28. Boys Night Out
TWENTY-EIGHT
Boys Night Out
STEVE
“Come on, Steve,” Kiro released the button to the comm outside the entrance leading to Steve’s apartment. He clicked it again. “You’ve gotta get out more, man.”
“Why?” Steve’s deep voice rumbled through the speaker. “I’m enjoying a good book.”
“Oh, really?” Kiro laughed. “That wouldn’t be the one on display at a certain bookshop directly below your apartment, would it?”
Steve muttered a few choice words under his breath. “Fine. Be right down.” He grabbed his jacket, closed his apartment door behind him, and jogged down the stairs to where Kiro waited, a smug expression on full display.
“What?” Steve fixed the collar of his jacket with a shrug. “It’s a good book.” He ignored Kiro’s laughter and started down the sidewalk.
“Enough already,” Steve said as Kiro caught up to him. “At least you didn’t have to get your car out of an impound lot today.”
“What?”
“Yeah - the hot redhead from the bookstore.”
“Hot redhead?” Kiro snorted. “You mean, Tara?”
“Yeah. She had my motorcycle towed. Well - the shop next door did.” Steve cursed under his breath at Kiro’s amused expression. “Had to get it out of the lot today.”
“Huh.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Talk to Helen Bailey lately?”
“No. Haven’t been down in a while. I’ve been a bit preoccupied with my brother. Why?”
Kiro turned his head left and right before crossing the street. “Remember that nasty car accident from a couple of weeks ago? Kid texted and caused a three-car pile-up?”
“Yeah. We used jaws and saws on those.”
“Right,” Kiro confirmed. “D and I took the guy who was T-boned to Grady Hospital after we peeled off his roof.”
“Yeah. I remember.”
“That was Ken Bailey.”
“What?” Steve stopped dead in his tracks. “I didn’t know that was him. I mean, I heard it was a neighbor, but I’ve been so preoccupied…”
“No reason you should. And because of your brother, I never told you. You’ve had enough on your mind. At the accident, Ken was covered in blood and had a lot of broken bones." Kiro turned to face Steve. “He’s still in the hospital and was even in a medically induced coma for a few days.” He took a step closer to Steve. “That hot redhead?”
“Yeah?”
“That’s Tara Bailey, Ken’s daughter.”
Releasing a long exhale, Steve dropped his chin to his chest. “I didn’t know.”
“Figured. She’s down from Chicago to run the family shop for a while until her dad recovers.” Kiro grabbed Steve’s shoulder. “Come on. Let’s go inside.”
Steve entered Jo’s Bar & Grille, thinking they’d grab a table. Instead, Kiro ushered him toward a back corner.
“D’s got a pool table for us back here.”
“We’re shooting pool tonight?”
“Yep,” Kiro confirmed. “And playing darts. Hey, D.”
They both greeted Derek, who introduced them to his date for the evening. “This is Amber.”
Steve and Kiro both nodded in her direction as she draped herself over Derek’s right side.
“Hi boys.” Her bright red lips beamed from her pale face. She pushed her long blond hair back from her shoulders and pushed out her chest which was almost falling out of her low-cut shirt. “So are you firemen, too?”
“Firefighters, baby,” Derek corrected her. “Firefighters.”
“Oh.” She grinned and leaned into him, boobs first. “Firefighters. That’s right.” She leaned up for a kiss, which Derek welcomed without hesitation. “I might have a fire for you to put out later tonight,” she giggled.
Steve and Kiro exchanged wary looks. “Darts?” Kiro asked, patting Derek on the shoulder as he walked past.
“Darts,” Steve confirmed as they moved toward the corner, where two dart boards were set up against the back wall.
Kiro picked up the first round of beers, including one for Derek and his date.
After playing darts for a while, Steve’s enthusiasm began to wane. “How can you be so bad at this?” He gathered the darts off the board and handed three back to Kiro, who readied himself to throw again.
“No idea, but eventually, I’ll get a bullseye.” Kiro threw a dart that missed the board entirely.
“Not like that.”
Kiro tilted his head to the side. “I usually have no problem with sharp objects.”
Steve tossed his dart, which landed about two circles out from the center. “I would hope not since you treat live patients for a living.”
“Finding a vein is easy.” Kiro threw him a sideways glare and tossed again. This time, his dart landed on the outside circle. “See? Better.”
Steve laughed and threw his dart, which landed on the other side of the center from his first dart. “At least you’re on the board this time.”
Kiro’s last dart landed on the board again, though barely. He lifted his wrist to check his watch. “Celeste and her friends should be calling it a night by about now. I’ll introduce you to her when we join them.”
“Who are we joining?” Steve perked up, though not quite interested in a date along the lines of who Derek was with tonight.
Kiro kept his answer vague. “Celeste and friends.”
“Uh…huh.”
“And maybe Tara, so…” Kiro leaned in to be heard over all the noise in the bar. “Whether she had your bike towed or not, try not to piss her off. She’s been through a lot.”