Backdraft: Emergency Love Series, #2

By Lexy Timms and Autumn Gaze

What fire does not destroy, it hardens…

 

Another arsonist has picked up where the last one left off. Only this new guy is even more dangerous and doesn't care whether the buildings he burns are occupied or not. Hundreds of people are put in harm's way, and it's up to us to rescue them.

 

My firefighter boyfriend Travis—a calendar model with a sweet spot for dogs and lazy days in bed—is the last, best defense against the criminal. Every time we get a call, I hold my breath and hope that I'll see him again. And when we find our way back into each other's arms, we hold on tightly, racing to get all our loving in before the dawn.

 

That's when the bad guy starts leaving clues at the crime scenes. Symbols drawn in spray paint that I've only seen once before.

 

Emergency Love Series

• Flatline
• Backdraft
• Overtime

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dark Shadow Publishing
• Release date: Apr 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215354636

Lexy Timms

"Love should be something that lasts forever, not is lost forever."  Visit USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR, LEXY TIMMS https://www.facebook.com/SavingForever *Please feel free to connect with me and share your comments. I love connecting with my readers.* Sign up for news and updates and freebies - I like spoiling my readers! http://eepurl.com/9i0vD website: www.lexytimms.com Dealing in Antique Jewelry and hanging out with her awesome hubby and three kids, Lexy Timms loves writing in her free time.  MANAGING THE BOSSES is a bestselling 10-part series dipping into the lives of Alex Reid and Jamie Connors. Can a secretary really fall for her billionaire boss?

Book preview

Emergency Love Series

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Flatline

Backdraft

Overtime

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Backdraft Blurb

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What fire does not destroy, it hardens...

Another arsonist has picked up where the last one left off. Only this new guy is even more dangerous and doesn’t care whether the buildings he burns are occupied or not. Hundreds of people are put in harm’s way, and it’s up to us to rescue them.

My firefighter boyfriend Travis—a calendar model with a sweet spot for dogs and lazy days in bed—is the last, best defense against the criminal. Every time we get a call, I hold my breath and hope that I’ll see him again. And when we find our way back into each other’s arms, we hold on tightly, racing to get all our loving in before the dawn.

That’s when the bad guy starts leaving clues at the crime scenes. Symbols drawn in spray paint that I’ve only seen once before.

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Contents

Emergency Love Series

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Backdraft Blurb

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Emergency Love Series

Department of Defense

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Chapter 1

Travis

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I was caught up in a daydream and not paying attention to my girlfriend as she walked through the specifics of the crime. Her hot little body, wrapped up in her policewoman’s uniform, was just as sexy as the day we’d met. The only difference was that now we were a couple.

I’d spent so long trying to convince her to sleep with me, it never occurred to me that I would be successful. She was gruff and commanding, not the kind of woman who would easily fall for a man’s charms. But here we were, working on the case that had brought us together.

I couldn’t focus on what she was saying, though. Domestic images were running through my head, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about them. Memories of Alaina on the couch curled up with a cup of coffee interfered with the task at hand. Things were getting more and more comfortable between us, like a runaway freight train that had only one destination: marriage.

Because Vince admitted that Rossi was the boss off the record, we have to find some other way to tie him to the scenes, Alaina was saying, pointing at the map I had taped to the wall behind my desk.

I had my own collection of evidence in my office on the second floor of the firehouse. I was functioning as assistant fire chief and fire inspector until they could hire someone else. But the wheels at the city government’s office turned slow, and I wasn’t expecting any help for at least six months, if not a year. It took them that long to get through the vetting process, and it didn’t help that the budget was tight.

Why not just use his statement? I asked, playing devil’s advocate.

I promised him that I wouldn’t, Alaina said.

I don’t remember that, I grumbled, picking up a stale cup of coffee and sniffing it. It seemed warmish, though I couldn’t recall exactly how long it had been since I poured it. Taking a sip, I decided it wasn’t worth the trouble and set it back down again.

You were there, she argued. It was the only way he was going to talk.

Yeah, but he should have known that you weren’t going to keep his confidence, I said.

Oh, but I am, she retorted. What’s wrong with you?

Nothing, I snapped, standing up to stretch my legs. We’re getting nowhere.

She turned away from me, showing off her toned backside. I groaned internally. I was trying to find a reason not to fall head over heels in love with her, and she wasn’t making it easy.

We know that Red Haired, Inc. is the owner of all five of the buildings that have been burned so far. One six months ago, three just recently, and the warehouse that we stopped Vince from torching. Alaina worked her way through the evidence, staring at the photos in front of us. And we know that Rossi means ‘red-haired.’

But if we don’t use Vince’s confession, then that doesn’t leave us with much, I argued. Just because he was your partner doesn’t mean he’s not a criminal.

I know, she admitted, turning back to face me. But I can’t ignore years of working with him and just throw him to the dogs. What if word got back to Rossi that Vince talked? His life might be in danger.

I wanted to say that Vince had made his own bed and should have to lie in it, but I could tell that was the wrong idea. She was trying to protect everyone she cared about, even the man who lit the fires that had caused millions of dollars’ worth of damage. At least no one had been killed. The closest any of the arsons had come to taking a life was at High in the Sky luxury apartments where the chief’s mother was living. But we’d managed to get everyone out in time.

You don’t think he timed the fires so that most people would be at work? I asked.

I think he did, Alaina confirmed. I don’t know if Rossi ordered it that way or not, but I know Vince wouldn’t hurt anyone if he wasn’t up against a wall. It was probably his way of minimizing the damage.

I wasn’t convinced. No matter how friendly Alaina felt toward the guy, he was still culpable. He was mobbed up, and just because his fires hadn’t hurt anyone didn’t mean that the potential wasn’t there. If we hadn’t shown up to evacuate the people at High in the Sky, there would have been at least half a dozen deaths on his hands. I wasn’t feeling charitable, and I didn’t care if Vince got what was coming to him.

Alaina checked her smart watch. Oh, I need to go check on Duke.

Duke was her police-issued canine friend who had been shot in the line of duty. By Vince, no less, which made it particularly excruciating to see Alaina tie herself in knots over the guy. Duke could have been killed, and the fact that he wasn’t was only proof that there were good people in the world, and that Vince Benton was not among them.

I’ll go, I said reluctantly.

We were trying to co-parent two dogs, and it was working out better than I had expected. Officially Duke was hers and Duchess was mine, but the royal couple didn’t like being separated, so most often they were at one or the other of our places. I had an apartment that allowed dogs, although technically they were only aware of the one canine resident.

Alaina had an apartment over her mother’s garage, where she had access to a fenced-in backyard with a dog house. But at the moment, both of the four-legged family members were at my place.

Alaina’s relationship with her mother was complex, and I was sure there was a lot more to it than I even knew. Sometimes it seemed like Alaina was the parent and her mom was a grown-up child who couldn’t be left alone. She was very delicate when it came to the woman, and I didn’t have the heart to ask her why. It had something to do with losing her husband almost ten years ago. Maybe what had happened was so bad she’d never gotten over it.

No, it’s fine, Alaina insisted. He’s my responsibility.

We’re sharing responsibility, I reminded her.

I have to get back to the police station anyway, she argued, not wanting to give up her chance to sneak in a visit with Duke. She loved that dog more than life itself. Sometimes it felt like there were three of us in the relationship.

She leaned down to kiss me, but I pulled away. I didn’t want my friends at the firehouse to catch wind of our romance. Sure, everyone knew, but knowing and seeing us make out were two different things.

The guys had a tendency to be crude, and while I normally didn’t mind their good-natured teasing, it made me uncomfortable to talk about Alaina that way. She wasn’t just some girl I’d hooked up with. She was someone I could potentially see myself settling down with. That meant keeping her above reproach in the workplace and only tearing her clothes off in the privacy of our own bedroom. It was a sacrifice I was willing to make, but not one I had communicated to Alaina.

She frowned, not understanding why I wouldn’t kiss her. I saw hurt float through her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by resolve. She grabbed her gun and her wallet, fitting them both into their appointed slots.

She had just recently been given the weapon back. In the struggle behind the warehouse, Vince had taken it and used it to shoot Duke. There was an investigation, and Alaina was forced to sit through several interviews and a training session, but they finally cleared her to carry again.

I’ll text you, she said curtly before walking out the door.

I watched her go, thinking about all the complications that a real relationship brought into my life. Before I met Alaina, I didn’t think I was ready. I still wasn’t sure, but I cared about her so much I’d decided it was worth giving us a shot.

Thinking about my love life wasn’t getting me anywhere. Alaina was right; we needed some actionable intel on Rossi to prove that he was the man calling the shots. If Alaina wasn’t willing to use Vince’s statement to connect the dots, that meant we needed fresh evidence.

Rossi’s name was familiar. He owned the Italian restaurant that was the talk of the town and numerous other business ventures across the city. I was sure I’d heard about him in connection with some Hollywood movie stars, but I couldn’t remember where. An Internet search was in order. I needed to gather all the information I could about the man to make a profile that would help us take him down.

I wasn’t any kind of an expert, so after an hour’s worth of data mining, I had only a glimpse of what was probably a nationwide organization. According to my brief research, Rossi had connections as far away as New York, but his home base was here in Denver, Colorado.

He had settled in the area more than twenty years ago and built his businesses with the help of lots of influential local figures. The mayor, the utilities companies, and the local sports teams were all in bed with the guy.

I knew that the newspapers were only going to give me half of the story, so I logged off to try a different approach. Chief Jones had been known to move in some impressive circles. At least as impressive as they got in Denver.

I found his door open, as it often was. He was working on his laptop, doing whatever it was that demanded his attention most days. As the assistant chief, I had my own tasks that were mostly accomplished in the real world. Double-check the checklists, make sure all the trucks were ready to deploy and came back in one piece, printing up the rotation schedules, all those things were my responsibility. The chief was constantly worried about the budget and public relations, two things that I was happy to ignore.

You got a minute? I asked him.

Sure, he responded, closing his laptop. I’m starting to go cross-eyed anyway.

I closed the door, mostly because I wasn’t sure how far-reaching Rossi’s tentacles were, not because I suspected any of my fellow firefighters of being corrupted. Taking a seat opposite my boss, I ran a hand across my chin, wondering how to begin.

Alaina’s ex-partner was the man behind the arsons. I opened with information that was common knowledge.

I know, the chief responded, shaking his head. Damned shame. I knew Vince back when he was a good guy. He brought down a lot of criminals. Those 7-11 burglaries, he was responsible for locking that psycho up.

I nodded, not really wanting to revisit Vince Benton’s greatest hits. He told us in private that it was Silvio Rossi who was behind the fires.

The chief sat back, musing over the new information as if it was a bite of a familiar pastry with a strange taste. I couldn’t see what was going on in his head, but I knew that he was lining up all the things he already knew to see if they made sense.

What can you tell me about Rossi? I pushed, ready to crack the case wide open.

Not a lot, the chief said, dashing my hopes shortly after they’d taken flight. I’m sorry. I can see you’re disappointed.

Can you tell me anything?

I saw him at the grand opening to an office building about seven years ago. You know he’s got a construction company. They do commercial construction, but they also handle residential buildings. He did that development out on Route 13. The chief picked up a pencil from a cup on his desk and tapped it against the shell of his laptop. Does that help?

When you saw him, what were your thoughts? I asked, knowing that there was little to go on but trying to make it stretch.

I wouldn’t have thought he was capable of arson, if that’s what you’re asking, the chief responded. He seemed like a nice guy, a family guy.

I looked away. ‘Family guy’ could mean a lot of things. It was possible that we were talking about organized crime, but I wasn’t going to put voice to that suspicion until I had something more to go on. A series of burnings for the insurance money smelled like the mafia. So did lucrative construction companies and friends in high places.

How are things between you and Alaina? The chief surprised me with a personal question.

Fine, I muttered. Sometimes he crossed the line between friendship and the brotherhood of firefighters. It was easy to do since we lived in such close quarters for much of the time. But I preferred to keep my relationship with Alaina to myself, and it really wasn’t any of the chief’s business.

It seems like there’s some tension, he continued, oblivious to my desire for privacy.

We’re working it out, I said, standing up. I was going to put an end to this line of questioning one way or another.

Just don’t let it interfere with the investigation. The chief got straight to the heart of his argument before I could exit.

Roger, I replied, pulling the door open and escaping before he could drag me down into some touchy-feely father-son-like chat. I had work to do, and the longer I dithered worrying about Alaina and our romantic problems, the more likely it was that Rossi would get away with his part in the fires. That couldn’t happen. No matter what, I had to find a way to make sure Rossi was held accountable. Nobody started fires in my town without paying the price.

Chapter 2

Alaina

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I had a key to Travis’s apartment. It was part of the whole dog-sharing arrangement. If we were going to keep our dogs together, and they were going to have the run of both of our apartments, then we each needed to be able to get into the other’s place.

It was a stupidly exciting trip to Walmart where we got our keys duplicated. Standing at the kiosk, waiting for the machine to carve out a tiny hunk of steel that said I love you, and I trust you, we held hands and tried not to look too sappy. When the keys were done, we exchanged them with a solemnity that would have befitted a wedding.

I didn’t know why he wouldn’t kiss me