Bad Boy's Touch (Firemen in Love Book 3) (16 page)

“Did you show him the note from the trailer park?”

“No. I got the feeling that I shouldn't.”

“That's good. Don't trust him; Lord knows who's side he's on.”

And whose side was Brett on, exactly? Sure, he wanted to find the arsonist as much as I did, but beyond that, I still didn't know what he wanted from me.

“I don't know who to trust.” I slammed on the brakes just in time to not run the light. “You read the note. The arsonist is watching me. Knows me.”

“I doubt he actually knows you, per se. Probably just some stranger who overheard your name and thought you were beautiful.” He gave a shaky laugh. “It's easy to see how a guy could obsess over you. Hell, I took one look at you and knew I couldn't let you get away.”

“Really? You think now of all times is ideal for that?”

In the background, someone yelled at him to hurry up before they left him there.

“Sorry, I wasn't thinking.” He shouted back at them to wait a minute. “Look, if you're scared this guy is going to come after you, maybe you should –”

“I'm not scared. Why would I be?” I snapped, gunning the car through the next yellow light at fifty miles an hour. “You think because I'm a woman, I can't take care of myself?”

“Uh... No, I never said that.”

The poor man sounded dumbstruck by my outburst. I held back tears as I whipped into the driveway, ashamed for letting Victor get under my skin. Though we'd broken up, he still had a grip on my life that I couldn't quite free myself from.

“You know what you need?” he asked me.

“If you're going to suggest sex again, then don't.”

“Not this time, though if you're up for it, I'd never turn you down.”

I was actually sort of disappointed he didn't offer. Few things cleared my head like a good roll in the hay. Getting naked with Brett, at least, would take my mind off all of this for a little while.

“You need a night to relax. Worrying about everything in your life isn't good for you.”

“As if I should listen to you for health advice. You ride motorcycles with no helmet, get into bloody fist fights, and probably do God knows what with those women at the club.”

“At least you can't accuse me of not being fun.”

He made no comment about that last bit. It hurt, even though there was no reason for it to. I'd barely met him a week ago. We slept together one time. He was bad news, sure to go down in flames and bring me with him.

Any woman who thought she could tame Brett Silver was an idiot.

Yet with his good looks, his sense of adventure, and his ability to give me the best sex of my life, how could I help myself?

“I say you ought to come out with me and get drunk. I don't mean a little tipsy; I'm talking so shit-faced you fall off the bar stool. That always helps me forget my problems.”

“Yeah, that's not the only thing it helps you forget. How to act like a civilized human being totally slips your mind.”

“You don't have to worry, though. I'll only have a couple of beers, so I can be your designated ride home.”

Getting smashed sounded nice after the crap I'd been going through. But doing it around Brett? He'd start taking my clothes off soon as I was too wasted to protest, knowing him.

Not that I would have minded
that
very much...

“I'll have to refuse your kind offer,” I told him as I fumbled with the house keys. “Today's my brother Charlie's birthday, and it's kind of tough on Jenna. I need to be here for her tonight.”

“You have a brother, too?”

“
Had,
” I corrected him. “It's a long story, but he's not with us anymore.”

“I see.” His tone had changed. Quieted. “Of course, family's important. Sorry for being, uh, insensitive.”

“You weren't being insensitive. I appreciate it.” Finally got the sticky lock open and let myself in. “It's a Friday night. You could have gone out partying or getting into trouble with any woman you wanted, yet you were willing to spend time with me.”

“Well, yeah,” he said, as if I were crazy for not getting it. “I told you. After that night in the forest, I can't stop thinking about you. I've gotta get you back in my bed.”

“I
knew
this was about sex somehow.”

Jenna wasn't home. She'd probably gone straight from her classes to her shift at Di Angelo's, so she wouldn't return until after ten. Good; maybe staying busy would help keep her mind off Charlie.

“It's not just sex,” he said softly. “Maybe there's more to it than that.”

“Like what?”

“I don't know,” he said after a long pause. “I just know there's something about you I can't keep away from.”

But what did he want in the end? A quick fling, just a bit of fun – or more?

Hell, what did
I
want? After leaving Victor, being single sounded perfect for me. Still, the faster I approached age thirty, the stronger became that womanly instinct to build a nest and start a family.

And Brett might well have been lots of fun, but he
definitely
wasn't a family man.

“Brett, you coming?” someone yelled. “The lunch buffet's over at four; hurry up!”

“Sounds like I should let you go.”

“Yeah. But I'm glad you called, okay? Maybe we can –”

The front door flung open, and in stumbled Jenna, breathing hard, her face bright pink. She slammed the door behind her and locked the two deadbolts lightning fast.

“Oh, Mad, thank God.” She ran to me. “Someone was following me!”

“
Following
you? Are you sure? I mean, why would somebody –”

“I'm serious! It was a black car with tinted windows.” She fell into the couch and clutched her favorite pillow. “It started when I left school. The car pulled out right behind mine. Then they made all the same turns the whole way back. What are the odds of that happening for ten whole miles?”

Brett heard. “Did she get a good look at the guy? Ask her if she saw him.”

I did. She shook her head.

“The windows were darkened, and he never got close enough to see. I was too scared to look back and get his license plate.”

I drew my gun from its holster and, heart thundering in my chest, sprinted out to the porch. Brett kept yelling things at me, but I barely heard a word of it.

We lived on a quiet street in a small, close-knit neighborhood. There were no cars to the right, nor to the left. Whoever had been after Jenna was either long gone or watching me from afar.

“He's gone,” she told me when I returned. “He took off when I pulled into the driveway.”

“Maybe it's a guy from school with a crush on her,” Brett suggested. “Harmless, but creepy.”

I hoped he was right, because there really was no other good reason to have followed her home.

Still, I knew that wasn't who it was. Immediately, the words from the note came to mind.

Stay away from Madison. She's mine.

What if the arsonist had taken an interest in Jenna, too?

I'd wanted to keep the fires a secret. It wasn't something she needed to know.

I was the older sister. The cop. Her protector.

But as she cried on my shoulder, I realized I couldn't shelter her forever.

Chapter 11 - Brett

I was sick and tired of being single.

The realization struck me while putting out a dumpster fire in the Whataburger parking lot. I was so deep in thought about it all that I dropped the hose, drenching myself, Jayce, and the backside of Oliver's pants.

“Get your head outta your ass,” he grumbled, nearly knocking me over as he bent to control the thrashing hose.

Jayce studied me silently, waiting for an explanation as to why I was so out of it today. I didn't give him one – because I had no clue what was wrong with me.

I'd spoken to Madison a couple of hours ago, right when her little sister came home freaking out about someone being after her. They both sounded so shook up, it kicked that protector instinct of mine into high gear.

The two of them were fine for now, or so they said. I, however, wasn't fine at all.

For the past several years, the only feelings I had for women came from how badly I wanted to bang them. I wanted to screw Madison again, too, but not just that. She made me feel things I hadn't since I dated Ashley so long ago.

I missed that.

“Where are those punk kids? Yes, I'd like to press charges.” The restaurant manager laid into one of our boys, as if he could do anything about it. “What do you mean, you can't arrest people? Those little bastards ruined my
property.
”

We rode back to the station in our truck. Halfway there, Jayce turned to me from the driver's seat.

“Okay, what happened? You're not the mopey sort.”

“I dunno.” I tried to shake the feeling off, but no dice. “You know how our Friday nights used to go a year back, before you married Elle?”

He snickered. “Sure do. The three of us would go to Twinkles, sometimes Jezebel if we were in the mood for higher-class girls. Then we'd proceed to get drunk and take home whichever women caught our eye.”

“Right. But you and Max are married now, and for a while I'd go out to the club with some of the other guys, but it's just not the same.”

He fluttered his eyelashes and clutched my shoulder. “Aw, you miss us? That's touching.”

“No, it's like... I've lost interest. It was fun and exciting for a while, y'know, banging a new woman whenever I felt like it.” I sighed heavily. “Then I hooked up with Madison. Why would I bother with those chicks when I could have her?”

If
I could even have her. She claimed I was bad news, that she thought we shouldn't go near each other.

There had to be a way to change her mind.

Jayce bit his lip and rolled to a stop at the next red light. “So what's the problem? What exactly is it you want from her – just sex?”

“At first, yeah. But then I started thinking about her all the time. Worrying about her. Wanting her to be happy.”

He whistled. “And you met her a week ago, right? You sure do fall in love fast when you put your mind to it.”

“Don't be stupid. That's not love, it's like...”

“Then what?”

I growled. “I dunno, but it isn't. I wouldn't know how to love somebody if you paid me a million dollars.”

He thought this was hilarious. I punched his shoulder and made the truck swerve into the next lane.

“Okay, whatever. You got a thing for her then. So what's the matter?”

“She seems to think I'm a piece of crap. That we're all wrong for each other. She's the cop; I'm the robber. So to speak.”

Jayce pulled into our designated spot in the garage. He put the truck in park and we hopped out.

“I know what you gotta do, but you're not going to like it.” He hit me on the back. “If you want this woman for more than just sex, you need to change your ways for her.”

I laughed. “Not happening.”

“Then she's never going to see you as much more than a fling, at best.” He shrugged. “You have to realize something, Brett. Women like her want to feel safe. Like they can trust you. Depend on you to take care of them and not screw everything up.”

It sounded like such a tall order. Maybe I was being ridiculous, thinking I could ever be with Madison. Hell, I couldn't believe she'd let me have her in the first place.

“I need a way to impress her,” I decided. “Those club girls are easy. Madison is a challenge, and you know how I like a good challenge.”

“Well, getting to know her better might be a good start. There's always the winning combo of roses and a fancy dinner, too.”

“Not so sure she's into flowers. Whips and chains seem more up her alley.”

So I didn't know what she liked, but I could make up for that with the best sex she'd ever had. How could she turn me down then?

Jayce's suggestion of dinner wasn't a bad one, either. I liked to cook, but since I never had anyone to make food for, I didn't do anything special with it these days. Most of my meals were either eaten in the truck or alone at home, in front of the TV.

Thinking about it made me feel even lonelier.

While the other guys gathered around the poker table for a game, I went outside and called Madison.

“Brett? I'm kind of surprised you called back so fast.”

“How you holding up? Any sign of that creepy guy?”

“Nope. I've been checking out the window every couple of minutes. Can't shake the feeling he's hiding nearby, watching me.” She sighed heavily. “Jenna went to work. I escorted her there to be safe.”

“So you're alone in the house with a nutcase spying on you.”

“I told you I'll be fine.”

“I know you will be, but I don't like it one bit. I'm coming over to make sure you're okay.”

She laughed at me. “Like hell you are.”