The woman looked gorgeous and capable. But she also looked well trained. Why would a young woman, with no professional need that he knew of, need training like that? He rubbed his chin as he stared at the video, her handing him the gun, him looking like a moron for not taking care of the situation and her storming away. No wonder everyone asked him if he was pissed off. She looked like Wonder Woman, and he looked like a bozo with his head up his ass.
He chuckled to himself. He actually wasn’t pissed off. He was aroused. Holy fucking shit. No wonder the video took off as it had. Michaela looked sexy and capable. It was impressive. She was impressive.
As he thought about it, he realized that it also made him feel jealous. Other men were watching this video. Other men would go to The Station to see her, flirt with her. What if someone tried something? Then what?
His concern was overwhelming, and he glanced at the clock, saw it was nearly lunchtime.
He logged out of his computer and headed out of the office, telling Joyce that he had something to take care of and would be gone for lunch. He headed outside to the patrol truck knowing exactly what he needed to do. He needed to warn a certain little lady that trouble could come looking for her, and perhaps she needed a friend, after all.
* * * *
Michaela was trying to fix the stairs to the attic when she smelled the smoke. As she pulled the ladder down, half of it came off the hinges, making her scream and nearly fall. But the smoke was getting a bit heavier and she wasn’t certain where it was coming from. Assuming that perhaps it had something to do with a faulty wire again, she didn’t want to panic and call the fire department. As she climbed up, cutting her elbow on splitting wood in the frame of the attic, she saw the smoke coming from some kind of unit toward the front part of the house.
Of course it was an extremely hot day. She started coughing as the odd-smelling smoke filled her lungs. Noticing where the fire seemed to be coming from, she crawled closer just as some flames ignited. Michaela screamed and then grabbed for whatever she could reach to try and put out the fire. She was coughing heavily now, but determined to not freak out, even though she thought she heard sirens in the distance. Perhaps one of the neighbors saw the smoke and called.
Michaela swung the large, dirty quilted blanket against the square box, as she pulled up her tank top to cover her mouth and nose. She was trying to not inhale too much of the stuff when she heard the crackling and a pop.
The deep sound of a fire truck’s horn as well as sirens blaring penetrated through the walls of the home. She was relieved, but it seemed the fire that started was dissipating.
“Michaela?” She heard her name through the smoke and her coughing.
“Here!” she yelled out, crawling back toward the opening. She was coughing more and had to stop several times when she saw the firefighter appear by the square opening. She wondered how he or she got up there considering that the ladder was broken, but then she heard a bang and a gushing sound hit the window in the attic. She fell onto her side as water sprayed the window.
“I found someone,” the firefighter yelled. She held the tank top against her mouth and nose as the firefighter came all the way up. Then there was another one.
“Michaela, what the hell are you doing up here?” one yelled and then coughed.
She saw his face, his eyes, as she crawled closer. Her heart raced. It was Hal, and the second firefighter was Billy.
“I think it’s out,” she yelled from under her shirt.
“Get over here. Bear, I’m going to hand her down to you. Then I’ll check the situation.”
Hal reached for her, lifting her in the small tight space as if she were a toy doll. Then he mumbled something she didn’t understand as he lowered her to Bear’s waiting arms. The men had call signs she totally understood why. Bear was as big as one, as he wrapped his arms around her and carried her away down the hallway. It was all clear in the house, just slightly hazy.
“You can put me down. I can walk,” she said and then coughed.
“Are you crazy? You can die from smoke inhalation. You could have passed out up there,” he reprimanded but didn’t let her down. As they came outside, she saw the multiple fire trucks and realized in an instant how serious the fire was. A glance up as she continued coughing, and she saw the fire by the eves of the house, directly where the attic was and where wiring was sparking. As she followed the direction of the hanging wires, she saw it lead below to the front porch.
That was where she’d fixed the light that kept blinking last night. The front porch light wouldn’t stay lit, and finally she changed the wires and added a new bulb. Obviously the entire wiring from the front porch to the attic needed to be redone.
“Goddamn it,” she said and then coughed as Bear carried her to the fire truck. He set her down on the back and began checking her over. Placing a mask over her mouth and nose, he ordered her to take slow breaths. At first she coughed a few times and tried to remove the mask, but Bear kept one hand on her hip and upper thigh and one on the mask holding her, and it in place. She stared at his firm expression as she did what he told her to. His green eyes held hers and boy did he seem upset.
She absorbed the sight of him in front of her, the way it felt being carried from the attic and her home by him, and even how Hal had lowered her to Billy’s arms so gently. Here she was filled with lustful thoughts as multiple firefighters put out the fire and checked for the cause and the damage.
“Jesus, is she okay? What the hell happened?”
She heard the sheriff’s voice and immediately turned to look. There he was, fully dressed in uniform, and he looked concerned as well.
She took over holding the mask in place as Billy placed his hand on her shoulder and neck and gently massaged her skin. She felt the instant attraction to him. How manly he was, and how huge his hand felt against her skin. Her nipples hardened, her core tightened. She swallowed hard as she looked at him and he held her gaze. His expression was like no other she had ever seen. He looked powerful, sexy, and mostly hungry. That realization stirred something in her she didn’t recognize at all.
* * * *
Bear looked at his brother as he arrived. He was so worried about Michaela, too. The moment the call came into the station house, Jake had texted that the house was Michaela’s. Both Billy and Hal made sure to find her immediately. They were shocked to locate her in the attic directly where the fire was and trying to put it out with a blanket while inhaling all that dangerous smoke.
As the paramedics arrived, they took over caring for her. But he couldn’t resist caressing her shoulder and neck as she held the mask in place. She appeared so delicate and feminine. He was instantly protective, and even more surprising was how possessive he felt. He fixed the strap of her tank top, pulling it back into position gently so no one else could see down the cup of her bra to her plump breast.
He eased his hand away and let the paramedic take care of her and check her vitals as he spoke with Jake.
“What the fuck happened?”
“Hal and I found her upstairs in the attic. That’s where the fire started. She’s lucky that it didn’t spread faster. She was up there inhaling smoke and trying to put it out herself, I think.”
Billy could tell that his brother was pissed off at the details. Jake walked over to Michaela as the paramedic handed her a bottle of water to drink.
“Are you out of your mind? If you see smoke, think there’s a fire, you get the hell out and you call 911. You don’t go up there and try to face it on your own. You could have passed out or even died from inhaling that smoke.”
“I was just trying to save the house,” she said, her voice all froggy and kind of sexy. She coughed and then took another slug of water.
“Your life is more important than the house, Michaela.”
She went to step down off the truck and she teetered. Bear wrapped an arm around her waist and hoisted her close against his turnout coat.
She stared up into his eyes, and he smiled at her. “You need to take it easy. The combination of inhaling the smoke and then taking in some oxygen to help clear your lungs can make you feel off-balance.”
“No kidding.” She held on to his forearms. Billy smiled and helped her to sit back down.
“I don’t want you to move from here. I’m going to see what the actual cause of the fire was and what Hal found out. You stay put. You hear me?” he reprimanded as he pointed at her. She nodded her head as she crossed her legs and leaned back. The full tank top she wore couldn’t conceal her voluptuous body or the deep cleavage. She was absolutely adorable, and he couldn’t wait to get to know her. Maybe this little incident would help to break the ice? He could only hope so. Bear walked away and Jake crossed his arms and stood closely in front of her.
* * * *
Jake stepped forward and placed his hands onto Michaela’s shoulders. He bent lower so he could whisper.
“I was so worried when the call came over the radio about a fire at your address.” He stared at her, and she swallowed hard. He removed one hand and gently clutched her chin before caressing her skin with his thumb.
“You have to be more careful, baby.”
The way he called her baby was enough to give her palpitations. She stared up at him.