AT THE STATION, Aidan was run ragged by one call after another. Near the end of the shift, his unit was called out to a secondary fire at the hardware store, where the explosion from two days ago had killed Tracy. Looking at the scene woke Aidan right up. The new fire wasn’t from any smoldering spark left over from the explosion. No way. This fire had been set.
Purposely.
In a wire mesh trash can.
Tommy was already there, and at the look on Aidan’s face, shook his head. “Don’t start.”
“Arson.”
“I said don’t start.”
“Let me guess. We’re not going to have this conversation.”
“Bingo.” Tommy sounded extremely tense. “And this time I’ll tell you why.” He got up in Aidan’s face.
“Because I’m close, okay? I’m very,
Aidan didn’t see that he had a choice. Later, back at the station, he stretched out on the station couch, closing his bleary eyes, needing to think.
Somehow it was all connected, he just knew it…He fell asleep trying to piece it all together, and then dreamed of a certain hot, curvy, sweet woman. A hot, curvy, sexy woman who happened to also be a
He woke up when someone sat on him.
And then bounced on him.
Opening his eyes, he met Cristina’s frowning ones. “Trying to sleep here.”
“No, you’re not. Your eyes are open.”
“Watch this.” He closed them again.
She bounced again, a maneuver that threatened to break his legs. “How’s Blake’s sister?”
“Why are you asking me?”
“Because you’re sleeping with her. Is she okay?”
He shook his head. “How? How do you know what I barely know?”
“Rumor mill.” Her derisive humor hid her misery. Cristina was hurting. Hurting over losing Blake, her partner. Hurting over somehow blowing it with Dustin. She was so hard on the outside that they all forgot how soft and sensitive she was deep inside. She’d loved Blake like a brother, and cared about Kenzie by default.
“How is she, Aidan?”
“I don’t know,” he answered honestly.
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
“She hasn’t returned my phone calls.”
“So you’re losing your touch, too.” She broke off, momentarily distracted when Dustin walked into the room.
The tall, tough-bodied, soft-hearted EMT pushed up his glasses, glanced at Cristina and a muscle jumped in his jaw.
Cristina didn’t appear to breathe. Five agonizing seconds passed, and finally, she looked away first.
Dustin merely sighed.
The two of them had been doing some kind of emotional tap dance for weeks now. Dustin said he wanted more. Cristina said she didn’t.
Now the tension in the room was so thick Aidan could hardly even see them anymore. “Hey, here’s an idea. You two could lust after each other in secret and then ignore each other in person. Because it’s not awkward at all.”
“Shut up, Aidan.” Cristina sent a glare in Dustin’s direction, one that said
Without a word, Dustin walked away, into the kitchen.
Cristina expelled a low breath.
“Looks like I’m not the only one losing my touch,” Aidan noted. “What did you do?”
“How do you know I did something?”
Cristina sighed. “He’s got his panties all unraveled because I went out with an ex.”
“Ouch.”
“No. No ouch. It was just dinner for God’s sake. No biggee.”
“Yeah. But it was dinner with a guy you’ve gotten naked with.”
She shrugged, but dejection had settled over her pretty features. “Whatever.”
“Cristina.”
“I told you, it was just dinner.” She got off of his legs, making sure to get an elbow in his gut. “And if he can’t see that then screw him.”
“Why don’t you just talk to him? Tell him the truth?”
“Talking isn’t what I want.” She headed outside, slamming the door as she went.
Aidan’s cell rang and he leaped for it, hoping for Kenzie, but he got Tommy instead.
“Might want to get down to county,” the inspector said in an undecipherable tone.
“Why?”
“Because I had your girlfriend arrested.”
“You arrested Kenzie?”
“You have another girlfriend I don’t know about?”
“She’s not my-” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “What the hell happened?”
“She’s in for trespassing and interfering with a crime scene, so you figure it out. You don’t control your women very well.”
“She’s not my woman!”
“Either way, I’d hurry. Oh, and get your checkbook. This date’s going to cost you big.”
11
JAIL WASN’T NEARLY as adventurous as it’d been that time Kenzie had been arrested on her soap. Then she’d had a costume director and a makeup artist. Oh, and nice, soft, flattering lights. Plus she’d been able to walk off the set when the director had yelled “cut”, and had sipped her iced tea and laughed it all off.
No such luxuries today.
Real life sucked.
She was given her phone call-which went to her attorney, who promised to work on getting her out. With Kenzie’s own checkbook, of course.
After several hours in a holding cell, during which she contemplated the odd and unwelcome turn her life had taken, and also chewed on a few nails, she was handed her see-through baggie of personal belongings-that was twice in two days-and shown the door.
Standing in front of it wasn’t her attorney, but her own gorgeous, personal savior.
Aidan was dressed in his firefighter uniform, which told her he’d come right from the job. He still wore his firefighter badass expression, too, and was looking more than a little bit temperamental as well.
Nor was she thrilled to see him.
Okay, so a little part of her was. The bad girl part of her, which reared its horny head and begged
She ignored that and her quivery belly, and tried to brush past him.
“What, no thank you?” He shifted so that she was forced to bump into him.
Backing up, she put her hands on her hips and sent him a glare as mean as she could conjure up after a few
