Up In Flames

by Lori Foster

  Relieved, Angel bent a chastising look on him. “Mick is a grown man, a very levelheaded man. He doesn’t get infatuated.”

  Josh knew that, which only made it more baffling. Beautiful women flirted with Mick and he hardly noticed. But this one... Josh shook his head. “Call it what you want, but today he chased her down, took a bullet for her without even knowing her name. And according to Zack, the first thing he asked about, even before he got his eyes open, was Delilah.”

  A slow smile spread over Angel’s face. “This is wonderful!”

  “Did you hear me?” Beyond respecting her a great deal, Josh knew Angel was one of the chew-’em-up-and-spit-’em-out women Mick had mentioned during their lunch, so he carefully measured his words. “Today, just a few minutes ago, is the first time he officially met her. Before that, he just watched her jog every day.” Josh thought about Mick’s preoccupation with Delilah and added, “She’s not even all that eye-catching.”

  Angel smacked him on the shoulder. Not hard, but it still stung.

  He refused to rub it.

  “Looks are nothing, and you should know it by now. Besides, I think she’s cute.”

  Dane, carrying two colas, strolled up behind her. He handed one to his wife and asked, “Who’s cute?”

  “Mick’s woman.”

  Grinning, Dane said, “That little dynamo in there telling him she won’t leave now that he’s awake, not even to go home and get a change of clothes? And if she does leave, she absolutely will not take a bodyguard with her?” Dane laughed as he sipped his drink. “Both Alec and I offered, at Mick’s insistence. Alec even promised her we wouldn’t leave him alone, that one of us would be sure to stay with him until she returned. But she’s not convinced. If anything, that seemed to have the opposite effect on her.”

  “I wonder why.”

  “Because she likes being difficult,” Josh pointed out, disgruntled.

  Dane grinned. “Actually, I believe she’s jealous of Angel.”

  Angel frowned. “Of me? But Mick and I are like...”

  “You don’t have to convince me,” Dane told her. “But then I know you both well. She doesn’t.”

  “Why would she need a bodyguard?” Angel asked, changing the subject. Dane spent a few minutes explaining about the bizarre aspects of the robbery, and Mick’s concerns.

  “For whatever reason, I don’t think Mick has told her that he’s a cop,” Dane said. “He tried telling her she could be in danger, but she’s blowing the whole thing off as nothing more than a fluke, or a coincidence. I get the feeling he’ll have his hands full with that one.”

  Josh glared toward the closed door. “After spending several hours with her today, I can tell you that she’s about the most contrary woman I’ve ever met. All she did was bitch at me.”

  Dane raised both brows. “Let me guess, you tried treating her as you do most women, flirting, teasing—”

  “Condescending,” Angel added.

  “I was charming!”

  “—and,” Dane continued, “she was too smart to fall for it.”

  “She wants to do things her own way,” Josh grumbled, still amazed that she’d taken exception to his manner, “and damn the consequences. She’s far too...independent and stubborn for my tastes.”

  Barely stifling a chuckle, Dane clapped him on the shoulder. “It’s good for you, teach you a little humility around the ladies.”

  Josh wasn’t interested in learning humility, thank you very much. He and the ladies got along just fine. Delilah Piper—well, she was just an aberration, a woman who couldn’t be swayed with sound male logic, smiles or compliments. In fact, she’d been rude enough to scoff at his compliments, as if she’d known they were false, which, of course, she hadn’t because he was damn good at flattery when he chose to be.

  Josh felt renewed pique; no woman had ever scoffed at him before. “Do you want me to go drag her out of there?”

  Dane’s expression filled with anticipation. “Oh yeah, I’d love to see you try.”

  True, Josh thought. Knowing her—and, after spending hours closed up with her in the waiting room, he did indeed feel that he knew her—she’d probably kick him someplace dirty. His groin ached just thinking about it. She’d threatened to do him in once today already, when he wouldn’t agree to label her Mick’s wife, just so she could sneak in and see him sooner. Obstinate woman.

  And besides, brute force wasn’t something he’d ever used on a female. He’d only been mouthing off because he’d used up his other tricks on her without success. “I’ll see if I can dredge up some diplomacy,” he told Angel and Dane, and sauntered into the room with all the enthusiasm of a man headed to the gallows.

  One look at Delilah and he was again filled with confusion. What was it about her that had Mick going gaga? The woman was...lanky. That’s the only word he could think of that described her. Her arms and legs were long, her body slim, her breasts small. She appeared delicate when he knew she was anything but.

  He had, however, noticed that she had a very nice tush, not that it made up for the rest of it.

  And now she watched him, on alert, as if he had no right to be in the room seeing one of his best friends. His gaze met Alec’s and Alec shrugged. Celia stared wide-eyed.

  None of them were used to Mick being thwarted. Most times, he told people what needed to be done and they did it. Mick had an air about him that demanded obedience. Women especially went out of their way to make him happy. Not that Mick took advantage of his appeal to women. Just the opposite, he seemed unaware of how they gravitated to him and he was the most discriminating male Josh had ever known. Beautiful women came on to him, but more often than not, Mick showed no interest at all.

  Until now.

  According to Angel, Mick had been that way since he was sixteen. Always a take-charge guy, always irresistible, but at the moment he looked ready to pull his hair out.

  With flagging patience, Mick said, “I want you to be comfortable, Delilah. Go home and take the shower you mentioned earlier. Change your clothes if you want, get something to eat.”

  “I’m not hungry and I’m used to the clothes now.” Her every word exuded stubbornness, though an edge of desperation could be heard, too.

  Alec and Celia stood at the foot of the bed. Celia shook her head and Alec narrowed his eyes in contemplation.

  Mick looked tired and frustrated and pained as he said, “I don’t need you to babysit me, Delilah.”

  Josh decided enough was enough. Mick wasn’t in top fighting form or the conversation never would have gone on for so long. He hated seeing his friend this way, wounded and weak.

  Josh had handled plenty of women in his day. This one was no different—at least not in the most important ways.

  “Of course you need a damn babysitter.” Josh leaned against the wall, ready to take on Delilah and win. “Good God, Mick, you were dumb enough to get shot in the first place, then dumb enough to pass out. I can understand why she doesn’t trust you now to do as the doctors and nurses tell you. You’d probably yank out your IV, wouldn’t you? Or get up and parade around the room until you keeled over again. If she doesn’t stay right here like a good little mother hen to make sure you behave yourself, you might even—”

  Predictably enough, Miss Delilah exploded. She went stiff as a spike, sputtered, then practically shouted, “Don’t you talk to him like that, Josh!”

  Celia jumped a good foot at Del’s explosive outburst. Alec coughed to cover a laugh. Zack, always laid-back and calm, watched the drama unfold with interest. But then Zack knew Josh and likely suspected his motives.

  “Well,” Josh reasoned, extravagant for the sake of their audience, “why would you refuse to go home and change out of your rumpled clothes unless you didn’t trust him to act intelligently?”

  Delilah fried him with a look before bending down to Mick. She said very sweetly, “I’ll be right back.”

  When she stalked around the bed, both Celia and Alec scurried to get o
ut of her way. Josh didn’t know if it was the scent of mud and sweat that motivated them, or the intent look on her face.

  As she passed Josh, she snagged his shirtfront and dragged him out after her. Biting back a victorious laugh, Josh looked over his shoulder in time to see Mick chuckling. Josh sent him a salute.

  Once in the hallway, Delilah rounded on him. She opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it. “You need to shower. I can see sweat stains under your arms, and I can smell you.”

  Her face flaming with color, she kept her gaze glued on Josh, then turned her head the tiniest bit and sniffed. She wrinkled her nose and frowned.

  Josh almost laughed. Truth was, Delilah smelled kinda nice, like shampoo and lotion and woman, not that he’d ever tell her that. Calmly now, because he didn’t want to offend her, he said, “Mick needs you here. I know that. Hell, you’re all he’s talked about since he came to.”

  “Really?” She looked skeptical, and hopeful.

  “Yep.” Seeing her uncertainty, Josh softened. Most of her aggression had been on Mick’s behalf, so he couldn’t really hold it against her. “He’ll be uneasy if he thinks he’s imposing. You don’t know him like I do. He’s not used to relying on anyone. Do you really want to start a relationship that way?”

  She stared down at her muddy sneakers and mumbled, “No.”

  Such a small voice for Delilah! And he noticed she didn’t deny the relationship part. Good. At least that meant she was as interested as Mick. Josh would hate to think his friend was the only one smitten.

  “He also doesn’t want you to be alone. He doesn’t worry about women often, so you could show a little gratitude and go easy on him.”

  Seconds ticked by before she finally admitted, “I didn’t—don’t—know those men.” She looked at him, her eyes troubled. “And I don’t want a total stranger waiting around on me while I shower and change. I don’t like to impose on others, either.”

  Josh wanted to curse, to end this awful day by heading home and phoning a reasonable woman, a doting woman who’d give him the comfort of her body and her feminine concern. He did not want to spend more time with this particular woman, who treated him as an asexual nuisance.

  But he knew what he needed to do. He drew in a breath and made the ultimate sacrifice. “All right. Then let me take you home. You can do what needs to be done, then I’ll bring you back. You can stay until visiting hours are over. I know he’d appreciate that.”

  As if he hadn’t made the grand offer, she said, “Maybe Zack could drive me home?”

  If it wasn’t for Mick... Josh drew a deep breath and reached for control. “Zack can’t. He has a four-year-old daughter and he needs to get home to her.”

  “Oh.” Delilah eyed him, apparently liking his plan as little as he did. “I suppose Dane or Alec would be okay....”

  He should have said fine, should have let Mick deal with her. Instead, he heard himself say, “Dane and Alec just drove two hours to get here, and I’m sure they’d like to spend their time visiting Mick, not chauffeuring your stubborn butt around town.”

  Stiffening, she said, “I could take a bus....”

  “And Mick would still worry. Someone shot at you today, lady.” From what Josh understood, someone had singled her out as a victim. It didn’t make sense, and he understood Mick’s concern. “You witnessed a burglary and it doesn’t matter that you told the police you didn’t recognize anyone, that you have no idea what’s going on, it’s still strange.”

  She didn’t relent, and he said, his patience at an end, “Hell, I promise not to speak to you, all right? I won’t even look at you if it’ll make you happy.”

  Using both hands, she covered her face. Her normally proud, straight shoulders hunched and she turned partially away.

  Thinking she was about to cry, Josh froze. Damn, but he couldn’t deal with weeping women. There was nothing he hated more, nothing that made him feel more helpless. His stomach tightened, cramped. Delilah acted tough and talked tough, but she was still female, delicately built, and she’d been through an ordeal.

  But she didn’t so much as sniffle. “I don’t mean to be nasty,” she said from behind her fingers. Her voice was miserable but strong, and devoid of tears. “It’s just...” She hesitated for a long minute, then dropped her hands and sighed. “I feel so responsible.”

  Josh’s hostility and impatience melted away. She’d been involved in a robbery, shot at, stuck in the hospital all day in wet, grubby clothes with total strangers. If he’d known her longer, he’d have offered her a hug. But he’d just met her—and so had Mick. Josh was still worried. It wasn’t like Mick to fall so hard so fast. He’d never even seen Mick trip. On rare occasions, Mick dated, and then moved on.

  Josh couldn’t think of a single female, other than family, who Mick would have invited to stay at the hospital with him. Not only would he have found it an intrusion, he was far too private to want anyone around him when he wasn’t up to full speed.

  In his line of work, Mick naturally had to be careful, and that caution had carried over into other aspects of his life. Or perhaps it had always been there, left over from a less-than-wonderful childhood. But whatever the reason, Josh could tell that for this woman, Mick was throwing caution to the wind.

  Settling for a friendly arm around her shoulders, Josh steered her back toward the hospital room. “The last thing Mick would want is for you to feel bad. About anything. As to responsibility, it sure as hell isn’t your fault those idiots showed up and started shooting. Okay?”

  “Thanks.” She nodded, and even managed a small smile for him. Josh was struck by that smile, and for the first time, he had an inkling of what Mick felt.

  They walked through the door, and she seemed to forget all about Josh the second her gaze landed on Mick. Nonplussed, he watched her hurry back to Mick’s bedside. “Josh is going to drive me home, but I’ll be right back.”

  Mick’s surprise at the quick turnaround was plain to see as he looked from Josh to Delilah and back again. Josh winked. Oh yeah, he’d have fun ribbing them later with this one. He’d gotten her to do what the rest of them couldn’t. He hadn’t lost his touch, after all.

  “Don’t worry, Mick,” Josh said, feeling in good humor for the first time since the shooting, “I’ll keep a real close eye on her.”

  That earned him a frown from both Delilah and Mick. Delilah apparently didn’t think she needed to be watched, and Mick obviously didn’t want any male looking at her too closely. Jealousy, Josh decided, and was glad he’d never suffered such a miserable emotion.

  “You really don’t have to rush,” Mick told Delilah after dragging his attention away from Josh. But it was plain to Josh that Mick wanted her back where he could be the one keeping an eye on her, protecting her, not any other man, not even a friend he trusted. He was also in pain and doing his best to hide it. Damn stubborn fool.

  Delilah glanced around the room. “Will your visitors stay all night?”

  “No,” Mick said, making the decision before anyone else could answer.

  Alec coughed again. Celia rushed to assure her. “We’ll be at a nearby hotel for the night, but we’ll stay here until you get back. How’s that?”

  As if it was up to her, Delilah nodded. “That’d be perfect. Thank you.” Then she bent to kiss Mick again. “I’m going to give my cell phone number to the nurse, just in case.” She turned to Josh. “Are you ready?”

  “I’ll be right there.”

  She looked suspicious at his delay, but didn’t question him on it. She turned and moseyed out.

  The door had barely closed before Angel and Dane came back in. Angel propped her hands on her hips and said, “Now that she’s not within hearing distance, tell me the truth. Does your shoulder hurt?”

  With a crooked grin, Mick admitted, “Hell, yes.” Then he turned to Zack. “If you could see about some pain medicine...?”

  “The doctor ordered it for when you woke up, but you were too bullheaded to take it.�
��

  “It would’ve made me sleepy.”

  Josh shook his head. “And God forbid he miss a single second of Delilah Piper’s visit.”

  Zack, always something of a peacemaker as well as an EMT, laughed. “I’ll go get your nurse and she can take care of you.”

  Josh walked over to the bed, where both Dane and Alec now hovered. Josh knew they were dying for some answers. Together the two men ran a private investigations firm, and they could sniff out trouble without even trying.

  “The other men got away. The police are still looking, but they haven’t turned up anyone.”

  Mick’s curse was especially foul. “What about the one I shot? Did they find out anything from him?”

  “The idiot had ID on him. He’s Rudy Glasgow, and he’s still unconscious.” Josh knew that despite Mick’s injuries, he’d want to know it all. Still, he hesitated before saying, “It doesn’t look good.”

  Mick dropped back onto the pillow with an aggrieved sigh. “I know my shot to his leg didn’t put him under. Was it the head wound from when he fell?”

  “Yeah. You two mirror each other—both shot, both with conked heads. Only his was worse. He rattled something in his skull and the docs don’t know when he’ll come to, which means they don’t know when he’ll be able to answer questions, if ever. You were lucky that you landed more on Zack than the concrete when you fell.”

  Not amused, Mick cursed again.

  “I also turned your gun over to the officer first on the scene. He insisted, of course, and with you passed out cold...” Josh shrugged.

  “That’s standard procedure,” Mick assured him, not worried. “I’ll be issued a new one.”

  Josh nodded. “I notified your sergeant and he’s getting in touch with Internal Affairs.”

  “Which means I’ll have to see the damn psychiatrist, too.” He groaned.

  “Just procedure?” Josh asked, though he already knew any shooting required a follow-up visit with the shrink, just to keep the officers healthy in mind and body.

  “Yeah.” Mick looked weary beyond belief. “When she leaves here tonight—”