Playing With Fire (Firehouse Fourteen Book 2) (8 page)

Funny, but she hadn't even seen Rick come out from the back. And now she wondered how much trouble she'd get in for what just happened, for not being able to control it.

She let out a deep breath and shook her hand, wincing at the stab of pain in her wrist. Just what she didn't need.

"Here, let me look."

Jay was suddenly beside her, one arm wrapped around her shoulders in a comforting hug as he took her wrist in his hand. She fought the urge to drop her head on his shoulder, surprised at how suddenly she had started shaking, like she was outside in subzero temperatures.

She tried pulling her wrist from his hand but didn't have the energy, not when his hand was so warm. His entire body was warm and she stepped closer, trying to quell her sudden shivering. His arm tightened around her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" His voice was soft against her ear. She looked up at him and tried to give him a small smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Really."

The look in his eyes intensified, warming her as much as the heat from his body, and she leaned even closer to him. She felt his lips brush against her temple before he gently lifted her wrist. She tried not to wince as his body went rigid next to hers, jolting her arm, and she figured she must not have done a very good job of hiding that brief flare of pain.

Angie looked up, ready to reassure him that she was fine, but finally noticed that he wasn't looking at her—or her wrist. He was looking off to her side, his jaw clenched, some of the color draining from his face.

And that's when she remembered they weren't alone. That they were in a bar—the bar where she worked—and that Jay was here with his shift.

With her brother.

She stiffened and turned her head in the direction Jay was looking, the breath catching in her throat sharply enough to make her choke.

Dave was less than a foot away, his expression hard as he stared at both of them with fury in his dark eyes.

"What the hell are you doing with my sister?"

"Dammit, Moore, I want an answer. Now."

The demand echoed around the engine room, bounced off the equipment, and came back to ring in Jay's ears. He clenched his jaw and stepped away from Dave, knowing it didn't matter how loud the man got.

Everyone in the station already knew exactly what was going on. Maybe not exactly. But they knew something was going, no doubt picking up on the tension that had settled over the station since the start of their shift. Not to mention the yelling.

Jay had to give them credit, though, because nobody was asking questions or paying them much attention. At least, not anymore.

Because the entire confrontation had been going on all day, interrupted by medic calls and fire calls. It was nearly shift change, and Jay really hoped for another call just so he could avoid what was coming.

But it looked like his luck had just ran out.

"Dave, I told you before, I'm not getting into this with you. Not now, and especially not here."

"Bullshit. This is my sister we're talking about."

"Is it? You sure you're not more worried about yourself?"

"Cut the crap. This has nothing to do with me, and everything to do with Angie."

"Then what did she tell you?"

"That's none of your damned business."

Jay wondered if Dave was telling him what he thought—or what Angie had told him. Seeing how Dave had been acting all day, he imagined it was probably a little bit of both.

And dammit all to hell, anyway. If he hadn't been so stupid last night, this wouldn't even be happening. But he had seen that asshole grab her and he nearly lost it. If Rick hadn't shown up to toss the guy and his friends out, there was no telling what might have happened.

And not just with Jay, with all of them. Including Dave. Because everyone had suddenly been in a mood to fight after seeing what had happened.

And even that would have been fine, if it had ended there. But Angie had looked upset and Jay hadn't even stopped to think, just immediately went over to comfort her. Putting his arm around her shoulders had been instinct, dropping a kiss on her temple had been instinct. He hadn't even thought about where he was or who else was there, he had just acted.

And now the shit had just gotten real.

Jay walked over to the engine and made himself look busy, opening cabinets, checking tools, whatever he could find. But Dave followed him.

"Dave, I am not getting into this."

"You don't have a choice. I want to know what the hell is going on between you and Angie."

"Nothing, Dave. Okay? Nothing. Now will you just get the hell away from me?"

"It didn't look like nothing last night."

"Christ Dave, she was upset and I gave her a hug. That's it. Let it go." Jay's own temper was bubbling to the surface and he needed to get away, quick. Yeah, he understood Dave's anger, even sympathized with it, which made the entire scenario that much worse.

Because this was exactly what Jay had been afraid would happen.

The worst part of it was that he wasn't sorry. Yeah, he sympathized with Dave's anger, but that didn't mean he was going to take any more of his harassment so he turned away, intent on just walking away.

Dave grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around. "I'm not done with you, Moore."

Jay's temper frayed and he pushed Dave's hand from his shoulder, stepping back as he did so. "Dave, I said let it go."

Dave's face was red with fury and he took a step closer, his finger nearly hitting Jay in the chest. Jay clenched his jaw and took another step back, certain his own face was nearly as red as Dave's.

"Are you fucking my sister?"

Jay didn't even think, just plowed straight into Dave with both arms outstretched, pushing him into the side of the engine. Noise exploded in the engine room around them but Jay ignored it, ignored the hands that were grabbing his arms, ignored the bodies that were suddenly between Dave and him.

"Who the hell do you think you are? You don't talk about your sister like that!"

"She's my sister! If I find out you so much as touched her—"

"Go to hell!"

"Knock it off. Both of you!"

Mike stepped between them, separating them with one hand on each of their chests. Her face was flushed with anger and she took turns giving them both a dirty look. Hands tugged at his shoulders again and he turned to see Jimmy behind him, pulling him back. He shrugged off the man's hold then straightened his shirt, staring at Dave.

His brows were lowered in a severe frown, his dark eyes glinting with anger. He pushed Mike's hand away from his chest and stepped to the side, his eyes never leaving Jay's. He raised one hand and pointed his finger in Jay's direction.

"Stay the hell away from sister!"

"Fuck you!"

"Dammit, Jay, enough!" Mike grabbed his arms and pulled him to the rear of the engine as Jimmy started after Dave.

"I'll go try to calm him down."

Mike rolled her eyes after him, then turned back to Jay, her expression stern. She finally shook her head and pushed Jay toward the back step. He caught himself before he tripped, then slowly sat down, still breathing heavy.

"I don't want to hear it, Mikey."

She looked at him with feigned shock. "Who, me?" She sat sideways on the back step, pulling one knee into her chest while the other swung back and forth. Neither one of them said anything for a minute and Jay was thankful for the brief silence so he could gather his thoughts.

"So what's going on, Jay? Are you dating Angie?"

"We've been seeing each other for a couple of weeks, yeah."

"And?"

Jay turned to face her and saw the unasked question in her eyes: was he sleeping with her? He didn't say anything, but she must have seen the answer on his face anyway because she let out a long breath and shook her head.

"What are you going to do now?

"About what?"

Mike raised her brows in his direction then waved her arm around. "About this. About Dave."

"Damn if I know." Jay rubbed his hands across his face then leaned his head back. That was the problem right there—he really didn't know what he was going to do. They were more than coworkers, they were friends. Family. Or rather, they had been friends. And he no idea what to do now.

"What about Angie?"

"What about her?"

Mike studied him in silence, her face carefully blank. She was quiet for so long that Jay wondered if he missed something. But Mike just shook her head and dropped her gaze on a sigh.

"What I meant was: are you going to see her again, or are you going to move on?"

"What the hell kind of question is that?"

"Jay, I love you dearly so don't take this the wrong way but—you don't exactly have a reputation for long-term relationships."

"Really, Mike? Thank you so much. You know, I'd expect something like that coming from any of the other guys but not you. So thanks." He moved, fully intending to stand up and walk away, but was stopped by Mike's hand on his arm.

"Jay, that's not how I meant it and you know it."

He brushed her hand off but didn't move. "No, I don't."

"Jay, this is me you're talking to, okay? How many times have you said yourself that you're not interested in a relationship? That you have 'encounters', not 'dates'?" Her voice was quiet, understanding. Not judging, just stating fact. But it still upset him to hear his own words thrown back at him. And if it had been anyone besides Mikey saying it, he would have stormed off and taken his aggressions out on the punching bag downstairs in the gym.

But it
was
Mikey. And they
were
his words.

He shook his head, not sure what to say. No, he had no interest in a relationship. He tried that once and it hadn't ended well, and he had never looked back. He had also never looked forward, never thought about looking forward. He was quite happy just living day-to-day.

And Mikey, of all people, knew that. Which was the only reason he didn't say anything.

"So, about Angie. Is she just another encounter?"

"No." Jay shook his head. "No, she's not." And it was the truth. He wanted to keep seeing her, liked just being around her. And he wanted to keep getting to know her better. He had no idea where things would lead, just knew that he liked being around her. Liked being with her. Why did that have to be so terrible?

Mike watched him, her head tilted to one side as she studied him. "Jay, are you sure you're not interested in her just because...I mean, it's not a case of forbidden fruit, is it?"

"Christ Mikey, really?"

She leaned back and held her hands out in surrender, but the small grin on her face let him know that she wasn't really worried about upsetting him.

But was she right? Was this attraction to Angie nothing more than wanting something he wasn't supposed to have? He closed his eyes, recalling Angie's face and her smile. Her laughter. The sound of her voice when they talked for hours. He shook his head. No, if it was a case of wanting something he couldn't have, he mostly certainly wouldn't be thinking about her face or her voice. And if it was a case of wanting something he couldn't have, well, he certainly wouldn't have gotten so pissed off last night. And he certainly wouldn't be worrying about when he could see her again.

He opened his eyes and looked over at Mike, shaking his head in answer to her question. "No, it's not a case of forbidden fruit. I like her, Mikey. Why does that have to be a bad thing?"

"I never said it was. I just want to make sure you know what you're getting into, especially with Dave. You're going to have to sit down and talk to him, Jay, regardless. And if you keep seeing Angie without talking to him? Well, things could get even uglier."

"Yeah. Yeah, I know."

She stood up and stretched, then punched him in the shoulder as she walked by. "Call me if you need to talk."

Jay watched her leave, knowing she was right. He needed to talk to Dave. But what was he supposed to say? And what about Angie? For all he knew, she might not be interested in seeing him again, especially if Dave had given her half as bad a hard time as he had given Jay.

And that thought worried the hell out of him.

A light breeze blew through the open window. The sheer curtains billowed into the room, letting more of the early evening sun into the room. Angie twisted her head to the side and thought about getting up to pull the shade.

She didn't have the energy.

And her wrist hurt.

Of course, if she hadn't been holding the e-reader in her left hand, her wrist wouldn't hurt as much as it did. But she had nothing better to do today, and wanted to just laze around and enjoy a quiet Sunday. So far, she had been successful.

If you didn't count all the times she had looked at her phone, wondering if Jay would call.

Or if she should call him.

Which wasn't really fair, because he had called her once, earlier in the day, to check on her and make sure she was okay. And then they had just talked. Not about anything in particular, just comfortable conversation, getting to know each other a little more.

That didn't mean she didn't want to talk to him again, though. She laughed at herself. She really was acting like a teenager when it came to Jay, and she wasn't sure why.

The sound of a car pulling into the driveway drifted through the window and Angie held her breath, listening. She winced at the sound of his truck door slamming and knew that any peace and quiet she might have been enjoying was coming to end.

Her brother was home, and from the sound of the front door slamming as well, he wasn't in a good mood.

Not that that surprised her, considering the mood he had been in last night. But it had been too late when she got home last night for anything more than a brief argument, stopped short when she slammed her bedroom door in his face. It was too much to hope there wouldn't be a full interrogation now.

Her ears traced the sound of Dave's heavy footsteps through the house. Through the dining room and into the kitchen, back through to the living room to the stairs and up. And finally to the hallway, stopping outside her door.

Dave leaned against the doorjamb, his dark eyes watching her. He didn't bother coming in, just stood right outside the door and stared at her. His jaw was clenched tight, stress deepening the lines around his eyes and mouth. She was suddenly surprised to realize how attractive he was, with his large frame, square jaw, and deep-set eyes. And she wondered why he never really dated, at least that she knew of. Or why he never did more than hang out with his friends from work.

He used to, years ago. Going to this party or that, dating here and there. Nothing serious. But not lately. In fact, he hadn't really done much socializing at all since he had come back from his deployment with the Reserves two years ago, and she didn't know why she had never realized that before.

She studied him in the quiet that fell between them. And for a brief second, Angie thought he looked...older. More tired. She blinked and the thought disappeared, helped along by her pushing it from her mind.

She didn't want to think of her brother as vulnerable, didn't want to think about him with any kind of sympathy. Not when she knew the interrogation was getting ready to start.

"I want you to quit working at the bar." His voice was flat, steady, and left no room for argument. It hadn't been the first thing she expected to hear from him, but she still wasn't surprised.

And she didn't bother to answer, just shook her head and pretended to turn her attention back to the e-reader.

"Angela, that wasn't a request. You're quitting."

"Or what? You're going to lock me in my room?"

"It's too dangerous. Last night proved that."

"Oh please. Last night was a fluke. Todd was drunk. If you and your friends hadn't overreacted, things would have been fine." Angie inwardly winced as the words left her mouth. Why had she mentioned his friends? She had just given him the perfect opening to the conversation she least wanted to have.

"Speaking of my friends." She didn't miss the heavy sarcasm in the word. "Stay away from Jay. He's no good for you."

Angie pushed herself to a sitting position but stopped herself from completely standing. If she did, she'd just go over and slam the door in Dave's face. And as much as she didn't want a confrontation, she knew it was coming. The longer they put it off, the worse it would be.

"You have to stop telling me what to do, Dave. I'm not a little kid. I don't need you to tell me what's good for me."

"Somebody needs to because you sure as hell can't figure it out on your own!" He snapped his mouth shut, the shout still ringing in the room. He stared at her then shook his head. "Dammit, Angie, the man has a string of women in his wake. He can't keep it in his pants, and once he has something, he moves on to the next one. Can't you see I'm just trying to save you some heartache?"

A sharp pain twisted through her stomach at the words, like someone had just shoved a knife deep inside her gut. But she pushed it away, refusing to let Dave's accusation color her judgment. Yes, she had known Jay dated a lot of different women, just from watching him bring a few of them to the bar. That didn't mean he was using her.

Especially since she was the one who had thrown herself at him. But she wasn't about to tell her brother
that
.

"Dave, it's not up to you. This is my life, you need to let me live it."

"Not when it's so obvious that you can't be trusted to make the right decisions."

"Really? You can stand there and accuse me of that?" She pushed herself from the bed and closed the distance between them with a few angry steps. "How can you even say that? I'm twenty-four years old, Dave. I have a bachelor's in Animal Sciences that I got on a full ride scholarship! I'm finishing my third year at Vet school, and I'm working and putting myself through it. And I'm doing it by myself, just like I did everything myself for eighteen months while you were gone! So don't sit there and tell me I can't be trusted to make the right decisions!"

Dave stepped back, shock at her outburst clear in his eyes. Shock, and something else. Surprise? Or hurt? No, she refused to think that anything she had said could hurt him.

He stared at her, then leaned forward the barest inch, just enough to make her step back. Anger tightened his face and laced his voice when he spoke. "You are still my sister and if I see you making a mistake, I will damn well tell you, and then do everything I can to make sure you don't. And I'm telling you, Jay is a mistake. Now stay away from him."

He turned on his heel and stormed away, his steps heavy on the stairs. The front door slammed and a minute later she heard his truck start, rubber squealing against the blacktop driveway as he left.

Angie didn't move for a long minute. Her heart pounded in her chest and something sour rolled in her stomach. From their fight? She thought so. She couldn't remember the last time they had shouted at each other like that, if they ever had.

Dave was her brother, the only close family she really had. They had picked up the pieces together after their father took off, almost ten years ago. In a lot of ways, Dave had almost been like a father to her, getting her through those rough high school years, worrying about her dating, giving her a shoulder to cry on when the guy she wanted to go to prom with asked someone else instead.

Then he had left, called to active duty for eighteen months, and Angie had been alone again—but she was older, more than capable of handling everything herself. Part of her worried that Dave felt guilty for leaving her, which made no sense to her even though she knew her brother well enough to understand why he'd feel that way.

And when he came back, he tried to act like nothing had changed. But she knew. She could tell. He wasn't quite the same. A little quieter, a little more reserved—and entirely too quick to assume responsibility for everything and everyone else.
Too
worried,
too
protective. It was almost like he felt he had to be, to make up for the time he'd been gone. But even then, they were still close, still leaned on each other. They were still a family, arguments and all.

She didn't like the thought that anything could come between them, not after everything they'd been through. She walked back to the bed and sat on the edge, her hand pressed against her middle.

Was that why he'd said all those things about Jay? Was he just being overly protective again? Worrying too much? Or was it something more? Was it something he knew that she didn't?

She pressed her hand more tightly against her stomach and took a deep breath, trying to calm the sour twisting that was slowly rising inside her. And she wondered if the awful twisting feeling in her stomach was from the fight with Dave—or from the awful things he had said about Jay.