Fire Games (The Men 0f Fire Beach Book 1)

by Lorana Hoopes

  Careful to keep his footsteps as quiet as possible, Jordan moved down the hallway until he was outside the door. The conversation inside was muffled, but thankfully he could still hear it.

  “Have you experienced any headaches, sir?”

  “No.”

  “Is there anyone else here in the apartment with you?”

  “Why does that matter?”

  Jordan’s breath caught at the harsh tone of the man’s voice. Cassidy had better lay off the questions.

  “I just wanted to make sure no one was having headaches, sir. The first sign of carbon monoxide poisoning is generally a headache, then vomiting, then dizziness. Most people pass out, but if it gets to that point, it usually means brain damage or death.”

  She was good and Jordan breathed a little easier when Edward’s voice came again softer this time. “No, there’s no one else in the house. Are you almost done?”

  “Yes, sir, I’m almost finished.”

  “Hey, what are you doing? Get away from there.”

  Jordan tensed and tightened his grip on his gun. She must have seen something, but why wouldn’t she just use the code word and get out.

  “Sir, I was just going to check the cabinets. There’s no need to pull a gun out.”

  Oh crud. The guy had a gun. That was his cue. Waiting any longer might get Cassidy shot. He took a deep breath before jumping through the cracked door and leveling his firearm on the man. “Fire Beach Police Department. Drop your weapon. You’re under arrest.”

  As he’d hoped, his entrance drew Edward’s attention away from Cassidy, but now he swung the gun Jordan’s direction.

  “Drop your weapon,” Jordan repeated. He did not want to fire on this man. Not in an apartment building where bullets could go through walls and not with Cassidy so close.

  Edward lowered his arm as if he were going to comply, but then a cold gleam appeared in his eyes and his arm shot back up. Jordan watched the scene as if in slow motion knowing he could either fire and risk getting shot or get out of the way but not both.

  He was a good shot, but firing could injure Cassidy or the kid as he still wasn’t sure what she had seen. Plus, Edward’s bullet might hit him as well, but getting out of the way might give Edward time to turn the gun on Cassidy.

  Before Jordan could decide, he saw Cassidy’s leg shoot out and connect with the flesh right behind Edward’s knee. As the man stumbled, his arm jerked up and the piercing sound of a gunshot filled the air, but it gave Jordan the time he needed. Sprinting forward, he tackled Edward to the ground and kicked his gun away. Edward protested and attempted to throw Jordan off his back, but the attack had caught him off guard and Jordan was able to wrestle Edward’s arms behind him.

  “Edward Long, you’re under arrest,” he said as he secured the handcuffs.

  “What for?” Edward asked belligerently. “She’s the trespasser. She was snooping in my apartment.”

  Cassidy walked over by the cabinets and pulled at the paneling on the wall revealing three small children trapped inside. “For kidnapping would be my guess.”

  “I’m going to say we can probably tack on human trafficking,” Jordan added as he gazed at the children who huddled together and stared at Cassidy with fearful eyes. He hated the terror that covered the faces of these children, but he was relieved that all of them had been found. It didn’t often work out that way, but Long must have been waiting for more money or had issues getting them offloaded. Whatever the reason, he sent a silent thank you to God for watching over the two boys and girl who couldn’t be older than eight before spouting the rest of the Miranda rights at Edward Long.

  “I’ll bet we’ll even be able to add on assault and arson, won’t we?”

  Edward turned his head and snarled up at them. “That woman had it coming. Always knocking at my apartment. She should have just left the mail in my box or under my doorstep.”

  “You might want to take that right to remain silent,” Jordan said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone dialing the numbers to reach dispatch. “This is Detective Jordan Graves with the Special Investigation Unit. I need two ambulances and a backup to transport a prisoner to 452 Wheeler Avenue. Call Stone.”

  Cassidy crouched down and addressed the kids in a soft voice. “Don’t worry guys. You’re safe now. I’m a firefighter. See my uniform? Can you come out?”

  One at a time, the kids crawled out of the small space and clutched onto Cassidy. Rage roared inside Jordan and the urge to punch the man beneath him fought to escape. How dare this man take these children from their parents? How dare he try to sell them for money? How dare he keep them shut up in the walls like animals?

  But punching the man wouldn’t solve the problem and it would probably frighten the children even more than they were. So, he wouldn’t. Instead, he turned his attention to Cassidy. “You did good.” She was impressive, and as much as he still feared losing his heart again, his objections were beginning to seem less important.

  She shook her head and squeezed the children tighter. “No, we did good.”

  Chapter 10

  Jordan watched the paramedics load the children into the ambulance before turning to Cassidy. “How did you know they were in there?”

  Cassidy shook her head, but she didn’t look at him. Her focus remained on the children. “I didn’t for sure. I saw that the paneling was separated from the wall and it just reminded me of the hole I saw at the fire. When he got jumpy as I approached it, I knew he had to be hiding something.”

  Before Jordan could tell her how lucky she was Edward hadn’t fired on her, Stone approached. “Good job, Jordan. We’ll get the kids reunited with their parents tonight and I’ll see if we can get our friend here to talk. He can’t be working alone.” Stone turned to face Cassidy. “I hear we owe this break to you.”

  “Oh, I don’t know if you can attribute the whole break to me.” She smiled up at Jordan. “Jordan was the one who remembered the name and came in with guns blazing.”

  Stone lifted an eyebrow as he glanced from Cassidy to Jordan and back again. “Yes, well, he’s lucky things turned out the way they did. Next time he should remember to call for backup though.”

  Jordan took the criticism with a nod. He knew there would probably be another stern reprimand in his future, but he was grateful Stone didn’t do it in front of Cassidy.

  Stone turned his attention back to Cassidy. “Thank you for the help you supplied in this case. I’ll make sure your captain knows about it. Word on the street is that he wasn’t too happy when you took time off to do your show, but maybe this will allow him to ease up on you. Jordan, why don’t you take tomorrow off? I think you deserve a rest day.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Jordan wasn’t sure he’d get any rest though. Graham had texted him earlier asking him to meet to go over the interior layout of the restaurant, and he still needed to investigate Cassidy’s stalker.

  Beside him, Cassidy spoke up. “Um, before you go, sir. I have a doll that belonged to the girl at the firehouse. I’d like to get it back to her. Do you know how long they’ll be at the hospital?”

  “I’m not positive, but if you get it there tonight, I’m sure it will get to the owner.” With that, Stone walked back to the squad car that held Edward Long.

  “Not the talkative type, is he?” Cassidy asked.

  Jordan chuckled. “Not really, but he is good at his job.” He turned to face Cassidy and his breath caught as he gazed into her eyes. He’d felt something in the apartment when he’d seen the gun pointed at her. This fear of her getting hurt. And he’d reacted without thinking, which was dangerous. He should break contact now and run, but his body wouldn’t move.

  She returned his stare, and her lips parted as if begging for him to kiss them. His body screamed at him to take her in his arms and do just that, but he muffled the shouts and told himself they would never work out though he was no longer sure exactly why. “It’s getting late. I should probably take you back to the hospital.
”

  The sparkle in her eyes dimmed, and her mouth formed a thin line. Jordan knew he had hurt her. He hadn’t meant to, but a little hurt now was much better than a lot of hurt later. “Look, Cassidy, I’m not good at this stuff…” His voice was stilled by the placement of her lips against his.

  For a moment, he was too surprised to react, but then his brain kicked into gear and his hands moved from her arms to her neck, his fingers tangling in her hair. Her hands pulled at the back of his neck as if trying to draw his face closer. Then suddenly, she pulled back.

  “You want to tell me you felt nothing?” she asked when the kiss ended. Her breathing was irregular and he could hear the pounding of her heart. Or his? He was no longer sure of anything it seemed.

  He opened his mouth, but he couldn’t tell her that he’d felt nothing. Nothing was definitely not what he’d felt. A spark of heat flowing from his head to his toes and an overwhelming sense of peace that hadn’t graced him in a year – those he had felt, but was it enough? Was it enough to throw caution to the wind and give love another chance?

  “Never mind,” Cassidy said before he could find words. “I shouldn’t have done that. I know relationships that begin from dangerous situations rarely last, but I just couldn’t help myself.”

  “I just…” He should tell her, explain his hesitation, but the words wouldn’t come. He wasn’t even sure what his hesitation was any more. Was he really worried she would be like Jasmine? “I can’t right now.”

  “It’s fine.” She stepped away from him, crossed her arms over her chest as if building a wall between them. “Can you just take me back to the firehouse so I can get the doll? Then you can drop me at the hospital.”

  “Cassidy, I…” but he had nothing. He wasn’t ready to open up the past yet and that meant closing this door. For now. With a sigh, he led the way back to his car.

  * * *

  “Is that Jordan?” Ivy whispered with wide eyes as Cassidy grabbed the doll off her bunk.

  “Yes, now stop staring. He’s going to think something’s wrong with you.” Cassidy’s voice came in a hushed hiss. She was still berating herself for kissing Jordan. What had she been thinking? Well, she hadn’t. That was the problem. She’d been swept up in the moment and following her heart and just like with Tyler and David, she had put it out there only to get it rejected. Again.

  “Something is wrong with me.” Ivy began to fan herself with her hand. “My heart is beating like crazy, and I feel like someone turned up the heat. Ooh, girl, he is fine on the eyes.”

  “Stop it,” Cassidy said swatting her friend’s hand. She’d made a big enough fool of herself tonight; she didn’t need Ivy making it worse.

  Ivy snapped out of her teasing banter but wasn’t done with the topic yet. “He’s so handsome. No wonder you didn’t care about the doctor or the jump start guy.”

  Scott. With all the excitement of finding Edward Long, Cassidy still hadn’t given Jordan the information on Scott or Dustin for that matter. Would he still look into her stalker? Or would he pass her off to someone else to avoid the tension that now lived between them. “Yes, he’s handsome. He’s also waiting for me, so we’ll discuss this more later.”

  “Have fun.” Ivy flashed her a wink and a mischievous smile.

  Cassidy shook her head as she returned to Jordan who stood in the doorway of the bunk room looking uncomfortable. “Sorry about her,” she said in explanation, “Ivy means well, but sometimes she gets a little…”

  “Zealous?” he finished for her.

  “Yeah, that would be a good word, but I got what I came for, so let’s get back to the hospital before they release whoever this belongs to.”

  As they drove to the hospital, Cassidy debated whether to bring up Scott again or not. She didn’t want to worsen the mood, but her stalker was still out there. As she opened her mouth to broach the topic, the hospital came into view on their left. It could wait.

  A different woman was working the station this time, but Jordan’s badge granted them admission. The children’s rooms were all in a row, and Cassidy and Jordan popped their head into the first one. A small girl was asleep in the bed, but her parents sat vigil by her and they glanced up.

  “Sorry, we didn’t mean to disturb you,” Jordan said before they could say anything. “I’m Detective Graves and this is Firefighter Marcel who found your daughter. We’re looking for a little girl who might have lost a doll.”

  Cassidy held the doll up and the woman brought her hand to her mouth. “That’s Baby. Sophie’s been crying for her since we got here. Where did you find her?”

  “I found Baby at the scene of a fire,” Cassidy said, her voice choked with emotion. “I’m sorry she’s in such bad shape, but she’s actually the reason we found the children.”

  A soft sob escaped the woman, and her husband wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I’m sorry,” he said wiping a tear from his eye, “we’re so grateful. It’s just a lot to take in.”

  “It is,” Jordan said stepping forward, “but there are places that can help.” He pulled out his wallet and handed over a business card. “This place has great counseling for situations like this. Please don’t hesitate to use them.”

  The man nodded, and Cassidy stepped forward and handed the doll to the woman. “I don’t know if she’ll still want it since I’m sure it doesn’t look the same, but you can tell her how brave Baby was.”

  “Thank you. Thank you for finding our daughter.”

  “You’re welcome.” Though Cassidy sometimes saw survivors after a fire, this case felt different. Heavier. More rewarding.

  “Is it always like that?” Cassidy asked as they stepped back into the hallway.

  “When the outcome is good? Yes.”

  Cassidy didn’t ask what it was like when the outcome wasn’t as good. She’d seen that first hand as well. They walked in silence back to the parking lot and to her car. “You didn’t have to walk me out,” she said.

  “Actually,” he sighed and jammed his hands in his coat pockets, “I did. Cassidy, I need to explain.”

  Her heart began to pound in her chest as she leaned against her car. Jordan stepped closer closing the distance, but Cassidy didn’t move. Even when his fingers touched her cheek and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, she didn’t break her gaze from his mesmerizing stare.

  “You caught me off guard tonight, Cassidy, and that is hard to do.”

  “I’m sorry…” She didn’t get to finish the apology as his finger touched her lips silencing her and sending waves of emotion through her body.

  “I’ve spent a lot of time building up emotional walls. My last relationship ended in the worst way possible. She thought she wanted to marry a cop, but on our wedding day, she realized she didn’t and never showed.”

  Cassidy’s eyes widened, but she said nothing sensing that he needed to continue and get whatever he wanted to say off his chest.

  “I haven’t dated since.” His fingers slid down her neck to the top of her shoulder. “I thought I was done with love, but you awakened something in me with that kiss. I just need some time to process. Can you give me that?”

  Cassidy nodded. She didn’t want to give him time. She wanted to pull him to her and taste his lips again, but if time was what he needed, she would give it. “Jordan, before you go. I know Stone gave you tomorrow off, but if I send you Scott’s information, can you look into him when you get back to work?”

  “Of course I will. I want any information you have on the guy in your apartment complex too, and Cassidy?” She stared up at him mesmerized by the look in his eyes. “If anything else happens – letters, phone calls, a feeling - I want you to call me. No matter what time it is. Don’t let this thing between us stop you from calling. Promise?”

  “I promise.”

  He raked a thumb across her cheek. “Good, now go home and get some sleep. I’ll call you tomorrow.” His lips touched against hers, softly, not like their first kiss, but the simple touch stil
l sent a shiver down her spine. There was no doubt in her mind. She was falling for Jordan Graves.

  He waited until she was in her car with the motor running before he walked back to his own car. With a smile on her face, Cassidy pulled out of the parking lot and began the drive back to her house. It was still early, not even six. Maybe she would take a long bubble bath before cooking dinner and then curl up with a good book.

  But her smile faltered as a bang sounded, and her car began to pull to the right. Had she blown a tire? How? She’d seen nothing in the road. With all her might, she yanked the steering wheel to the left but it was no use. The car was stronger than she was and continued to pull to the right. She fumbled for her phone hoping to dial 911, but as she got it out of her pocket, the car hit the curb, and the phone flew from her hand and landed on the floorboard. Cassidy had no time to grab it though because at that moment, something rammed her from behind and her head slammed on the steering wheel.

  Chapter 11

  “Why do you look so cranky?” Graham asked as Jordan shrugged out of his coat and laid it across the bar.

  “What do you mean? This is how I always look.” He took his gun out of the holster and laid it on the jacket.

  Graham shook his head as he pulled out a blueprint design and spread it on the table. “No, you look meaner today. More agitated.”

  Jordan sighed and paced away from the table. He hadn’t slept much the night before as he’d lain awake thinking about what to do with Cassidy. His mind would list all the reasons they would never work out, but then his heart would speed up just thinking about her. “It’s this woman, Cassidy. She’s a firefighter, and she’s amazing. Even helped me solve the big kidnapping case I was working on.”