Tommy wouldnt give him any info. He and Tommy went way back to when Tommy had sat on the hiring board that had plucked Zach out of the academy, but the inspector wasnt playing favorites. Sharp as hell and a first-rate investigator, he was as overworked as the rest of them and frustrated at Zachs pressing the issue. All week his response had remained the same: Im working on it.
Still, Zach found himself driving to the site, where hed gotten an unhappy shock. Back on the night of the fire hed only had three minutes before the chief had ordered everyone out, just long enough for him to catch sight of two points of origin. One in the kitchen beneath the sink, the other in the kids bedroom inside a wire-mesh trash can.
But now the kids bedroom had been cleaned, and there was no sight of the wire-mesh trash can or flash point marring the wall.
And no sign of an ongoing fire investigation.
What didnt shock Zach was finding Tommy waiting for him at the start of his next shift.
Tommy was a five-foot-three Latin man with a God complex compounded by short-man syndrome. Added to this, ever since his doctor had made him give up caffeine, hed been wearing a permanent surly frown; now was no exception as he stalked up to Zach as he got out of his truck. We need to talk.
Zach shut his door without locking it. No one ever locked their doors in Santa Rey. Still off caffeine, huh?
The Hill Street fire.
Zach sighed. What about it?
I just left the scene.
Okay. Zach nodded and grabbed his gear bag out of the back of his truck. So maybe you can tell me what happened to the second point of origin, the one I saw in the kids bedroom the night of the fire.
Tommys jaw bunched. The fire is out. Your job is done.
Zach turned to look at him, and it was Tommys turn to sigh. We found the point of origin in the kitchen. Beneath the sink. There were rags near the cleaning chemicals, which ignited. The fire alarm was faulty and didnt go off. It wasnt called in by anyone in the house, but by an anonymous tip reporting smoke.
There was a metal trash can in the kids room-
Zach, stop. Tommys voice was quiet but his eyes were intense. The chiefs signing off on the report today. Accidental ignition.
He cant sign off. Its arson.
Im not having this conversation. Tommy turned and started to walk away. Not with you.
Are you kidding me?
Tommy looked back, regret creeping into his expression. Look, youre not the most credible of witnesses right now, okay? There were those two other fires earlier in the season that you cried arson-
Cried arson? What am I, the boy who cried wolf?
Just leave the case to those who are trained, Zach. Ive got a helluva workload right now and I dont need you-
I dont care about your workload. Were all overworked. What I care about is making sure that whoever killed that kid pays his due.
My job, Zach. My job.
But you dont believe it was arson.
Tommy gave him one hard, long stare. I never said that.
But you dont believe it was arson.
Tommy gave him one hard, long stare. I never said that.
What the hell does that mean?
Look, I get that after what happened to your parents, that youd see arson in every fire, but-
No. Oh, hell, no. We dealt with that in my interview, remember? That fire was years ago and has nothing to do with this.
Are you saying that what happened to them when you were a kid has nothing to do with you being a firefighter?
Im saying that I know what I saw on that Hill Street fire.
No, you dont. Tommy scrubbed a weary hand over his face. Listen, you should have several strikes on your permanent record by now, but Ive always stepped in for you. I trusted you, and now Im asking you to trust me.
To do what?
To not go over my head with this. The chief is getting pissed off, Zach. And when hes pissed, he reacts. You know that by now. So do this, for me. He paused. Please. And with that, he walked away.
Zach watched him leave in frustrated disbelief before turning to go inside, coming face-to-face with Brooke.
Hey, she said softly.
Hey. Before he could ask how much shed overheard, she put her hand on his arm and literally gave him a physical jolt. Gave her one, too, by the way she pulled her hand back. Jesus, when they finally touched each other sexually-and they would-he was convinced theyd spontaneously combust.
You okay?
Better now, he thought. Yeah. He took her hand in his, and felt the jolt all the way to his toes. Quite a zap.
Yeah.
Something about her made him forget his troubles. Well, not forget, but be able to ignore them, anyway. Her eyes were soft and also somehow sweet. After nearly three weeks, Number Seven had finally let her guard down, and damn, but it looked good on her. He wondered if she wanted to put that concern to good use, because he had several ideas-
Are you sure youre okay?
Soft, sweet, sexy, and too perceptive. Im fine.
Because its understandable if youre not. Im here if you wanted to-
Oh yeah. He wanted to. He wanted to in his bed, in hers, with her panting out his name as she came all over him.
-talk.
He blinked the sexy vision away. No. Not talk.
She blushed but didnt go there. Im sorry about your parents.
So shed heard everything. It was a long time ago.
And it doesnt change what you saw at that Hill Street fire.
He stared at her, a little stunned. No, it doesnt. He felt his heart engage, hard. Youre different, Brooke OBrien.
Ive heard that before.
Different good. Different great.
She didnt believe him, that was all over her face. If youd gone surfing with me, he said, I could have shown you, proven it to you.
Maybe another time.
Now that, he could get behind. Ill count on it.
With an unsure but endearing nod, she walked away.
Chapter 5
If Brooke had talked with Zach for even another minute, shed probably have thrown herself at him. She wouldnt have been able to help herself. Hed been standing there, looking fiercely unhappy, and her ears had been ringing with all shed heard Tommy say to him-about his parents, about that kid dying, about how Zach needed to stay out of it. God, shed wanted to grab him and hug him and kiss away that look on his face.
Even now she wanted to, hours later, sitting by herself in the house.
Good thing she was off duty for two days. Two days in which to get herself together and find some semblance of control. Because there were other ways to offer comfort than sex, for Gods sake. She could buy a Hallmark card, for instance. Or make cookies.
But neither appealed. No, she wanted to offer a different kind of comfort all together.
A physical comfort.
A grip. She needed one. So she buried herself in packing. By the time her weekend was over, shed gotten to the halfway point, setting aside a shocking amount of boxes to keep.
Keep.
Odd, how she wished she could keep even more, but shed talked herself out of that, going only for the photos and diaries, still surprised at the sentimental impulse. What was she going to do with it all and no house to keep it in? Oh sure, her name was on the deed of this one, but that was temporary.
Like everything in her life.
The answers didnt come, not then, and not when she drove to work for her next scheduled shift. As she got out of her car, her eyes automatically strayed to the hammock, empty of one übersexy firefighter. Not there.
And not washing his rig, half-naked. His rig was parked, though, so she knew he was here, somewhere. Pulse quickening for no good reason other than she was thinking about him, she stepped inside her new home away from home and found a big poster had gone up in the front room, announcing the chiefs upcoming big birthday beach bash.
A party.
She wasnt great at those. Turning to head into the kitchen, she ran smack into a warm, solid chest.
Zachs T-shirt didnt say Bite Me today. It didnt say anything. No, this one was plain black, half-tucked into loosely fitted Levis that looked like beloved old friends, faded in all the stress points. He had his firefighter duffel bag over his shoulder and was clearly just getting here for his shift, same as her.
Hey. It was the low, rough voice that had thrilled her in waaaay too many of her dreams lately. You showed.
At the old refrain said after all these weeks only to make her smile, she found herself doing just that even as her body came to quick, searing life. She had it bad for him, and it was as hot and uncontrollable as a flash fire. I told you, I finish everything I start.
He smiled a bad-boy smile, and touched her, a hand to hers, that was all-and the whole of her melted. Everything? he murmured.
Oh, boy. She recognized the heat in his gaze, and felt a matching heat in her belly.
And her nipples.
And between her legs.
A kiss. She wanted just one kiss. Was that so bad?
Because I think weve started something very interesting here. Something we should finish. What do you think?
Iuh
Im all ears, he murmured and shifted just a little closer. So close that she had to tip her head up to see into his eyes, giving her an up-front and personal view of the scar that slashed his right eyebrow in half.
Her gaze dropped from that scarred brow to his mouth. Way too dangerous. Also too sexy-looking for his own good, for hers-his smile too easy on the eyes, his everything too easy on the eyes.
Brooke?
Dont I hear a fire bell? she managed.
He chuckled softly. No, but nice try. He shifted to let her move past him, but somehow they ended up bumping against each other, softness to hardness. For a brief breath she closed her eyes and allowed herself to absorb it-his scent, his proximity, the feel of him brushing up against her.
Shed had no idea how much shed craved this nearness, a physical touch; that it was him, the object of her secret nighttime fantasies, only intensified the sensation.
He put his hands on her arms, sensuously slid them up and down, and she forgot they were in the firehouse, forgot that they should really make at least an attempt to be discreet. Hell, she forgot to breathe. Zach. She tore her gaze from his and looked at his mouth.
A mouth that let out a low, rough sound of hunger, and then, blessedly, finally, was on hers, and then she was kissing him with her mouth, with her entire body, and most likely her heart and soul, because, good Lord, the man could kiss. He gave her everything-his hands, his body, his tongue-and when they broke apart for air, he stared down at her in astonishment. Damn.