I find the fire station in a rumbling of energy. Normal for a Monday morning. The men are running their rounds, organizing oxygen tanks, polishing the rig and doing the rounds that keep our house in top shape. Later on, we’ll run drills, check the equipment again. Duke does a pretty damn good job at checking off things on a list, and this morning he’s hot on my heels ready to deliver this morning’s report.
I step into my office and look at the pile of paperwork that awaits me from the accident at Bela’s yesterday. It’s going to be a very long ass day. Maybe I’ll leave the paperwork for later, take a few hours longer than needed, drag it out and not go home until I know she’s asleep.
I fall into my chair and kick out my feet, hooking them. Coffee and too much muffin churn in my gut. But Duke doesn’t seem to notice.
He barrels in, fresh mug in his hand and a clipboard in the other.
“Morning.”
I nod. “Something like that.” I scrub a hand down my face. Shit, I still need to shave.
Duke is looking at me with a shit-eating grin, his eyes glued to the spot where I have my feet.
“What?”
“Nothing. You had a date last night or something?”
“Nope?”
“Huh. Sure. Musta been a doozie.”
“Since when did you become the dating police?”
“Since when did the fire chief roll in here, shirt untucked, jawline covered in scruff and two different shoes?”
I launch to my feet and jam the ends of my shirt into my pants. “Fuck you, Duke.”
He throws me a mocked look of hurt, his expression melting into an I totally knew it shit-eating grin.
Ignoring my friend, I look down and blurt another curse. He’s right about the damn shoes.
“Lay it on me. Who was it? That girl down at the library? Miss… Miss…” He snaps his fingers as if it will magically make names pop into his head. “I can’t recall her name, but she’s cute. Cherry red lips, pretty green eyes.”
I shake my head, slips sealed. “Nope.”
“Okay, who then?” Duke pulls up a seat and I know he’s not going to leave until I tell him something. We’ve been friends since forever and I know the determined look on his face means I’ll be spilling the beans, like it or not.
I open my mouth and Duke is right there filling in the blanks before my voice box flips on.
“Bela Andrews. Shit, why did I not guess her first?”
“You done? Gonna let me talk, now?” I clip out.
Duke makes this grand royal gesture with his hand. “By all means…”
Bela is the one weakness I can’t seem to shake. If Duke guessed it by only looking at my shoes, what does that bode for me? If she can shake me up so badly with one taste of her delicious body, what would another sampling do? A third? What if I want all of her and not just a few tastes but the whole package?
I need to snap the hell out of it. Thinking like that is dangerous. For her and me.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re allowed to be human, ya know.”
Duke knows my whole story, cover to cover. All the sordid details. Even the ones that cause the nightmare late into the night. Best friend? Nah, the man is more like a brother. And he understands why I keep a distance between me and the baker. She’s pure sunshine and I live in the darkness where monsters lurk. I can’t let my past break her beauty. Nothing as ugly as my past can ever touch her. She can stay at the house as long as she wants. But that doesn’t mean I have to be there.
Duke lowers his voice. “She okay after yesterday? The fire?”
I lean my elbows on the desk and lace my fingers. “Yep.”
“So what then? Why are—”
“I brought her to my place. She’s staying with me.”
Duke falls silent as he considers me. For a few seconds he’s as dumbfounded by my action as I feel. But his tongue doesn’t stay dormant for long. “You brought her home? The girl you can’t stop thinking about and has your insides in knots?”
“And yesterday…” How do I say this tastefully? “I couldn’t stand her tears. One thing led to another and well, I took her home with me after.”
Duke gives a low whistle. “I see.”
“I’m glad you do because I sure the fuck don’t. What am I going to do? I can’t go home for however long she’s there.”
I know there’s no truth to my words the second I utter them. Guilt eats at me for how I left things this morning. Seeing her in those shorts, that sweet pouty, freshly awake look on her perfect face. Her body fisted me so perfectly. How long can I hold out before I want more? Crave more? Not long. I know it.
My phone pings. When I pull it out of my back pocket, my blood pressure shoots through the roof.
I shove it back into my pocket before Duke tries to take a peek, already planning how I’m going to make the little tease pay for sending me such a naughty picture of her pretty pussy covered in pink silk.
The alarm fills the fire station and all thoughts of Bela, sex, and two different shoes leave my mind. My brain clicks over and the entire house moves in unison.
Duke and I are out of my office and on the floor in seconds, our training kicking in.
We are geared up and rolling in less than eight minutes. “Where is the call coming in from?” Duke is behind the wheel and maneuvering us through the slow morning traffic. Cherry Falls doesn’t have a lot of it, but a couple of times a day it can get a little deep at the red lights.
“Orphanage.”
Shit.
Smoke is already climbing into the sky in the distance. When we roll to a stop everyone jumps into action. Several women and small children are running out of the large three-floor Victorian home. I gear up, grab my ax and turn to go into the burning building, knowing my teams will have each other’s backs.
A soot-covered woman barrels out of the front door. We lock eyes and she grabs my arm. “Chief, there are three girls, top floor, back room.” I usher her out and take the stairs three at a time.
I don’t call out for fear the girls will run out and hit weak flooring. Flames lick along the south wall and that’s the same direction I’m heading. I have to hurry. The smoke isn’t too thick. Yet. But that will change in a matter of a few seconds.
Duke comes up behind me and together we clear each level while another team does the same for the north end of the house.
When we reach the top floor the sound of cries directs us to the three girls.
The door is open and we find this section of the house untouched by the flames. In less than two minutes we have the girls safe and outside with the rest of their friends.
Several people surround us, clapping and cheering on the team. I’m not about the accolades and back-patting. Let the men have all they can take. Seeing these kids safe is my only priority. I see a few have burns but they are being tended to. Water rushes from hoses and everyone stands back as the only home most of these kids know burns.
Someone would pay for this.
I pull off my air tank and stow it away. A flash of purple and the scent of coconut catches my attention. I draw up short.
“Bela?”
She kneels over a child who won’t stop crying but magically stops when Bela passes her a muffin. I can’t seem to look away. The woman is like Mary Poppins or something.
“Bela,” I say again and settle a hand on her shoulder. Pretty brown eyes come up to meet mine.
“Miles?” Surprise lights her face but it’s gone in a flash. “Of course, you’re here.” She shakes her head incredulously. “We should stop meeting like this or not much of the town will be left.”
Her arms are full of soot-covered kids, blankets, and those damn muffins of hers.
“Like what? What are you doing here? Were you in there? Are you hurt?”
“Whoa, Miles, slow down. I only meant like only when there’s a fire, it was a joke. You know to help ease the stress a little. I deliver muffins here every Monday for breakfast. It’s a thing I do. I just happen to be in the right place at the right time. To help.” Her eyes drift over to the kids being tended by their caretakers.
“Are you hurt?” Red burn marks cover a small patch on her left arms just below the elbow.
“Don’t lie to me, Bela.” I lead her over to the rig and pull out the first-aid kit and start dressing the burn. It’s mild, but I still must sting. “Were you inside when the fire broke out?”
She takes my hand. “I’m not lying, Miles. I’m fine. Trust me. And no, I had just pulled up when the kids were being ushered out. I helped get a couple of the younger ones out. I got caught in a couple of places it seems.”
“Let’s hope there never is next time.”
“Touché.”
“Mister Fire Chief.”
Two kids who look to be twins about five years old run across the yard and throw their arms around me. I bend and pick them up. “You guys okay?”
“Yeth. Thank you for helping us.”
I give them a quick squeeze, because damn it, no kid should ever have to be scared as they must be right now, and hand them back to their caretakers. “You stay with your friends, now guys, get a muffin if you’re hungry while we get your home safe again, ok.”
“Yeth, sir.”
I can feel Bela’s eyes on me and I swear I can already hear her words before she even opens her mouth.
“You’re good with kids.”
“They’re just tiny little things. So helpless. It pisses me off that this happened in the first place.”
“Family and home is everything to you isn’t it, Miles.”
What do I say to that? I never had a real home, just like these kids. Not until The Malone’s adopted me, so I understand how important it is to them to feel safe in a house they do think of as home.
I keep my gaze locked over the crowd as my crew works to put out the last of the flames. “Something is off here.”
“What do you mean?”
“How the flames started. Someone wasn’t watching over the kids. In a place this big, they break the kids up into age groups. The older ones have chores before and after school. Someone left kids unattended.”
The head of the orphanage is on a gurney and being treated near an ambulance with a woman fawning all over him. She’s missing a bra, and he’s missing his shoes. Two plus fucking two.
Bingo. I don’t know what I am looking for until my eyes land on it. Or rather him. “Some-of-a-bitch. And I just found out why.”
“Miles?”
“Wait here.”
I need a breather from all the talk of family and kids. Bela makes me want things a dark soul like me should never be blessed with. She looks at me like I would be the world’s greatest dad. But she’s wrong. I’m too messed up for her future shining bright in her eyes. She practically paints a picture for me with her words and insinuations. It’s not going to happen.
Ten years working undercover witnessing really bad shit left me scarred, cynical, and jaded. But I’m a really good judge of character, too. I can read between lines most people can’t see. Like the fact the director of this place is fucking one of the caregivers when they should both be watching their charges.
I point my anger across the spacious front lawn full of kids with no beds because of this fucker.
“You,” I bellow out, startling everyone within earshot. “You let your guard down and because of you, these kids could have been seriously harmed. Or worse.”
“Miles, what are you doing?”
I feel a warm, calming touch to my back, and I nearly lose the wind in my sails. But if I don’t stand up for these kids, who will?
“Finding the man responsible and calling him out.” I stare down the man on the bed and I don’t give a shit if he is suffering from a few burns. So are the kids.
“Look, I made a mistake.” He tries to pull a lame-ass contrite expression to help pull off his remorse. I don’t care how sorry he wants to come off, the fact is, he has a job to do and failed.
“How can you be so sure?” Bela is beside me, her hand still on my back. I’m not one for drama, but this shit is unacceptable.
“I know people.”
I turn back to the director. “Look at you. You thought a quick screw in the back room was all fun, right? You, a man who cares for tens of kids, should know better. Now you get to live with almost costing these kids their lives.”
I feel like an asshole but that doesn’t make my words any less true.
A tiny gasp comes from Bella. “Miles, he’s hurt and you’re yelling at him.”
“He’s an adult and can take it.”
Her pretty eyes narrow and I know I’m about to catch hell.
“You’re being a dick, Miles Malone.” She folds her arms and I can see a fight coming.
“He’s not an underdog you need to fight for. You haven’t seen what I’ve seen. He might look like a nice guy but nice guys commit crimes too, and reckless endangerment is a big one.” I shift my weight toward her. “I bet the last dollar to my name, I could find something bad about you if I were to dig deep enough.”
“And good guys can be assholes too. Sorry you think so little of me. At least I know where I stand. Goodbye, Miles.”
I watch Bela turn and walk away, the sting of her words burning deep. And it is not yet noon on a Monday. Exactly how a shit week starts. Brilliant.
It’s better this way.
