Page 9

Chapter 8

Fighting fires with flare

CHARLIE

“ N o,” I say stubbornly, crossing my arms over my chest. “I’m not a child and I’m not staying in the truck.”

He stares at me, his eyes reflecting a brittle hardness.

I can see his thoughts, see that he wants to physically tie me to the car so I can’t come with him. “What’s the deal anyway? It’s a business, just like any other. They aren’t going to dismember me in Paddington HQ, are they?” It’s a joke, but his expression remains stony. “Seriously, Lennox. That’s not going to happen.”

“You’re not walking into a world you understand,” he growls, shoving a hand through his hair, ruffling it. It’s almost shocking to see the always impeccably groomed man with chaotic hair. “This is my world, it’s too harsh for…”

“Me?” I ask offended.

He nods. “A human.”

“I’m going.” I shove my door open and step onto the street. “This is just as much my investigation as yours. I’m not sitting it out.” I’m already on the sidewalk when he gets out of the truck. “Plus, you telling me this is your world tells me these people are shifters. Am I right? Which just makes me that much more intrigued to meet them.”

“Shouldn’t have said that,” he grumbles.

I grin at him as he opens the door to Paddington Inc., waving me through first. “Yeah, I don’t miss much. If I did, I’d be a pretty piss poor investigator, wouldn’t I?”

As we approach the reception desk for Paddington Inc., Lennox shows the security officer his badge. “We’re here to see Duncan Sharptooth.”

“Do you have an appointment?”

“Tell him Detective Lennox Wolven-North and Investigator Charlie Lopez are here.”

My gaze swings to the guard who stares stonily back and a shiver goes through me. The guard looks as big as Lennox, if not bigger, which would make him a giant. As big as a grizzly bear… oh… Paddington. I get it now. They’re bear shifters.

I wonder who would win in a fight, bear or wolf shifter?

“Wolf,” Lennox grunts.

Weird, it’s like he knows what I was thinking.

“You’re not in the system,” the guard… bear… says. The man needs a name tag.

Lennox shakes his head in annoyance. “Tell Duncan that Prince Lennox Wolven-North is here to see him.”

Ha, he pulled the prince card! I love this guy. My eager gaze swings back and forth and I find myself wishing I had popcorn for this show. Shifter posturing is so awesome.

The guard stands up and I gasp, jumping away from the reception desk. He’s not just huge, he’s a monster! Dwarfing me by a good foot and a half. Even Lennox has to crane his neck.

“I know who you are,” the shifter growls, showing his teeth. “No appointment means no entry. Not even King Lock Wolven-North himself could walk in here and…”

BOOM!

A muffled explosion stops the conversation and all three of us grab the desk as the room rumbles beneath our feet.

Lennox and I look at each other. “Could’ve been a bomb,” I say, a shot of fear racing through me.

Lennox straightens and grabs the guard. “Open the fucking door and let us in. If that was a bomb, we need to see what’s going on.”

When he looks skeptical, I add, “You have a police detective and a firefighter on your doorstep, now would be the time to use us.”

He nods briefly and picks up his phone, hitting a button. “It’s Greg,” he says to whoever answers, then he listens for several seconds before saying. “The police are already here. Lennox Wolven-North.” He replaces the phone and says to us, “There was an explosion in the mailroom. No one was hurt. Boss wants you down there right now.”

“Duncan?” Lennox clarifies.

The guard nods and hits a button on his desk. The glass doors next to us buzz and Lennox rushes through, me behind him. We follow the smell of smoke down a flight of stairs to a basement in chaos. People are running for the stairs, one person is fumbling with a fire extinguisher, while another flings themselves from the billowing smoke pouring into the hallway, coughing, tears streaming down their face.

Water pours from the ceiling, but the searing heat coming from the doorway tells me the fire isn’t out.

Coughing, I say to Lennox. “You need to get everyone out.”

“What about you?” he demands. “I’m not leaving you alone.”

I swipe the tears from my stinging eyes. “We don’t have time for this,” I snap, gripping his arm. “I’ll be fine. This is what I do.”

He stares at me for several seconds, then nods sharply. “I’ll do what I can for them, but I’m not leaving you. Call if you need me.”

I grab the first person I see. “Where’s your fire hose?”

They point and I rush toward the metal box. Grabbing the hammer, I cover my eyes and smash the glass open, making sure to hammer out the jagged bits so I don’t get cut.

I pull out the mask first, dragging it over my face. There won’t be any oxygen flow, but it’ll protect my eyes.

Grabbing hold of the hose, I brace myself against the wall and yank, dragging it from the box and letting it fall to the floor. I turn on the water flow and pick up the hose, pulling the heavy metal nozzle over my shoulder and using all my weight to drag it.

I have to work fast, put out the fire before I succumb to the smoke. I drag the hose to the mailroom, coughing as the smoke gets thicker. I brace myself in the doorway and unleash the water.

My body is rocked by the force and I stumble back, but strong hands catch me, holding me upright. I don’t have to look to know it’s Lennox supporting me.

It takes a minute, but the powerful stream of water soon extinguishes all trace of flames and the room becomes clearer as the smoke dissipates. Still, there’s enough smoke that I’m struggling to breathe. I feel Lennox’s chest heaving at my back as he coughs.

“Need… air!” I shout at him through the mask and he nods.

I drop the hose and he escorts me out of the mail room, up the stairs and into the bright sunshine. We were only in the basement for a matter of minutes and in the building for maybe ten total, but stepping outside after battling a fire always feels to me like stepping into an alternate universe.

I hear the wail of a fire truck fast approaching.

I yank the mask off my face and let it fall to the pavement, doubling over to cough out the smoke. Lennox pounds my back so hard he nearly flattens me to the pavement and has to grab hold of me to stop my fall. I look at him, about to demand an explanation, but the look on his face stops me.

It’s fear. For me.

I straighten, my voice hoarse as I say, “Lennox, I’m fine. This is not….” I have to stop for a fit of coughing to subside “… not my first rodeo.” Okay, yes, it’s hard to sound like you’re fit as a fiddle when you’ve just swallowed a bunch of ash and smoke.

The fear turns to anger as he snaps, “The human body is too fragile. You must stop fighting fires immediately. It’s absurd that anyone would allow someone like you to fight fires.”

“Like me?” I force the coughing back and straighten to glare at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He waves his hand up and down my body. “Delicate, fragile, small.”

“Whoa,” I say, holding my hand up. “First, you don’t ever get to tell me what I will or won’t do.” I step closer, raising an eyebrow and when he gives me a brief nod, I poke him in the chest. “Even if this thing between us goes somewhere, you still won’t get to tell me what to do. Even if we were to get married, pop out a bunch of babies, and live happily together for the next sixty years, you still don’t get to dictate to me. Are we clear?”

His face softens and his lip quivers in a way that tells me I’ve amused him. “Crystal. Is there a second?”

“What?” I ask, confused.

“You said, first, I don’t get to tell you what to do. What comes second?”

I did say that, didn’t I? Well, in for a penny. I close the distance between us, dancing my fingers up his chest to grip his collar, which is standing up. Smoothing it with my hands and leaving a smear of soot on the crisp white fabric, I say in a husky tone, “Second. If we are to explore this thing between us, we’ll need to go on a proper date. Find out if we even like each other that way.”

He holds his breath, probably involuntarily, until I step away from him, then he lets it out in a whoosh. His gaze blazes as he stares back at me, then says, “I like you that way, Charlie. A lot.”

I try to think of a snappy response, but Greg, the reception-desk-guard-bear, approaches us, interrupting our moment. “Boss will see you now.”