Page 12

12

LOURDES

‘Styx’

Damn is this ridiculous. I’ve been at Jeremiah’s house now for over two weeks. I’m back at work and between my bodyguards, personal driver, and everything else he’s done, I feel like I don’t have a single minute to myself to breathe. I’ve gone from a very private woman to one who never has to make a decision at all. And since most of my bodyguards are from my firehouse, whoever has Styx duty is also working my shifts. The gifts are still arriving at the condo, though I never see them because I’m not home. That is one item Jeremiah, Nova, Chief or my guys: Lil Man, Danny, Paco, Till, or Romeo will not let up on. Some of the gifts are a bit strange like the burnt flower bouquets or the poems that make no sense at all. Though the last box was beyond gross. There were pictures of me that had me almost vomiting. They were men I’ve gotten together with in my past. Yeah, maybe a one-night stand or a short relationship. This goes to show everyone this freak has been behind the scenes for years. When Nova and Mayhem started looking into those men from my past, something very eerie was brought to our attention. And no one thinks it’s coincidence that half of the men I’ve been intimate with have either died in an accident or were murdered, and all the cases have gone cold. Now, there aren’t that many but the few Nova found, all five have met their death very suspiciously.

So with that thought I’m still at Jeremiah’s and now that includes sharing his bed. I’m not complaining, though Dino is furious. The only time he’s allowed in the house is if there is any kind of meeting. All of the security systems of the house and buildings are now being managed by Malachi Dagon, owner of DSS and partner of Nova’s. And damn is that kid sharp. He personally came out with some of his people to inspect and make any necessary changes. There were some areas seriously lacking that Malachi explained to Jeremiah and Nova. When brought to Dino’s attention, he went down the road of Malachi just wanting to pad the bill. He argued with Jeremiah that he would never do anything to put Jeremiah in any danger, though what Malachi has uncovered kind of leans toward Dino being a dick and a liar.

Nova has his team looking into Dino’s company because something isn’t adding up. Since his clearance has been revoked, Jeremiah’s system has been attacked a lot. The problem for the idiots trying to get in is that Malachi is probably one of the best, if not the top dog, in the security industry, per Nova. And his systems are beyond phenomenal and, so far, not one hacker has been able to break down the walls Malachi has set up. To make Jeremiah feel better, Malachi has one of his top guys working closely with the team here. Frankie makes a trip out here at least once every two weeks unless something doesn’t seem right, then he jumps on Malachi’s private plane and comes on out. And he’s a riot. Between Nova’s guys and the folks from the firehouse, Frankie fits right in. There is no doubt in my mind that we can trust him because he’s honest to a fault and doesn’t try to hide anything. And more importantly, if he doesn’t know or understand something he either calls Malachi or Nova for guidance. Unlike Dino, who acts like he knows everything. Though after his meeting with Malachi and Frankie, it became apparent he’s way below their intelligence level. And he knew it so he was a total dick to both men.

I’m on my way to the firehouse since I’m finally released to go back to work. What a goddamn fight that was. Not one person in my life thought I should go back, but it was time. I was ready to bang my head against the walls. I’d had my fill of movies, television series, and romance books. So when I finally pushed, after the doctor gave me a clean bill of health, my chief told me I could come back but would have a shadow at all times. He also shared the reason they didn’t want me back at the house was because there were “gifts” showing up there too. These were scary gifts that led Nova to believe somehow this guy either was connected to the firefighters’ world or he was just a crazy fire freak and was going to continue to follow everything I did. Each gift came every time I went out on a call. The box would have photos of the fire itself and, weirdly, pictures of me working the fire. The police are baffled and we’ve watched videos of the fires afterward to see if we notice one person standing out, maybe taking photos. No one has seen anything out of the ordinary or any person of interest yet.

As I approach the turnoff to the firehouse, I see Coma behind me. Jeremiah hired Nova’s entire team to protect me. I like them all, but Coma at times scares me. When I mentioned it to Jeremiah, he explained Coma has had a very hard life and he’s not made the best decisions, but is really trying to change his direction in life. One thing I know for certain is that he would jump in front of me if it was needed, without giving it a single thought. Not that I want anyone to get hurt, but the first time he was on duty he told me point-blank I was to do whatever he told me in a situation without thinking. He explained it wasn’t my decision and everyone on their team knew the risks.

Once in the parking lot by our firehouse, I pull into a spot with Coma right next to me. When I get out, he’s already there grabbing my overnight bag for me. I am on for the next twenty-four to thirty-six hours, and that means Coma is my shadow. Chief is good with this so even on a call, Coma comes with. When he explained to my chief his experience when he was in the service, our chief told him he’s good to go. I don’t know exactly what he did in his branch of service to convince my boss, but it must have been something pretty dangerous. I know Danny was a medic when he served, that’s why he’s a firefighter/paramedic.

Walking in, I can smell something that has my stomach growling. I hear Coma try to cough to hide his laughter but fails.

“What’s so funny, dude?”

“Not sure how you eat like you do and still look like that, woman.”

“So should I tell Jeremiah that you’re checking me out? Not sure he’d find that cute.”

Coma gives me that freaky as fuck grin and wiggles his eyebrows.

“Go ahead, Styx, tell him and see what he does. First, he knows I don’t fuck with a brother’s woman, and second, sorry to bust your bubble but, darlin’, you ain’t my type.”

That has me thinking for a second. What exactly is his type? So with my sick sense of humor, I follow my gut.

“Well, so sorry, Coma, I don’t strip for a living or believe in altering what God gave me.”

That brings a huge smile to his face, though his eyes still remain cold.

“Think you know everything, huh, little girl? Here’s a clue. I like my woman quiet and submissive and willing to be shared.”

My head tilts for a quick second because I’m lost. Then he shocks the shit out of me.

“So, little Lourdes, would you share your bed with two men? Because that, little girl, is what I like, and I highly doubt that’s in your bag of tricks.”

My mouth falls open because there isn’t any way in hell I’d ever do that. I don’t care what other people do, it’s just not me.

“You’re right, Coma, not for me but more power to you. Truce?”

He looks at my outstretched hand and thinks for a second, then reaches out with his hand and shakes.

“What, don’t believe in the blood family commitment? I could slash our hands and we can become blood siblings. No, I’m just kidding, no worries. Now let’s get settled, going to be a long twenty-four hours. At least there’s something heavenly cooking by that smell. Hey, Lourdes, yeah, we’re good. Truce, woman.”

My God, I can’t remember the last time we’ve been called out so much. I can see we are all starting to feel the effects of no sleep. The last call was weird though. It was at one of the primary schools and the building wasn’t on fire, just a huge dumpster out back. There is no doubt it was arson because the gas cans were left behind in plain sight. Leads me to believe it was an amateur, or worse, someone wanting to get caught.

As I make my way up to the women’s side of the showers, I hear the door open and close, which is weird. I don’t think there’s another female firefighter on right now. Maybe a paramedic or EMT, who knows, though something doesn’t seem right. I grab the tire thumper Jeremiah insisted I keep in my lockers so I have one in here and one in the bunk room. All I’ve taken off is my turnout gear, so I’m in a Firehouse #23 T-shirt and a pair of Dockers in my socks, no shoes. As I make my way around, I see a shadow ahead of me so quietly I move forward. As I go to make the turn, the tire thumper is above my one shoulder, in case I have to swing out with it. After the turn, as I walk toward the entrance I feel something, before seeing anything. When I turn around all I see is a huge person, so I swing. I catch a “motherfucker” before I slam into someone’s shoulder area. Then all hell breaks loose as the person, a man, is cussing up a storm and the door to the women’s shower busts open. Not sure where to look, I glance at Till, Paco, and Danny busting in and as we all look to who’s on the ground, I’m shocked to see Coma. He’s trying to stand up. Lil Man goes around me and, to my surprise, gently helps Coma to his feet. Once up, Coma glares at me like he’s ready to kill me. Man, I fucked up.

“What the ever-lovin fuck, Styx? I told you that no matter where you go, I’ll follow you. Thought while you’re taking a shower I’d sit on one of the benches, but no, you got to go all Lara Croft on my ass. Well, good job, think you dislocated my shoulder.”

My hands go to my mouth as I hear more people coming in. Chief walks right up to Coma, telling him to sit his ass down. Once Coma does, our chief starts feeling and rotating the shoulder. The poor big guy looks ready to punch someone. When our chief tells Danny to hold Coma down, Paco stands behind Coma as Chief grabs his arm straight out. Without looking at the injured man, he glances at both Danny and Paco then jerks and pulls until I think I actually hear a pop. Coma is sweating bullets by now but hasn’t said a word. As things start to calm down, I walk over to Coma and put my hand on his leg.

“God, I am so sorry, dude. Didn’t mean to hurt you, I didn’t remember that you were going to follow me everywhere. How bad does it hurt? Can I get you anything?”

He raises his eyes and eyebrows up, and that kind of tells me everything. I sit next to him for a while until I think he’s gotten himself under control. Danny brought a sling in and got Coma situated with it, though it was a fight because he said he didn’t need a sling. Danny overruled him and Chief took Danny’s side, so Coma is now pouting with a sling on his arm. With Coma and Danny sitting in the women’s shower room, I was allowed to take a quick shower. Once dried and clothed, I step out just as I hear Coma tell Danny he didn’t think I had it in me. Danny just laughs and says, “You have no idea what our Styx is capable of. Don’t underestimate her.” Coma just nods.

I wait a few minutes so they don’t know I was listening. The three of us walk down to the kitchen to get a bite to eat. Rome is cooking and the smells in the kitchen are making each of our stomachs growl out loud. Danny laughs first, followed by Coma. We make our way to the island and see that Rome has made a smorgasbord of food. There is meatloaf, looks like chicken cacciatore, homemade mashed potatoes, and his famous minestrone soup, a ton of sides and a huge salad too.

“Figured y’all needed some sustenance with all the calls coming in. Take a plate and fill up. Come on. Fuck, Coma, what happened to you, dude?”

Coma looks at Rome then glances at me behind him.

“Hurricane Styx came about. Almost took my head off with a tire thumper. Not sure why I’m here guarding her, seems like she can take care of herself.”

I grin up at him because that’s exactly what I’ve been saying. Oh well, we all move down the island filling our plates up. At the table no one waits for anything, just starts piling in the food. My God, it’s so frigging good. I’m so into my food, I don’t feel the change that occurs around me. When I look up, all the guys are watching me with different levels of grins and smiles. With my mouth slightly full of food, I ask, “What?”

Danny starts laughing then wipes his face with a napkin, looking at me.

“Damn, Styx. Most women eat a piece of celery through an entire meal. You’ve scarfed down a plateful of food like it was nothing. I mean, it’s awesome to see a woman eat a meal that she’s enjoying instead of starving herself.”

The other guys agree or grunt in agreement. I just nod and go back to my plate. Well, that’s until the alarm goes off, letting us know we have another call. I look to Coma but he shakes his head and stands on his feet. Well, shit, now I feel twice as bad that he has to work with a messed-up shoulder. Then Chief’s yell for us to move our asses has me almost running to my equipment before jumping on the truck. Fingers crossed it won’t be a devastating call.