Firestarter (6 page)

Ted tried to loosen the hold around his throat. “They were just babies. They didn’t see me.”

An evil laugh that Ted knew would haunt him for the rest of his life was his answer from Bob, before the pressure on his throat eased, and he fell to the ground.

Bob paced away from Ted. “Do you know why they had to die, Teddy? Let me tell you why, shall I?”

Ted raised his knees to his chest, watching Bob turn in a small half circle before he pinned his unholy gaze back on him. The story that poured out of Bob’s mouth had fear snaking through Ted.

“With Alan and his bitch out of the way, I’m next to run the bank. That means when you came in for a loan to buy their home, I would approve it. Then I would have everything that should’ve always been mine.”

Ted shook his head. “But if I bought the house, it would be mine.”

Bob tossed his head back and growled. “You’re so stupid. Just like my worthless half-

brother Alan. Our
father
left my pregnant mother to marry his high school girlfriend. When my mom told him she was pregnant, he laughed in her face. Do you know what happened next?” He didn’t wait for Ted to answer. “After I was born, she killed herself. When my father was contacted, he sent me to foster care. You see, his wife was already pregnant with his heir.”

“But that doesn’t make sense, Bob.”

Bob squatted down and looked into Ted’s eyes. “You see, I would then have discovered that Alan and I were long lost brothers and that the house wasn’t for sale, because it belonged to me as the next heir. You fucked it up by letting those two sniveling little brats live. Now they’ll have a claim on what’s mine.” Bob smacked Ted in the side of the head.

36

Ted swallowed the bile racing up his throat. He knew if he threw up, Bob would take great pleasure in his discomfort. He reached in his coat pocket and shook out two little pills. With nothing to wash them down, Ted tipped his head back and popped them into his mouth. He waited for the numbness to claim him.

Even if he tried to tell Bob his plan was crazy, that Alan had just had the house built, that it wasn’t some old heirloom, the other man wouldn’t listen. Ted wished he could go back and never bargain with the devil. His moment of lucidity was blessedly fleeting with each passing second. Bob was Alan’s half-brother, but he wasn’t half the man Alan had been. Ted should never have listened to the other man. His promises of all the things he could get for him were meaningless, especially since Ted didn’t think he’d be alive to take advantage of next week, let alone all that he’d been promised.

* * * *

“That wasn’t a normal fire, was it?” Cammie asked once they were back at the station.

Spikes of trepidation snaked down his form when he met her knowing eyes. “What makes

you say that?”

“The parents were massacred, and the fire was set in the fireplace. The smoke had already travelled into the girls’ room, so they’d have died from the inhalation long before the fire would ever have reached them.” Cammie ticked off each sentence with her fingers. “Whoever wanted the parents dead wanted it to be painful, but wanted to save the kids from the brutality. They just didn’t realize we’d get there before the flames engulfed the house, or that we’d have you on our team.”

The admiration in her tone lashed at him. “Don’t make it sound like I did anything special, Cammie. Any one of us could have heard the girls and made the same call.” He turned away from her. For some reason lying to her face didn’t come quite so easily.

Cammie snorted. “That’s bullshit, and you know it. I was right next to you and didn’t hear them until I was almost on top of them, exactly where you told me to go. Do you have some sort of second sight, like your grandfather is supposed to have?”

Keanu looked around at the empty break room, got up, and closed the door. Securing his hair to the back of his neck with a new thong, he shook his head. Why the fuck couldn’t he make 37

it one day on the job without having to use his abilities? Stupid question, since he was a friggin’

firefighter by vocation.

“No, I don’t have second sight or
spidey sense
, or anything like that.” Not a lie, exactly.

“Are you serious? You’re going to stand there and lie to my face? I’m part of your tribe and know some of us have...” she looked around, her voice dropping, “special talents, so what’s yours?” Cammie whispered.

“We can’t discuss this here.” Keanu stopped her objection with a shake of his head. “I promise I’ll tell you everything this weekend, but not here where people can overhear us. Okay?”

he asked. Maybe pleading was more appropriate, but he’d be damned if he let her get upset with him thinking he was a liar.

“Fine, but I want answers.” Cammie warned.

Keanu grabbed her finger to keep her from stabbing his chest and causing herself injury. The heat coursing through his body needed an outlet. But he couldn’t risk the threat of exposure, or the damage it could do to her career to be caught having sex with the new guy. His body on the other hand screamed, saying fuck the consequences, and urged him to take her right there.

He wanted her, more than he wanted his next breath, but the message on her face let him know she wouldn’t be brushed off. “I promise you’ll get them.” He breathed out heavily.

Cammie nodded and strode out the door. He headed in the opposite direction, finding the workout center at the back of the station. Since he couldn’t fuck his energy off, nor could he fight a barroom brawl to work it off, he’d do the next best thing. An hour pummeling a speed bag didn’t do the trick, so he moved on to the heavy bag. He used his legs and feet until he felt marginally better, at least his dick was no longer straining against the fly of his pants.

* * * *

Standing in the doorway, Cammie stared in awe at the physical perfection that was Keanu Raine. She knew he had a great body, but holy crap! Jason Momoa had nothing on this man. She probably couldn’t span his biceps with both hands. Wiping, what she hoped was imaginary drool off her lips, she made a conscientious effort to close her mouth.

“What did that bag ever do to you?” Cammie asked, stepping into the room.

“What?” He mopped sweat off his brow.

38

“I heard some of the guys muttering about the new dude beating the crap out of the bags in here.” She pointed at the offending object. “Since you’re the only new dude, I thought I’d check it out.”

“This is my way of blowing off steam.” He indicated the bag.

“Hmm.” She tapped her finger against her chin. “Remind me not to get in the way when you need to,” she made finger quotes, “blow off steam.”

He stalked her, there was no other word for the way he approached her. “There are other ways I could blow off steam, but they’d probably get me arrested.”

Keanu trapped her against the wall with his big body. Being five foot seven, she rarely felt small, but next to his six foot body of solid muscle, she felt absolutely tiny.

“What are you doing?” she stammered.

“Smelling you,” he sniffed, putting action to words.

“Oh God, you probably shouldn’t do that.”

“Do what? Nuzzle your neck, or maybe this?” He kissed her before he pulled back breathing hard and nipped her lips. He stuck his tongue out, and licked up the column of her throat. “Or do you mean this?” He trapped her earlobe between his teeth, and nipped it, before sucking it into the boiling cavern of his mouth.

That last sensation drew her out of her euphoria. People shouldn’t be so hot, in the sense of melting the thermometer hot. She pulled back and put her hand to his forehead. “You have a fever.”

“I’m hot for you.” Keanu dragged her hand down his chest, not stopping until he placed it directly over his raging erection.

How the hell had she missed that? Holy shit! There was no way on God’s green earth he’d be putting that monster anywhere inside her. The thing would surely split her in two. She could see the headlines.
Woman dies from extremely large penis tearing her in two
. Yep, her mama would be so proud.

Cammie tried to pull back. “You need to take it down a notch, and listen to me.”

“Don’t want to.” Keanu said, between breaths.

Shit, if he didn’t stop rubbing her in all the right places, she might just risk being split in half and becoming a national headline. No, no, that would be bad.

39

“Keanu,” Cammie whispered, reaching around and grabbing him by his ponytail. Her eyes

widened at the red tint to his irises. She blinked to dispel the image, then opened them back up to see he had his peepers closed.

“Fuck, I’m sorry, Cammie.”

His body gave a slight shiver, one her own mimicked.

“It’s okay.” Her hands stroked across his neck.

He shoved away from her and paced to the other side of the gym.

His head jerked up and down like he was agreeing or had made up his mind. “I’m going to hit the showers.” Regret filled his voice. “I didn’t mean to attack you.” He turned and walked out with his head down.

Cammie placed her hands over her lips, feeling the slight swelling from his less than gentle kiss. She shifted her legs. The dampness of her panties spoke volumes of how the rest of her body reacted to his rough handling. “I’m a fucking hussy,” she muttered. A wide smile parted her lips and she pumped her fist.

She turned on her heel, with one thought in mind. Who the heck was she kidding? A million and one things were going through her brain. First and foremost, was it physically possible for something that large to enter something so small? A giggle slipped past her closed mouth.

“I’m so losing my ever-loving mind.”

“Cammie, is everything alright?” Chief Taylor asked.

“Holy shit, you scared me.” She raised her hand to her chest, feeling her heart beat a million miles a minute.

He raised his bushy eyebrows. “Have you seen Keanu?”

“I think he went to the showers.” She pointed in the direction of the back, leaving the chief staring after her. There was no way she could stand and have a conversation with her boss after being ravaged by Keanu.

The sound of another alarm sent the station into action. Putting thoughts of fucking Keanu, and his enormous dick, out of her mind for now, she raced to gear up. Two fires in one day, along with what appeared to be a double homicide, did not make for a happy firefighter. Cammie was glad they didn’t have to deal with the details of the first crime, having heard from the guys 40

what was on the third floor. She wondered what would happen to the little girls they’d rescued.

Once they had the fire out, the local police took over the earlier gruesome crime scene.

The noise of the chief barking out orders brought her out of the past, and firmly into the here and now.

Cammie ran to keep up with the rest of the team, stopping in her tracks in front of the burning structure. Looking over at her new partner, she watched him for signs of his earlier aggression. If she hadn’t been watching him so closely, she never would have seen him inhale a huge breath. Turning her gaze to the fire, she was amazed to see the flames dwindle before her eyes. She twisted her head back and forth. She was sure she looked like a ping pong ball in action.

“Keanu, what are you doing?” Cammie couldn’t quite believe what she saw. Within minutes the blaze was under control, but she felt nothing was going to be normal again. The other members of the team had stayed back by the truck, completely oblivious. Cammie was grateful she’d have a moment to collect herself before facing them.

He turned glowing eyes toward her, blinking as they returned to the normal chocolate brown she was coming to love. She’d done lost it. What bit of sanity she had, had now flown the proverbial cuckoo’s nest. Her mouth opened, ready to demand an explanation.

Keanu shook his head, removing his helmet at the same time as she did. “I said I’d explain everything. Just give me time.”

“Fine.” She crossed her arms under her breasts.

“You know, even though I can’t see them, I know in that pose, your breasts are pushed up like an offering to me.”

“Grrr…get your mind out of the gutter, Raine.” His sexy smile and smoldering look made goose bumps race up her spine.

“Does that mean we’re boyfriend and girlfriend?” Keanu moved in her direction. “Is that your nickname for me?”

“What the…?” Holding her ground, she let him step up to her.

“Keanu and Cammie sitting in a tree, K…I…S…S…I…N…G, come on you know the

song.”

To an outside observer, they probably looked like two colleagues discussing something

important. Her face felt hot, her nipples ached, and her stupid, sensible briefs, were riding up her 41

ass. Not a comfortable place to be. For her, not her panties.
Dammit,
now she was talking to herself internally.

“Ha, ha, you’re hilarious.” She gave in to impulse and touched his chest. Even through the thick, protective clothing, she could feel heat pouring off him in waves. “Be prepared to cough up some major info, funny man.”

Keanu seemed to come out of a daze. The playful expression disappeared, sincerity laced his voice. “I made a promise, and I’ll keep it, but, you can’t say anything to anyone. I need you to trust me.”

He even looked sexy when he quirked his damn eyebrow. Somebody save her if he flashed

those two dimples.

“You like my dimples?”

She knew her face was turning a deep shade of red that had nothing to do with the heat from the fire. “Shit, did I say that out loud?”

“Yes, you did, and you can’t take it back.” He licked his lips. “Do you want me to tell you what I like about you?”

“N…no,” she stuttered. Great, now she couldn’t even talk. Actually she really did want to know, but feared she’d spontaneously orgasm on the spot if he told her.

“Good, cause instead of telling, I’m going to show you.”

“Hey, you two, good job,” Brick yelled.

They jumped apart like two naughty kids getting caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

Keanu was the first to compose his demeanor. “Thanks, Chief.”

She shot what she hoped were daggers at Keanu’s amused face.