Chapter 10 #2
“Mom. I’m fine. I’m right here.” Damon broke free from Axe, throwing his arms around her while the puppy jumped on their legs.
“Stay back!” Axe called. “It could blow at any minute.”
The activity was crazy, Marty now in control of the fire extinguisher, knocking down the flames. What was that expression? It took a village.
Thank God I had one around me.
Exhaling, I leaned over, resting my hands on my knees. My boots were a little singed and I was covered in muck, but the situation could have been much worse. Thankfully, I was able to cancel out the sound, taking several deep breaths while my pulse still raced.
There were people everywhere, the firefighters trying to get people back so they could bring in the hoses.
“Come on, move back,” I yelled. “Let them do their work.” I moved in front of a few people, walking them further away from the Jeep.
“Wow, buddy,” Viper said. “You know how to start off an evening.” He clapped my arm and I nodded.
“Thanks for the knife.” I closed it before handing it off to him, noticing Damon and the pup were being attended to by an EMT. Where the hell had Violet gone? As soon as I snapped my head toward the vehicle, I noticed she’d retuned to the back, struggling to get something out of the seat.
Was she fucking out of her mind? While it appeared the flames were out, I’d seen one too many vehicle fires in my life.
There was no time to waste. I rushed toward her, grabbing her around the waist as the firefighter made their way through the crowd.
A slight popping sound was nothing I’d wanted to hear. I pitched us farther away just as another pop turned into an explosion.
Before she fell to the ground, I managed to roll us over, forcing me to hit the pavement first with her falling on top.
“Fuck. Fuck!”
“Steel!”
I wasn’t certain who was screaming at us because everything was one big muffle of noise and nothing more. Partially from my heart thudding to the point of being unable to breathe.
Her body covered mine, her face against my chest. A crowd had formed around us, almost as if hopeful they could protect us. Sounds of the firefighters dousing the flames were a noise I’d recognize anywhere.
The next thing I knew, a firefighter was bending down, peering at me with clear amusement on his face.
“Steel. You okay?” Thomas Murphy was with Engine Company Twelve. Somehow, he and his crew often responded to fires at the base of the mountains.
“Never better.” My grunt was full of pain, but we were both alive.
“I gotta admit, from what I heard, you and your brother were heroes.”
“They were,” Violet muttered while keeping her face pinned on my chest. Having her in my arms felt good, but would feel even better if we were away from prying eyes.
“Miss. How about you?”
She slowly lifted her head, her wrinkled nose an indication she could be in any sign of distress. While soot had left a mark on her cheek, she was still the most beautiful woman in the entire damn city.
Even if she’d almost gotten us killed.
“Uh-huh,” she muttered.
The pup appeared over my face, his head hanging down with his ears flopping. There was no chance to react before his big, pink tongue snaked out and was dragged along the entire length of my face. Not just once. He was expressing his appreciation fervently, licking like a ferocious lion.
People around us were laughing.
Including Damon, who was chuckling up a storm.
And pictures were being taken, at least two dozen people with their phones out, catching the moment.
This was… true mortification at its finest. More pictures. More notoriety.
“Let’s get you both up so the EMTs can check you out.” Thomas took her arm while trying not to laugh.
As he pulled Violet to her feet, I happened to notice she’d managed to grab her purse and two of the bags from the backseat. I wondered if she had gold inside one of them. Because that was the only acceptable reason for risking her life.
Axe threw out his arm, helping me to my feet. He shook his head as soon as we were both standing. “That was some heroics, man.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t want to repeat it. I’m glad you were here.”
“Me too. You could have been barbecued. The boy and the dog are cute. The girl’s not too bad either.”
“My new neighbors.”
His eyes slowly opened wide, his laughter booming over the crowd. “Well, think of it this way. Maybe fate really has taken a full step into your life.”
“More like a leap. Excuse me for a minute. I need to talk to her.” I turned away, nodding to the other jumpers who’d dropped by to partake in the chaos, moving through the firefighters who were prepared to clean up the mess. Thank God no other vehicles or building caught fire. Or the gas pumps.
At least she’d pulled in and stopped near the curb. Maybe she’d had her head on straight at that point because she certainly hadn’t a few minutes before.
Violet was sitting on the back of the ambulance, appearing like a lost girl. Damon was getting attention from just about everyone, including the pup. I stopped a few feet away, realizing there were customers from Ziggy’s who’d come out to see what the commotion was all about.
And wouldn’t you know it, a new crew just showed up. This wasn’t anything I wanted to deal with. With two long strides, I pulled her away from the edge of the ambulance and around to the side, shoving her gently against the exterior.
Her eyes were open wide, her lips pursed open.
“What in the hell did you think you were doing?” I had both hands planted beside her on the ambulance, trying to figure what the hell to say to get through her head how much danger she’d placed herself in.
“What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean. You almost got yourself killed by going back to your vehicle. Is your stuff actually worth almost losing your life, for your son to almost lose his mother? Is it?”
Her body jerked as if I’d hit her. When she didn’t answer right away, I slammed my hand on the ambulance, hissing at the same time. Closing my eyes, I did my best to control my anger, but it was tough. Very tough.
Overhearing her heavy breathing reminded me how terrified she must be. “I thought the fire was out.”
“Well, you thought wrong!”
A moment of silence passed between us. Grousing wasn’t going to help the situation, but she needed to understand how tenuous the situation was.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I just… I need my vehicle and I’m here in a new city and everything I have is in my purse. I’m sorry.”
Her voice was lilting enough, but when she placed her hand on my chest, all the anger I had slipped away. “Damn it, Violet.”
“I’m truly very sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Now, I just don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“Insurance will pay for the damn Jeep. They should be able to get you a rental car.”
“Not fast enough. I’ll just rent one. I need to work. I have to keep going.”
Whatever her financial situation, it wasn’t good.
Plus, she wasn’t the kind of woman to take handouts.
She needed to learn that sometimes, that was all a person could do.
Shit. How the hell was I supposed to help her?
I found it fascinating that I didn’t want to leave her here, certainly not with what had happened.
At least I knew of one thing I could do, although she’d hate the idea. “You can borrow my truck.”
“No, that’s silly. You don’t know me and we don’t like each other, but thank you. Besides, you need to be able to get around town yourself.”
“Don’t worry. I have several vehicles. You are not going to say no. Period. Don’t think about it.”
We stood where we were with her hand wrapping around my shirt and both of mine on the ambulance. But I pulled one away, gingerly slipping it across her cheek where soot covered her face.
“You’re very sweet,” she said in a quiet voice, the sound mostly drowned out by the continued revelry of the crowd. This was the most excitement they’d had in a long time. “When you’re not holding a gun.”
“Nah. Trust me. You were spot on the first time. I’m generally known as an asshole.
” I couldn’t help myself, rubbing my thumb back and forth across her soft skin.
Seeing her inside the locked vehicle had just about kicked my ass.
I’d saved a few victims in my life even though my job was generally surrounded by a forest full of trees.
But there’d been a few campers I’d rescued along with my team.
None had felt so personal.
“Hey,” Axe said as he rounded the corner and I didn’t need to be looking at him directly to know he was confused with what he was seeing. “Um, the police have arrived. They want to talk to… Violet. Right? Violet?”
She nodded without looking at him.
“Yeah, her name is Violet,” I answered for her, even though he already knew.
“So, I’ll just be going,” Axe said, all while standing right where he was.
I finally broke myself away from staring into her eyes and tossed him a look. “Tell them she’ll be right there.”
“I’m pretty sure they’re gonna want to talk to you as well, bro.”
“Fine. I’ll be there in just a minute.”
She slowly turned her head toward him, her back now leaning against the vehicle. “You’re the rodeo star. Right?”
He puffed up, his eyebrows hitching together. “Yeah, I am. How did you know?”
“Social media.”
“I told you those pictures would be a pain in our ass,” I growled in response while he was still beaming from someone recognizing him.
“I don’t know,” Axe said in a way that had me glaring at him. “Could be a good thing.”
After laughing to himself, he finally left. “Sorry about that. He enjoys being the center of attention.”
“You don’t like having people fawn all over you?” she asked.
“Not even a little. Social media is nothing but a platform for vain people to act as if they’re important.”
“Ouch. So he’s your brother.”
“Yeah. He’s my younger brother.”
Her exhale was calmer than before and she let go of my shirt, pressing her fingers down my chest while her eyes flitted to follow the trail. “I guess I need to talk to the police.”
“I’ll take you home after that. Okay?”