Reduced to Ashes

by Kay Gordon

  During the second period, the whistle blew and people came out to shovel away the ice shavings from the ice. Evan had explained earlier that those were TV Timeouts and the video screen above loved to capture the audience during the full two minutes.

  “Pucker up, hockey fans!” the announcer called through the PA. “It’s time for the Kiss Cam!”

  A heart shape framed the video on the screen while people cheered throughout the arena. It settled on different couples who excitedly pointed to the video and then turned to kiss the person next to them. After the fourth couple, I suddenly saw my face up on the huge screen. I gasped and heard Evan chuckle next to me. I turned to look at him and he was grinning like a fool.

  “We can’t deny the kiss cam, sweetheart.”

  I rolled my eyes but couldn’t keep myself from smiling as I moved to meet his lips. He brought one hand up so his thumb and forefinger were holding my chin and I melted into him. It wasn’t until we heard whooping and cheering that I remembered the kiss cam and we pulled apart.

  There on the big screen was me with red cheeks. Evan grinned and held his fist up victoriously, causing the crowd to burst into cheers again. The people sitting around us moved into the frame, holding their hands up for high-fives, which Evan happily obliged.

  When our faces finally disappeared from the screen, I turned to look at Evan with wide eyes.

  “That was embarrassing.”

  He pulled me close to him. “You were perfect.”

  Going to that hockey game was probably the most fun I’d had in a really long time. It wasn’t just the game, either. The company was outstanding and for the first time in years, I truly felt like me again. Not like the girl who just went through the motions but like the old me who loved to smile and laugh. Evan was slowly helping me reclaim her, one piece at a time. Wearing shorts to the game a few days before when I knew that someone handsy like Wickman would be there was a big example of that.

  The Golden Knights ended up losing by two goals to Nashville’s team but it didn’t diminish the fun that we had. As we followed the hordes of people up the concrete stairs, Evan gripped my hand in his and kissed my temple once we were up to the top.

  “Thanks for coming with me. Best hockey game I’ve ever been to.”

  I was just about to reply when someone shouting behind us grabbed my attention. I glanced over my shoulder and heard whoever it was again.

  “Rookie! Hey, Rookie! Jones- Tori Jones!”

  My eyes went wide when I saw who was calling me.

  Leandro Reyes was grinning when he pushed through the crowd with Tim Palumbo on his heels. Two other guys I didn’t know were behind them and they were all in civilian clothes.

  The second he was close enough, Reyes wrapped his arms around me and lifted me off the ground, twirling me twice.

  “I thought I saw you on the video board earlier! Dumbo didn’t believe me when I said it was you!”

  He placed me back on my feet and Dumbo immediately squeezed me in a tight bear hug. When he pulled back, his blue eyes were kind but assessing.

  “You look good, Rookie.”

  I grinned and nodded my head. “So do you guys.”

  And they did. Dumbo’s hair was more silver than blonde but he looked good for a man in his late forties. Reyes was only a few years older than me but he’d lost a lot of his boyish features and looked more like a man. That smile was the same, though.

  “We’ll meet you at the bar,” Reyes told the other two guys and they nodded before following the mobs of people out of the arena.

  I glanced behind me and looked to where Evan was watching the interaction with a smile on his face. I grabbed his hand and pulled him forward.

  “Evan, these are two of the guys I used to work with at station forty-one, Tim Palumbo and Leandro Reyes. Guys, this is Evan Coleman, my…” I trailed off and Evan finished for me while holding his free hand out to the guys.

  “Her boyfriend. Nice to meet you both.”

  I gawked at his usage of the b-word but none of the guys seemed to notice as they shook hands. Dumbo chuckled and nodded his head.

  “After that kiss you laid on her for the kiss cam, I certainly hope so.” He focused his gaze on me and shook his head. “How are you, Rookie? It’s been a long time. Last time we saw you…”

  He didn’t finish his sentence and I just gave him a crooked smile. “The last time you saw me I was a hot mess. I’m still a hot mess, honestly. I’m good, though. I’ve been at station three in New Hope for about six years. It’s a good group.” I paused and felt remorse hit me hard. “I’m sorry for not keeping in touch.”

  “We get why you didn’t,” Reyes replied quietly, reaching out to squeeze my shoulder. “We’ve missed your obnoxious ass, though.”

  All of us laughed and I used my fist to slug him in the shoulder before looking to Dumbo. “How’re Tammy and your son?”

  “They’re both great. Ronnie left for college at UCLA.”

  “Wow.” I shook my head in disbelief. “He was just in elementary school.” I glanced to Reyes and raised my brows. “What about you? Did you ever settle down?”

  He held up his left hand, showing off a shiny wedding band. “Four years ago. We have two little boys. I’d love for you to meet them all.”

  “I’d like that,” I murmured, slipping my arm through Evan’s so I was gripping his bicep “I really would.”

  We all exchanged phone numbers and more hugs before we went our separate ways. When Evan and I made it back to his truck, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him before he could open my door. His own arms came around my middle and he held me close to him while taking control of the kiss.

  He tasted like a hint of beer and a flavor I was quickly learning was just Evan. I could get drunk off of that man without a single drop of alcohol involved. I could have kissed him for hour in that dark garage but a horn honking somewhere had us slowly pulling apart.

  “Is the next part of our date the sleepover?” I asked, my voice a breathless whisper, and he nodded his head.

  “Most definitely.”

  He grabbed my door and held it open so I could slide in. I had to admit, I didn’t hate it. It’d been a long time since someone other than my family had dared do something chivalrous. Most of them lived in fear that I would punch them in the stomach and it was a legitimate fear, honestly. I stopped letting people hold my door or offer a helping hand after everything happened with Tristan. I refused to do anything that might allow them to see me as weaker than them.

  Letting Evan do those things didn’t make me feel weaker, though. It made me feel cherished, desired, like I was worth his time. And I liked the feeling.

  He pulled his hoodie off his head and tossed it in the backseat. Then he unlocked a compartment under the dashboard, pulling out the gun he’d stashed there before we went into the arena. I watched him settle the weapon back on his hip and our eyes met.

  “Does it bother you?”

  I shook my head and pulled my own hoodie off. “No, it’s just weird to see. I have my CCW but it’s been years since I’ve even handled a gun.”

  “We should go to the range sometime.” Evan leaned over and kissed me once and then backed out of our parking spot. “They’re good skills to keep fresh.”

  The conversation turned to the game and he clarified a few things I was still confused about. One hockey game and I was totally hooked.

  “My place or yours?” I asked once we were driving down the interstate and Evan’s fingers were trailing up and down my thigh. They were slowly getting higher and higher to the point that I was damn near panting.

  “Yours, if that’s okay.” His ascent made it all the way up until he was almost to the top, right to where I needed him to touch me, but he reversed direction and started to make his way back to my knee. “It’s closer.”

  I groaned and shifted slightly in my seat. “Drive faster.”

  Two hours and two con
doms later, I was laying with my head on Evan’s bare chest. Our legs were tangled together and his fingers were running through my hair slowly. My heart was still pounding in my chest and I could feel his doing the same under my cheek.

  “You called yourself my boyfriend.”

  His chest rumbled beneath me when he laughed softly. “Was that okay?”

  “I haven’t had a boyfriend in probably ten years.” I propped my chin onto his chest so I could look up at his face. “I’m not sure I know how to be a girlfriend.”

  “Want some pointers?” he asked as he reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. When I nodded, he grinned. “You let me take you on more dates. We eat meals together. We spend time doing absolutely nothing with you wrapped in my arms. We definitely get naked as often as possible. We support each other with the big crap and the little crap. You let me kiss you whenever I want.”

  I swallowed loudly and dropped my cheek back to his chest. He made it sound so easy and so fantastic. “I think I can handle that.”

  “Good.”

  If I got more moments like the very one we were sharing, I could definitely do the girlfriend thing.

  “I have to set an alarm so I can make it to the office before my appointment with my forensics team,” he murmured as he adjusted us so I was sharing the pillow with him. I brought a hand up until it was on his cheek, loving the way his stubble scratched against my skin.

  “Thank you for tonight, Ev. That was the best date I’ve ever been on.”

  “Me too, Victoria.” He smiled and turned slightly so he could kiss my palm. “I’m glad you gave me a chance.”

  We stared at each other in the dark room for a moment before I spoke again. “Why Victoria? Why not Tori like everyone else?”

  “Victoria is so regal and it reminds me of the way you carry yourself. And doesn’t it mean victory? I’m not sure there’s a better word to describe you.”

  I didn’t reply. I wasn’t sure what I would even say if I did.

  We fell asleep like that, with our faces inches apart and our limbs entwined. The last thing I remembered before dozing off was thinking that I could fall in love with Evan Coleman.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Evan

  After soccer practice, in which we both acted like nothing was different, I spent Tuesday evening at Victoria’s house, cooking her dinner. She tried to help but everything she touched in the kitchen turned to disaster.

  Literally.

  She cut herself when she was shredding cheese, somehow managed to run almost a whole head of lettuce through the garbage disposal, and even spilled an entire jar of salsa.

  When the last thing happened, I stared at her in disbelief. She just gave me a sheepish smile while standing there in a salsa-stained tank top that hugged her torso. Her hair was down, there wasn’t a speck of make-up on her face, and she was wearing a tiny pair of shorts that left absolutely nothing to the imagination.

  It was completely endearing and I knew that I would never meet another woman like her. I took three steps, grasped her face in my hands, and kissed her until we were both breathless.

  Then I made her leave the kitchen so I could salvage the tacos.

  We ate dinner in the living room while watching some reality housewife show that I never would have pictured Victoria into. She admitted that she had a thing for trashy TV and it ended up being a lot more interesting than I expected. Not that I was going to tell her that.

  Since she had to be to work by seven the next morning, we were in bed by nine but we didn’t go right to sleep. I pinned her to that mattress and teased her with my tongue until she was begging for me to fuck her.

  Of course I obliged the lady, taking her hard and fast until we were moaning out in pleasure. When we finally separated our bodies, it was only barely and we fell asleep wrapped in each other.

  She wasn’t even the same woman I’d originally slept with. Any shyness or reluctance was gone and I was learning that Victoria Jones was actually quite confident in the bedroom. Or in the shower. Or on the kitchen counter. I could spend hours lost in her flawless body and even more time listening to her smart mouth.

  It was amazing.

  We both left her house at the same time Wednesday morning after taking a shower that didn’t involve a whole lot of cleaning. Not that either of us was complaining.

  It felt like nothing could go wrong that day. I walked in to some leads on new informants and an email that gave me an idea of who Clay could be. To top it off, Victoria had been sending me texts throughout her shift. It was a relief to know that she wasn’t going to try and avoid me again.

  Then everything went to shit.

  The phone on my desk rang shortly after lunch and I picked it up when I saw the extension for the receptionist on the display.

  “This is Coleman.”

  “Detective Coleman, you have an unscheduled visitor.” She paused for a second. “His name is Tristan Dunsworth.”

  I was immediately on alert. I’d only seen my brother four times since he was released from prison and none of those visits ever involved him coming out to New Hope in any way.

  “I’ll be right out.” I stood from my desk and let my mask settle over my face, locking away any emotion.

  My footsteps echoed against the tile as I walked down the hallway and when I got to the reception area, Tristan was tapping on the glass to our aquarium obnoxiously. When he saw me standing there watching him, he straightened to his full height, which was the same as mine, and offered me a slick smile.

  Like me, he was in a suit except his was missing the tie. His black hair was shaved on the sides but pretty long on top, gelled into some hairstyle that I knew was popular at that moment. His grey eyes looked cold and calculating, matching that grin still on his face.

  He looked just like his dad.

  “Nice suit. Did you get that from Walmart?”

  Keeping my face passive wasn’t even hard because his first attempt at insulting me was lame as fuck. “Is there something you needed, Tristan? Surely you didn’t drive all the way out to New Hope to critique my wardrobe.”

  “Can’t a guy visit his big brother?” He raised his brows and chuckled when I didn’t respond. “Actually, a little birdie told me that he saw you in the city the other night with a hot little number on your arm.”

  “I’m not talking about her with you.” I moved towards the front door but froze when he spoke again.

  “My sloppy seconds, huh, Evan? Tell me- is her pussy still tight as hell or did I wreck it with all of the times I fucked her into oblivion?”

  The receptionist gasped from her desk and I stepped forward until I was nose to nose with my little brother. “Shut the hell up and get out, Tristan.”

  “I remember the first time I took Tori Jones,” he continued, acting as if I hadn’t spoken and without an ounce of worry in his eyes. “She was all shy, even with a shit ton of alcohol running through her veins, but it didn’t take much to get her to spread those legs. Did you ever watch the video, Ev? I bet you jacked off to it, didn’t you? I still do.”

  “You mother fucker.” My voice was a growl and I shifted ready to knock his ass out, but Dom was suddenly between us with a serious expression on his face.

  “Don’t do it. You know that’s what he wants you to do. He’s not worth the headache.”

  I glanced back to my brother and knew my best friend was right. Tristan was still grinning with satisfaction painting his features.

  “You’re still hanging out with Morris, huh? I guess it’s true- when you hang around trailer trash, you become trailer trash. How’s the wife, Morris? I hear you’ve got some mulatto kids now.”

  Dominic rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. “Good to see you, too, Tristan. It’s nice to see that you’re just as insecure as always. It’s time for you to go, though.”

  Tristan shook his head and ambled towards the door like he had all of the time i
n the world. “Touchy, touchy. These reunions are fun. Maybe I’ll go hunt down Tori, see if she wants to take a walk down memory lane, too. I hear she looks like she’s still a tight piece of ass.”

  My restraint broke and I moved too quickly for Dominic, taking my brother by surprise when I shoved him into the wall. Tristan and I were pretty evenly matched body-wise but I knew he didn’t stick to any sort of exercise regimen anymore. Between my physical activity and my rage, I couldn’t guarantee that I wouldn’t fucking kill him. The brief look that crossed his face told me he knew it, too.

  “If you so much as breathe in her direction, I will beat the shit out of you. Daddy won’t be around to save you, either,” I told him in a low, deathly voice. “Leave her alone.”

  I let go of the hold I had on his shoulders, allowing him to fall back from the wall. He put his mask of indifference back on and smoothed out his shirt, offering me a smile as he did.

  “I don’t take orders from you, Evan.” He stuck his hands into his pockets and strolled towards the door. “I lost my career because of that bitch. I went to prison because of her. While you’re strolling down the street with her, pretending that you two are in love or some shit, remember that she owes me.”

  Without another word, he walked out the door. I watched him get into the Aston Martin his father had undoubtedly paid for and didn’t move until he’d driven off.

  “I’m going to fucking kill him,” I muttered, staring at the spot where his car had just been. I stood like that for a moment before a voice reminded me that I wasn’t alone.

  “He’s a coward, Evan. He’s just trying to get under your skin.”

  I straightened up and looked towards Dominic. “If he even goes near her…”

  “I know. He’s all talk, though.” He gestured to the hallway. “Let’s cool down and go grab some lunch.”

  “Yeah, okay.”

  I appreciated my best friend and his attempts at distracting me. I had no idea if Tristan was all talk or if he was planning on confronting Victoria but the thought of her getting hurt by my family- or anyone, really- again made my blood boil.