TONY: Slow Burn (Raging Fire Book 1)

by Kallypso Masters

  “You were involved in the drowning accident I’ve been hearing about?” the woman asked.

  Tony sighed. Thanks a lot, Rico. “We don’t know that anyone drowned yet.”

  Yes, we do.

  She nodded. “So you’re with the local fire department,” she said, pointing to his T-shirt.

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m sorry your community is going through this. My brother’s a firefighter, and I know how devastated he’d be if it happened to his folks.” The lines at the corners of her eyes softened, whether with sympathy or interest, he didn’t know. Maybe she was a badge bunny—turned on by first responders. “This has to be hard on all of you.” Definitely sympathy.

  “It is.” And if I hadn’t butted in on the rescue, the mother and her daughter might have been saved already. Time to change the subject. “What brings you to Aspen Corners?”

  She informed him she’d been a bridesmaid in a wedding in Kansas City Saturday and was passing through on her way home to Utah. “I took a little detour to see Breckenridge and decided to take backroads home.”

  Mention of a wedding had him thinking about Angelina’s. Jesus, had that just been yesterday? Seemed like a year ago. She and Marc were probably somewhere over the Atlantic by now on their way to the Sicilian honeymoon Marc intended to surprise her with.

  Anywhere but Aspen Corners sounded good to him right about now. His left leg started to shake, but he got it quickly back under control by shifting his position on the bar stool. He downed the rest of the first beer and signaled for Rico to bring him another, hoping for a quick buzz to take the edge off. He also ordered another Calypso for her.

  When Rico set the beers in front of each of them, Tony asked the brunette—did she say what her name was?—if she’d like to shoot some pool.

  “I’d love to.” She picked up her bottle.

  Half an hour later, after finishing his third beer, Tony wasn’t ready to quit yet. As he thought about whether he’d order a fourth one, he waited for the woman to take her next shot. Had she undone another button on her blouse? Her cleavage practically spilled onto the table as she leaned down for the shot. And missed.

  Thoughts of a one-night stand crossed his mind, because the only things that would take his mind off today would be booze or sex—and the booze clearly wasn’t working.

  Testing the waters, he came around the table and offered to give her a pointer on how to make that missed shot. She bent over the table again, and he wrapped his arm around her belly and running his other hand lightly down her arm to the hand holding the cue stick. She shivered and ground her hip into him until his cock stirred. Definitely interested.

  They brushed up against each other a few more times as the game progressed, each time the woman becoming more blatant. He wasn’t the only one giving off signals for something more to happen between them.

  After the game ended and she had congratulated him on his win, she smiled at him. “I’m staying in Fairchance. If you’d rather not be alone tonight, maybe we could…” She shrugged as her words faded away then her gaze dropped to his bulging crotch.

  Hell, yeah. As long as he managed a couple of hours of sleep between now and seven o’clock when he needed to get up and ready to rejoin the search. It hadn’t been deemed a recovery mission, and Tony wasn’t ready to go there yet. At least Rafe wouldn’t be there to see Tony hadn’t taken his advice. They’d have to talk at some point, but definitely not before the AAR Wednesday morning.

  Tony pushed away all thoughts except giving this woman pleasure and taking a little for himself. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and powered it down.

  By the time he went home in a few hours, he hoped to have forgotten how badly he’d failed today—at least for a short time.

  Inside her motel room, the two were naked in record time. She pressed up against the length of his body, and his cock throbbed. “The pool game was foreplay,” she said as she grasped his hardness. “I’m ready for the main show now.”

  Minutes later, they were prone on the bed. Tony positioned himself above her and rubbed his condom-covered cock against her slick opening while stroking her clit. The woman’s passionate screams reverberated around the walls as she neared her climax, but did nothing to drown out the young mother’s terrified screams for help also echoing in his head.

  Refusing to be pulled out of the moment, he stroked her faster, wanting her first orgasm to hit before he entered her. “Come for me, Carmella.”

  The brunette and Tony both froze at the same time, staring into each other’s eyes.

  Well, shit.

  Chapter Six

  Tony rolled onto his back beside her, his heart pounding as he stared up at the ceiling. His cock deflated quickly.

  “Sorry about that.” Hell, he still couldn’t remember this woman’s name, but had no trouble calling out Carmella’s at the most awkward possible moment.

  She pulled the sheet up to cover herself. “You don’t owe me an apology. No strings, right? But it would have been nice if you’d managed to screw me for a few minutes without imagining someone else in this bed.”

  He’d made sure the woman knew this was a one-off when he’d accepted her proposition at the bar, but normally he’d have given a liaison his undivided attention during their short time together. Yeah. She had every right to be ticked off.

  Now Tony was pissed, too. What had conjured up Carmella’s name while he tried to have sex with this beautiful—and willing— woman? The woman he’d been trying to banish from his thoughts tonight hadn’t even been Carmella.

  Didn’t matter now. He was done for the night and needed to get into his own bed for a few hours of sleep. Too bad he hadn’t made it worth this woman’s time. He wasn’t used to leaving a woman unsatisfied in bed.

  “Who is she?”

  Of course, walking out of the room without another word wasn’t going to happen. “My little sister’s new sister-in-law.”

  “Sounds more special than that.”

  “Actually, she’s a pain in the ass.”

  The woman chuckled, but Tony ignored her as he sat up and searched the room for his pants.

  “I have to be up in a few hours to help with the search. But for what it’s worth, I am sorry about tonight.”

  “I hope you got your mind off things for a little while at least.”

  Why did she have to be so damned understanding? He felt like a class-A jerk.

  “Yeah, I did. Thanks for the company.”

  He stood and walked to the bathroom to get rid of the condom he hadn’t needed in the first place. When he came out, he gathered up his clothes and sat on the edge of the bed again to dress, refusing to make eye contact with her.

  “I shouldn’t have picked you up on a night like this.”

  She laughed outright. “I thought I picked you up.”

  He met her gaze. Okay, maybe this attempt at meaningless sex had been mutual. Although, if he hadn’t been so much in need of an escape tonight, would he have given her a second glance at daVinci’s?

  One-night stands are a lousy coping mechanism, asshole.

  Rafe had lectured him countless times when he’d first resorted to using sex to take his mind off the loss of Papa, telling Tony he’d better come up with something else, because he wouldn’t be able to screw nonstop to take the images out of his head. Eventually, he’d dealt with that loss, but he wasn’t ready to accept this one.

  He stood and pulled his pants the rest of the way up.

  “Be careful driving home,” she said.

  He looked down at her. “You do the same. Long drive to Utah.” That’s where she said she was from, right? He said good night and crossed the room to make his exit.

  “I hope you find them, Tony.”

  He nodded. Maybe he hadn’t succeeded in getting his rocks off, but she had managed to take his mind off what had happened at the river for a couple of hours at least.

  But he’d spend the rest of his life dealing with the des
pair if they didn’t find the mother and daughter safe. After a few hours’ sleep, he’d get his ass back out there. At home, he dropped into bed, certain he wouldn’t be able to sleep…

  The alarm beside Tony’s bed blared. He swatted at the snooze button to send the offensive thing into silence. Why’d he set his alarm so early on his day off?

  Then reality hit him. He scrubbed his hand over his face and tossed back the sheet. Seven-oh-five. Still dark outside, but he intended to be among the first of today’s crews sent out to relieve the ones who’d searched overnight for the two he’d let slip from his hands yesterday.

  That he’d fallen asleep at all surprised Tony. Would the few hours of sleep make him more alert and enable him to get the job done today? He owed it to them to finish what he’d tried to do yesterday.

  As he showered, he prayed that the victims would have already been found alive, not wanting them to suffer in those cold waters all night. Rejuvenated, Tony donned his clothes and grabbed the SAR gear he hadn’t left in his truck last night. He prepared for both land and water searches.

  Heading to his truck, he powered up his phone. The buzzing and pinging for missed calls and texts went on for ten seconds. What the hell had happened? He held his breath as he glanced at the phone’s preview screen hoping to see some news about the victims being found.

  His hopes were quickly dashed as he saw it was just a stream of messages from two of his brothers and Mama.

  FRANCO: call me

  RAFE: pick up the damn phone

  MAMA: Tony, we’re worried about you. Call or stop by, bambino.

  FRANCO: know you had a tough day. don’t do anything stupid. call me.

  RAFE: Where the hell are you?

  Geez, can’t a guy get laid without the entire family having to know about it? He composed a group text to allay everyone’s fears, adding Matt, too, in case he got wind of this after spending time with his horses, which pretty much consumed his every nonworking hour.

  TONY: Had a date. Phone off. I’m fine. Headed out to search. Will call later.

  He loved knowing his family cared enough to have his back, but sometimes Tony wondered what it would be like to live where everyone wasn’t up in his business all the time. Too late, he realized he’d just told Rafe he was going out to search but wouldn’t tell him it wasn’t the first time since they’d gone their separate ways yesterday.

  After texting the SAR dispatcher and getting the location of the current staging area, Tony headed out. At least the forecast didn’t include more rain.

  When he arrived at the parking area, Tony’s heart pounded erratically.

  Don’t think about what happened yesterday.

  He scanned the group of SAR volunteers, seeing Luke Denton as well as Ryder and Megan Wilson. Both men had brought their dogs, which had been trained in water searches. No one did more than give each other cursory nods. Luke and the Wilsons had just been together Friday and Saturday for the wedding festivities. Now they were going out to search for bodies.

  Don’t assume they’re dead.

  Despite his earlier hopes for a miracle, in the light of day his optimism waned that both would be found alive after a night in these frigid waters. Maybe neither one would be.

  Stop expecting the worst-case scenario.

  He wouldn’t have come out here if he had zero hope left.

  After giving the dogs the mother’s scent using a shirt provided to command last night by the woman’s husband, Luke and Megan led the two SAR dogs into the stream starting at the last place the two victims had been seen.

  “Tony, you and Ryder start searching at the bend just before where Silverheels Creek enters the river. Report back when you get to the Elk and Buckskin creeks junction—unless you find anything sooner.”

  “Yes, sir.” Tony asked for the eastern bank for his team, having searched the western one last night. It also would be easier to reach the victims on foot from CR 3 to the east and get them to a waiting ambulance. Ryder added, “I’ll drive.” After stowing his gear in the back of the truck, Tony rode shotgun and informed him that the woman had been wearing an orange Broncos T-shirt. For the life of him, he couldn’t recall what the toddler was wearing.

  All he remembered was the terrified look in her clear blue eyes.

  Fifteen minutes later, after a short hike down from the county road, they scanned as far upstream as they could see, just in case. Nothing. They went to work in silence scouring the banks for signs of life. With all the debris from the mudslide and storm, progress was slow. The water was knee-deep, far lower than it had been last night. While muddy, it wasn’t so high that the woman’s body couldn’t be seen if still in the water.

  Hours passed without any chatter on the radio. Other crews had been assigned to search all the way to Fairchance and beyond, but Tony’s gut told them they wouldn’t have made it around all those bends without being able to grab on to something.

  Or having something grab on to them.

  Realizing he hadn’t eaten breakfast, Tony pulled out two energy bars and offered one to Ryder.

  “No, thanks. Megan and I ate on the way here this morning.”

  After finishing his bar in three bites, Tony pocketed the wrapper before continuing down the river. Fifteen yards ahead he thought he caught a glimpse of something orange in the muddy water.

  Oh God, please no.

  A sinking feeling settled in the pit of his stomach, but as he came closer, he knew without question it was the mother. He pointed her out to Ryder. “Call in our location.”

  Tony jumped into the water and waded forward.

  “Tony, why don’t you let me pull her out? I’ve seen death before.” The Marine had served in Iraq, if memory served.

  “Maybe she’s not dead. The water’s awfully damned cold.” Lots of people survived cold-water accidents. However improbable it would be that she’d survived in the water overnight, Tony wouldn’t be deterred from that wish until he saw the woman’s hair fanning out around the back of her head. Not good. Was the toddler trapped underneath her?

  He waded closer and turned her over, immediately noticing a large gaping wound on her right temple. Her eyes and mouth were wide open, and any remaining hope of survival was dashed by the bloated body and discolored face and arms. Lividity. Exposed brain matter. Remembering his training, he palpated her carotid artery. No pulse. There wasn’t anything he could do for her now. He hoped the end had come quickly for the woman.

  But where was her daughter?

  Tony wasn’t sure if he was relieved or sorry they wouldn’t be found together. He held onto the small sliver of hope that the toddler had survived.

  Swallowing down the bile in his throat, he lifted the mother from the water and dragged her onto the bank. Tony picked up the radio. “I’ll call it in.” He pressed the button. “Rescue Group 6 to dispatch.” Go ahead Rescue Group 6 came across the radio immediately. “Subject one located.” He paused before adding, “We’re offside.” The other SAR groups and emergency personnel would understand the predetermined code words for death that they’d decided on, chosen for the woman’s Broncos shirt.

  Mother found. Deceased.

  Tony kept scanning the river, hoping to catch a glimpse of their second subject while they waited to turn over custody of the body. Nothing. The wail of the ambulance’s siren grew closer, but it would take the EMS personnel a good ten minutes to reach this spot on foot after parking.

  The longest ten minutes of Tony’s life. He and Ryder remained silent.

  He finally caught sight of the paramedic and EMT coming down the banks of Elk Creek before they turned toward them to follow the river. They carried a Stokes basket and a long spine board, along with other gear.

  After checking for a pulse, the paramedic hooked her up to the heart monitor. Within ten seconds, the paramedic called dispatch with the official time of death.

  “Zero-nine-thirty-three.”

  With a sense of urgency, knowing it would take the other SAR
teams a while to join them, Tony said to Ryder, “Nothing more we can do here. Let’s keep searching.” Maybe they could find the toddler alive.

  The two returned to the water, wading in and scouring both banks of the river for any sign of life. After a five or so minutes, Tony spotted something pink, muddy, and small entangled in a tree root mass. Her head was just under the water’s surface on the western bank mere yards before Silverheels and Elk creeks spilled into the Middle Fork River from either direction.

  Damn. Most likely she’d been submerged since last night.

  With a heavy heart, Tony trudged forward through the calf-high water, Ryder at his side.

  As he’d done less than thirty minutes ago, Tony pressed against the carotid artery in her cold, stiff neck hoping against hope for a pulse. Not surprisingly, the only heartbeat he felt was his own.

  Swallowing hard, blinking back the burning in his eyes, Tony gently extricated the tiny body from the root mass that had grabbed onto her soon after she’d left her mother’s arms.

  Staring down at her purple lips and cheeks, he realized the blood had settled in her face due to her prone position. Tony closed her eyes. Except for the scratches and bruises on her little face, she looked like one of the baby dolls Angelina had played with growing up.

  Peaceful. Asleep.

  Not asleep. She’s dead.

  Because of me.

  Ryder keyed up the radio this time. The knot in Tony’s throat wouldn’t have permitted him to speak anyway.

  “Rescue Group 6 to dispatch.” Dispatch acknowledged Ryder. After a pause—obviously, this was as hard on him as it was Tony—he reported, “Subject two located. Offs…” He cleared his throat and tried again. “Offside.”

  I should have rescued them both when I had the chance.