Dallas Fire & Rescue: Tempting Fire (Kindle Worlds Novella)

by Caitlyn O'Leary

  Chapter Six

  Zarek caught her before she slumped to the floor.

  “I’m fine,” she said as she weakly batted at his chest. He gently placed her onto the bed.

  “Yes, you are. I think that confrontation was a long time in coming. So emotionally you’re a little closer to fine, but physically you have a long way to go.”

  “What time is it?”

  “It’s seven o’clock. Are you hungry?”

  “God no. My stomach is twisted into knots. If I smelled food, I would probably throw up.” She pushed up on her elbows. “I was asking what time it was to see if I can just go to sleep for the night.”

  She looked exhausted. “When did you get to be so delicate?”

  “Huh? I’m the furthest thing from delicate,” her voice was weary. “Don’t forget, I taught you how to change a flat tire, and I had to gut the first fish you caught because you were too squeamish to do it yourself.”

  Zarek shuddered at the memory. Chloe had been proficient with the knife, fileting the bass so they had a perfect fish to cook over the open fire. Hell, she couldn’t have been much more than ten years old.

  “The fish was slippery,” he defended himself. “Every time I tried to cut into it, it slid out of my hands.”

  “Amateur.”

  “I learned. You taught me.”

  “See, I’m not delicate,” she said coming around full circle. But her looks belied her statement.

  “Fragile.”

  “That’s even worse,” she complained.

  “It’s the truth, just live with it right now. You’re going to get on a regular eating schedule when we get to Dallas. Exercise too. I’m not going to let you just bury yourself in my house and become a recluse.” He gave her a hard stare, wanting to make sure that his words sank in.

  She looked at him solemnly, her big eyes going deep black. “I don’t think this is a good idea after all. Can you take me home tomorrow?”

  “Not going to happen.”

  “I hate it when you say that!” She hit at his chest, and he barely felt the blow. He caught her hand to his chest.

  “You might hate that phrase, but it’s the truth. You made the decision to go home with me. It stands.”

  “No. It. Doesn’t.” She tried to take her hand back, but he wouldn’t let her. He looked at this woman who had been his best friend all of his life and felt fear slither down his back. He hadn’t been kidding when he said she looked delicate and fragile. Those were two words he would never have associated with Chloe Avery before. She had always been a force to be reckoned with, even when her shitty home life as a kid had tried to beat her down, she come out fighting. He couldn’t let this woman who had been his touchstone continue to hurt. Not on his watch. He was going to give her a safe place to land.

  “Zarek? You’re just staring at me. You’re supposed to be arguing.”

  “There’s nothing to argue about, Cupcake. I’m taking you to my home. I want you with me. I need to make sure you’re taken care of.”

  “But―”

  “Wait.” She stopped talking and looked at him expectantly. “Do me a favor.”

  “What?”

  “Imagine if the positions were reversed. Imagine if you found me in Dallas, having just suffered through a bad fire where something catastrophic happened on the job happened. I couldn’t cope, so I was on leave. I’d been holed up in my house for six weeks, no food in the house, and I’d lost weight, I cut of communication from everyone I loved. I was disoriented and fading fast, what would you do? Would you try to help? Would you want to take care of me?”

  “I’m not that bad off,” she protested as she squirmed in the bed.

  “This isn’t about you. I’m describing a scenario about me. What would you do, would you want to intervene? This is me, I’m basically falling apart, and it’s me. What would you do? Would you walk away?”

  “No,” she said resignedly. “I wouldn’t walk away. I would try to help.”

  “Even if I didn’t want it?” He searched her face and saw her acceptance.

  She nodded. “Even if you didn’t want it. I’d somehow make you take my help. You’ve been my best friend since I was seven.”

  Zarek smiled and put his arms around her thin shoulders, pulling her in close for a hug. She clung to him.

  “This is going to be hard. I think I’m in trouble.” The words were bare discernable as she whispered them into his chest.

  “We’ll work it out together.”

  Chapter Seven

  They’d spent the night in Little Rock, and she’d perked up when they’d found a Stuckey’s convenience store. He pulled over for coffee and to let Chloe use the restroom. She actually smiled when they got inside and it warmed his heart.

  “What’s got you so excited, Cupcake?”

  “Do you remember Tabitha Ryder?” He vaguely remembered a girl from elementary school.

  “Her mom took us to Stuckey’s for her birthday one year, she let each of us get our own invisible ink question book, and bought us all pecan log roll candy.”

  “If it will get you eating, I’ll buy out their inventory.”

  “They’re really sweet, I don’t think I could handle too much,” she protested. “I’ll be right back.” She headed towards the back where the bathrooms were. Zarek did a quick tour of the store and had made his purchases by the time Chloe had returned.

  “What’s in the bag?”

  “Stuff for the road. Come on, we’re burning daylight.” He caught her hand and headed back out in the heat. He’d parked close to the entrance so she didn’t have to walk far since he knew her foot was still bothering her. He’d checked it last night in the hotel and didn’t see any sign of an infection, but she was still favoring her left foot.

  Thirty miles later Zarek grinned when he heard the rustle of the bag.

  “Did I say you could look in there?”

  “I want my pecan log roll.”

  “Who said I bought one?”

  “You’re as transparent as glass Zarek Post. I want my treat.” Zarek’s grin turned into a laugh.

  Score!

  “Help yourself. I even got some wet naps, because I knew you would make a mess.”

  He spared a glance from the road and looked at Chloe. She wasn’t even scowling at him for the insult, instead she was looking at the caramel pecan candy like it was a slice of heaven. It was the first time he had seen her look truly happy since seeing her yesterday.

  He blinked rapidly.

  Fuck.

  “Zarek, it tastes just like I remembered!” she cried happily.

  “That’s good Chloe. That’s really good,” he said past the lump in his throat.

  ***

  Chloe ended up sleeping most of the way from Arkansas to Dallas. She woke up at the sound of a dog barking. She realized she was inside a garage, it had to be Zarek’s.

  “Friend Slayer.” She heard Zarek say outside the truck.

  Then she heard the bark again. “Shhhh, Slayer, you’ll wake her.”

  He sounded like a big dog. When the passenger side door opened and paws settled on her seat, a mammoth black dog was with intelligent eyes stared deep into her soul. It wasn’t a big dog, it was a gargantuan dog. A humongous, dog. It was a behemoth.

  Chloe glared at Slayer.

  He watched her with a gentle look. Dammit, he seemed to look at her with love.

  She didn’t need one more male who would try to boss her around. Try to get her to come out of her shell. Even if he was big and beautiful.

  Slayer let out a small huff.

  “Please, I can’t deal.”

  He whined.

  She looked past the huge animal to Zarek who was standing behind his dog.

  “Don’t look at me, this is between you two.”

  Slayer laid his curly black head on her thighs. She pushed her fingers through the silk of his fur. She swore that the dog moaned in pleasure.

  “I think you’ve just been adopt
ed,” Zarek smiled.

  “Which one of us are you talking too?” Chloe asked.

  “Both of you. Let’s get you into the house.” Zarek snapped his fingers and Slayer stepped back from the truck and went to his master’s side.

  “What kind of dog is he?”

  “He’s a Black Russian Terrier. Very territorial of his house and his people.” Zarek helped Chloe step down from the truck.

  “Why was he nice to me?”

  “He’s got good instincts.”

  “Seriously.”

  “I told him you were a friend, and what’s more you smelled like me.”

  He leaned into the back seat of the cab and pulled out the overnight bags. She glanced to the bed of the truck that had more of her things that he had packed the day before yesterday from her house. He saw her looking.

  “Is there anything in there that you need tonight, or can it wait for tomorrow to be unloaded?” he asked.

  “Tomorrow is fine.”

  “Let’s get you inside.”

  Instead of waiting for him to assist her, she grabbed her bag of candy and jumped out of the truck, landing wrong on her bad foot and gasped in pain.

  “Dammit Chloe, can’t you just wait for a second and let someone help you?”

  “It’s not that bad,” she said as she gingerly stepped forward. Zarek put his arm around her and guided her toward the door that led into the house. The first thing that struck her was the bouquet of flowers on the kitchen counter. She sent Zarek a quizzical glance.

  “They’re for you.”

  “You got me flowers for invading your space? Are you out of your mind?” She moved forward towards them, and he continued to support her so she didn’t put additional weight onto her foot.

  “They’re beautiful. How did you arrange these? Seriously, you’re crazy.” The man got her flowers when she was nothing but deranged burden from his past.

  “Luke was dog-sitting for me, I told him to pick up a bouquet of daffodils for you. I pray to God the guest bedroom has clean sheets. He said he would take care of things.”

  Chloe touched the petals of the flowers. Zarek was doing things that made her feel. It was exactly what she’d been trying to avoid. The candy, the flowers, the dog…the man. She whirled on him, flinching when her foot hurt.

  “Stop it!”

  “Huh?”

  “Just back off.”

  “Whoa, Chloe, what’s wrong?”

  “I need space. I know you want to fix me, just like Trenda and Zoe want. But it’s too much, too soon. Take your damn flowers, candy and dog and go to hell!” Here she was yelling, and she wanted to cry. So much for an escape.

  “Honey, calm down. What can I do for you? Food? Rest? Bathroom? Batting Cage?”

  “Don’t try to play me, dammit.”

  “I’m not, I swear.” But he was. He was watching her intently, it was clear that he planned to counter every one of her complaints or arguments. Or he was going to try to placate her. She needed away from him, before she just started crying and letting him comfort her.

  “Show me where the guest bedroom is.”

  “Chloe, you should eat something besides pecan and caramel candy.”

  “If I get hungry during the night, I’ll raid your kitchen. Just show me where I’m sleeping,” she requested quietly.

  Zarek must have seen her resolution, because he nodded. He continued to keep his arm around her as he guided her down the hall towards a bedroom decorated in blue and cream.

  “The bathroom is across the hall, and my bedroom is at the end of the hallway. I’m going to keep my door open in case you need me.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Slayer will be up roaming the halls. If you don’t want him to check on you, keep your door closed.”

  Chloe watched as Zarek put down her suitcase on the bed. As he was leaving the room, he turned to her. “Do you want the door open or closed?”

  “Closed.”

  He sighed as he closed the door.

  It was an hour later after struggling to go to sleep that Chloe got up from bed and opened the door. She found Slayer right there waiting for her.

  “What are you doing?”

  The big dog huffed.

  Slayer followed her into the room as she went back to bed. He laid down on the floor, his head resting on his paws looking up towards her. If he could talk, Chloe was sure he would be telling her that it was okay for her to go to sleep, he would keep her safe. With that thought in mind, Chloe closed her eyes.

  Chapter Eight

  It was time to come clean with his Lieutenant at Station 58. He’d tacked on an additional two days off when he’d gone to Jasper Creek, which hadn’t been a problem. Hell, he had enough time off saved up to take a two-month cruise, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that the situation with Chloe was unusual, and he might need to take some unexpected time off in the future and he needed to give Nate Boone a heads-up.

  Luke saw him waiting outside their lieutenant’s office, and sidled up to him.

  “What did she think of the daffodils?”

  “Uhhhm…”

  “She busted your chops?” Luke guessed.

  “Something like that,” Zarek admitted.

  “So, when am I going to meet her?”

  “I don’t know.” Zarek thought about the woman he’d spent the last four days with at his house. She had been like a ghost. He should never have given her the password to his Wi-Fi. All she seemed to do was play solitaire. Her social interaction seemed limited to his dog. Luckily, he had gotten her to eat a little bit. But the woman he had seen signs of, on the trip back from Jasper Creek, had disappeared. Something needed to give.

  “What’s going on?”

  “For a while she seemed to be coming out of her shell. She was responding to things and talking. Hell, she even smiled. But then she just crawled under a rock for the last four days. I guess I should be happy she likes the food I cook. As long as it has cheese in it.”

  “What shook her up before?”

  “Arguments with her sisters.”

  “Zarek, you’ve talked about Chloe for years. I’ve kind of got my own opinions of what makes this girl tick, what she’s like. I have a question for you. The Chloe that you know, would she go into mental hiding after being beaten and traumatized, or would she come out fighting?”

  Zarek looked at Luke. He didn’t just blow off his friend’s question. Luke had been through the fire so to speak. He was someone who freely admitted to nightmares and struggles with PTSD because of the survivor’s guilt he carried. He understood people’s psyche better than a lot of psychologists.

  “I would have said that Chloe would have had a ‘big ole fuck you’ to everyone after she got her sea legs under her and moved on. Her childhood was fucking hell Luke but she rose above that and was making something of herself.”

  “So this is more than the trauma of just the beating.”

  “This wasn’t just a fucking beating, she was tortured and hospitalized.” Zarek hissed out.

  “Easy.” Luke placed his hand on Zarek’s shoulder. “I’m not trying to make light of this. Not at all. But I’m saying your girl could have gotten over a physical assault. Something has got her mentally and emotionally twisted up. You know her. Hell, you’ve been talking to me about her for years. She’s had you mentally and emotionally twisted up forever. But that’s a conversation for another day. So back to Chloe, what really has her fucked up?”

  “Luke, Zarek, are you here to see me?”

  The men turned to see Nate Boone striding towards them on the way to his office.

  “I’m just taking off. It was Zarek who wanted to talk to you,” Luke said.

  ***

  Zarek thought about Luke’s words all the way home. He’d requested two more days off, then he was going back to regular rotation. With those two days off he intended to talk turkey with his girl. Of course, if you intended to blindside someone, you needed to come bearing gifts. He l
ooked at the bakery box that was in the passenger seat of his car. He had called his Jax’s wife Skye for some of her specially made cupcakes. She sometimes brought some to the station, and they were fantastic. When he admitted he had an old childhood friend from Tennessee staying with him, Skye had immediately been onboard.

  “What kind of cupcakes does she like?” Skye asked on the phone.

  “Chloe loves chocolate, but I recently found out she likes pecan log rolls. So I’m not sure, I suppose a variety would be fine.”

  “I’m meeting Jax for dinner tonight, I’ll drop by a dozen.”

  “That would be great, if you’re sure it’s not a problem.”

  “Consider it done.” He could hear the smile in Skye’s voice. It would be great if he could invite Skye and Jax over some time. First, he needed to get Chloe talking. Hence the cupcakes.

  “Thanks Skye, I’ll see you later.”

  As he pulled into the garage he saw the door to the kitchen open. He was surprised that Chloe had come out of the den to greet him.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “You said you’d be home at four. It’s four thirty.” She had a death grip on Slayer’s collar. He held onto the bakery box and studied Chloe’s expression. He couldn’t tell if she was mad or scared or a combination of the two.

  “I’m sorry I’m late. I brought a peace offering.”

  “You should have called.”

  Scared. She was scared. She backed up to let him into the house, and he put the bakery box onto the counter. “Can I have a hug?” he asked.

  “Zarek, this isn’t going to work. The first time you leave you promise you’re going to be home at a certain time, and you’re not. I need to go home.” Her face was tense, the house was miserably hot, she’d turned off the air conditioning, and she was still wearing her ETSU sweatshirt. He glanced down at Slayer, and his tongue was hanging out and he was panting.

  “Let’s get you some cold water, boy.”

  “I already did,” Chloe said.

  “So you realize it’s a sauna in here?”

  “I was cold,” she said defensively.

  “Look Chloe, I need a cool shower, then we can have a treat and talk, okay?” He really didn’t want to argue, he wanted to have a calm conversation, but if it was a hundred degrees and Chloe was snapping at him, it wouldn’t go over well.