TONY: Slow Burn
(First in Raging Fire Series)
Kallypso Masters
Copyright © 2019-2021
Ka-thunk! Publishing
TONY: Slow Burn
First in Raging Fire Series
Kallypso Masters
Copyright © 2019-2021
Ka-thunk! Publishing
Kindle Edition
E-book ISBN: 978-1941060360
Print ISBN: 978-1941060377
Serial published on Patreon: March 2019 to April 2021
Original e-book novel published: May 25, 2021
Original print to be published: June 2021
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
TONY: SLOW BURN
Content edited by Meredith Bowery
Line edited by Christine Sullivan Mulcair
Cover design by Syneca Featherstone of Original Syn
Cover images licensed through Adobe Stock
and graphically altered by Syneca Featherstone
Formatted by BB eBooks
This book contains content that is not suitable for readers 17 and under.
Thank you for downloading this e-book. Please be aware that this e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be reproduced, uploaded to share on websites, e-mailed, or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the author, Kallypso Masters, at [email protected] or PO Box 206122, Louisville, KY 40250, or within the sharing guidelines at a legitimate library or bookseller.
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction, sharing, or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (See www.fbi.gov/ipr for more information about intellectual property rights.)
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons—living or dead—or places, events, or locales is purely accidental. The characters are reproductions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
To discover more about the books in this series, see the Books by Kallypso Masters page at the end of this book. For more about Kallypso Masters, please go to the About the Author section.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
About TONY: Slow Burn
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Author’s Note
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Epilogue: Six Months Later
Books by Kallypso Masters
About the Author
Signed Books & Merch in the Kally Store!
About Roar (A Rescue Me Saga Spin-off)
The Rescue Me Saga
About Bluegrass Spirits (A Supernatural Contemporary Romance series)
TONY: Slow Burn (Raging Fire #1)
From USA Today Bestselling Author Kallypso Masters comes a new series based on the Rescue Me Saga world. In the Raging Fire Series, Angelina’s four firefighter brothers will experience tragedy on duty and resurgence from a life-defining past heartache.
Tony Giardano, the youngest brother, has always been the clown in the family, but when faced with his first devastating call, nothing seems to matter anymore. He is falling hard, then looks up to see Carmella D’Alessio, Marc’s baby sister.
Carmella, as quiet and unmovable as the mountains surrounding her family’s Aspen resort, finds herself believing that life and love are passing her by after seeing Marc and Angelina’s wedded bliss. But she’ll have to take time away from the resort if she’s going reassess her priorities.
Carmella and Tony haven’t always seen eye to eye, but circumstances make them take a second look during a raw moment. She’s no stranger to dealing with trauma and stress and recognizes that Tony’s hurting.
Can Carmella’s steadfast, quiet strength force Tony to dive deeper and face his vulnerabilities as he learns to cope with the aftermath of his first tragic call? Will Carmella admit she’s ready for more, and will Tony believe he has more to offer?
Dedication
Thanks, Michael, for all the help you gave me on the fire service as well as for my Try Scuba diving lesson. And Patryce, thanks for being our go-between and for your expertise on diving and the fire service as well!
My utmost thanks to all who serve in or who have served in the fire services in their communities. I’ve learned a lot more about all the sacrifices you make—physical, emotional, and financial—to do your best every day. You’re true American heroes, and we civilians owe you so much for your dedication.
Acknowledgements
This novel was originally published in my Patreon fan club with the help of my alpha readers—Patryce Cornett, Annette Elens, Barb Jack, TeraLe Jaques, Gina Marcantonio, Lisa Simo-Kinzer, and Elaine Swinney. For more than two years, you’ve gone over this book in chunks to allow me to post with confidence on my Patreon fan club page. Margie Dees, Kimberly H, and Stephanie Wilkinson, your feedback also helped me polish the story. I couldn’t have done it without you!
To my proofreader, Christine Mulcair, thanks for your keen eye and superb knowledge of spelling, punctuation, and grammar that gave me the confidence to post each installment on Patreon over the past two years without worrying about embarrassment. Thanks also for going through the final version of the novel before I shared it with my readers.
Thank you to all of the above for helping me prepare the complete book for publication.
And to my content editor, Meredith Bowery, whose uncanny insight into my characters and their motivations, dialogue, and actions helped me make the final version as perfect as it can be.
My research challenges were just as strong on this book as any other one I’ve written. Fortunately, I found a husband-and-wife team who could provide me with information on both the fire service and scuba diving aspects. My thanks to Patryce and Michael Cornett, FF/NRP/FP-C. They also helped me with Marc’s most recent story, Wedding Dreams. I’m sure I’ll be relying on them for a lot of help in the entire Raging Fire Series! Michael even took me (and my daughter) into a quarry near Hopkinsville, Kentucky, so that we could do a Try Scuba session. (I failed, but my daughter did great!)
Gina Marcantonio, you gave me great advice on how Italian mamas think and behave and on Italian family traditions in general (even if Carmella and Tony often went off in their own direction and didn’t play by any cultural norms). We’re going to have a lot of fun with Mama D’Alessio and Mama Giardano in this series!
Several members of my Patreon fan club also provided me
