Chapter Nine
Elle’s heart was in her throat as Jeremy barely parked and shut off the engine before he was out the door, talking into the radio attached to his shirt while racing to a frantic mother hugging a little boy and crying.
Unsure what he wanted her to do, she followed on his heels, since he hadn’t given the usual “Stay in the car” order.
From outside, the first floor appeared deceptively serene, but upstairs, smoke billowed out of two shattered windows, its dark tendrils curled around the eaves as if reaching for escape.
Through the smoke, flames licked the walls, raging unchecked, growing in intensity with each passing moment.
“My baby!” the mother screamed. “She’s upstairs in the nursery!”
“Where?” Jeremy asked, setting a hand on the distraught mother’s shoulder, probably more to keep the woman still than for comfort.
“In that room! She’s napping in that room!” She pointed to an upstairs window with a screen in it, but thank God, no flames.
Yet.
“I’ll get her, ma’am,” Jeremy reassured, his tone calm, cool, confident. “Is there anyone else inside?”
“No, just, Mila!” the woman cried, trying to move past him. “I have to get my baby!”
“I’ll get her,” he repeated, placing his body in front of her. “You stay here with your son.” When the woman nodded, he stepped to Elle. “I need you to keep her outside. Can you do that?”
“Yes,” she automatically replied. “But you can’t go in there. You’re not a firefighter.”
Now he set a hand on her shoulder. “They’re still a good eight minutes away. I’ll be fine, as long as all of you stay outside.”
She nodded, and after a quick squeeze, he released her and rushed into the house. Elle moved to put an arm around the shaking woman with her crying son in her arms. As she stared at the house, she couldn’t stop wondering if she’d just killed Jeremy.
Was the very recent tiny crack in the vault around her heart big enough to activate her curse?
God, she hoped not.
A slight breeze blew toward them, bringing with it the acrid smell of smoke. Flames were coming out of the two windows now, and the crackling of burning wood made it to her ears, along with the sound of sirens in the distance.
Elle willed them to move faster. To get there now and help Jeremy and the baby.
God, she’d never felt so helpless in her life.
In what seemed like hours, but in reality was only probably a few minutes, Jeremy kicked the screen out of the window and crawled out onto the porch roof with a small wailing bundle in his arms.
“Mila! Thank God!” the woman cried, trying to move closer.
Elle held her back. “He’ll get her down.”
“How?” The mother sniffed, a deep frown on her face. “There’s no ladder!”
“I’ll help him, but you need to stay here, okay?” She held the young mother’s gaze, waiting for confirmation.
When the woman nodded, Elle released her shoulder and raced for the car, knowing Jeremy had left the keys in his hasty exit. Praying that the mother listened to her, she quickly drove over the front lawn to position the car parallel to the porch and as close as possible to the house.
She’d barely got it in park when something heavy hit the roof. A second later, Jeremy slid down onto his feet then headed straight for the mother rushing closer.
The urge to get out and run to Jeremy was nearly impossible to resist, but he motioned for her to move the car out of the way because two firetrucks, a tanker, ambulance, and another cruiser were speeding up the long driveway.
Elle parked out of the way and got out.
By this time, the inferno had spread to the baby’s room and to the downstairs area below the original two windows. The once-sturdy structure seemed to weaken, its fate teetering as the firefighters got to work.
She observed the activity bustling around her.
It would make for a great scene in her book—with some things changed, of course.
But none of it was sticking in Elle’s mind.
Jeremy and his act of heroism and bravery stood front and center in her head.
Yes, she understood it was his job to protect and serve, but somehow, she knew that if he wasn’t a cop, he would’ve gone in there for that baby anyway.
The tightness in her chest hadn’t eased much, even though she knew he was safe. Elle wasn’t sure what it meant but didn’t care at the moment. Her main concern was what to do about Jeremy.
She watched him talk to Nico, then on his phone, before Nealy led him over to the back of an open ambulance where Scott and another paramedic were examining the mother and her children.
After a few long minutes, she watched him set a hand on his friend’s shoulder and smile at something the guy must’ve said. Then he walked away with Nealy, who was jotting stuff down on a notepad.
Elle inhaled and blew the air out slowly, feeling her body relax in the process.
He wasn’t hurt. He was okay. Her curse hadn’t reached him. The smart thing would be to cut her ties with the guy. To walk away before trouble started.
Like the fate of the house, Elle’s fate was teetering, only hers wasn’t waiting on the progress of the firefighters. It was waiting for her next move. A move that would shape her future, one way or the other.
If she took the chickenshit route and walked away, Jeremy would be safe. She would be safe, although she’d always wonder how it could have been.
On the other hand, if she gave in to her attraction for the remarkable guy, she risked activating the curse.
Elle blew out another breath.
Get over yourself already, she silently chided. Stop being foolish. Curses aren’t real. It’s just life. Bad luck, but life.
How many times would she have that conversation with herself? It was getting old.
Perhaps it was time she started living it.
Could she do that? Should she do that?
Exhaustion suddenly overtook Elle, seeping into her bones. She was too tired to think anymore. Too tired to stand. She leaned her back against the car and watched Jeremy finish talking to Nealy before they both turned and headed her way.
There was soot on his shirt and smudges on his temple and cheek, making his eyes appear bluer than normal, if that were possible. When his gaze met hers and he smiled, Elle’s pulse leapt, reminding her that she was alive.
This was real, not a nightmare. Not a scene in her book, but real.
It was at that moment that Elle decided to do something she’d never done before…
Let fate direct her next step.
The decision was too much. What if she chose wrong?
Besides, fate was going to do what it wanted anyway. Made sense to just put it in charge and go with the flow.
“Hey, Elle,” Jeremy said, stopping a foot away.
The urge to barrel into him was strong and unnerving. She didn’t barrel. Didn’t need to bask in his warmth and strength.
But, God, she so wanted to.
“How you holding up?” he asked.
The concern in his voice and those gorgeous blue eyes of his were nearly her undoing.
Squaring her shoulders, she ignored her wants and replied, “Me? I’m fine. A little tired, all of a sudden, but fine.”
“That’s the adrenaline wearing off,” Nealy said with a reassuring smile.
Jeremy nodded. “It’s normal.”
Good to know, because she felt far from normal. It felt as if she was in a fog, floundering like an idiot. She didn’t like it. With a sharp mental shake, she refocused on him. “How are you and the poor mother and her children?”
“Scott said they’re alright,” Jeremy replied. “But he’s taking them to the hospital to be safe.”
“That’s good.” She nodded. “And you? You didn’t answer.”
A smile tugged at his lips. “I’m fine. Scott cleared me. Honest. Right, Nealy?”
The woman nodded. “Yes. I made sure Scott checked him out.”
Elle liked Nealy even more.
The woman cocked her head and regarded her through a warm gaze. “Are you up to answering a few questions?”
Jeremy set a hand on Elle’s arm. “It’s just routine stuff.”
There wasn’t anything routine about his touch. It grounded her. That simple, slight contact pulled her out of that stupid fog, and just like that, clarity returned.
She nodded. “Sure.”
“Good.” He squeezed her arm before releasing her. “Archie called a few minutes ago. Your car’s ready. I have to stay here, but Nealy will take you to the garage after you give your statement.”
Again, she nodded, pushing back her disappointment. He was a cop with a job to do. She had one, too. The sooner she got back to the cabin, the quicker she could write down everything that just transpired. What she saw…what she felt. All of it.
It wouldn’t be used in a book. She just wanted to record the events that led to her giving up control of her life and start living.
And as she watched Jeremy walk away, Elle just hoped to God she wasn’t making a mistake.
***
Later that evening, Jeremy glanced at Elle’s notebook on the seat of his Jeep and hoped he wasn’t making a mistake.
He’d found it in his squad car when he’d parked it and went through it an hour ago. Instead of leaving it in his desk and giving it to her when she arrived at the precinct in the morning, he’d taken it home with him.
Stupid, yeah, but he was going with his gut, and his gut told him that he needed to see her tonight.
So, he’d gone home, grabbed a quick shower to wash away the stink of smoke and the soot from his body, and was now pulling up to her cabin in the woods. Unannounced.
And possibly unwanted.
Maybe there was something in her notes she needed for writing tonight, he reasoned in a piss-poor attempt to solidify his excuse for showing up at her place.
It was thin, very thin, but it was all he had…other than the truth.
He needed to see her. Needed to touch her and make sure she wasn’t still going through adrenaline withdrawal alone.
Without an outlet, it could be brutal.
As he exited his Jeep and walked to her porch, notebook in hand, Jeremy knew there was a better than good chance that Elle was fine now.
The woman was strong, stronger than anyone he’d ever known.
Losing both parents and going through life alone, building a career with no support system…
Damn, she was remarkable. He’d felt something tighten in his chest, and it had taken him a moment to speak when she’d recounted it to him in the car earlier that day.
That tightening had yet to ease up.
She’d given him the impression she rarely opened up about her personal life, and the fact Elle had shared something so personal with him made him feel, well, special.
He gave his head a shake, thankful his buddies weren’t privy to his thoughts because they wouldn’t hesitate to call him a pussy.
But special was the only word to encompass how she made him feel. Hell, the woman was responsible for making him feel a lot of things. Like right now. He was worried about her.
Even though today’s events weren’t tragic—thank God—they were still enough to make a person feel as if they’d tripped into another dimension. He hated the thought of her going through that by herself.
Especially when there was no need.
He was there for her.
Literally.
Straightening his spine, Jeremy knocked on the door, ready to be there for her if she wanted. But when two minutes went by and she didn’t answer, despite the fact he was parked behind her car in the driveway, his concern for her tripled.
Jeremy knocked again, louder.
“Elle? Are you there?” he asked. “Are you okay?”
Thankfully, he’d heard her muffled “I’m coming”, and it went a long way to calming the pulse pounding in his ears.
Then the guilt set in.
Shit.
What if she’d been sleeping? Or deep in thought writing?
He hadn’t meant to interrupt any of that and was prepared to tell her when she opened the door, dripping wet in a sexy-as-hell dark blue bikini.
The words left his mind, along with his blood supply, which about-faced and rushed south to his other head. His brain wasn’t the only part of him thickening.
Damn, she was gorgeous, and her slick, curvy body gave him ideas.
Ideas he shouldn’t have. Not that he needed more.
Her auburn hair was piled up onto her head, held there by some kind of clip, but several pieces escaped to stick to her wet neck and shoulders, reminding him of the numerous dreams he had of her over the past year.
Or it could just be Elle. The mesmerizing woman made him think of sex. Raw, wild, unrestrained sex.
“Jeremy…hi,” she greeted, her voice sounding breathless, while her gaze met his for a long, endless beat.
She didn’t ask why he was there. Didn’t ask if he was okay. No, she just looked at him with those gorgeous green eyes, and he found himself wanting to take the plunge and drown.
He also wanted to take her, over and over, until they were both satisfied and completely spent.
Ever since their first kiss, there was a new level to their pursuit and evasion dance. They were playing at something new. He just wished to hell he had a copy of the rules.
“Come on in,” she said with blatant interest in her eyes.
His heart slammed into his ribs. Hard.
Something had definitely changed between them. Again.
They’d always baited each other, never intending to do anything about it.
Until that damn kiss.
Now they were one spark away from a fire that could reduce them both to ashes, but for the life of him, he couldn’t stop himself from stepping over the threshold or remember why this was a bad idea.