Page 8 of Break Me

That was bullshit and he knew it. “I wonder if the rumors are true and you’re suddenly in bed with some Irish bloke around town.”

He laughed. “Now where did you hear such a blasphemous rumor?”

Which meant what Kazimir had mentioned was true. Goddamn it. The Irish had been a pain in our ass for years. It wasn’t necessarily the same clan currently taking up homestead in this town, but the Irish stuck together. That much I knew. “Here’s how we’re going to play this.”

“I’m all ears, Alexsey.”

“You’re going to return the contract terms to what they were before. Period.”

“And if we don’t?”

“Then you’re going to learn in no uncertain terms what happens when you cross the Dmitriyev Bratva.”

CHAPTER 3

Halle

Beep. Beep. Wahhh…

Jerking up, I took a couple of scattered breaths as I assimilated the sound. Even though my brain was still fuzzy from being in a deep sleep, the sound was one I’d been trained to tune into.

A five-alarm fire.

Almost instantly, my phone rang, vibrating against the nightstand. I grabbed it, dropping my head into my other hand as I answered. “Captain O’Leary.”

“Captain, this is Jack Richards from dispatch. We have a dangerous situation in Rockcreek Estates. We need Engine 57 to respond. Three other engine companies have already been dispatched. Unfortunately, Engine 29 is on a call and can’t make it in time. You’re the closest engine company. 1452 Rockcreek Place.”

Rockcreek?

While still foggy, I remembered the location of the gated and highly secured as well as wealthy neighborhood located on the outskirts of Las Vegas. We were second on the list for the area, but it was still a stretch. I made note of the address. “We’ll be right there.”

I threw back the covers, immediately responding, soon to be fully awake. Glancing at the clock, I groaned. Two-thirty in the morning. Thank God, I’d stopped at two glasses of wine with dinner.

And I was thankful that since Kristine had been planning on returning in the morning to stay with Emily, she’d decided to stay the night. We’d enjoyed some girl talk, which was long overdue.

I hurriedly dressed, scratched a note to Kristine, and called my second in command, Lieutenant Mark Sears. “Mark. You got the call.” He’d been scheduled at the firehouse along with several others. They were closer than I was.

“Yep. Already on our way. Are you going to meet us there?”

“Yes. I’m headed out now.” There was no time to waste. Snatching my keys, I rushed to the door and to my car. My little car that I often thought of as the little engine that could. She was old but sturdy. For now. But as with everything else in my life, it seemed one disaster or issue was always right around the corner.

No matter what happened at the fire, today would be a long one. I was scheduled to work at my second job, which wouldn’t leave me much time to spend with my baby girl. She’d learned to adapt, but my need to pick up a second job had been tough on both of us.

Maybe another month or two and I could breathe a little easier.

Plus, she was headed to kindergarten in a matter of days, which would also help alleviate some pressure on Kristine.

My life centered around just getting by, one day after another. But I was happy. Sort of.

I realized my slumber had been fraught with dreams. Vivid dreams. Of him to be exact.

The man who’d pricked my skin and had kept my pussy aching. Even now, I could still see the images I’d formed in my mind of the desirable man. Only in my dreams he hadn’t been wearing a suit.

In fact, he hadn’t been wearing anything at all.

I licked my lips, trying to shake off the lurid visions and thoughts. He even had a delicious Russian accent, when he wasn’t being an arrogant jerk, smooth like velvet, deep and enthralling, enough so to create several fantasies in the darkest reaches of my mind.

“Get your mind out of the gutter, Captain,” I said out loud, trying to concentrate on the job ahead.