Red Hot Rescue (Blue Collar Heat Book 5)

by Ava Kyle

  “No. Not in a hurry to leave, but I want to move forward with my life. Right now, it’s in limbo. I can’t get a job for fear of him finding me. I can’t visit my parents because that would be putting them in danger. You’ve been doing a great job of entertaining me—”

  “When I’m here.”

  “You’re here more often than not.”

  “It’s been slow recently. Wait until the next holiday. Fourth of July’s coming up, and every asshole around will be shooting off illegal fireworks.”

  I want to ask him if I’ll still be here by then. Fourth of July is a month away. Could the case really take that long? I guess it could, because if they do find evidence, and if it does turn out to be my ex, then I still have to deal with a trial. But I wouldn’t have to stay here. If there were a trial, then Brock would be in jail. I could go back to my parents’ house. And I’d never see Logan again.

  A shiver shimmies up my spine.

  “Are you okay?” He slides his chair closer and reaches for my hand. I grasp his.

  “I wonder how it’s all going to end.”

  “The case?”

  “The case. A trial… us.” I bite the edge of my lip. When he doesn’t immediately respond, I kick myself for saying anything. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “I didn’t think you wanted anything.”

  “Only because I have so much turmoil in my life. But after it’s all over…”

  “Will you move back to Memphis?”

  “Probably. I don’t have friends or family here. Well, I don’t have friends anywhere, thanks to Brock.”

  “You’ll make new ones. If they couldn’t stick around during the worst time in your life, then they’re really not your friends.”

  “Amen.” I lift my lemonade glass and clink it against his.

  Logan’s phone rings. He picks it up, and the smile on his face fades.

  “It’s Jeff.” He taps a button to put it on speaker phone. “Tell me you got him.”

  I lean forward. My hands shake as I set the glass on the table.

  “It’s him,” Jeff says. “And I’ve got some really bad news.”

  “What?” I ask.

  “We can’t find him.”

  “Shit.” Logan jumps up and starts pacing. “You sent Austin cops to his house?”

  “Last known address. He’s in the wind. We need Ella to come down to the station. We need to ask her about any possible places he could be hiding.”

  “We’re on our way.” Logan hangs up.

  My knees shake as I stand. If it’s missing, he could be anywhere.

  “He could be here,” I whisper.

  “Let’s go inside.”

  I scan the wide-open field behind the property. With the exception of a flock of birds taking off, nothing moves. Still, I can’t shake the sense that we’re being watched.

  The trip to the station only takes twenty minutes, but it’s long enough to give me time to come up with a few possible locations where he could be hiding. When we get inside, Jeff leads me into his office. It’s crowded with several other officers.

  “Thanks for coming in,” Jeff says. “We need a list of any possible locations. Friends he might be staying with. Any family. Extended family. The works.”

  “I made a list on my phone on the way over. I emailed it to you.”

  Jeff clicks away at the computer, and my list appears.

  “Okay, we’ve checked the house and his last known place of business. Did you know that he was fired three weeks ago?” Jeff asks.

  “No.”

  “That’s probably what set him off,” Logan says.

  “A stressor for sure,” Jeff says.

  “But why blame me? I didn’t have anything to do with him losing his job. I’ve never even been there. He got that job after the divorce, on purpose, to try to stop paying alimony.”

  “They fired him for fighting with another employee. Punched a guy and sent him to the hospital,” Jeff says.

  “Why wasn’t it reported?” Logan asks. “He should be in jail.”

  “Around here, yes. But to big city cops, they don’t have time to chase down every fistfight,” Jeff says. “I want you to take Ella back to the house. Lock the doors and keep an eye out. There’s no reason to believe that he knows where she is, so it’s just a precaution.”

  “I want to help search for him,” I say.

  “You can’t hinder the investigation,” Jeff says sharply. “The best place for you right now is with my brother.”

  “I never thought I’d hear him say that,” Logan whispered so softly I almost couldn’t make out the words. “We’ll be at home. Call us when you have something.”

  “I will.” Jeff stands to effectively dismiss us.

  Back at the house, I help Logan lock all the doors and close the windows on the ground floor. If Brock is fool enough to climb to a second-floor window, then he’ll stop at nothing to get me. I doubt he’ll put in the effort, although he did burn down my house.

  I shiver as I meet Logan in the kitchen. He pulls me into his arms.

  “We’re locked up tight. He won’t get in without us knowing,” Logan says.

  “I didn’t know he was in my house the night of the fire. I was upstairs sleeping. I didn’t hear a thing.”

  “Jeff didn’t mention it, but I spotted an undercover car at the end of the driveway. He’s looking out for us.”

  “I thought your brother hated me.”

  “No. He’s just worried about me.”

  “Why?”

  Logan’s Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows. He holds me closer.

  “I lost someone very close to me,” he says. “He’s afraid that if I get to close to you, and then I lose you, I might shatter and never get it together again. I already had to scrape myself off the floor once. He might be right. I might not be able to do it again.”

  “Is that why you hesitate whenever I bring up the future?”

  “We don’t know where this is headed, so I prefer not to think about it. I only want to think about what’s happening right here, right now, with you.”

  “Take me to bed. Make me forget about the future.”

  His gaze darkens with desire. We’ve had sex more times than I can count, and each time is better than the last. As he leads me upstairs, I’m already tingling in all the places I know he’ll touch me with his tongue. He says I taste like wild honey; I think he tastes like heaven.

  When we reach his room, he softly closes the door. I kick off a pair of sandals. He’s almost a foot taller than me, so I get on my tiptoes to press a tender kiss to his lip. He sighs into the kiss. I don’t know what he’s thinking about, but it had better not be the future.

  To distract him, and myself, from all the turmoil of today, I reach back and start to unzip my dress.

  “Let me,” he murmurs. “Turn around.”

  I release the zipper and turn. He slides his hands down from the middle of my back, across my hips, down to my ass, and then back up.

  “You look so damn sexy in this dress. Yellow’s my new favorite color.”

  “Really?” The corner of my mouth tugs.

  “Specifically, lemon yellow.” He hands lift the knee-length hem. He grazes his fingers over my ass. “And I bet your panties match.”

  “You can’t wear black under yellow,” I whisper in a husky voice.

  “It would be a fashion tragedy,” he murmurs against my ear. His lips brush against the shell of my ear before he nibbles on my earlobe.

  “Totally tragic.” I sigh as he sweeps velvety kisses down the back of my neck.

  The zipper clicks as he pulls it down. Cool spring air from the open second-story window rolls down my exposed flesh. His mouth heats the chilled skin, kissing and licking away goosebumps until I’m sweltering.

  He slides the spaghetti straps off my shoulders. My strapless bra, in vibrant lemon yellow, drops to free my breasts. They’re in his hands. He kneads them gently.

  “Do you know wha
t my favorite part of your body is?” he asks.

  “Tell me.”

  “Your brain.”

  “My brain?”

  “Your total lack of inhibition is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “You can’t really see that though.” I’m intentionally messing with him because it’s so damn fun.

  “Have I ever told you that you have the worst bedroom talk ever?” He peels my panties down my legs.

  “I’ll have to keep practicing.”

  “I’d like that.”

  He spins me to face him. He’s dancing around talk of the future, but I can’t go there. Not yet. I wasn’t kidding when I told him I didn’t know what it would look like. I don’t know if he’ll be in it, or even if he’d want to be in it. I’m not about to ask, not until the trial is over. I hope to God my ex confesses so we can avoid courtroom drama.

  “You’re thinking so hard right now.” He smooths his thumb across my brows to ease the tension.

  “Then distract me.”

  He does, with a searing kiss that leaves me breathless and wanting. I hate that he’s still dressed, so I strip him.

  Naked, he’s magnificent. Muscles ripple across his chest. His biceps flex as he crawls onto the bed. Even his triceps are sexy as hell when he hooks his fingers behind his head. His cock is jutting straight up. A tiny bead of precum sits on the tip. I lick my lips.

  I join him on the bed. On my knees, I kiss his chest. My tongue licks a trail over every ridge and valley of his abs until I reach the deep V leading toward his cock. When my mouth grazes the head, he jerks.

  “I haven’t even done anything yet,” I tease.

  “But it’s always so good.”

  “I know.” I grin before taking him between my lips.

  His masculine taste mingles with the salty tinge of precum. As I suck him deep, his hips arch off the bed. A growl rumbles through his throat. I love that sound. It’s not the first time I’ve heard it, and I hope it won’t be the last.

  I push the depressing thought away. As I sweep my tongue down the length of his shaft, he moans. I trace the veins and the edge of the head before taking him deep. His hips stay still, but I can tell he’s straining against the impulse to push into me.

  I wrap my hand around the base and hold it while I lick the sensitive skin just below. He whimpers. I know this drives him wild, so I swirl my tongue a few more times before returning to capture him between my lips.

  My rhythm changes as my tempo increases. I’m gliding up and down while enjoying the complete control I have over this big, strong man. A fireman is every woman’s fantasy, and he’s all mine. At least for tonight.

  “Baby,” he groans a warning.

  I cover him completely as his cock pulses salty sweetness down my throat. When he’s done, he pulls me close.

  “Give me a minute, and I’ll make you scream,” he murmurs.

  I smile and settle into the crook of his arm. He strokes my breasts, then my hip, then he trails his fingers between my thighs.

  When he finds my moist center, I open for him. He plays with me, bringing me closer and closer to absolute ecstasy. And when I can’t hold back another second, he strokes me over the edge.

  I scream his name before collapsing back against the bed. He knows exactly how to touch me. I already mourn the possible loss. Sex has never been this good, and it might never be again. So, for now, I’ll take whatever he’s willing to give. We may not have a future together, but we have this moment—and I will never regret it, no matter what happens tomorrow.

  7

  Logan

  Two days have passed since the arrest warrant went out for Ella’s ex-husband. I’m in the kitchen, staring out the back window toward the distant edge of the forest. He could be anywhere. The warrant went out from Memphis PD, but people talk. He could know where she’s at, and he could come for her.

  I change my focus to her reflection in the window. She’s at the stove making scrambled eggs and toast. She’d refused to let me help. I think cooking helps to keep her nerves at bay because she hasn’t stopped baking cookies in two days. Trays of them litter the countertops. I’ve eaten more sugar in the last forty-eight hours than in the last ten years. But I don’t blame her one bit. I’m nervous as hell too.

  Although I’m confident that I can protect her if it comes to it, I don’t want to have to use the gun strapped to my waist by one of my brother’s duty belts.

  Even in a reflection, she’s perfect. It’s more than just physical. She’s the most mentally resilient person I’ve ever met. Almost anyone else in her position would be curled up in a ball sobbing. Not Ella. She’s strong, fierce, and dangerously beautiful. She’s unlocking the chains around my heart, and I still don’t know if I’m ready for another relationship.

  “Food’s ready,” she calls.

  “Sounds good.” I join her at the table.

  She scoops eggs into her mouth, and all I can see is her lips. They’re a soft rose color, and they don’t need even a touch of makeup. Long, dark eyelashes highlight bright green eyes. Her creamy complexion offsets her pink cheeks. I’ve been memorizing every inch of her, because she could leave any day now. As soon as they catch Brock, she could be gone.

  “You’re not eating,” she says.

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “Too many cookies?” She arches a brow.

  “Yeah.”

  “Talk to me.”

  “Waiting for them to find him is killing me.”

  “I know.” She moves from her chair to slide into my lap. “It will be over soon. Then I’ll be free.”

  Then what?

  The unspoken question hangs in the space between us. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her against my chest. I don’t want to let her go.

  “Have you thought about where you’re going to live after this is over?” My throat is thick with tension.

  “The insurance company called earlier this morning. You were still sleeping. They’re paying out the whole policy. It will be enough money to buy a new house. Thank God. I wasn’t sure if they were going to cover arson.”

  “I’m glad they’re doing the right thing.”

  “Logan… about us…” She turns to straddle me, so we’re face to face.

  “Not yet.” I kiss her softly. “We promised we wouldn’t talk about it until after he’s caught.”

  “I think we should.”

  I sigh. I knew this was coming, but I don’t know how to stop it.

  “I’m moving back to Memphis.”

  Just like that. My chest heaves. I try to stop the pressure building in my head. The last thing I need right now is a tension headache.

  “I can’t stay here,” she says. “I don’t know anyone.”

  “You know me.”

  “Would you want me to stay?”

  I change my grip on her hips to hold her tighter. I want to beg her to stay, but I don’t know if it’s the right thing to do. When I brought her home, I thought it was a temporary thing. I didn’t expect to care about her as much as I do. But what if all of this was just a reaction to her being in danger? What if it’s not real?

  “I… don’t know.”

  “It’s okay.” She tries to escape my lap, but I trap her with my hands.

  “Wait. Here’s the thing—I don’t know if you and I would have gotten together if I hadn’t rescued you from the house. It makes me question what we’re feeling. Until this is over, we won’t know if any of whatever’s happening between us is real or not.”

  “It feels pretty damn real,” she whispers.

  “I know.” I lace my fingers together behind her back. “But I think we should wait. I can’t risk opening myself up if you’re going to slam the door the minute your ex is in prison.”

  “Why would you think I would?” Her eyebrows furrow, and her tone is infused with pain.

  The phone rings. She slides off of my lap to get it.

  “It’s your brother.”

  I
turn on speaker phone.

  “Do you have him?” I ask.

  “Memphis police picked up him just outside town.”

  “Outside Blues Town?”

  “Yeah. I don’t know how he knew, but he was coming for Ella.”

  She pales. I put a hand over hers.

  “But he’s in prison now?”

  “We’re transporting him back to Memphis. I spoke with the DA, and he says there’s no way the judge will grant bail. Or if he does, it will be way too high for Brock to pay it.”

  “He hides a lot of money,” she says. “He’ll do anything to keep it from me. He could get out if the bail is under a million dollars.”

  “Let’s worry about that if it happens,” I say.

  “I’ve got to run,” my brother says. “I’ll check in with you later.”

  After I hang up, Ella lets out a soft sob. I draw her back into my lap and cradle her against me.

  “I know it’s not totally over, but this is a huge step forward.”

  “What if he gets out?”

  “Maybe…” I hesitate. I want to offer her a place to stay so that she’ll be safe, but I can’t stand the possibility that she might reject it.

  “What?” She blinks back tears.

  “Stay with me,” I whisper. “At least until the trial is over.”

  She nods and wraps her arms around my neck. She buries her face in my shoulder and shivers while I hold her. I stroke her back until she stills.

  Every protective instinct in my body rears up. I’m ready to fight to the death to make her feel safe. Even though Brock’s in prison, and even though the cops have fingerprint evidence, there are a lot of ways this could go bad. Until he’s tried and convicted, she’s staying with me. I’m not going to let what happened to Penny happen to her.

  It’s early evening when Jeff returns from the station. I practically pounce on him at the front door.

  “Well? Did you hear anything else?”

  “The bail hearing is tomorrow at 9 a.m. at the courthouse in Memphis.” He eyes me warily. “Don’t even think about it.”