“Honey, are you okay?” her father asked. She looked at him, her eye getting more and more swollen by the second.
“I am now. I think everything is going to be just fine from here on out.”
Chapter 16
Serefina awoke, startled as she gasped, thinking she was still caught in the burning building with that madman.
She felt the warm, large palm over her belly above the hospital sheets and tried to open her eyes to see who it was. Her one eye was swollen shut, her side sore after needing stitches, and her entire body a great big ache. She felt like she was ninety years old, but then she locked gazes with Ace.
Her nipples hardened, her pussy swelled with desire, and she smiled softly.
“Hi,” she whispered, then coughed and cringed at the same time.
“Easy, baby.” He helped her to sit up before bringing a straw to her lips. She took a sip and it burned her throat. “Your throat will be sore for a while. You inhaled a lot of smoke. Amazingly there’s no damage to your lungs. They ran a bunch of tests while you slept.”
She looked at his eyes, the gruff along his cheeks and jaw. He appeared exhausted.
“You look tired.”
“I’m good.”
“No, you aren’t.”
“Don’t give me any lip. You’re already in enough trouble with me, Ice, and Bull.”
She felt the tightness in her chest. “For what?”
“For not taking a direct order. Goddamn it, Serefina. We told you to stay by the fire truck. I know you volunteered to help with the injured, but still, it took so much for me to let you go and leave your side. When we realized he had gotten you—”
He ran a hand through his hair and stepped away from the bed. That was when she saw Ice and Bull. They looked like they just woke up, too. She saw the blankets, the multiple chairs surrounding her bed, and realized they had remained by her side in the hospital. She also could understand their upset and especially Ace’s. He was the Lieutenant in the firehouse. He was a Marine and their leader. He expected his orders to be followed and she hadn’t.
She hated the feeling she had inside. She didn’t want to upset Ace, Bull, or Ice. She knew how much they all suffered from their brother Marco’s death. She was at a loss for words as the tears stung her eyes.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was a trap until it was too late. I guess maybe a part of me was trying to be so independent and strong. I was worried about you guys in that fire, I was thinking about Matt, and I was trying to help.”
They stared at her and she swallowed hard before continuing.
“Come here, Ace.”
He turned to look at her, his hands on his hips, the muscles on his upper arms bulging from the T-shirt he wore. She reached out, cringing slightly from the stinging by her side as she took his hand into hers.
“I love you. I’m alive, and the man responsible for Marco’s death, for Matt’s death and for all those other innocent firefighters and people’s deaths, has been captured. It happened, Ace. I was taken away from all of you, but I was determined to survive.”
“You were cut, beaten, forced to do God knows what by that monster. My God, Serefina, when we got there, we saw you fighting him beyond the flames. It killed me inside that we couldn’t help you. He stabbed you, we saw it.”
“And I fought, didn’t I, Ace? I fought for my life, I fought to see the three of you again.”
“You didn’t trust us to listen to us so we could protect you. It’s like there is still something holding you back from opening your heart to us completely. I don’t get it. I’m trying to, Serefina, but I just can’t grasp what’s holding you back from allowing us all the way in.” Ace stated.
She closed her eyes, felt the tears well up and her chest tighten.
“You’re right. I have been holding back, Ace.”
“Why, baby? You say you love us. You know we love you and have told you. So why are you holding back?” Bull asked.
“I’m not holding back anymore. From here on out, I’ll give you each all of me. This incident, being taken, nearly dying from the hands of that madman put a lot of things in perspective for me. I admit, before tonight, back at my apartment when we found out about this arsonist, I was thinking about Matt, and wondering why he had to die. I was questioning how I could be with the three of you when Matt still held onto a large part of my heart.” She coughed and cleared her throat. It was dry and sounded so hoarse, but she needed to tell them.
They looked at her as if they thought she was ending things with them.
“I realized in that fire, when it came down to living or dying, that I wanted, needed to fight. Not just to bring justice to all those victims like Matt and Marco, but to fight for you. The three of you and the bond we share. Matt will always hold a part of my heart, something deep in my soul because he earned that right, he loved me, and I loved him. But I realized that’s okay. Matt would want me to be happy, to love again, and to feel safe and complete. You three complete me. You have full hold of my heart, and now that this mess is over, I can finally have some closure to it all and begin a new life with the three of you. That’s if you’ll have me,” she said.
Ace took a deep breath and released it, still holding his firm expression while Bull and Ice looked back and forth between her and Ace.
Ace moved closer. “I love you very much Serefina, as do my brothers. I understand that part of you will always love Matt. But we’re here. We’re alive and well, and willing to do whatever it takes to keep you safe and happy. It will take me some time to get over the fact that you denied a direct order during a fire,” he teased, as Ice and Bull chuckled.
“If it makes you happy, you can give me a good old-fashioned spanking when we get out of here. Which I hope is soon.” She held his hand to her chest. His eyes widened but she noticed the anger lessen and was replaced by interest at her proposition.
He bent down so that his face was inches from her lips. His blue eyes roamed over her swollen eye, her puffed out lip, and the bandage on her shoulder. “Baby, you were already going to get a spanking for disobeying my order.” He smiled.
“She gets one from each of us, too,” Bull stated behind Ace.
“I think our woman needs to learn how to be loved by three Marines and firefighters,” Ice added.
“Oh, I think you’re right, and I think it’s going to take lots and lots of discipline until I get it.”
They shook their heads at her as she closed her eyes and smiled best she could with the bruises she had.
When she felt a hand move under the blanket and straight to her ass giving it a squeeze, she squealed. “Ace, someone might come in.”
“Let them, because this ass, this body, and every inch of you belongs to each of us, and no one will ever hurt our woman again.”
* * * *
They all entered the station and the crowd of friends and family clapped and cheered for Serefina. It had been over a week since the incident and her abduction. She received hugs and kisses from family and friends as they gathered around drinking beers and talking about the circumstances surrounding the arsonist. Trent and Buddy, along with the FBI, had gathered evidence proving that Denis and his brother Duggy were responsible for multiple arsons including the fire at the senior living condominium complex. It turned out that the owner of Kent Construction, Kent Frederickson, hired Denis and his brother to destroy the condominium so he could buy Mr. Shannigan out and put up new, high-priced, beach-front condominiums.
Duggy had admitted to the multiple arsons he and his brother conducted. He also gave up a lot of information on his brother Denis and his obsession with fire. There was evidence now that Denis had gone after Marco, and had intended on going after Bull and Ice as well. Denis had become obsessed with Serefina because she had been burned by the fire and survived.
It had been a lot of information to absorb, but Serefina was relieved to have pulled through. Most importantly she had been happy to bring some closure to all the victims’ families as well as for her lovers and for herself.
She took in the sight around the bar with all the memorabilia, documentation of those who fought fires years ago, and those who continued to fight fire every day. It was the first time in a long time she felt the connection, the depth of brotherhood and love that bound all these men and women together. She wondered at first if she would be afraid of fire and the evil power it seemed to possess without the help of an arsonist like Denis. But then she looked around her, at her brothers, her father, her mom, friends, and her lovers, and saw that their profession, their commitment to fighting fire was not something to fear, but something to embrace. For every evil that dared to rear its ugly head, there needed to be a power stronger and purer to bring it down and save the innocent from harm. These men, her men, did that every day of their lives, and she loved them for it.
Ace took her hand and brought it to his lips. “Follow me. I want to show you something.”
She did as everyone continued to celebrate and enjoy the night. As he walked her down a hall and around the corner, he opened a door. He locked it behind them and they entered a dark room that smelled of polish, metal, and something familiar.
A dim light turned on and she was pleasantly surprised to see a fire truck, all shiny and bright, with Ice and Bull standing in front of it.