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“Pride of Midtown. Never missed a performance?”
Someone with a deep, sexy voice was reading the FDNY patch on Kristine Scott’s dress uniform. She swiveled enough to see a dark-haired, devastatingly handsome Boston firefighter—a lieutenant, from the insignia on his uniform. He was admiring not only the patch but also her. She was tall, five-foot-ten, but he was taller.
The after-funeral crowd noise obliterated anything but close conversation in the firehouse, and yet she didn’t mind his proximity. Not one bit.
“Yeah. I guess you wouldn’t know what our motto means, being from Boston and all.” She picked up a canapé from a long folding table.
He smiled—and, oh God, he had dimples.
“Enlighten me,” he said.
She chewed and swallowed the little cracker before launching into her explanation. “We’re located in Manhattan, close to Broadway but in an affordable neighborhood, so a lot of actors live in the area.”
“Affordable? In Manhattan? Even a mere Bostonian like me knows that’s like finding a unicorn in Central Park.”
She chuckled. Damn. So sexy, except for that hideous Boston accent. “I work in the second-oldest fire station in the country. The area is known as Hell’s Kitchen. Maybe you’ve heard of it?”
“Shit. Only as a horrible place where hundreds of thousands of immigrants died of nasty diseases.”
“Yeah, that was a long time ago. We’re becoming gentrified and fairly disease-free these days.”
He looked her up and down. “Now there’s a relief.”
“And what is that supposed to mean, Boston?”
“Oh, nothing.” He heaved a deep sigh. “You live in Manhattan, and I live in Charlestown—the part of Boston where Old Ironsides is docked. You don’t care about that. The point is…it would never work.” His sad smile spoke of resignation.
“Oh? Were you thinking of asking me out?”
That devastating grin of his returned. “Is there any chance you’d consider moving to Boston?”
“Ha! Nope,” she said, trying to sound casual. Not that she’d date a firefighter anywhere.
“Then we have an insurmountable problem. I can’t leave Boston because of family obligations. And you can’t—or won’t—leave New York. I guess we might as well break up now.”
She hoped her disappointment didn’t show, but she had a sinking feeling she didn’t hide it well enough.
As if he’d just come up with a solution, he snapped his fingers. “I know. Since we can’t date anyway, why don’t we tell each other all of our annoying habits right off the bat? That way we won’t worry about what might have been.”
She couldn’t help letting out a loud laugh. Probably inappropriate after a funeral, and several nearby firefighters turned toward them. Oops. “Sorry,” she mumbled.
“I’ll start,” her potential ex said. “I forget to floss about ninety percent of the time.”
Playing along, she crossed her arms. “Ugh. That’s disgusting. Don’t you know that’s the only way to brush between your teeth?”
He simply showed off his pearly whites and said, “Your turn.”
“Okay… I wear granny panties.”
“No way!” He cringed and recoiled. “Haven’t you ever heard of that not-so-secret store? If we were dating, which we’re not, I’d get you a gift certificate.”
“Ah. There’s another thing that would annoy me. I want to be accepted exactly the way I am.”
He let out a snort. “You’re not wrong, but a little sexy something for your man to uncover goes a long way.”
“Hey. I’m a firefighter. You don’t want to floss your teeth? I don’t want to floss my butt—I’ll leave that to the girls who slide down a different kind of pole.”
He laughed “I guess it might be inconvenient on the job.”
She shrugged one shoulder. “You think? Well… It’s your turn again.”
“Okay. When I’m home, I can be a slob. I leave my clothes in a disorganized pile,” he said.
“That’s ridiculous! You must have to keep your area at the fire station neat. Why not at home?”
He smirked. “Because I can. Your turn.”
One of the nearby firefighters interrupted before she had a chance to respond.
“Hey, Jayce. If you’re flirting, that’s the worst I’ve ever seen.”
He laughed and slung his arm around the other firefighter’s shoulder. “This is my brother Gabe, who should be minding his own business.”
“I was about to say the same thing as Gabe,” another firefighter chimed in.
“And that’s my brother Noah. Same goes for you, buddy.”
The family resemblance was hard to miss. Tall, dark, and good-looking, every one of them. But there was something special about the one they called “Jayce.” His brown eyes were darker—almost black, and full of mischief—and he had killer dimples. Suddenly she realized she and he hadn’t even introduced themselves.
“So, is Jayce short for Jason?”
“Nope. My given name is J-a-y-c-e. And who have I had the pleasure of breaking up with?”
“My name is Kristine. Kristine Scott. They call me Scotty.”
“Hey, Fierro!” a firefighter called to the group.
“Yeah?” the three men answered at once.
“Your dad and the chief are looking for you.”
“Wait,” Kristine said. “The firefighter we memorialized today was named Fierro. Are you related?”
“Yeah. He was my younger brother,” Jayce said. “A probie.”
“Holy fuck,” she muttered. “I’ve been joking and laughing with the deceased’s brother?”
“Guess so,” Jayce answered matter-of-factly.
“How can you be so callous?” The words were out before she could think about them. Oh well. Since we’re being totally honest… “It’s a good thing we’re breaking up before we even get started. That kind of insensitivity just blows.” She found a hole in the crowd and stomped off before he could object.
He called after her. “Hey, pride of Midtown.”
She stopped and turned around.
He sidled up next to her. “Do you know which is the oldest fire station in the country?”
She shook her head.
“You’ve been standing in it for the last fifteen minutes.”
“How do you know I’ve been here for fifteen minutes?”
“I noticed you the minute you walked in.” He grinned. “Can I get your phone number?”
Still miffed, she answered, “Yeah… It’s 911.”
He winked and then strode off, leaving her without the satisfaction of a dramatic exit.
How infuriating! But she couldn’t help admiring his gorgeous ass as he walked away.
Leaving the firehouse, Kristine shivered in the January wind and made her way to her car in the Prudential parking garage. On the way there, she ran the gamut of emotions. Her outrage gave way to sympathy. She tried to give Jayce the benefit of the doubt. Some people coped with grief through denial. Maybe that was what he was doing. However, she had a feeling that wasn’t all of it. He was too charming. Too polished. He seemed totally comfortable in his own skin. Usually that would be a turn-on. But today of all days?
Something was off about that whole funeral. The only one who seemed truly devastated was the firefighter’s fiancée. She tried to be brave, but tears shimmered in the corners of her eyes. Occasionally her head dropped and her whole body shook as if she were literally racked with sobs, but no sound came out. She was a firefighter too—probably doing her best to be brave. Just another reason to stick to my vow of not dating firefighters.
And it wasn’t just Jayce who was acting like it was a normal Tuesday and not the solemn day they were burying his brother. All the brothers she met seemed to be taking it rather well. Their only complaint about Jayce’s flirting was that he was doing it wrong? What the hell? Of course, she wasn’t inside the church during the service. Thousands of firefighters from all over the country attended, so only family members and those closest to them were allowed inside. Maybe they got their tears out there.
Still…smiling and joking? If that had happened at the 9/11 funerals, somebody would have been pounded into Ground Zero… Her mind was definitely boggled.
“Scotty! Wait,” a familiar voice called.
She stuck her fist on her hip and waited for Donovan, the guy she had carpooled with. Damn.
“Jesus, Scott, were you about to take off without me?”
“Sorry,” she mumbled. “I thought you could get a ride from any of the other hundred FDNY attendees.”
“Well, it would have been nice if you’d told me that you were leaving.”
She chewed her lip and popped the passenger side door open with her key fob. When they were both seated inside the tiny rented sports car, he scrutinized her.
“What’s wrong?”
There was no hiding emotions from guys you lived with almost as much as your family.
“It’s nothing.” The universal code for I don’t want to talk about it.
“Bullshit. Did the funeral hit you that hard? Enough to make you want to get the hell out of town without even telling me? Did you run into someone you knew?”
“No. Nothing like that.”
“Then what?”
She backed out of the parking space, turning the rented Corvette toward the exit without explaining herself.
“Are you on your period?”
She stomped on the brakes. “You are never, ever, ever allowed to ask a woman that—ever!”
He leaned away with his hands up. “Okay, okay. Don’t shoot.”
She resumed her exit from the parking garage with a bit more speed than was prudent. Donovan glanced over at her a couple of times but didn’t say another word.
* * *
Jayce and his brothers found their father and mother among the crowd. The chief was nowhere in sight.
“What did you want, Dad?”
“Me? Nothing. Why?”
“Miguel said you and the chief were looking for us.”
The brother in question spoke from behind them. “I was saving your ass. Do you even know how inappropriate your flirting with a girl at your brother’s funeral is?”
Their tiny mother stepped forward. “You were flirting with someone, Jayce?”
He heaved a sigh. “Yeah. I’m sorry. There was this drop-dead-gorgeous redhead, or strawberry blonde, kinda golden-red—whatever—with the most incredible turquoise eyes… We got to talking.”
“And laughing,” Miguel added.
Jayce shot him an angry look designed to shut him up.
Mrs. Fierro placed a soothing hand on Jayce’s arm. “Well, I’m not upset about it at all. I want all my boys happy, and that means settled down with a good woman.” She glanced around at her fidgeting sons, except Miguel—the only married man in the bunch, naturally.
Mr. Fierro pulled Jayce closer so he could whisper, even though all of his supernatural sons could hear him. Obviously he didn’t want their human mother to overhear. “You know I want to retire in the Caribbean, and your mama refuses to leave until you’re all married off. Flirting is fine, but remember where you are. We’re all aware that Ryan is alive, but no one else knows that, including Chloe.”
Jayce glanced over to where his brother’s fiancée, in her dress uniform, leaned against her own big brother, Rory. He seemed to be propping her up. Most firefighters had seen some horrors, but few had had to watch helplessly as the person they loved most burned to death in front of them.
“Whatever you do, don’t let it slip to that poor girl,” Antonio Fierro continued. “She’s devastated, and we can’t let her know Ryan has reincarnated. She’d never recognize him in his new form, and, well, you know what would happen…”
“Got it. Message received,” Jayce whispered back. He stepped away and said, “I think I’ll go to the restroom and see if I can muster up a few tears.” Just thinking about what that cute NY firefighter said to him was enough to dampen his mood.
Mrs. Fierro smiled at her son as he kissed her on the cheek and excused himself. She had a not-so-hidden agenda, and all of her remaining sons knew it well. But the chances of finding a lover who could stand the shock of what he really was seemed slim to none. Some girls might like to know that if the worst happened, a blazing bird would rise from its own ashes—and several weeks later their lover would return to human form. But telling the truth about their supernatural natures could have devastating consequences. Ryan had learned that with his first fiancée, Melanie. The only reason she hadn’t screamed it to the world was her fear of being locked up and labeled crazy.
The brothers had to avoid telling a potential mate until they were a hundred percent certain the love they shared was strong enough to survive such a revelation. Miguel had gotten lucky. Sandra adored him, and she always would. And as much as his mother teased his father, she’d throw herself on a sword for him. The Fierro men treated their women like the rare treasures they were.
Jayce bypassed the restroom and stepped outside. Some of his fellow firefighters were smoking. Knowing how many fires were started by unattended cigarettes, he thought the habit weird, but the stress of the job was too much for some to manage without a vice. He knew doctors and nurses who smoked too.
“Jayce!” His buddy Mike strolled over to him. “I know I said it before, but I’m really sorry about Ryan. He was a good man and, from what I’ve heard, a great firefighter. No one could have survived that backdraft.”
“I know.”
Yet somehow Chloe managed to survive. She had said she was thrown clear of the blast, but with two floors of a high-rise completely engulfed in flames, her escape was a miracle. Jayce didn’t believe in miracles.
She said she had been knocked out and really didn’t know how she had made it out alive. The theory was that she was thrown into the stairwell and had fallen onto a safe floor. When Ryan could tell his side of the story, they’d find out what really happened.
Even with a mystery like that to puzzle over, Jayce’s mind kept returning to the beautiful, redheaded, granny-panty-wearing FDNY firefighter. He doubted he’d ever see Kristine again. If he did, she’d probably still think he was some kind of cold, heartless monster.
Mike squeezed Jayce’s shoulder and wandered back to the butt can, where he crushed out his cigarette. When he returned he said, “There’s a great buffet in there. Want to get a bite to eat?”
Jayce sighed. “I don’t think I can.”
Mike nodded. “I understand, man.”
He really didn’t. The firefighter brotherhood was good for understanding a lot of things, but only his biological brothers could possibly know what he was feeling right now. Fortunately there were a lot of them, so support was never far away.
As if conjured, Luca, the youngest Fierro brother, stepped outside. “Hey, Jayce. The captain is about to make a speech.”
“Shit. Another speech?”
“I guess he didn’t want to be outdone by the chief.”
Luca and Jayce returned to the fire station where Ryan and their father had worked. It was time for the brothers to brush up on their acting skills.
Acting. Everything reminded him of Kristine, even after only a ten-minute conversation. What the hell is wrong with me?
* * *
Two days later, Kristine was back to work at her fire station in Hell’s Kitchen, back to studying for the lieutenant’s exam. Her life seemed on track, but something was missing.
Her mind had returned over and over again to that bright smile and those dark eyes glinting with naughtiness. She kept telling herself to forget about the handsome Boston lieutenant. When he had mentioned her transferring to Boston, she had thought about it for all of one heartbeat. Then she remembered everything she would be giving up in New York.
If she went to Boston, she’d have to go through the fire academy all over again and start at the bottom rung as a probie. During their early days on the job, a firefighter was on probation, therefore the term “probie” became common slang, like “rookie” for a brand-new cop. The technical term was FFOP—Firefighter on Probation. That was no better. Either way, it seemed like a slap in the face after all she’d been through. And with only a few months left to finish her degree in fire science, she had a better chance for a promotion to captain or chief someday. Not to mention that her mother depended upon her half of the rent.
Years ago, Hell’s Kitchen had been a tough neighborhood. Mother and daughter were dragons—not as vulnerable as humans, so they felt safe enough there. Then in the early ’90s, the middle class began moving in and gentrifying the area. Kristine and her mother had lived there all that time and had watched their rent go up, up, up. With no father to help or pay child support, her mother had had to work two jobs—while pursuing an acting career. Kristine vowed she would never forget that. It still took two salaries to live there, but only one of them would be her mother’s. Amy Scott had finally landed her dream job. She taught at a nearby acting school.
Even though Kristine had grown up among actors, artists, and writers, she hadn’t inherited the need to express herself publicly. Despite being paranormally gifted, she had been a sheltered kid—and that was fine with her. As a little dragon, she’d never felt like she fit in. She was happiest when reading in her room overlooking Ninth Avenue.
She knew she wasn’t supposed to talk about shapeshifting or demonstrate what she could do, ever. When she grew up, she realized there was something special she could do with her powers other than just protect herself. Because she was fireproof, she would make an ideal firefighter. She could protect her community.
She loved the job. Only a handful of women worked for the FDNY, and half of them were on ambulances. She was one of the few with the strength and fortitude to do the heavy lifting required of a firefighter on the front lines.
She had proven herself to be the equal of any man in her battalion. They respected her and depended upon her to have their backs. And as much as she cared about her fellow firefighters, she could never see herself falling in love with one of them. She would worry constantly, knowing what he was up against as a mere mortal.
One ordinary Thursday, her battalion was gathered around the long kitchen table, eating lunch and watching Judge Judy on the wall-mounted TV, when the tones rang out. They all rushed to their turnout gear, suited up, and jumped into their usual roles.
Kristine rode next to Donovan on the ladder truck. When the truck pulled up to the high-rise office building, smoke was pouring out of two large broken windows on the fourth floor. A police cruiser was already there, getting people to clear the area for the fire apparatus. So far nothing seemed unusual.
Kristine and Donovan followed the captain into the building to locate the seat of the fire. Alarms were blaring, and people were filing down the stairs. When the firefighters came to the fourth floor, they located the office they had seen from the outside. The captain pounded on the door and yelled, identifying them as the fire department.
When there was no response, the captain instructed Kristine and Donovan to take off the door with the ax and halligan bar. Two other firefighters from the engine company rushed up behind them hauling the hose. One of them broke into the firebox on the wall. As soon as the door was breached, flames shot out from the hole.
They had the right place.
When they got the door open, the captain barked out, “Scotty, stay with me. Donovan, go above and see if anyone is still up there.”
“Yes sir,” he said and dashed to the stairs.
The captain didn’t need to tell Kristine to step aside. When the pressurized water hit the fire, steam filled the hallway. The guy carrying the hose entered slowly, bathing the place in water. Between the smoke and steam, firefighters had to go in blind and look for survivors or people who weren’t that lucky.
“Scotty, stay beside me.”
Kristine followed the captain’s orders, even though she knew he was in more danger than she was. He kept one gloved hand on the wall to avoid becoming lost. She placed a hand on his shoulder and walked a few feet to his right. Even a dragon could barely see through this.
Her foot hit something dense but soft. Squatting down, she felt a leg. “I’ve got someone,” she said. Hauling the person up by the arms, she tossed his torso over her shoulder and made her way back to the door.
She heard the captain shouting into the radio that she was coming down and to have EMS ready. Something felt off about the body she was carrying. She had to adjust its position to account for an uneven distribution of weight.
When she finally made it to the street level, the EMTs were there to meet her, but as she emerged, their eyes bugged out of their heads.
“You’re covered in blood!” the female EMT exclaimed.
She glanced down and saw that it was true. She squatted down, braced the victim’s back with her hand, and gently laid the headless body onto the sidewalk. Startled, she jumped backward and gasped.
The cop who had been redirecting traffic ran over. “What the hell?”
The chief strode over and set his hands on his hips. “As soon as we put the fire out, you can have your crime scene.”
“Jesus,” muttered the male EMT. “The coroner won’t have any problem identifying cause of death.”
The captain’s voice crackled over the radio, alerting the chief that he was coming out with another body.
“You don’t have to go back in there, Scotty. You’ve got to be pretty shaken up right now.”
“No, sir. I’m fine. I’d like to go back in there and help where I’m needed.”
The chief smiled and nodded.
On her way back in, she passed the captain, carrying a second body in the same condition. She didn’t take the time to find out if he knew what was going on; she just rushed up the stairs faster.
I wonder where the heads are.
When she reached the fourth floor, the steam met her as soon as she opened the fire door. She rushed through it and worried about her mortal coworkers, who could be standing in boiling water.
If she had to shift, her thick scales would protect her, and her alternate form’s wings wouldn’t show because her turnout gear covered her up to the neck. She only had to worry about her snout protruding and interfering with her breathing apparatus. Fortunately, she wasn’t huge like the dragons of Hollywood. She was five-foot-ten as a human or dragon.
The fire was almost out, and she could see that the walls of the room were still intact, as was the ceiling. Apparently they had stopped this fire from traveling very far. The building’s sprinklers may have helped slightly. She suspected that the fire was meant to cover the crime scene—and that the location of the bodies would prove to be where the fire was set…deliberately.
Even in New York, this was unusual. Not that fires weren’t accidents—faulty wiring, an unattended cigarette, deep-fried turkeys—oh yeah, plenty of accidents. They had their fair share of arson too, but it was usually to defraud an insurance company. Not to cover up decapitations.
As the smoke and steam cleared, she glanced around the room, casually looking for a couple of male heads. The other two firefighters seemed blissfully unaware of the unusual circumstances. Just thinking about it, bile rose to her throat. She didn’t envy the cops their jobs, especially after something like this.
She couldn’t help wondering if this sort of stuff happened in Boston too. It probably did, but maybe on a smaller scale.
Boston again. When would she stop thinking about what it would be like to be a firefighter in Boston, working with a particular sexy firefighter she couldn’t seem to get off her mind?
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