Firefighter's Rescue (Bakers Beach: First Responders Book 1) Page 11

  The last week, Bryan had followed Kyle’s orders. Maybe a little more strictly than she liked, but that only meant spending more time with him, mostly staying indoors curled up next to him, drowning in his kisses. She couldn’t foresee a time when they’d ever get old.

  “Oh, Elise, thank goodness you called me. I’d been waiting for you to call, but I guess Mr. McHotFireman has kept your attention.”

  Elise snorted. “Really?”

  “He is hot, and he is a fireman.”

  “With a name. Bryan.” She shook her head. “But you’re right. I should have called before now. It’s been a little wild over here.”

  Elise started from the beginning with the reason the fire in her house was started in the first place, with only a few gasps as interruptions. She ended the tale with finding the men in her photographs and learning they’d tried to destroy the evidence in the warehouse fires. When she was finished, even Elise was a little in shock, and she’d been right in the middle of it.

  By the sound of it, Sally adjusted her phone and then said, “Wow. All that was happening here? I guess even the smallest of towns isn’t safe anymore.”

  “I guess not, but Bryan’s been great. Kyle told him to make sure I kept my head down, and he took it like marching orders. If he’s not here, he’s got one of his buddies—who pretends to be watching Smokey—over here.”

  Sally chuckled. “Sweet and rather romantic if you think about it. Kyle’s right, though. You need to be careful. No more pictures on the beach until those creeps are firmly behind bars.”

  Standing, Elise walked to the window. “Oh, stop. Like I told Kyle and Bryan, those men…” Her eyes widened as she noticed two men standing on the beach. “Sally, I’ll have to call you back.” She ended the call and immediately dialed Kyle as she ran out of her room, stopping at Bryan’s and pounding on the door.

  “Bryan!”

  He answered the door, and for a brief second, her brain fritzed. He was delicious. Shirtless, freshly showered, and hair mussed, sticking up at all angles? Words simply couldn’t capture it.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Elise?” Kyle answered. “What’s wrong?”

  She blinked and put the phone on speaker. “I’m not sure. There are men on the beach, and they’re kinda standing there like they’re keeping a watch on something.”

  “I’m sending cars now!” Kyle ended the call as Bryan marched to his window, grabbing a shirt and pulling it on. Using his fingers, he opened the blinds a fraction, looking left and then right.

  “Get down!” In one swift move, he was curling around her and pulling her to the floor.

  Seconds later, glass shattered, raining shards all over the room as the sound of bullets whizzed past them. The hail of gunfire continued until Elise wondered if they were ever going to stop. Bryan shielded their faces with his arm, and when the bullets slowed, he grabbed her and shoved her in the closet.

  “Stay!”

  Before she could protest, he turned the lock on the inside knob and shut the door. She pulled out her phone and called Kyle back. “Kyle, I’m in a locked closet in Bryan’s room, and bullets are flying everywhere.”

  “We’re on the way.” He paused, and with the way his voice sounded muffled, it seemed he’d put his hand over it. “Stay on the phone with me, okay? Is there anything in the closet you can use as a weapon?”

  “A weapon?”

  “Yeah, something heavy or sharp. Something you can wield if that door opens and it’s not a good guy.”

  Elise used the light from her phone and rummaged around. “There’s a fire extinguisher.”

  “Great. If anyone opens that door, break the seal and spray them right in the face. Then run. Don’t drop the extinguisher, though.”

  Snorting, Elise rolled her eyes. “Well, duh.”

  Kyle, who was obviously trying to keep her distracted, laughed. “Just wanted to make sure. You can be a damsel, but you don’t have to be in distress and make stupid decisions.”

  “Right? You know how many times I’ve yelled at a woman during a movie? Who drops the weapon when there are more bad guys around? That’s just stupid.” She paused as the sound of sirens became clearer. “I think I hear you.”

  “I can see the house.”

  There was a squeal of tires, and her connection with Kyle was gone.

  Huddling in the corner, holding the cannister to her chest, armed and ready, she waited as shouts and large thuds came from downstairs. Another squeal of tires and more bullets that sounded like they were coming from outside made her hunch her shoulders. Why, she had no idea. Maybe ducking was just instinctual.

  After what felt like an eternity, the knob jiggled. “Elise, it’s me, Kyle. The house is clear.”

  Kyle? She quickly unlocked the door and whipped it open. “Where’s Bryan?”

  “Are you okay?” Kyle asked, seeming to avoid her question.

  She buried her hands in his shirt. “Where is Bryan?”

  He chuckled. “He’s fine. A few cuts, but he managed to knock out one of the guys who shot the place up. Not sure how, but it’s good. Maybe we can get some information out of him.”

  “A few cuts?” Was that cop-speak for Bryan was hurt but he’d be okay or he had a few cuts and he was perfect minus some bandages?

  Kyle took her by the shoulders. “Are you okay?”

  Sagging, she nodded. Clearly, she wasn’t going to get anywhere until she answered him. “Yeah, I’m fine, but I want to see Bryan now.”

  With that, Kyle rolled his eyes and tipped his head toward the door. “All right, come on.”

  As they walked through the house, Elise couldn’t quite grasp how much damage had been done to Bryan’s poor home. It was riddled with holes, windows were broken, and…Smokey! “Please tell me Smokey is okay.” She grabbed Kyle’s shirt sleeve. “Please.”

  “Yeah, he’s just fine. I think he was the one who helped Bryan knock one of them out. Turns out, that sweet dog can be ruthless when his friend is in trouble.” He shook his head as they began walking again. “When I first walked in, I thought he was going to tear my throat out until he realized I was a friend and not a foe.”

  When they reached the first-floor landing, the edges of Elise’s vision hazed as she locked eyes with Bryan. His hip leaned against the kitchen counter as a paramedic checked him over. He had a busted lip, a cut along his temple, and his shirt was torn. But he was alive and breathing and as close to perfect as he could be given what they’d just gone through.

  Bryan shot her a half-smile and winced, touching the cut on his lip with his fingers. “This hurts a lot worse than it looks.”

  “It actually looks like it hurts.” Elise’s approached him, her gaze running from the top of his head to his feet, noticing a few more minor cuts and bruises. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” He palmed the small of her back, drawing her flush against him. “Mostly, I’m just glad you’re okay.”

  The paramedic attending him cleared his throat. “Uh, sorry to break the moment, guys.”

  Elise’s cheeks burned as she realized she’d forgotten the man was even there.”

  “Hi.” He stuck his hand out. “You look familiar.”

  “You’re the paramedic that night at the fire, Lee Fillion, right?” She shook his hand. That night, she’d been in such shock that she’d barely registered his presence. He was cute, and even after living here most of her life, this was only the second time she’d seen him. Clearly, the town was growing faster than she was keeping up.

  He grinned. “That’s me.” His head tilted. “You look a little shaken, but not as bad as that night. Are you okay? You didn’t get hurt, did you?”

  Shaking her head, she leaned against Bryan. “No, this hero kindly locked me in a closet, and that hero,” she said, pointing to Kyle, “helped me keep my wits and find a weapon. It turns out I didn’t need it.”

  Lee sighed. “Let’s be safe rather than sorry.”

  As the man proceede
d to go through his list of protocols, Elise was grateful they’d both survived. It was another vivid lesson that standing on her own two feet didn’t mean being on a desert island. It meant being with someone and, together, turning that isolation into an oasis. A place she could run to when the world was raining fire and there was nowhere else to go.

  Chapter 25

  With his house destroyed, Bryan, Elise, and Smokey were taking up residence in a fully-furnished rental home owned by a local real estate agent, Cheryl Benning, a friend of Sally’s. It hadn’t taken long to find a place to stay. As soon as Elise got word to Sally that she needed somewhere to go, there were actually more offers than they’d expected since the police had promised to patrol the area to keep their homes safe. A perk of living in a small town where the men in his station were appreciated.

  Apparently, Cheryl was thrilled about the upcoming calendar that no one was supposed to know about yet. Bryan couldn’t really complain, though, once she refused to even consider taking payment. She said heroic firefighters should have a decent roof over their head, and the city cutting the budget and still raising her property taxes hadn’t set well with her. After Cheryl left the rental, he’d asked Elise to order a few extra calendars for her, his treat.

  Bryan had also taken her to the ruins of her townhouse, giving her the opportunity to rummage through it. There had been nothing left. Nothing that could be saved. She’d figured as much but had still hoped. Although, the longer she was without her things, the more she realized she had everything she wanted.

  “I already miss the beach house.” Elise drew lazy circles on his chest as she sat with her legs across his lap. “I’m so sorry it was torn up.”

  He tipped her chin up with his finger. “It’s just a house. After putting out hundreds of fires, I’ve learned that they’re just wood and stone. It’s the people you care about that make it a home.” He laid his hand on Smokey’s head and rubbed it. “I can rebuild a house. The other more valuable, fragile things, not so much.”

  Elise took his hand, setting it on her hip, and brushed her lips along his jaw, drawing a shuddering breath from him. “I agree.” Her warm breath hit his skin with each small kiss she placed. “I don’t know which time you looked the best. After that roof collapsed or once the bullets stopped flying.”

  He’d shoved her in his closet and prayed she’d be safe in there. When he’d moved in, the first thing he’d done was find the safest place during a hurricane. That closet had been the most secure place in the house.

  Wrapping his arms around her, he squeezed her to him. “You look great all the time.” He pressed his lips to the side of her head, taking in the scent of whatever lime-scented shampoo she’d used after they first arrived at their new digs.

  With the last brush of her lips along the side of his neck, he cupped her cheek and brought her lips to his. Whatever was going on in the world outside could go on without him caring one bit. The only things in that beach house that mattered to him were right here on the couch with him.

  He winced and touched his fingers to the cut on his lip. “I really should’ve been more careful. It’s messing up my kissing game.”

  “I think your kissing game is just perfect,” she said, punctuating each word with the faintest, softest kisses, skillfully avoiding the cut. “I hope the guy who gave it to you has interrogation lights so bright they burn his eyes and make him spill his guts about all the other bad guys.” Her kisses continued, trailing along his jaw and across his cheek.

  “You keep doing that, and I won’t want you to stop.”

  “I have zero issues with that.” She giggled. “The only thing I’m not looking forward to is you going to work tomorrow. I’ve liked having you all to myself today. Well, minus the police patrolling the street and sitting outside watching the house.”

  Bryan grunted. “Yeah, I couldn’t just let them go without offering them something to eat to thank them. Thanks for helping me with that.”

  Sally had dropped off a grocery aisle’s worth of food ranging from roasts to ingredients to make sandwiches. It was a really kind thing for her to do, and he couldn’t thank her enough. During shift changes, he’d let the officers know they were welcome to step inside and get something to eat before they headed home. Some gratefully took him up on the offer while others simply thanked him and left to return to their families.

  Elise nuzzled his neck with her nose. “Anytime. I appreciate what they’re doing.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Leaning back, she caught his gaze. “I should have taken Kyle’s warning more seriously. I dragged you into my mess. If it weren’t for me, you’d still have your beach house. I feel like all of this is my fault.”

  “No,” he replied. “Not at all. You did keep low. Maybe not as easy as I liked.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “But you did. None of this is your fault. It’s theirs. Don’t break the law, and it won’t matter who takes your picture.”

  “I—”

  They spoke at the same time and laughed.

  “You first.” Elise combed a piece of his hair back.

  “I—”

  She jumped as the phone started ringing. Grabbing it from the side table, she held it to her chest. “I think I’m going to be jumpy for a while.”

  As fast as his heart was pounding, he was too. “Yeah.”

  Her gaze dipped to the phone, and her lips pinched together as she answered it. “Hold on just a second.”

  “Who’s calling at nearly eleven at night?”

  “My mom. I need to talk to her, but this conversation isn’t over.” She pointed at him and smiled, kissing him as she stood.

  Nodding, he smiled as she walked to the far side of the room to take her call. The conversation wasn’t over. After what happened at the beach house, he had to agree. He’d thought waiting to tell her how he felt was the best thing to do at the time, but since then, he’d questioned his choice.

  If something had happened to her, he never would’ve been given another chance to tell her how much he loved, wanted, and needed her.

  He chuckled to himself. His lesson on risk was being driven home. Love was a risk. It didn’t matter when it was said or how much. What mattered was that it was said, and this time, he’d say it without worrying if it was the right time.

  * * *

  Elise gave Bryan one last look before turning down the hall and sealing herself in the room she’d claimed. When she told him she missed the beach house, she wasn’t kidding. This house was nice, but it didn’t have the open, airy feeling his did. There was no salty air, either, since it was a good three miles from the beach. Closer to the station for Bryan and less chance that those men could sneak up on them again.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Elise Richards, were you ever going to call me and tell me about being threatened and shot at?”

  In the flurry of quickly packing a few things and finding a place to stay, Elise hadn’t even thought to call her mom. A horrible thing to admit, but it wasn’t like it was something that happened on a regular basis. “I’m sorry, Mom. How did you even find out?”

  “Really? I still have friends in Baker Beach. It was all over the news here in Florida too. Something about a crime family and a washed-up body and a photographer caught in the middle of all of it.”

  Squeezing her eyes shut, Elise held in a groan. Great. Just great. “I’m fine. Kyle has police watching the house, patrols are cruising by every fifteen minutes, and Bryan is with me. He—”

  “You need to come home until this is over. You’ll be safer here.”

  “I don’t want that, Mom. I’m safe here. My home is here. My life is here. And I don’t need to bring the threat to you.”

  Her mom scoffed. “Your life is where your family is, and we’re in Florida. Can you imagine how it felt when I got that call? When I turned on the news here? All I could think was that my baby girl was all the way in Virginia, and there was nothing I could do. I felt helpless. Just as helpless as when…”


  Elise walked to the bed and wilted onto it. “Mom—” She paused, giving herself a second to find the right words. “I know you’re worried, and I’m fine. If anything, flying to Florida would put me in even more danger.”

  Her mom sucked in a sharp breath. “A crime family targeted you.”

  Oh, why had she said that? “Yeah, but the police are on it. I’m saying the case is solved. I’m fine. Everything is fine.” More than fine. She’d just spent who knows how long kissing the most kissable man on the planet. She wasn’t sure what Bryan was thinking, but forever sounded, well, not near long enough, but it would have to do.

  “So, the police have them in custody, then?”

  “No, but they will. It’s only a matter of time.”

  “Elise, you know I love Patrick with all of my heart. If I could go back to that horrible day, I would, and I’d do everything in my power to see that he was still whole. But I can’t.”

  Elise fell back on the bed, her arm over her eyes, already hearing what her mother was about to say. It was a speech she knew by heart. One they’d perfected since the day Patrick had his accident.

  “What I can do is protect you. Do you have any idea what a hole you’d leave if we lost you? Sweetheart, I just…” Her mom sniffled. “I just don’t want to see you hurt. Would it really be all that bad to come to Florida and stay with us until this all blows over?”

  “Mom.”

  “Please, darling. For me? For your dad? He’d be devastated to lose you.”

  Holding in a groan, Elise shook her head. “I can’t. Kyle has police watching me. An entire army of men. If I leave—”

  “I’ve already spoken to Kyle’s mother. She’s assured me that Kyle will have someone escort you to the airport and that he’d arrange protection for you here. It would probably be even better protection because the department is bigger.”

  “You spoke to Kyle’s mom?”