, muscular back, then down to his ass, my nails digging in as he growled against my lips.
