Page 45 of Fire Fight

“You’ve been through enough,” I said instead.

“Thank you, Crew,” she whispered.

Fuck, my name on her lips had blood stirring in my groin, and I had to let her leave before I did something crazy like haul her into the backseat and make her say it with a lot more volume and pleasure behind it.

Shaking my head, I croaked out, “No problem,” and stepped out of the way so she could close the door. Then I stood there like a schmuck and watched her drive away.

“You’ve got it baaaaaaaaaaaad,” someone said from behind me, and I whirled to find Tuck standing there, leaning against the side of the building with his arms crossed over his chest, a smug expression on his face.

“Shut the fuck up,” I muttered, pushing past him, his answering cackle following me inside.

Aspen’s carwas a fucking death trap.

The thing rattled and hummed concerningly as I drove home, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I pulled to a stop in front of my garage. Both because I’d survived and because I couldn’t wait to crawl into bed and sleep for the next seven hours.

We’d had five calls overnight, which was admittedly a lot. But with the weather warming up and school getting closer to ending, stupid kids were getting bolder.

And that boldness led to recklessness.

I grabbed my bag from the passenger seat and got out, moving to the garage door and punching in the code to let me in. Once it closed again, I let myself into the house, dropped my bag in the laundry room as always, and padded down the hall.

Everything was undisturbed, almost like no one but me was there. But I could sense the charge in the air, alerting me to the fact that I wasn’t alone. Letting me know that down the hall, Aspen lay sleeping.

As I made my way toward my room, I paused outside her door and cracked it open to check on her. She was on her stomach, limbs starfished across the mattress, her hair a dark fan across the pillow. The swelling around her eyes had gone down completely, and the bruising around them was now a faint yellow tinge versus the horrific purple it had been in the hospital. Her breath snuffled softly, and with sleep slackening her features, she looked much younger than her thirty-three years. Like all the hurt and hardness she carried melted away until her true, gentle nature shined through. I found myself deeply pleased that she appeared to be resting comfortably, and I was grateful I could be the one to give her this soft place to land.

Reluctantly, I forced myself to walk away and go to bed before she caught me staring at her like a creep.

As I drifted into the land between slumber and awake, my phone chimed.

Sheriff

Outside. NOW.

Shit.

Yes, I had Lane saved in my phone as “Sheriff,” much to his annoyance, and it looked like my big brother found out what I’d done sooner than I planned. I had hoped to at least get some sleep before he showed up to rip my head off.

And honestly, who the fuck showed up at someone’s house, unannounced, at eight o’clock in the morning?

I dressed quickly, cursing Lane the whole time, before heading out of the front door and meeting him on my front porch.

The door was barely closed behind me before he exploded, not even bothering with a greeting before launching into his tirade.

“Are you out of your fucking mind? She’s the only witness in this case. Ever, Crew. The only woman who has ever survived. I’m not going to let you fuck it up so you can get your dick wet.”

“Fuck you,” I spat at him. “That’s not what this is about. This is about the fact that you had her blacklisted from every hotel and short-term rental in this town!”

He at least had the wherewithal to appear remorseful. “And I’m sorry for that. But I’m trying to keep her safe by getting her to leave.”

“Then you don’t know her very well.”

“Neither do you!” he shouted. “You met her two weeks ago, and suddenly you’re giving her a room in your house? This is so unlike you.”

I gritted my teeth against the endless retorts I had lined up, attempting to marshal my temper. “Trying to keep someone safe isverylike me, actually. And with this fucker still at large, Aspen is very much still in danger.”

“I want her gone, Crew.”

“That’s not up to you.”