by Leigh Lennon
Before I had a chance to call Scar, Jordan, or my sister, the phone rang in my hand. Picking it up, I began, “Ell, I was about to call you.”
“Forget that for one second. Do you know where Scar is?” she demanded.
“Um, no. Why, what do you mean? She’s not at home? Or at work?” My hands were shaking.
“She went to the doctor. Daimen made her—she’s been so sick. She met up with Jordan and told me you’d texted her and wanted her to meet you someplace.” I didn’t say a word, but my voice had to indicate my concern when I’d spoken earlier. “Shit, Levi, what’s going on?”
“I didn’t text her, Ell. It wasn’t me.” With my phone on speaker, I scrolled through my texts but didn’t see anything in the history. It had to have been wiped. But wait, Driscol wasn’t on this morning. Who texted her and Jordan?
“What the fuck do you mean? It says right here, ‘going to meet Levi, he needed to speak with Jordan and me.’”
Through the glass partitions of our firehouse, my chief and Garner had me in their sights. Waving them my way, I began to explain to my sister, “Listen, Ell, it was not me. A lot has come out concerning the arson case. Don’t go anywhere without Daimen and Arden. Do you understand me?”
“What?” Of course, my sister was going to argue with me. It was a part of who she was. “What the hell is going on?” I looked down at an incoming call, and it was then it all got real.
“I gotta go. I’m going to have Garner call his brother now. Promise me, you’ll stay put. Don’t go anywhere unless you have your guys with you.” She was silent. “Fuck, Ell, I gotta run. I can’t go if I can’t trust you to stay put.”
I knew my sister’s pout. “Fine, but call me the second you know anything.” I told her I loved her then answered the incoming call quickly.
“Hello?” I didn’t recognize the number.
“One day, brother, Karma will get you, and today is that day.”
My phone was on speaker, and Garner and my chief were listening in. I took a piece of paper, writing for Garner. Scarlet Reeves and Jordan Peters are missing. Call your brother soon and make sure he understands to keep Ell close.
Nodding at my request, we all listened in carefully when my response didn’t come.
“You’re quiet, brother. Of course, I didn’t have time this morning to text your sister, but I did find a way to get a text off to your boyfriend and girlfriend. You really are a kinky son of a bitch, aren’t you, Arnold?”
Garner mouthed at me to be calm, but I was anything but.
“What the fuck did you do to my guy and girl, Driscol?”
Laughter floated through the phone. “Ah, funny you ask. You gotta love it when a plan comes together. Don’t worry, you are about to see them very, very soon.” The line died, leaving me staring at my phone.
52
Jordan
“Red, wait.” She was so eager to get out of my presence, she opened the side door that was oddly marked with the entrance sign when I followed in behind her. The second I let go of the door, it slammed shut. “Scarlet.” I pulled out her full name because she’d been ignoring me.
“What, Jordan?” She shouted my name, stiff and forced.
“Um, this doesn’t seem right, not one bit.”
She got in my face, ignoring her surroundings. “Why is that?” she began. “You mean because it’s just you and me, and you may have to actually talk to me and be honest with me about your feelings for Levi?” She shoved me, and though there was a semblance of truth in her words, I decided to ignore it for now.
“Sure, you’re right, Red, but look around. Something’s not right. We would’ve heard from Levi since we’ve gotten here, and this place has all the feels of a bad horror movie.” She turned her hand now, taking in the bottom floor of the warehouse. The windows were full of dust, and there was one lonely light on. In front of us were two brown metal fold-up chairs with a note on it reading, “Get comfortable, you’ll be here a while.”
With one look at it, Scar hightailed it to the door. “Yeah, you’re right, Doc. This place is scary as fuck. Let’s get the hell out of here. We can talk later.” It was a good sign she was calling me Doc again.
I followed her, moving toward the door, but when she pulled, it was so forceful, with her one good hand, she fell back into me. “Shit, it won’t open.”
“What do you mean it won’t open?” I asked. She had her cell phone in her hand as I grabbed for mine in my pocket. I watched as she powered it on.
“Shit, Jordan, I have no signal.”
Turning my phone over, I realized how much danger we were in when my phone wasn’t working either.
53
Levi
Garner’s phone rang as I got an incoming text. But it was not a message. It was a picture. No, I realized it was a video.
Jordan was pulling at a door in what looked like a dim lit warehouse while I watched Scar move her cell phone around over her head. In my mind, she was trying to get a signal. The feed was quiet at first. I snapped my fingers at Garner when I heard the tail end of his conversation.
“Gotta go. Trust me when I say, don’t let Elliot out of your sight.” He ended the call. At least Ell was safe. I showed him the feed of Scar and Jordan, and we looked on in awe, unsure what the hell was going on.
Soon, a voice flooded my phone, but I realized it was meant for Scar and Jordan, too, when their heads whipped around to listen to the voice. It was Driscol.
“I’ll tell you now, you two, you don’t want to try to escape. The warehouse is rigged with explosives, and if you try, not that I’ve made it easy for you two to get out, but if you somehow figure out a way, the building will blow to kingdom come.”
I heard Scar attempt to reason with the lunatic. “Why are you doing this to us?” Her voice was so shaky, and a little bit of me died right then.
“Aw, glad you asked. You see, your man was responsible for the death of my father and sister. He took two people I loved from me, so I’m returning the favor.” My body broke out in sweat, dripping, as I could barely steady myself when I sat. “And because he took my sister away from the love of her life, we both decided the son of a bitch you both loved without question should be taken from you.”
Another person? It had to have been the one who texted Scar and Jordan from my phone after the meeting. But the only two people in the debrief were my chief standing next to me, and my dear friend Shirley. My brain worked backward about a name that all of a sudden stood out at me. Matt Shirley’s daughter was Cassie, who he’d told me was named after his girlfriend, the love of his life, he lost when he was in college.
After one look at Garner and my chief, I continued to watch Jordan through live feed take our frightened girl in his arms. My hand came down on the cheap plywood that we called a table, splitting it in two. “Fuck!” I screamed so loud, everyone in the open common area stopped to look in at me through the glass windows. When I tossed a chair across the room, neither man tried to stop me from taking out my fear and frustration on the furniture. “I know who the second person is, Garner. I fucking know who I’m about to go kill.” And if I got my hands on Driscol or Matt Shirley, I’d tear them both to pieces.
54
Jordan
The voice over the intercom was freaky as hell. The allegations of Levi killing anyone had me almost laughing but not in that ha-ha sort of way. Scarlet had propelled herself into my arms upon the revelation that we’d been lured here as some sick revenge plot against our fireman. Yeah, I said ours. I guess in life or death terror, everything was put into perspective.
The voice continued to haunt us. “Do you two have anything to say to your man? I mean, he can hear you. But I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of you three being able to communicate.”
“Fuck you!” Red screamed toward the mystery guest.
“Ah, Arnold, I know you hear me. You have a feisty little thing. Hot, too. I hate to have to kill her, but now you know the whole sordid story. The
second I was called this morning, knowing that the detective had all your late files, I understood you’d figure it out. After all, you’re a coward, but you’re not dumb.”
He was baiting Levi, and our LT wasn’t even here to defend himself. “Probably figured out my partner, too. He was happy that you’d suffer like he had since he lost the love of his life.”
None of what the son of a bitch was spewing made much sense to me, but I had led Red to the chairs as the color drained from her face. I’d been told she was sick, very sick. Looking at her, I whispered in her ear, “Red, you okay? I know you’ve been sick.”
Knowing Red like I did, it was a light bulb moment as though she’d forgotten she’d been ill for several days. “Red, honey, you look even worse than you did a minute ago.”
She whispered in my ear, only something I could hear. I pulled back as she nodded her head at me, confirming what I’d just heard was indeed correct. I brought her close to my body. Her head resting on my shoulder while tears streamed down her face. “We’ll get out of here, Red. I swear, if it’s the last thing I do.” It was the most truthful promise I’d made in my life.
55
Levi
“Bomb threat.” The speakers blared throughout the fire department. At least, we had the address where Scar and Jordan were. It took ten seconds to explain to my chief who Driscol’s accomplice was, then I hopped on my rig, taking me to the warehouse where both the people I loved were being held.
The mere minutes it took to arrive at the warehouse were maddening. In my mind, I didn’t know how to live in this world without both Jordan and Scar a part of it. The police had already barricaded most of the street when my crew arrived.
When both the fire and police commissioner arrived with the entire chain of command, I got the full extent of this situation. Garner had taken control of the crime scene. I was merely a spectator witnessing the breakdown of two men. One of them was Matt Shirley, a man I’d come to deeply respect.
I had been avoiding calls from my sister, especially with the news stations getting a glimpse of the story. When a phone call came in from someone I’d once called my friend, I answered, in the hopes I’d been wrong.
“Shirley, please tell me you aren’t a part of this.”
The person who answered on the other end was not the same man I’d once known. No, this man’s voice was cold and distant. “Do you know how hard it was to be friends with you when all I wanted to do was turn your life upside down? Now I’m here to tear it apart, and I take great pleasure in this.” A chuckle filled the static on his end.
“You planned this for what, the past twelve years? Got close to me to just take me down?”
“So you’re not too stupid after all. You understand what we did? We had to avenge Cassie’s death.”
My mind, it wasn’t forming coherent thoughts. “What about your daughter, the one you named after your Cassie? I’ve held her; I was at her baptism. I’ve been in your house with your wife. This will kill them.”
There was a silence on the other end, and I’d hoped mentioning his daughter and wife would mean something. “My heart has only ever belonged to my Cassie. My life doesn’t work without her. Same with Kevin. And because I can’t love—though I’ve tried, you can’t either.” He ended the call.
What could you do when someone hated you so much? One look at Garner and I knew he was coordinating efforts with the bomb squad. My phone rang one last time as I was watching the live feed of Jordan holding Scar.
“Hello,” I answered quickly.
“Arnold, here’s the deal.” It was Driscol on the phone. “We have the bomb hardwired, but we have it on a timer, too. I will give your lovers one chance—one you never gave to my sister or father. The door will disengage in thirty seconds. They have a short amount of time to run from the building. I won’t tell them how long ’cause what’s the fun in that?” His maniacal voice could be heard over my cell. “And in this way they stand a little chance. Though prepare yourself to watch them die. Now, this all will bring pleasure to Matt and me.”
I didn’t have anything to throw, not one thing, and I needed a release. With the live feed still on, I heard Driscol’s orders. “Okay, you two kinky partners of Arnold’s, the lock will disengage in thirty seconds. You have mere seconds to escape the building. You may want to lose your heels, Ms. Reeves.” The hair on the back of my skin stood on end. “I’ll not hesitate to push my control button as I see fit and good luck.”
I watched as Jordan and Scar lined up at the door, and he placed her in front. He whispered something into her ear, and she kissed him. We waited for the door to disengage. In a split second, I heard the psychotic voice of Kevin tell them, “Go!” The door opened and Scar took off first, Jordan right behind her. What happened next was like watching a film in slow motion.
56
Jordan
The second the door unlocked, I almost pushed Red out of it. With what I knew, she was in front of me, and I was on her heels.
I saw Levi. His was the first set of eyes that I locked on when Red and I frantically took off running. The control freak in me counted to myself for some sort of understanding. In my odd mind, I calculated we needed a good ten seconds to get out of blast range, but we’d still probably take on some force. It was the main reason Red was in front of me.
I got to nine and braced myself, pleading with Red to hurry up. She had long legs, and it could have been our saving grace. I reached ten, which was actually in my mind quite generous for the psychopath who locked us up in the building.
The second my mind reached ten, a loud, piercing sound exploded behind me, and I tackled Red, pushing us a couple more feet from the blast site. As the explosion sent shards of glass through my white doctor’s jacket and into my back, my mind was only on one thing—Red and the baby that was both Levi’s and mine.
57
Scarlet
I woke the second I heard the familiar beeps of the hospital where I’d been just a couple of hours earlier. “Ms. Reeves?” I had no idea who was talking to me, but everything began to piece together with every second my eyes remained open. My head felt as though someone had split it open with a jack hammer, and then I remembered—oh, fuck, everything. The building, Jordan shielding me, and the baby. I sat up, screaming, “The baby, the baby. Jordan and the baby. Save Jordan and our baby.”
At my side was Levi, his eyes on me and his hand in mine. “Scar, honey, you’re in shock.”
My words kept coming. I couldn’t stop the screaming, the yelling, and the fear I’d lose two more things in my life.
“Levi, Jordan?”
He turned from me with that question. “Levi!” My hands shook, and my yells and screams continued to fill the air around us.
“He was rushed into surgery. He took the majority of the blast, and his back was burned badly.”
His words didn’t make sense. They did, but they didn’t. Jordan couldn’t be taken from me, and in my thrashing, his simple touch on my arm calmed me.
“And the baby?” I asked.
“Scar, you’re in shock, honey. There was no baby. Just you and Jordan.”
Dr. Serrin rushed into the triage room, Levi holding on tight to me liked he’d never let go. “Ms. Reeves, we’re setting up an ultrasound right now. I just found out. Let’s make sure your little one was protected by you and the brave Dr. Peters.”
His words had taken a second to register for Levi. The nurses and Dr. Serrin were quick with their intentions, setting up the ultrasound right away. He had the cold gel on my stomach, searching for the little being growing in me I’d just seen earlier today. And shit, somehow, I already loved him or her so fucking much, already.
“Scar, shit, are you??”
I couldn’t answer him. As soon as I thought I could form something, anything, Dr. Serrin began, “Ah, there it is, your little baby.”
Levi held my hand, watching the screen. All we needed now was the other person who completed us.
I’d been moved to a private room to monitor the pregnancy and the blow to my head. Andrew had thrown himself at me before he went down to the OR waiting room for news on his brother.
Levi wouldn’t leave my side, though I needed him down with Andrew and his family. Ell popped in from the waiting room to my room every half an hour as Daimen and Arden wouldn’t leave me, not yet.
We hadn’t shared my pregnancy with anyone. And when we’d finally gotten a moment to ourselves, Levi asked, “Will we find out who the bio daddy is?”
I shrugged, my mind on Jordan and what he did for our baby. “Does it matter? I mean, you both are the father in my eyes.”
He leaned down, peppering kisses on my cheek. “No, you’re right. It doesn’t matter, not one bit. My DNA or the doc’s DNA, I will love our little baby with all I have.”
Settling in next to me, he held me. It was the only thing we could do until someone arrived with an update on our man.
58
Jordan
I blinked my eyes, but they barely opened. On my hands, I could feel small squeezes. And shit, something hurt like stab wounds and burn marks down my body. But all I cared about were the voices beckoning me out of my sleep.
“Doc.” The voice and tone had been one I’d run from just days ago, but I wouldn’t be doing that today.
“Jordan, honey.” This time, it was the sweet vibrato of a woman, my woman.
I struggled to keep my eyes open, but I had to, to witness the beauty that claimed them both.