Sizzle & Share: A MFM Firefighter Romance (Surrender to Them Book 9)

by Kelli Callahan

  “I thought he got hurt.” She took the flier and stared at it.

  “Hudson did, but he’s not the only Anderson that cares about this town.” I smiled and pointed at Preston’s name on the flier.

  “Interesting.” She put the flier in her purse. “Yeah, a little change would be nice I guess.”

  “Thank you—tell your friends!” I waved as she walked away.

  “Do you have a permit for these fliers?” A booming voice startled me, and I turned around to see Sheriff Tate.

  “I’m sorry, what?” I tilted my head to the side.

  “Mayor Stevenson passed a new ordinance this morning. All campaign fliers have to be approved by City Hall before they can be distributed.” He folded his hands across his chest. “So, do you have a permit?”

  “No…” I shook my head back and forth. “What kind of ordinance is that anyway?”

  “The kind that will get you ten days in jail.” He reached for his handcuffs and grabbed my arm.

  “Keep your hands off me!” I pulled away.

  “Resisting arrest too?” He chuckled under his breath. “You do that again and I’ll have to use my baton before I put these handcuffs on you.”

  “Fucking asshole.” I stopped fighting and let him lock the cuffs around my wrist.

  Preston gave his press conference and announced his intention to run for mayor. He did a good job hinting that there was more to Hudson’s accident than what the news article revealed, but it didn’t have the kind of impact we hoped. Only a few people showed up for the press conference itself, and the local newspaper buried Preston’s campaign announcement in the middle of the Sunday paper while Mayor Stevenson got a front page exclusive outlining his plans to revive the economy in Andalusia. We really were fighting against all the odds and none of them were in our favor. I shouldn’t have been surprised that Mayor Stevenson passed an ordinance to stop our latest attempt—passing out fliers at public locations. I didn’t expect him to do something a brazen as toss one of us in jail though. Sheriff Tate made a big spectacle out of arresting me, leaving me standing there on the sidewalk while he turned on the lights—blared the sirens—and then finally loaded me in the back of his car.

  “It’s not going to work you know.” I leaned forward. “You’re going to be up for reelection too.”

  “You keep quiet.” Sheriff Tate adjusted his mirror so that he could see me. “Otherwise I’ll make sure you get a little police brutality before I lock you up.”

  “Sounds about right—considering what your boss did to Hudson.” I leaned back against the seat and snarled.

  “You’d think a warning like that wouldn’t have been ignored.” Sheriff Tate hit the gas and started driving towards the jail.

  Holy shit. He just admitted it. They think they’re freaking untouchable.

  I didn’t like having to keep quiet, especially after what Sheriff Tate said, but I didn’t feel like taking a beating before I ended up behind bars. I bit my tongue and glared at Sheriff Tate as he hauled me into the police station, took all of my things, and made me change into an orange jumpsuit. The only kindness he showed me was letting me change in private. My request for a phone call was denied immediately. He took me down a hallway to the only jail cell in Andalusia, pushed me against the bars hard enough to make me cry out in pain, then shoved me into his personal cage. The door slammed shut and he left me there all alone after a few more verbal threats. An hour later he returned to let me know that the judge had agreed that I would be spending ten days behind bars. I didn’t even see the inside of a courtroom or get a chance to plead my case. Sheriff Tate took a shit on the justice system just like Mayor Stevenson had taken a shit on the entire town.

  Hudson and Preston have to be going out of their minds, but do they even know where I am?

  “So you’re the girl that decided to violate my new ordinance…” I heard a chuckle and then Mayor Stevenson came walking down the hallway.

  “That ordinance was bullshit and you know it.” I walked up and grabbed the bars.

  “Maybe, but I wanted to talk to you and it seemed like a good way to make sure I had your undivided attention.” Mayor Stevenson pulled a chair over and sat down.

  “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say.” I shook my head back and forth.

  “Too fucking bad.” He shrugged. “All you can do is listen.”

  “Fine.” I glared at him and felt my jaw clench.

  “Eliza Abner.” He shook his head back and forth. “I never thought I’d have problems with an Abner again.”

  “What?” I blinked in surprise.

  “I guess I should have known that meddling just runs in your family—it’s in your blood, I suppose.” He leaned back and opened his jacket, pulling out a rather large cigar.

  My blood? What?

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” I took a step back.

  “Oh, you don’t know. Interesting.” He put the cigar in his mouth and lit it. “I thought that’s what this was all about—your parents.”

  “My parents? What do you know about my parents?” I felt my stomach souring even before the disgusting cigar smoke burned my nostrils.

  “A great deal, actually. But that’s not why you’re helping the Andersons, so…” He nodded and puffed his cigar. “That means you must be in love with one of them.”

  “Tell me what you know about my parents!” I grabbed the bars again.

  “Nah.” He stood up and straightened his jacket. “I know all I need to know now. Enjoy the next ten days.”

  “Asshole! Don’t you walk away!” I shook the bars with all of my strength, but all they did was rattle.

  “Just like your father, you’re going to learn that you have no power here.” He grinned and winked—a wink that was immediately burned into my soul forever.

  27

  Hudson

  “You need to stay in bed, don’t get up.” Preston put his hands on my shoulders as I tried to stand.

  “Eliza is missing! I’m not staying in bed!” I pushed Preston back, but felt a pain that sapped my strength immediately.

  “And I’m going to find her.” Preston sighed and held out his hands. “Please, she wouldn’t want you to try to play hero when you can’t even fucking walk.”

  “I got something.” Dad ran into the bedroom holding his phone. “She was handing out fliers in front of the grocery store and she got arrested by Sheriff Tate.”

  “That son of a bitch!” I started to stand again. “Let’s go get her.”

  “Son, you really don’t need to travel.” Dad stepped forward and took my arm to make sure I didn’t fall.

  “I don’t give a fuck.” I grabbed my clothes. “You can either help or get out of my fucking way.”

  “I’m obviously not going to leave her at the police station, but I’d rather not have to drop you off at the hospital on the way.” Preston sighed and shook his head.

  “Don’t worry about me—worry about Sheriff Tate.” I growled under my breath. “If he hurt her, he’s going to be the one that gets admitted to the hospital.”

  I felt some of my strength returning as I got dressed and started walking. I was a little disoriented, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. Dad and Preston helped me walk when I stumbled, and the adrenaline did the rest. We climbed into Preston’s truck, despite them trying to discourage me the whole way, and headed downtown. They pleaded with me to stay in the truck, but I was too angry to just sit there and wait. The lingering fog had begun to dissipate a little bit, and I felt better than I had felt laying in bed—although I was certain I would pay for the excursion when the adrenaline wore off. None of that mattered—the only thing that mattered was getting Eliza back. As soon as the three of us stormed into the building, Sheriff Tate came walking out to greet us.

  “Ah—the Andersons.” He chuckled. “What can I do for you three today? Hudson, you don’t look so good.”

  “Fuck you, Tate.” I took a step forward. “Where’s Eliza
?”

  “She’s in jail where she belongs.” He scoffed and chuckled again. “She’s a criminal.”

  “A criminal?” Preston’s eyes narrowed. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “Mayor Stevenson passed a new ordinance this morning. She violated it. She’ll be spending the next ten days hanging out with me.” A huge grin spread across his face.

  “Like hell she well.” My jaw tightened, and my head started to pound, but my anger was too strong for me to back down. “Either go get her or give us the keys and we’ll do it ourselves. We’re not leaving without her.”

  “It would be—such a tragedy.” Sheriff Tate moved his hand over to the revolver on his hip. “If I had to defend myself from a bunch of crazy Andersons that thought they were above the law in this town.”

  “Why did you sell your soul to Mayor Stevenson?” Dad leaned forward and put his fists on the desk that separated us from Sheriff Tate. “We used to be friends.”

  “You know why, come on.” Sheriff Tate narrowed his eyes at our father. “You remember how it was before the mill closed. This town is dying.”

  “So instead of standing up for the town like the people trusted you to do, you just decided to watch it die?” Our father scoffed. “We could have taken Mayor Stevenson down nearly five years ago, and you laughed in my face.”

  “I should have thrown you in jail.” Sheriff Tate leaned forward. “Or just shot you on the spot. Mayor Stevenson warned you not to keep making trouble, and here you are—doing the same shit again.”

  “He has nothing to do with my decision to run for mayor.” I fought against the agony pounding in my head as I spoke.

  “Nor mine.” Preston shook his head back and forth. “And rest assured, Sheriff Tate, the first thing I’m going to do once I’m mayor is make sure that you no longer have a job in Andalusia.”

  “I wouldn’t make any plans if I were you.” A voice echoed from the hallway behind Sheriff Tate, and Mayor Stevenson walked out into the main part of the sheriff’s station with a cigar between his teeth.

  “You passed an ordinance just so you could interfere with my campaign?” Preston took a step forward. “You know Eliza has nothing to do with this.”

  “I didn’t.” He chuckled. “But now I do.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean.” My fists balled up until my nails were digging into my palms.

  “I see now that this is just an issue between us.” He shrugged. “Silly me, I thought it was about something else. Why don’t we settle this right now.”

  “You’re going to resign?” Preston’s lip curled into a snarl and I heard a growl echo in his throat. “That’s the only way we settle this.”

  “No.” Mayor Stevenson shook his head and chuckled. “You’re going to withdraw from this campaign and leave Andalusia.”

  “Like hell I am.” Preston took another step forward and Sheriff Tate’s hand returned to his revolver.

  “You have two choices here.” Mayor Stevenson grinned and puffed on his cigar. “The first choice is pretty easy. You withdraw from the campaign and leave town—taking her with you, of course. The other choice—well, that involves her spending ten days in Sheriff Tate’s custody and those will be some long, lonely days for Sheriff Tate. Who knows what could happen…”

  “She is pretty.” Sheriff Tate nodded.

  “I’ll take option three.” Preston turned towards Sheriff Tate—and he lunged.

  Chaos erupted. I don’t know how my brother managed to jump over the front desk that separated him from Sheriff Tate on his surgically repaired knee, but he cleared it so fast that Sheriff Tate never had a chance to pull his revolver. Preston looked like a linebacker instead of a quarterback as he drove his weight into Sheriff Tate’s chest with a tackle that would have made our high school coach stand up an applaud. Mayor Stevenson made a move towards Preston, but Dad was on him in a flash, pinning the fat, older man to the wall his arm twisted behind his back. Preston came up swinging and knocked Sheriff Tate out cold with a right hook. He grabbed the keys from his belt but stumbled when his knee gave out. I stepped forward to take the keys and started walking down the hallway towards the jail cell. My head was killing me, but there was no way I was going to stop until Eliza was safe.

  I don’t know what the fuck we’re going to do when we get Eliza out of here, but I’m pretty sure all of us are going to end up in prison…

  “Hudson!” Eliza ran to the bars as I approached. “What are you doing out of bed?”

  “Saving your ass.” I grinned and shoved the key into the lock.

  “What happened? I heard shouting—and then a crash.” Eliza pushed the door open and wrapped her arms around me.

  “Careful, I’m barely standing on my feet as it is.” I grimaced, but still hugged her.

  When we walked back into the main part of the station, Sheriff Tate and Mayor Stevenson were both handcuffed. Preston hugged Eliza and Dad helped me walk when I stumbled a bit, but Eliza immediately ran back to my side. We had saved her, but I wasn’t sure what the cost was going to be. Preston wouldn’t be able to run for mayor after what we just pulled off. We had literally broken Eliza out of jail. There was no way Mayor Stevenson was going to let my father just live the rest of his life in peace after putting his hands on him. Leaving Andalusia was probably his only option—the only option for any of us. We could live life on the run like outlaws, which is exactly what we became when the woman we loved was threatened. I would have done anything for her though, so I didn’t really give a fuck if I had to go to prison. I was going to need a hospital bed first, because I could feel my strength fading fast.

  “You’re all going to jail! You’re all going to pay for what you’ve done here!” Mayor Stevenson struggled against his handcuffs.

  “Do you trust me?” Eliza leaned forward so that I only I could hear what she said.

  “With my life.” I nodded quickly.

  “Get out your phone and record me. Don’t ask any questions—I love you.” She let go of my hand and took a step back.

  “What?” I tilted my head as my hand went to my phone.

  What is she going to do?

  28

  Eliza

  “You fucking asshole!” I grabbed the gun that was sitting on the desk near the entrance and pointed it at Mayor Stevenson.

  “Eliza, what the fuck are you doing?” Preston took a step towards me, but I shuffled away. “Stay back, Preston. This is between me and him.”

  “Um, Eliza. Please put down the gun.” Mr. Anderson lifted his eyes, and I could tell he was trying to be the voice of reason.

  “One of you better put a muzzle on your bitch before she does something that puts all of you on death row instead of in a cell.” Mayor Stevenson looked at the Andersons.

  “Oh yeah?” I dropped to my knees and grabbed him by the throat, pushing the gun against his neck. “Why don’t we finish that fucking conversation from earlier—the one about my parents.”

  “Your parents?” Preston stared blankly and the confusion didn’t stop with him.

  “Eliza—Abner,” Mr. Anderson’s words trailed off for a second. “Oh my god, you’re Joe Abner’s daughter. The name didn’t even register before…”

  “I know who he was to me.” I jammed the fun against Mayor Stevenson’s throat again. “I want to know who he was to you.”

  “Eliza, hold on.” Mr. Anderson words came out fast and I could tell he was connecting the dots in his head—dots that didn’t make sense to me yet. “Your father was on the city council. He was—against the mill closing. The only holdout. He tried to organize a fundraiser after Henry Walford said that they weren’t going to be able to make it another year.”

  “And then he died in a car accident.” I snarled and leaned forward a little more. “That seems to be a common occurrence with people that get in your way, doesn’t it?”

  “Get off me! I can’t breathe!” Mayor Stevenson started gasping and his face turned red.

  �
�Then you better talk fast, because I’m either going to keep squeezing or pull the fucking trigger.” I gave him another nudge with the gun. “Unless I hear the truth about what happened to my family.”

  “They…” Mayor Stevenson coughed. “They weren’t supposed to die! It was just supposed to be a warning!”

  My hand started to tremble. My entire life—every bit of the agony and suffering. All of the foster homes. It was because of him. I really didn’t know much about my parents. I tried looking up information about them when I was older, but the news stories just mentioned a car accident involving a drunk driver. I didn’t even know my father was on the city council. Things started to become clearer as I stared into the terrified eyes of the man who was responsible for their deaths. The newspaper wouldn’t even run the story about Preston’s campaign. They reported whatever Mayor Stevenson told them to report. My father tried to stand against Mayor Stevenson and it cost him his life. It almost cost Hudson his life. I could have choked the life out of Mayor Stevenson. I could have pulled the trigger. I wanted to do both at the same time—but I couldn’t. I wasn’t a killer.

  “Did you get that, Hudson?” I pulled the gun away from Mayor Stevenson and stood.

  “Every word.” Hudson nodded and held up his cell phone.

  “You’re finished.” I spat in Mayor Stevenson’s face.

  “That will never hold up in court!” Mayor Stevenson leaned forward, yanking on the handcuffs. “It was said under duress!”

  “It doesn’t have to.” Preston walked over and wrapped his arms around me, taking the gun from my hand.

  I wanted justice—I wanted vengeance—but I wasn’t going to reduce myself to Mayor Stevenson’s level to get it. His reign of terror in Andalusia was over. The four of us left the police station and Hudson sent the video to everyone in his contact list. By the time we got to the truck, he was weak and barely able to stand on his feet, so we drove straight to the hospital. The doctor said he was fine, but he had likely pushed himself too much, so they decided to keep him overnight for observation. A few hours later, Andalusia became a kaleidoscope of red and blue lights as federal agents arrived. The video had been circulated enough to get picked up by a television station in Birmingham and it aired on the evening news. The federal agents found Mayor Stevenson and Sheriff Tate still handcuffed where we left them, and we got to watch them being taken out of town on the television in the waiting room.