Jill Shalvis - Flashback

Click.

Oh, God. Heart pounding, she drove straight to Tommy Ramirez’s office. He opened his door at her knock, raising a single eyebrow at the sight of her, then simply sighed when she pushed past him and let herself in.

He had three unopened Red Bulls on his desk. She grabbed one, cracked it open and drank deeply. Eyes closed, she stood there until the caffeine kicked in. “God, I needed that.”

He shut the door, leaned back against it and just looked at her. “That was my Red Bull.”

“Thanks for sharing.”

“You know, most people are afraid of me.”

“Yes, but most people don’t know that once upon a time you paid for my dancing lessons.”

“Keep it down, will you? I don’t want that to get out.”

She shook her head. “Always the tough guy.” Back when Blake had been in the academy, she and her brother had made some financial mistakes. Lots of financial mistakes. Tommy had known Blake’s situation and had lent him some money to see him through fire school, and Kenzie enough to cover her dance lessons.

Not many knew the investigator had such a soft side; he didn’t like to show it. He hadn’t shown it to Kenzie since, but she’d never forgotten. Nor had she ever even briefly considered that it could be Tommy framing Blake. Blake had trusted Tommy, and she did, too.

Tommy tossed the files in his hands to his desk and grabbed one of the remaining Red Bulls. “I put you in jail to keep you safe. I didn’t intend for you to bail yourself out. I wanted to keep you there until this was over, but it’s taking longer than I thought.”

“You put me in jail to keep me safe?”

“Trust me, it made sense to me. Look, I know this has been hard on you.”

“Yes,” she agreed blandly. “It’s been hard on me having my brother blamed for something he didn’t do. It’s been hard on me knowing that all his friends, his coworkers, everyone, believes he committed arson. It’s hard on me knowing that he can’t defend himself. But it’s even harder knowing that you’re not.”

“You don’t understand.”

“Then help me to.”

He opened his mouth, and then shut it. “I can’t.”

“Would you like to know what the hardest thing of all is?” she whispered, her throat tight with a sudden need to cry. “I know he’s innocent and I know that you believe it, too.”

“Kenzie-”

“You can’t talk about it, I get it. But I think I saw Blake alive. Can you talk about that?”

He stared at her. “What?”

“I think I saw him at the docks, in the parking lot.”

Tommy sank to his chair. “What were you doing at the docks?”

“Blake. Alive. Did you hear that part?”

His eyes filled with sympathy. “Kenzie-”

“No.” She let out a low laugh. “Listen to me. I saw him. Plus someone’s been calling me, giving me clues. It’s him, he-”

“What kind of clues?”

“I don’t know, that the key is in the demos, which I don’t get. And that blood is thicker than water. I don’t get that either, honestly.”

Tommy went pale. He came to her, taking her arm and leading her to the door. “I need you to listen to me, okay? Listen very carefully. Go back to Los Angeles. I’ll call you-”

“No.” She pulled free. “I’m not leaving.”

“Yes, you are. If I have to have you arrested again-”

“On what charges?”

“I’ll find something.”

She looked into his face, where his emotions were clear. “Okay, you’re scared for me. I get that. I’ll stay back, I’ll stay clear.”

“Promise me.”

She took a long look at him. “What did I say? Was it the blood is thicker than water thing?”

“Promise me.”

“I promise,” she said very quietly. “Now you promise me this. You’ll come to me as soon as you can with answers.”

“Deal.”

DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS, Santa Rey swelled to upwards of three times its normal population, which was reflected in the increased volume of calls the fire station received. In the past twenty-four hours alone, Aidan had fought a restaurant fire, a storefront fire, a car fire and two house fires, each caused by human stupidity. Then, it happened.

Another explosion.

It thankfully occurred in an empty warehouse this time. No one was injured, except Cristina, who fell off a ladder and hurt her ankle.

Dustin wanted to take her to the E.R. for an X-ray, but in typical Cristina fashion, she wanted to tough it out.

Aidan left them alone to their silent battle of wills, and let himself inside the burned shell of a warehouse.

Tommy was there, with his bag of equipment, his camera out. When he saw Aidan, he jaw ticked. “I’ve got it from here.”

Aidan’s eyes went to the wall in front of Tommy, where the burn marks on the wall indicated a hot flash, and most likely, the point of origin. “I never did get onto Blake’s Girl after the explosion. But I’m going to take a wild guess that you found something like this there, and also at the hardware explosion that killed Tracy.”

Tommy clearly fought with himself, and then finally sighed. “Look, I’m not going to insult your intelligence the way I insulted Zach’s, okay? That was a mistake, shutting him out, because it only made him all the more determined to prove he was right-”

“He was right-”

“Yeah, but I was on it. I told him that, but he didn’t listen, and then he dug harder and got himself targeted by the arsonist.”

“The arsonist? I thought you were so sure it was Blake.”

“I’m not going to insult your intelligence,” he repeated tightly, “by letting you think what we want the general public to think. So know this. I’m going to nail this guy. So when I say back off, do it. Don’t pull a Zach and get yourself hurt.”

Aidan stared at him. “You know there’s someone else.”

“I’m close.”

“You’ve always known.”

Tommy acknowledged this with a slight nod. “So now all you have to do is stay out of my way. And keep Kenzie out of the way as well. No one else dies.”

“Blake’s innocent.”

“That’s one theory.”

“Is it the right theory?”

“Jesus, Aidan.” Tommy scrubbed a hand over his face. “Are you just playing with that girl?”

“No. And how is this any of your business, anyway? A few days ago you were arresting her.”

“Just don’t hurt her. You hear me? Don’t even think about it.”

Aidan let out a low, mirthless laugh. “Trust me, if someone’s getting hurt, it’s going to be me.”

THE MINUTE AIDAN GOT OFF WORK, he went straight home, hoping Kenzie would be there waiting for him. It was with great relief that he pulled in next to her car. Letting himself in, he called out her name.

No response. Dropping his keys on the small desk in the living room, he moved through the house and heard the shower running. Things were looking up if he had a naked, wet, hot woman in his shower. And at that realization, all the myriad things he’d wanted to say to her flew out the window, replaced by memories of how she looked standing under a stream of water.

She hadn’t left…

Weak with relief, he knocked on the bathroom door. “Kenz?”

When she still didn’t respond, he cracked open the door and found her sitting in his shower, face to her knees, arms wrapped around herself.

“Kenzie?”

“I’m fine.”

Yeah. She was fine, he was fine, so they could just all be fine together.

She lifted her head when he opened the shower door but didn’t say a word as he stepped into it with her.

“You’re dressed,” she finally said, inanely.

Yeah, which sucked. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“You’re not going to like it.”

He already didn’t like it, or the clothes now sticking to him like a second skin. “Try me.”

“I saw Blake.”

He blinked away the water in his eyes. “You…saw Blake.” He crouched before her. “In a dream?”

“No.”

“You saw Blake,” he repeated, trying to understand, and failing. “Not in a dream. What does that mean?”

“It means he’s alive.”

KENZIE WATCHED AIDAN try to absorb her news while the shower rained down over top of him, soaking into his hair, his clothes. “I know, it’s a shock,” she said.

The water ran in rivulets down his face. His shirt was plastered to his broad shoulders and arms, his pants suctioned to his legs. There was something about the way he’d rushed in there to save her from her own demons that got to her. More than got to her. He devastated her.

She wasn’t sure how it’d happened, especially when she’d set out to keep her heart safe, but she’d fallen for him all over again.

“You saw Blake,” he repeated.

“He’s alive. He’s the one who’s been calling me.” She stood up. “He’s been alive and didn’t tell me. The men I love suck.”

Aidan hissed out a breath and straightened to his feet as well, towering over her, his broad shoulders taking the beating of the water. “The men you love?”

“Go away.”

“The men you love?” he asked, staring down at her. “Kenz-”

“No.” She shook her head. “Not doing this.” She put her hands on his chest to shove him away but somehow ended up fisting her hands in his drenched shirt and yanking. Surprised, he lost his balance as he came toward her, slapping his hands on the tile on either side of her to hold himself upright. “Kenz-”

She stopped whatever he might have said with her mouth. It made no sense, none at all, but she wanted to have him, needed to have him, right there, right then, if only for this one last time before all hell broke loose.

“God,” he managed on a roughly expelled breath as she kissed her way over his jaw while she fumbled with the buttons on his Levi’s.

His hands left the tile and squeezed her arms. Water was running down his face. “I thought you’d said good-bye to me.”

She’d tried. After all, she had a life to get back to. Too bad she had no idea what that life would entail-but that was a worry for tomorrow. After she figured out the Blake being alive thing. “So I said good-bye. Now I’m saying hello.” Still squished between the wall and Aidan, she slid her hands up his chest, her fingers entwining in his hair as she arched back, her breasts sliding along the material of his wet shirt.

Her nipples hardened and she felt the rough grumble of the groan in his chest. Almost as if acting of their own accord, his hands moved down her sides, to her hips, her bottom, which he roughly squeezed while letting out another of those incredibly arousing groans. “Is there another good-bye coming my way after this shower?”

“Maybe not right after,” she panted because something was happening to her, something that had nothing to do with lust or hormones or getting an orgasm, but far deeper. Far more dangerous. Tightening her fingers in his hair, she lifted his head from her breast and stared into his eyes. There, she could see the reflection of her own. And in that reflection was her heart and soul, her very life.

She loved him. And if they did this, if she let him inside her body again, she’d never recover. She knew it, but like last time, it wasn’t going to stop her. Small wonder when he was against her like a second skin, holding her to the wall. Closing her eyes, she hugged him close, pressing her face to his throat.

Her name tumbled from his lips in a harsh whisper, and then their hands were fighting to get his clothes off, pushing off his shirt, shoving down his jeans. Then he was reaching for those jeans, and the condom in his pocket. He pressed her back against the wall, freeing his hands to skim down her bare, trembling thighs, which opened and wrapped around his waist, bringing him flush to her. In one thrust he was deep inside, and she was…lost?

Not lost.

No, when she was with him, she was found.

AIDAN’S HEART was still thundering in his ears in tune to the water pounding his back when Kenzie slid free of him. Drained, he watched her lean past him and turn off the water. She tossed him a towel, grabbed one for herself and left him alone in the bathroom.

He had no idea what had just happened.

When he managed to dry himself off and walk out of the bathroom, on legs that still quivered, he found her dressing in his bedroom. “Did you get the license of that truck that just hit me?”

She didn’t smile. “I really saw him.”

When he just looked at her, she slipped into her shoes. “And I’m going to go find him.”

“Kenzie,” he said gently. “Blake is-”

“Dead. I know. But he’s not.” She left the room.

With a sigh, he headed to his dresser for clothes. He’d gotten into a dry pair of jeans when he heard her keys jangling. “Kenzie,” he called out. Dammit.