Playing With Fire (Firehouse Fourteen Book 2)

by Lisa B. Kamps

  “What guy?”

  “That guy over there, the one who keeps watching you. The one who was here with you last month.”

  Angie pulled her wrist from his hand and stepped back, fixing him with a glare that he completely ignored. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  She moved to the other side of the bar and chatted with some other customers, pouring drinks and pulling bottles from the cooler. The place between her shoulder blades began itching, and she knew it was because Todd was watching her every move. She tried to ignore him, ignore the laughter and loud comments his friends were making.

  What had she ever seen him? She still couldn’t believe they had dated, even if it had only been for a few weeks. And she didn’t understand why he was suddenly showing up here, months after she had broken it off with him.

  “I need to go in the back real quick. You going to be okay out here?”

  She looked up at Rick, surprised at his question, then realized he was watching Todd and his friends. Angie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I’m fine. They’re assholes, but they’re harmless.”

  “Okay. Holler if you need me.”

  Angie smiled her appreciation, then grimaced when Todd called her over.

  “Another round, babe.”

  “I’m not your ‘babe’, so cool it.”

  She turned her back on him and busied herself with making another round. She noticed Jay watching her in concern and she gave him a small smile to let him know she was fine. Then she took the drinks back to Todd and started collecting the empty glasses.

  Before she could stack them together and grab them, Todd reached out and snagged her left wrist, his grip tighter this time.

  “No, don’t go. I want to talk to you.”

  “Todd, get off me.” She tried pulling out of his grip but his hand closed more tightly around her, pulling her closer until she was forced to lean across the bar. She clenched her jaw and yanked again. “Todd, I mean it. Get off.”

  “C’mon Angie, I just want to talk. I missed you.”

  She shook her head and pulled, but still couldn’t get away from him. She reached out and closed her free hand over his and tried prying his fingers off, but his grip tightened even more. Her breath escaped in a hiss as pain shot up her arm and she looked up at Todd, suddenly worried. His eyes were glazed, his mouth turned down in a frown as he stared at her.

  “Angie, I just want to spend time with you. C’mon, stop playing hard to get.”

  “Todd, you’re hurting me.” Her words came out in a low hiss, from shock and pain as the bones in her wrist ground together.

  “Let her go. Now.”

  Angie looked over, relief filling her when she saw Jay walking over, his long gait rapidly closing the distance between them. His fists were clenched by his side and a feral look glowed in his eyes. And Angie had thought he was relaxed and even-keeled? Not now, not with the danger thrumming through his tense body. Angie looked behind him and saw he wasn’t alone, that several other guys were now bearing down on them.

  Todd released his hold on her wrist. But Angie’s relief quickly turned to dismay when he stood up, so quickly his stool slid back. His two friends joined him, but at least they had the sense to look worried. This could get out of hand so quickly and she needed to do something before it did. She turned and looked for Rick but didn’t see him, so she hurried around the bar and stepped between Todd and Jay—and Jay’s coworkers.

  “Todd, you need to leave. Now.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Why wouldn’t he listen? Was he so stupid that he couldn’t see the trouble that was brewing directly in front of him? She blew out a heavy sigh and shoved her hair out of her face, then reached out to touch him on the shoulder.

  Except Todd was drunk and instead of just standing there, he must have taken it as some kind of invitation because he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close against him.

  “Todd, enough. Leave.” She pushed against his chest but he ignored her.

  “Come with me, Angie. We can catch up.”

  Angie was suddenly pulled backwards, hard enough to break the hold Todd had around her waist. She stumbled and nearly fell, catching herself at the last minute by grabbing the edge of the bar with her left hand.

  She ignored the flare of pain that shot through her wrist and looked around, trying to get her bearings. There was a flurry of movement in front of her, several flashes and quick grunts. A fuzzy reminder popped into her mind, a warning Rick had given her when she first started working here: never get in the middle of a bar fight. Angie quickly stepped back, moving away.

  But it wasn’t a bar fight. Or if it was, it was the shortest bar fight in history, over before it really even began. Rick had hold of Todd by his arm and was leading him none too gently toward the door. Todd’s friends followed, walking more slowly, as if they were afraid to get too close.

  Funny, but she hadn’t even seen Rick come out from the back. And now she wondered how much trouble she’d get in for what just happened, for not being able to control it.

  She let out a deep breath and shook her hand, wincing at the stab of pain in her wrist. Just what she didn’t need.

  “Here, let me look.”

  Jay was suddenly beside her, one arm wrapped around her shoulders in a comforting hug as he took her wrist in his hand. She fought the urge to drop her head on his shoulder, surprised at how suddenly she had started shaking, like she was outside in subzero temperatures.

  She tried pulling her wrist from his hand but didn’t have the energy, not when his hand was so warm. His entire body was warm and she stepped closer, trying to quell her sudden shivering. His arm tightened around her shoulder.

  “Are you okay?” His voice was soft against her ear. She looked up at him and tried to give him a small smile.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Really.”

  The look in his eyes intensified, warming her as much as the heat from his body, and she leaned even closer to him. She felt his lips brush against her temple before he gently lifted her wrist. She tried not to wince as his body went rigid next to hers, jolting her arm, and she figured she must not have done a very good job of hiding that brief flare of pain.

  Angie looked up, ready to reassure him that she was fine, but finally noticed that he wasn’t looking at her—or her wrist. He was looking off to her side, his jaw clenched, some of the color draining from his face.

  And that’s when she remembered they weren’t alone. That they were in a bar—the bar where she worked—and that Jay was here with his shift.

  With her brother.

  She stiffened and turned her head in the direction Jay was looking, the breath catching in her throat sharply enough to make her choke.

  Dave was less than a foot away, his expression hard as he stared at both of them with fury in his dark eyes.

  “What the hell are you doing with my sister?”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “Dammit, Moore, I want an answer. Now.”

  The demand echoed around the engine room, bounced off the equipment, and came back to ring in Jay’s ears. He clenched his jaw and stepped away from Dave, knowing it didn’t matter how loud the man got.

  Everyone in the station already knew exactly what was going on. Maybe not exactly. But they knew something was going, no doubt picking up on the tension that had settled over the station since the start of their shift. Not to mention the yelling.

  Jay had to give them credit, though, because nobody was asking questions or paying them much attention. At least, not anymore.

  Because the entire confrontation had been going on all day, interrupted by medic calls and fire calls. It was nearly shift change, and Jay really hoped for another call just so he could avoid what was coming.

  But it looked like his luck had just ran out.

  “Dave, I told you before, I’m not getting into this with you. Not now, and especially not here.”

  “Bullshit. This is my sister we
’re talking about.”

  “Is it? You sure you’re not more worried about yourself?”

  “Cut the crap. This has nothing to do with me, and everything to do with Angie.”

  “Then what did she tell you?”

  “That’s none of your damned business.”

  Jay wondered if Dave was telling him what he thought—or what Angie had told him. Seeing how Dave had been acting all day, he imagined it was probably a little bit of both.

  And dammit all to hell, anyway. If he hadn’t been so stupid last night, this wouldn’t even be happening. But he had seen that asshole grab her and he nearly lost it. If Rick hadn’t shown up to toss the guy and his friends out, there was no telling what might have happened.

  And not just with Jay, with all of them. Including Dave. Because everyone had suddenly been in a mood to fight after seeing what had happened.

  And even that would have been fine, if it had ended there. But Angie had looked upset and Jay hadn’t even stopped to think, just immediately went over to comfort her. Putting his arm around her shoulders had been instinct, dropping a kiss on her temple had been instinct. He hadn’t even thought about where he was or who else was there, he had just acted.

  And now the shit had just gotten real.

  Jay walked over to the engine and made himself look busy, opening cabinets, checking tools, whatever he could find. But Dave followed him.

  “Dave, I am not getting into this.”

  “You don’t have a choice. I want to know what the hell is going on between you and Angie.”

  “Nothing, Dave. Okay? Nothing. Now will you just get the hell away from me?”

  “It didn’t look like nothing last night.”

  “Christ Dave, she was upset and I gave her a hug. That’s it. Let it go.” Jay’s own temper was bubbling to the surface and he needed to get away, quick. Yeah, he understood Dave’s anger, even sympathized with it, which made the entire scenario that much worse.

  Because this was exactly what Jay had been afraid would happen.

  The worst part of it was that he wasn’t sorry. Yeah, he sympathized with Dave’s anger, but that didn’t mean he was going to take any more of his harassment so he turned away, intent on just walking away.

  Dave grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around. “I’m not done with you, Moore.”

  Jay’s temper frayed and he pushed Dave’s hand from his shoulder, stepping back as he did so. “Dave, I said let it go.”

  Dave’s face was red with fury and he took a step closer, his finger nearly hitting Jay in the chest. Jay clenched his jaw and took another step back, certain his own face was nearly as red as Dave’s.

  “Are you fucking my sister?”

  Jay didn’t even think, just plowed straight into Dave with both arms outstretched, pushing him into the side of the engine. Noise exploded in the engine room around them but Jay ignored it, ignored the hands that were grabbing his arms, ignored the bodies that were suddenly between Dave and him.

  “Who the hell do you think you are? You don’t talk about your sister like that!”

  “She’s my sister! If I find out you so much as touched her—”

  “Go to hell!”

  “Knock it off. Both of you!”

  Mike stepped between them, separating them with one hand on each of their chests. Her face was flushed with anger and she took turns giving them both a dirty look. Hands tugged at his shoulders again and he turned to see Jimmy behind him, pulling him back. He shrugged off the man’s hold then straightened his shirt, staring at Dave.

  His brows were lowered in a severe frown, his dark eyes glinting with anger. He pushed Mike’s hand away from his chest and stepped to the side, his eyes never leaving Jay’s. He raised one hand and pointed his finger in Jay’s direction.

  “Stay the hell away from sister!”

  “Fuck you!”

  “Dammit, Jay, enough!” Mike grabbed his arms and pulled him to the rear of the engine as Jimmy started after Dave.

  “I’ll go try to calm him down.”

  Mike rolled her eyes after him, then turned back to Jay, her expression stern. She finally shook her head and pushed Jay toward the back step. He caught himself before he tripped, then slowly sat down, still breathing heavy.

  “I don’t want to hear it, Mikey.”

  She looked at him with feigned shock. “Who, me?” She sat sideways on the back step, pulling one knee into her chest while the other swung back and forth. Neither one of them said anything for a minute and Jay was thankful for the brief silence so he could gather his thoughts.

  “So what’s going on, Jay? Are you dating Angie?”

  “We’ve been seeing each other for a couple of weeks, yeah.”

  “And?”

  Jay turned to face her and saw the unasked question in her eyes: was he sleeping with her? He didn’t say anything, but she must have seen the answer on his face anyway because she let out a long breath and shook her head.

  “What are you going to do now?

  “About what?”

  Mike raised her brows in his direction then waved her arm around. “About this. About Dave.”

  “Damn if I know.” Jay rubbed his hands across his face then leaned his head back. That was the problem right there—he really didn’t know what he was going to do. They were more than coworkers, they were friends. Family. Or rather, they had been friends. And he no idea what to do now.

  “What about Angie?”

  “What about her?”

  Mike studied him in silence, her face carefully blank. She was quiet for so long that Jay wondered if he missed something. But Mike just shook her head and dropped her gaze on a sigh.

  “What I meant was: are you going to see her again, or are you going to move on?”

  “What the hell kind of question is that?”

  “Jay, I love you dearly so don’t take this the wrong way but—you don’t exactly have a reputation for long-term relationships.”

  “Really, Mike? Thank you so much. You know, I’d expect something like that coming from any of the other guys but not you. So thanks.” He moved, fully intending to stand up and walk away, but was stopped by Mike’s hand on his arm.

  “Jay, that’s not how I meant it and you know it.”

  He brushed her hand off but didn’t move. “No, I don’t.”

  “Jay, this is me you’re talking to, okay? How many times have you said yourself that you’re not interested in a relationship? That you have ‘encounters’, not ‘dates’?” Her voice was quiet, understanding. Not judging, just stating fact. But it still upset him to hear his own words thrown back at him. And if it had been anyone besides Mikey saying it, he would have stormed off and taken his aggressions out on the punching bag downstairs in the gym.

  But it was Mikey. And they were his words.

  He shook his head, not sure what to say. No, he had no interest in a relationship. He tried that once and it hadn’t ended well, and he had never looked back. He had also never looked forward, never thought about looking forward. He was quite happy just living day-to-day.

  And Mikey, of all people, knew that. Which was the only reason he didn’t say anything.

  “So, about Angie. Is she just another encounter?”

  “No.” Jay shook his head. “No, she’s not.” And it was the truth. He wanted to keep seeing her, liked just being around her. And he wanted to keep getting to know her better. He had no idea where things would lead, just knew that he liked being around her. Liked being with her. Why did that have to be so terrible?

  Mike watched him, her head tilted to one side as she studied him. “Jay, are you sure you’re not interested in her just because…I mean, it’s not a case of forbidden fruit, is it?”

  “Christ Mikey, really?”

  She leaned back and held her hands out in surrender, but the small grin on her face let him know that she wasn’t really worried about upsetting him.

  But was she right? Was this attraction to An
gie nothing more than wanting something he wasn’t supposed to have? He closed his eyes, recalling Angie’s face and her smile. Her laughter. The sound of her voice when they talked for hours. He shook his head. No, if it was a case of wanting something he couldn’t have, he mostly certainly wouldn’t be thinking about her face or her voice. And if it was a case of wanting something he couldn’t have, well, he certainly wouldn’t have gotten so pissed off last night. And he certainly wouldn’t be worrying about when he could see her again.

  He opened his eyes and looked over at Mike, shaking his head in answer to her question. “No, it’s not a case of forbidden fruit. I like her, Mikey. Why does that have to be a bad thing?”

  “I never said it was. I just want to make sure you know what you’re getting into, especially with Dave. You’re going to have to sit down and talk to him, Jay, regardless. And if you keep seeing Angie without talking to him? Well, things could get even uglier.”

  “Yeah. Yeah, I know.”

  She stood up and stretched, then punched him in the shoulder as she walked by. “Call me if you need to talk.”

  Jay watched her leave, knowing she was right. He needed to talk to Dave. But what was he supposed to say? And what about Angie? For all he knew, she might not be interested in seeing him again, especially if Dave had given her half as bad a hard time as he had given Jay.

  And that thought worried the hell out of him.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  A light breeze blew through the open window. The sheer curtains billowed into the room, letting more of the early evening sun into the room. Angie twisted her head to the side and thought about getting up to pull the shade.

  She didn’t have the energy.

  And her wrist hurt.

  Of course, if she hadn’t been holding the e-reader in her left hand, her wrist wouldn’t hurt as much as it did. But she had nothing better to do today, and wanted to just laze around and enjoy a quiet Sunday. So far, she had been successful.

  If you didn’t count all the times she had looked at her phone, wondering if Jay would call.