Surrendering to His Siren (Silver Spoon Heroes)

Chapter Two

Emmett

W hoever set the house on fire with Nina inside is a fucking asshole. She trembles like a little deer in my arms, terrified out of her mind, as I race out of the bathroom and down the long hall, flames roaring all around us.

Mine plays like a damn mantra in my head the whole time, screaming at me that this girl is mine to protect. And it feels right for reasons I can't even begin to describe. Having her in my arms feels right in ways that shouldn't even be possible. And yet…I've never felt more certain of anything than I am that I was supposed to find her in that bathroom.

My engine company has been pumping water into the house since we arrived on scene. Alessandro Banger and Devon Allegra are at the broken window at the far end of the hall with a hose, spraying it down to give us a path, but there's no saving the house. At this point, all we can do is save Nina and keep the shit from spreading to surrounding structures.

Her screams led me right to her. We thought the goddamn house was vacant until I heard her. The old man who owned it, Vincent Gregori, died last month. Judging by the big blue eyes and flame red hair, Nina is related. Daughter? Niece? I'm not sure, but she's fucking stunning. I like the way her curves fit against me a little too well.

Stop fucking thinking about it , I order myself, trying to focus on getting us the fuck out of here.

A beam at the end of the hall crashes to the floor as if to remind me exactly why I need to stay focused.

Nina squeaks, cowering into me.

My dick picks now to throb like a motherfucker.

Jesus Christ. I'm going to hell.

"Hurry it up, Madden!" Alessandro shouts into his mic, his tone grim as he and Devon direct the hose at the flames licking up a wall to the left. "Move your ass!"

"Easy, Red," I murmur to the gorgeous—terrified—woman in my arms, putting on a burst of speed. I dodge a wall of flames burning through the room next to the bathroom and then stumble around a gaping hole in the floor.

"Faster!" Devon shouts, eyes locked on the flames behind us. I don't look behind me to see what he does. I'm not going to risk slowing down long enough to look. There's accelerant all over the fucking house. I noticed it as soon as I stepped through the goddamn door. And fires like this can be unpredictable. How much more accelerant is there? Has it all caught and burned off by now? I'm not trusting luck to be on our side.

Someone has been setting fires like this all over town for the last week. They've already burned down two vacant houses and an old cabin.

We reach the window about the time a loud crash rips through the house.

"Collapse is imminent. Evacuate all units," Banks Phoenix growls over the radio as the horn outside blares, alerting the crew to get the fuck out.

I don't have to be told twice. Inside this deathtrap is the last place I want to be right now. Christ. We're lucky we found Nina in time. Another few minutes and this entire goddamn floor will be nothing but flames and ruin.

"Take her," I order Alessandro, gently pushing her through the window into his waiting arms as Devon takes charge of the hose.

As Alessandro scoops her up, pulling her curvy body close to his chest, jealousy slides through my veins. I don't want his hands on her. I don't want anyone's hands on her.

What the fuck?

Alessandro shifts away from the window, giving me room to haul my ass out of the house and into the bucket. There's no goddamn room to move with three of us in full gear in it and her in Alessandro's arms, but we're out of the fucking house, and that's all that really matters.

"Civilian secured. Bring us down," Alessandro says into his mic, letting Banks know we're clear.

"Here." I ease Nina back into my arms, worried as fuck about her when she starts coughing. She inhaled a lot of smoke. And she's still trembling and pale. She tries to pull the oxygen mask off, but I quickly place my hand over hers. "Leave it on, Red. You need the oxygen."

Her blue eyes flutter open, fixating on me.

Jesus H. Christ. They're so fucking pretty.

Who is she? Even soaking wet with soot smeared across her cheek and her eyes all red-rimmed and watery, she's stunning. I've lived in this town for the last five years, and I've never seen her before now. I'd remember if I had. You don't forget a woman like this.

The bucket whirs into motion as Banks lowers us back to ground level. Nina startles in my arms, pressing closer.

"It's okay," I soothe her. "You're safe. They're just lowering us to the ground. We're in the bucket on the fire engine."

She nods slowly, her eyes still locked on my face, and then they drift behind me to the house. I don't know how the fuck it's possible for her to get any paler than she already is, but her face literally drains of color. I'm guessing she's probably never seen a house fully involved before. It's not pretty.

"You're safe, Red," I murmur. "We're going to get you to the paramedics so they can check you out. Don't worry about the house right now, okay?"

Her eyes flutter closed, but she doesn't respond.

The bucket shudders to a stop. Dacen Abrams comes running over to help, but there's no fucking way I'm passing her down to him. He'll fuck anything that moves, and I don't want his hands anywhere near her. The thought alone makes me murderous. Why? Well, I'll figure that shit out later.

"Help me out," I mutter to Alessandro. At least I know I can trust him with her. Even before he fell in love with Heidi Marsh, he didn't fuck around. Like me, he didn't go into this job with a plan to get laid as often as possible. For some of these guys, you'd think fucking around was part of their job description. That shit hasn't ever interested me. I knew when I was a kid that I wanted to be an arson investigator. I wanted to fight fires and help solve crimes involving them. Guess that happens when your own home is burned to the ground.

Alessandro hops out of the bucket. Devon shifts out of the way, still aiming the hose at the house, doing what he can to beat back the flames.

"Pass her to me," Dacen says.

"I've got her," Alessandro says, stepping in front of him. "You help Devon."

Dacen shrugs like it doesn't matter to him, and then hops in the bucket, sliding past me to help Devon with the hose.

"I'm handing you down to Alessandro," I murmur to the gorgeous siren in my arms, warning her what's happening. She tenses for a moment before her body relaxes.

I quickly pass her down to Alessandro before hopping out behind her. Before he even has a chance to adjust her in his arms, I'm pulling her back into mine.

"I'm taking her to the ambulance," I mutter to Alessandro.

"You're taking her?" he asks, one brow arched as amusement slides across his face.

Out of the two of us, he's the one with the most medical training under his belt. If anyone should be taking her, it's him. But I ignore that fact and discreetly flip him off, making him chuckle.

"Keep everyone away from the house," I tell him. "The fire was intentionally set."

"Fucking hell." The laughter dies on his lips. "What kind of accelerant?"

"Not sure yet. Haven't had a chance to investigate. But it's burning hot and fast."

He jerks his chin in a nod, already reaching for his radio.

I leave him to spread the news to the rest of the crew, jogging toward the waiting ambulance with Nina in my arms.

"What do you have, Madden?" Felix Tipton asks, hopping out of the back to meet me.

"She was inside the house. Inhaled a fuckton of smoke. I've had her on oxygen since I found her but she's coughing, pale, and tachycardic."

"Shit. Lay her down."

I hesitate for a split second, wanting to keep her in my arms. She feels a little too much like she belongs there. Which is exactly why I deposit her on the stretcher and step back. I need to get ahold of myself. Whatever the fuck this is…it's madness. For all I know, she set the fire.

Wanting to fuck someone I may very well need to help arrest is a bad idea all around. And yet…when she looks up at me with those wide, frightened eyes, seeking reassurance, my goddamn heart clenches.

I reach for her hand, squeezing gently. "They're going to take you to the hospital, baby. I'll swing by to check on you as soon as I'm done here," I promise, liking the way she squeezes my hand like she doesn't want to let go.

Jesus Christ. Chief is going to kick my ass for this shit.

"W-why?" she asks.

"I have questions for you."

Her brows furrow. "About what?"

"The fire."

A split second of panic flares in her eyes before she quickly schools it. "I don't k-know anyth…" she trails off into another painful coughing fit. But I don't need her to finish the sentence to know she's lying to me. She knows something. She just doesn't want me to know what she knows.

Fuck my life.

"I'll be by the hospital when I'm done here, Nina," I say firmly.