by Claire Adams
"Nah, give me a Blue Moon tonight," I said, shaking my head. "I gotta keep my wits about me."
"You negotiating something?" Billy asked half-seriously.
"Something like that." I grinned.
"Must be a woman," he observed as he poured me a draft and stuck an orange slice on the edge of the glass.
"How'd you know?" I laughed.
"There's only two things you stay sober to negotiate," he replied. "Women and speeding tickets."
"Is that right, Billy?" I laughed harder as I sipped my beer and looked around the place. There were a few tables full of tourists, and the bar was lined with regulars who all waved at me and then turned their attention back to the hockey game on the big screen behind the bar.
"So, who's the woman?" Billy asked as he ran a sink full of hot water and began washing bar glasses.
"Her name's Alex," I said, knowing that I could tell Billy anything and my secrets would stay safe with him. He was like the Fort Knox of firefighter confessions. "She's a nursing student over at the college and is doing her internship at General."
"I see." Billy nodded. "How you feeling about that?"
"Honestly, mixed up," I said as I ran my finger down the side of my beer glass leaving a line in the perspiration. "I'm not sure how I should feel."
"She know about Quinn?" he asked as he dunked a glass into the suds, scrubbed with his rag, and then plunged the glass into the rinse water.
"Yeah, she's fine with it." I nodded.
"She know about the other business?" Billy asked. I'd told him about CSC one drunken evening when I was worried that I wouldn't be able to come up with the cash to keep it going. Billy had suggested that I find a few partners, but I'd blown off the idea once I'd gotten the life insurance check. I hadn't wanted to keep any of the money, but Leo had convinced me that I needed to invest it, even if I wasn't going to spend it myself. Billy had seconded Leo's advice, so I'd done it.
"No, but I'm going to tell her tonight," I said. "Leo's landed a big client and we're going to have to go public with the ownership to keep the contract."
"How do you feel about that?" Billy asked as one of the regulars signaled for another drink. "Be right back."
I used the time to think about how I really felt about all of this. I was angry that I was being forced to show myself and become the focus of attention again. I'd had enough of it to last a lifetime after Quinn had died, but now I wondered if I hadn't gotten too deep into my own need for privacy.
"I think I'm okay with it," I said when Billy returned from delivering the drink. "I think it's good for me to let go of the past and start to live in the present now. And maybe the attention on CSC will be a good thing for me and Leo."
"Sounds like a good attitude," Billy said with a knowing smile. "It's good to see you branching out."
"It feels good to start to live again." I nodded.
"Women will do that to you." Billy grinned. "You sure you're ready for that?"
"Yeah, I'm sure," I said as Billy reached across the bar and slapped my shoulder.
I sat and shot the breeze with him for another hour before I realized that Alex had started her shift at the hospital and I needed to see her.
#
I parked on a side street and walked in through the emergency entrance. A receptionist looked at me and held up a clipboard full of forms before she realized who I was. She buzzed me through to the ER, and I went in search of Alex.
"She's down in the stock room in the basement," the shift nurse said. "She should be back up in a few minutes."
"I'll go find her, if that's okay," I said as I turned toward the freight elevator.
"Suit yourself." The charge nurse shrugged. "Tell her we need more 4x4 bandages as well."
I saluted her as I hit the button and waited for the elevator to take me to the basement. It was dark downstairs, and I wasn't sure which way the supply room was until I saw a light at the end of the hallway to the right.
"Alex? You down here?" I called as I walked toward the light.
"Over here!" she called as I continued down the hallway and found her standing on top of a ladder trying to reach a large box on top of a cabinet. I could see that she was precariously perched on the top step, so I moved to the ladder and held it steady. I couldn't help but stare at her round bottom and remember the way it had felt in my hands the night before. She looked down and caught me staring and smiled as she said, "Thanks."
"Toss the box down," I said after she'd found what she was looking for. "I'll catch it."
"No, it's fine," she said primly as she navigated her way down the steps holding the box. Once she was back on the ground, she looked up at me and said, "So, you had something you wanted to say?"
There was something about Alex's face that brought down all of my defenses. She stood looking up at me expectantly as I searched for the right words to say.
"Alex, I have to tell you something," I began. She looked so lovely. I couldn't stop myself from reaching out and gently stroking her cheek. "I...I...I..." The next thing I knew, I was leaning forward wrapping my arms around her to pull her to me so I could kiss her.
Alex's body stiffened in my arms, but her lips softened as she kissed me back. My hands roamed her body desperately seeking a way to get under her scrubs to touch her skin, and when I found it I sighed into her lips and kissed her harder.
I untied her bottoms and let them slide to the floor as my fingers slipped between her legs and stroked the damp fabric. There was something that made me need to please her. I needed to feel her moving under my hands, being aroused by me, and reaching a climax because I gave it to her. I didn't understand the need driving me, I just acted on it.
Alex moaned softly into my mouth as I slipped my fingers under the fabric and dipped them into the warm wetness. Her inner lips were so soft and slippery, I knew she'd been thinking about me long before I'd shown up. I played in the wetness, tracing a slow, deliberate path from top to bottom over and over again as she moaned and pushed her hips forward to meet my hand. I spent a long time stroking the outer edges of her entrance so that when I finally pushed two fingers up inside of her, she cried out with relief.
I took my time finding the soft spot on her inner walls, and when I did, I stroked it as I pushed my thumb against her clit and applied pressure. Alex writhed in my arms as I kept my mouth pressed to hers. I needed this, and I knew she did too. I increased the tempo of my rhythm as I felt her moving closer to a climax. I stroked and pressed until she was crying out begging me to take her over the edge.
I watched as the waves began to engulf her, and when the full force of her orgasm hit, I pulled back and watched the beautiful expression on her face as she found release through my hand. I held her until I heard her breathing return to normal, and then I slowly withdrew my hand and bent down to pull her scrubs up over her hips and tie them again.
"What was that?" she asked, looking up at me with a mildly dazed expression. "What do you do to me?"
"Alex, I wasn't planning that," I said, suddenly aware of how all of this would seem if I spilled my secret after that. She was going to think I was using sex to manipulate her. My heart dropped as I realized that I'd just spoiled my chance to tell her the whole truth. "I'm sorry."
"You've got to be kidding me," she said. "That was amazing, but if that's not why you came here, why did you?"
"I wanted to tell you something," I said. "You make me want to do things I haven't done in a long time. You make me feel things I've never felt before, and I want to be around you all the time."
"I know the feeling," Alex said as the color rose in her cheeks. "I feel the same way."
"I just wanted you to know that I want you in my life," I said. "I know it hasn't been that long, but there's something special about you and I don't want to lose it."
"And that's what you ran away from last night?" she asked. I inhaled deeply knowing that now was my chance to spill it all. I needed to tell her about the company and the money beca
use it was going to come out whether I liked it or not. Either Metzler was going to get his way or Victor was going to divulge my secrets. I had to tell Alex before it all came crashing down.
"Yeah, that's what I wanted to tell you, but was afraid to say," I said, kicking myself for chickening out.
"It's okay, you know." She smiled. "I'm scared, too. Maybe if we talk to each other honestly about it, we'll be able to work it out."
Unable to reply to her because I was burning with the shame of hanging on to a secret, I simply nodded. Alex threw her arms around my neck and pulled me down to kiss her, and in that kiss I could feel hope returning. It was a hope that I thought I'd lost the day that Quinn died.
I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed her back. I knew I was going to have to tell her about CSC, but right now was not the right time.
"I want you to come to my place and meet Tesla," I said as I held her close to me. "Can I pick you up on Friday morning after I get off my shift? Will you be here?"
"No, I'll be in class, but I don't have to work Friday night." She smiled.
"I'll pick you up at your place at six," I said as I cupped her cheek. "I'm going to cook for you, so bring your appetite."
"Oh, wow, a guy who fights fires, is kind to animals, makes my pulse race, and cooks, too?" She grinned as she feigned swooning. "Be still my beating heart!"
I leaned down and kissed her once again before I stepped back and straighten her scrubs. She laughed lightly and then grabbed the basket of supplies she'd gathered and headed for the elevator. I took it from her even as she frowned.
"It's not a sexist thing, I'm just trying to look like I was helping rather than...uh..." I explained.
Alex threw her head back and laughed loudly, and I grinned, feeling like I'd finally rejoined the world.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Alex
The rest of the week flew by as I waited for the investigation into the cheating charge to begin. I knew that I had not cheated, but I could no longer speak for Liz. When she didn't show up for class on Friday morning, I began to worry that something was terribly wrong, but before I could call her, Professor Jackson pulled me aside and told me that I was to go to the nursing department and talk with the program director.
I walked over to the department and found that Dr. Gatskill and two other administrators were waiting in the conference room for me to arrive. I walked in and realized that whatever had happened was a much bigger deal than I thought it was.
"Ms. Pierce, thank you for coming," Dr. Gatskill said. She was a formidable woman who, when standing, was close to six feet tall. She wore suits that were custom tailored to fit her wide frame and a string of pearls that were triple looped around her neck. The only thing she varied was the color of the silk blouses she wore buttoned up under her suits. Today, she was wearing a coral colored blouse that gave off the appearance of spring, but I didn't feel it in the air. "Please have a seat."
I sat down in the chair across from the three and waited. The conference room felt large and intimidating with its glass windows and large, rolling chairs. I felt dwarfed by the grandness of it all, and I swallowed hard to keep my breakfast from making an appearance.
"Ms. Pierce, it has been brought to our attention that you and Ms. Baker have been accused of cheating on the practice nursing exam," Dr. Gatskill began. "Our aim here is not to accuse or exonerate you, but to find out what happened and evaluate the evidence against the claim. Do you understand?"
"Yes, ma'am." I nodded as I swallowed again. The entire process made my stomach turn, and not being certain of whether Liz had cheated or not made me feel even more queasy.
For the next hour, the committee asked me questions about the class, the exam, and my knowledge of the material we'd been tested on. I felt confident that I had prepared well, so the questions posed no problem for me, and I answered with ease, but when they started asking questions about Liz, I found myself hesitating. I ended up telling them very little about Liz or her state of mind, mostly because I didn't know it.
"Thank you, Ms. Pierce," Dr. Gatskill said when they'd finished asking questions. "We will evaluate the evidence and let you know our decision within two weeks. Please be aware that all scholarship money and financial aid will be held until such time as we make our decision."
"Wait, what?" I said not sure that I'd heard her right.
"We cannot, in good conscience, disburse funds when we aren't certain that you will be allowed to stay in the program," Dr. Gatskill explained.
"But I need to pay my tuition and rent!" I said. "I can't be late with either one or I'll lose my place in the class and be evicted from my apartment."
"I'm sorry, Ms. Pierce," Dr. Gatskill said. "It's truly unfortunate, but we have to follow university procedure on this, and part of that procedure is temporarily placing a hold on money to be disbursed."
"This isn't fair," I said as I looked at her helplessly. "If you find I'm innocent, then I'll have lost my place in the class anyway and I won't get to graduate."
"We'll do our best to work quickly, Ms. Pierce," one of the other administrators assured me. "I'm sure you can ask your family for help during this time."
I shook my head as I gathered my things and walked out of the room. My entire world was crumbling down around me, and I had nowhere to turn for help.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Cam
I woke up the next morning with Alex on my mind. Over coffee, I planned the dinner I would cook for her and called to have groceries delivered on Friday morning when I got home. As usual, Tesla sat patiently waiting for me to get ready and drive her over to visit her buddies at the station.
"I'm going to bring a woman over on Friday night," I told her as I opened the passenger side door and motioned for her to hop in. "I want you to be a really good girl, okay?"
"Woof," she huffed as she impatiently looked over at the driver's side and pawed my seat.
"All right, all right, we're getting there," I said, shaking my head.
At the station, Tesla hopped out and ran into the lounge where she jumped on the sofa and licked Danny until he was laughing and crying uncle.
"Down," I said, pointing to the floor. She shot me a dirty looks she slinked off the sofa and sat at Danny's feet with her head on his knees as she stared up at him. I shook my head. "I think my dog is in love with you, Newsome."
"Wouldn't be the first one!" Mike yelled from the kitchen.
"Fuck off, Kelly!" Danny yelled as he patted Tesla and said, "They have no idea what they're talking about. Don't listen to them, good girl."
"Hear anything about Vangel's promotion?" I asked Mike.
"Yeah, I heard he's out blackmailing everyone he can in order to lock up the nomination process," Mike said as he stirred the eggs he was cooking. "That bastard is up to no good. Did he come after you?"
"Me? What would he have on me?" I asked with as much shock as I could muster.
"No clue, but he was laying it on thick earlier." Mike shrugged. "Just wondering who he's targeting."
"No idea," I said as I walked back to the locker room to store my bag. I'd just opened my locker when Victor spoke.
"Made a decision, Connor?" he asked as he peered around my locker door with his creepy grin.
"Yeah, I have," I said. "No thanks."
"What?" Victor's shock at my refusal to give him what he wanted was palpable. "You do realize that I'm going to spill the beans on your little security business, don't you?"
"Yep, I'm fully aware of that," I said without further comment.
"I'm going to ruin you and you're going to stand idly by and let me?" He laughed maniacally.
"No, Victor, I'm not," I said, fixing him with a steely glare. "You're not going to do shit to me, you little weasel. I'm going to report you to Chief and let him deal with your blackmailing bullshit."
"You have no proof of anything," he said nervously.
"The hell I don't," I said, moving closer. "I know that you've be
en spreading your poison all over this station. You went after Brian and Gavin, and I'm sure if I start grilling guys, they'll tell me all about your little plan."
"How do you know that?" he spat. "It's nothing but a rumor! You can't prove anything."
"If I make Chief aware of what you've been doing, I'm sure he'll have zero problem investigating the issue and finding out the truth," I said as I stared at Victor who was now visibly nervous. "I'm going to recommend that you back the fuck off and leave me and the other guys alone. If you get promoted, it'll be on your own merits, not because a single one of us supports you."
"You're an asshole, Connor," he said, narrowing his eyes. "And I don't like guys who are assholes."
"Good, then that makes two of us," I said dryly. "Now get out of my sight and stay that way or I'll have your ass checked out by the Investigative Affairs Bureau so fast your head will spin."
"You'll be sorry you did this, Connor," Victor said as he slunk away with his tail between his legs.
I knew that he wouldn't be kept at bay for long; he was too slimy not to find a way around my warning, but I figured my threat would at least buy me enough time to tell Alex about CSC and tell Leo we were a go for the Metzler contract. After that, Victor would have no hold on me.
"Sneaky little son of a bitch," I muttered as I slammed my locker shut and went out to join the guys for breakfast.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Alex
When Liz didn't show up for class again on Friday, I started to get really worried about her. I tried her phone several times, but she didn't answer. I figured that she'd had the same meeting with Dr. Gatskill as I had and that she was probably home licking her wounds.
I left her a voicemail when her phone picked up: "Liz, it's Alex. I'm worried about you. Call me and let me know you're okay, please? Did they tell you that they're holding back your funding? I don't know what I'm going to do if they find us guilty. Anyway, call me or else I'll come looking for you with a big plate of liver and onions! Love you."