Chapter 3

“Do you really think we’ll get out of here before…you know,” Misty asked.

“Of course we will! I bet we’ll be free within the hour.”

“What do you bet?”

“Huh?” It sounded as if Misty was willing to name stakes. Intriguing. “What do you want if you win? I mean besides an escort home. That’s a given,” Gabe said.

“Hmmm… Let me see. How about a kiss?”

What could he say to that? He wanted to. God, did he want to! But Parker would kill him…and Misty would too, eventually. He was never going to get serious about a woman and didn’t want to mislead her.

“Uh, Gabe?”

“Misty, this isn’t seven minutes in a closet.”

“No, it’s a helluva lot longer.” She was quiet for a moment, then asked, “Do you have a girlfriend or something?”

“No. Not at the moment.”

“Then are you still hung up on someone?”

“I’ve never been in a serious relationship.”

“Really?” Misty seemed shocked. “Aren’t you, like, twenty-six?”

“I made up my mind long ago. I’ll never get married, be a family man and all that. It has nothing to do with you.”

“Then what?”

He sighed. “You mentioned regrets… There’s one thing I don’t think I’ll ever get over. Do you remember our dog, Buddy?”

“Yeah. He was a good dog.”

“Yes, he was. Do you know how he died?”

“I heard he got off his leash and was hit by a car. I cried when I heard about it. Is that not true?”

“Oh, it’s true, all right. And it happened because of me. My girlfriend at the time was allergic, so I tied him to the railing beside the front door. As you must remember, we had no backyard. I was supposed to be taking care of him while my family was away. Instead of acting responsibly, I put him out front where anyone could hurt him, just so I could make out with a girl. Later, I found his collar unbuckled, still tied to the railing. Some asshole purposely let him go free. And then he got run over. I’ve never felt more terrible in my life. I can never put myself in that position again.”

“Gabe, I know it was horrible—believe me, I understand—but that’s not something you can change. All you can do is learn from it. And you’ll make different decisions. I took care of my grandparents, and my grandpa fell while I was out. After that, I had to get someone to take over for me, even if I just had to run to the pharmacy or go grocery shopping. And you can teach kids about the dangers of running into the street—looking both ways and so on. You can’t teach dogs that.”

“I know it’s not exactly the same thing, but pets depend on people to take care of them. You can’t just learn from mistakes. Frankly, you can’t make mistakes. I found Buddy as a puppy, rummaging around in the garbage behind a restaurant. I took him home, and after much begging, I was allowed to keep him. He became everybody’s dog, though. We all loved his adorable goofy grin, and he loved every one of us. When I went looking for him, I found him in the gutter. Just pushed aside like trash.”

“Oh, Gabe. I’m so sorry.” She moved enough to hug him, and he let her.

Finally, he took a deep breath and let go. “Yeah, well, the worst wasn’t over. I had to tell everyone else what had happened. The whole family cried and mourned like they’d lost a child.” Gabe had let everyone down. He was still angry with himself for being so stupid.

“That must have been awful. Absolutely horrible! And I can understand that maybe you don’t want to have another dog, but why—”

“Because every woman I’ve ever dated wants kids. If I couldn’t even look after a dog, how could I trust myself with a baby? A child is even more clueless than a dog.”

“Are you saying you’d leave a baby tied to the front door?”

“Probably not.”

“Probably? Oh, come on. You’d never do that, Gabe. There’s even a thing I’ve heard of where overwhelmed mothers can drop off their babies at a fire station, no questions asked. Sheesh!”

“Yeah. It’s called Safe Haven. Look, there are any number of ways a child can die. I’ve seen some horrible examples. Kids accidentally drowning in a bathtub, for instance. It only takes one distraction, and there are so many distractions these days.”

“You’re right, of course. It could happen. Does that mean you’re never going to take a risk? Even if it could lead to great happiness?”

Gabe sighed again. “I think it’s time to change the subject. What else have you got?”

As they were trying to think of something else to talk about, he heard a noise. It sounded far away, but it was some kind of rasping sound. It had to be an electric saw.

“Oh, thank God! The cavalry is here,” he exclaimed.

“You mean, the fire department is trying to get us out?”

“Yeah. I told you they would.”

“I guess you’re going to win that bet.”

To say he had mixed feelings was an understatement. He and Misty were just getting to know each other again. With all the ways to do online banking, who knew if he’d ever come up with another excuse to see her?

She had pushed him out of his comfort zone. He wanted to keep things superficial, so why didn’t she let him? He could call in a few days to see how she was doing, but after that?

* * *

After what seemed like hours of the same rasping noise plus a few other additional noises, Gabe had pretty much identified what they were trying to do. It sounded like cement saws were concentrating on the ceiling. They had probably checked the building plans and discovered the weakest spot.

Misty had said the door was the strongest, and he had seen how thick it was when it was open, so he doubted they were even attempting to take off hinges or cut a hole in it. The walls might be as thick as the door.

At last, something broke through the ceiling toward the back of the vault. A tiny sliver of light appeared.

Gabe stood and helped Misty up. Holding her hand, he pulled her back against the door. Unfortunately, dust was starting to fill up the little room. He yanked a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Here, put this over your nose and mouth. It’s clean.”

“What about you?” she asked.

“I’ll use my sleeve.”

As the rasping became louder, they were aware of voices also coming from the ceiling. It was impossible to understand what they were saying, but man, what a comfort to hear the rumbling of humans giving orders and acknowledging them.

“Gabe?” Misty asked.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for keeping me calm and safe during all this, I guess.”

“You guess?”

“Well, I haven’t seen my coworkers yet. I know you couldn’t have stuffed all of us in this vault, but you did what you thought was right.”

If Gabe wasn’t holding her hand and using his other one to block the dust, he would’ve slapped himself upside the head. He already felt like a jerk, but was she serious? She wished he’d pushed all her coworkers into the vault, knowing the air wouldn’t last a fraction of the time?

“Well, I did what I did. I hope your coworkers are okay, but at least I know you are. If you’d been taken and raped and Parker found out I was right there… Shit. Never mind.” As light began to invade the room from above, he was finally able to see Misty’s outline. “You are okay, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Are you?”

“Other than feeling like an idiot, I’m perfectly fine.” Gabe laughed, then coughed. “Don’t try to talk. Just breathe through your nose. Keep your eyes closed so the dust doesn’t get in them.”

“They’re already closed.”

She bumped up against him, let go of his hand, and slipped her arm around his waist. He had no choice but to put his arm around her shoulder. Any lower would give her and anyone who entered the vault the wrong idea.

Parker had painted a different picture of Misty than the one he was discovering. Naturally, Parker would see her as his little sister forever, someone naive who needed to be looked after. But the woman standing next to him seemed pretty capable.

“Gabe? When this is all over, can we go out for coffee or something? I don’t want you to just walk out of my life after this. I’m betting that as soon as your firefighter buddies show up, you’re going to drop me like a hot potato and saunter off with them.”

He tried to muffle his laugh in his sleeve. She didn’t know he was supposed to be keeping an eye on her, but even if he weren’t, he wouldn’t just walk off with his buddies and leave her there.

“Sure. Coffee sounds great.”

He opened his eyes briefly to check the progress of the hole in the ceiling. More light shone through now, and he could see they were working on two sections at the same time. More voices were rumbling. He wondered how many guys were up there. Probably a dozen or more. It wouldn’t be much longer.

Gabe suddenly became aware of the fact that he was stroking Misty’s arm from her elbow up to her shoulder and down. She sighed and sagged against him. The impulse to enclose her in his arms and hold her close was something he had been battling since this all started.

The dust was almost overwhelming. Misty’s voice was muffled when she asked, “Are you sure you’re okay? You’re trying to breathe through a leather jacket. I have the only handkerchief. Maybe we could share it.”

He almost snorted. “Yeah, right.”

“Gabe!” She kicked him.

“Oww.”

“Am I that hideous that you don’t want to look at my face up close?”

“Of course not. It’s just that… Well, it’s the opposite.”

She seemed to take a deeper breath and relax into him a little more “Oh. Well then, here.” She slapped her hand behind his head and pulled him down to her face, then dragged the handkerchief over their eyes, noses, and mouths. They were not only sharing a cloth; their mouths were inches from each other. Not even inches. He suddenly felt her lip touch his, and without even thinking, he leaned in and increased the pressure.

It started as a chaste kiss, but soon grew in intensity. She opened her mouth, and their tongues found each other. She cupped the nape of his neck. This girl could kiss! Before he realized it, his hands were pulling her closer and wandering over the dip in her lower back. Trying to stop at her hip was killing him. He wanted to squeeze her delectable buttocks.

He didn’t know how long they stood there kissing, because his brain had left the building. At one point, he realized what he was doing and knew he should pull away. But another big part of him—growing bigger by the second—thought, that ship has sailed, and it won’t be turning around.

A loud crash startled him out of his altered state.

Pulling away a few inches, he lowered the handkerchief enough to squint and see what was going on. A huge chunk of cement had hit the floor. Light flooded the small chamber.

“Hey, Captain, we’re in!” were the first words Gabe heard clearly. If he wasn’t mistaken, that was his brother Noah’s voice.

Relief swept over him. He turned to Misty and cupped her jaw. “We’re almost out, babe.”

She sighed. It was hard to tell if that was a sigh of relief or resignation. He’d just assume it had to be relief. Now that he could see her, her dark hair was almost white with cement dust. He grinned, realizing he must look similar.

She smiled up at him. “Now I know what you’ll look like when you’re old.”

He laughed out loud. The dust didn’t choke him this time. It was beginning to dissipate. A few more chunks of concrete fell, and Gabe quickly pulled the handkerchief over both their faces again as a new wave of cement dust hit them.

“Let me go in, Cap’n. That’s my brother down there.”

Yup. Noah’s voice.

Gabe heard the captain give his okay, and moments later, a ladder was lowered into the hole. The long legs and wiry frame that descended the ladder did indeed belong to his brother Noah. When he turned around, he found them with his flashlight.

“Nice of you to drop in,” Gabe said casually.

Noah laughed. “Are you sure about that? You two look pretty cozy. Am I interrupting something?”

Gabe sprang a few inches away from Misty but kept a hand on her shoulder. “This is Misty Carlisle, Noah.” As if that would explain everything. He hoped it would at least justify his reason for having his arms around her.

“The little girl from down the street?”

“I’m not a little girl anymore.”

Noah aimed the flashlight on her, sliding the beam down slowly and then back up. “No, you are not. Hey, there’s a light switch behind you.” He shone the flashlight on a spot on the wall next to the door.

Shit. Talk about feeling like a complete idiot… Gabe flipped the switch, and both he and Misty blinked away the blinding light that invaded their cozy darkness.

Noah looked her up and down again, and a slow smile spread across his face. “Yup. You are not a little girl anymore.”

Gabe wanted to punch his younger brother, because he looked like he was salivating. That wouldn’t give away his feelings at all.

An authoritative voice called down, “Fierro. Are they all right?”

“Oh, yeah. They’re just fine and dandy.” Noah snickered.

“Well, get them up here.”

“I guess I can’t tease you right now, Bro. It’ll have to wait until Sunday dinner. Don’t worry. That’ll give me and Dante plenty of time to come up with some zingers.”

Gabe put his hand on the small of Misty’s back and gently led her toward safety. “You go first, Misty. I’ll be right behind you.” He shot his brother a glare, daring him to challenge his elder authority.

Misty gingerly stepped over pieces of concrete in her high heels. At last, she had safely made it to the ladder. As she climbed up, her tight ass hugged by her pencil skirt was all too apparent. Gabe glanced over at his brother. Noah was grinning but quickly shifted his gaze back to Gabe’s and waggled his eyebrows.

Gabe stared at the bottom of the ladder and shook his head.

As soon as she’d made it up and out, Noah lowered his voice and asked, “How the hell did you get stuck in a bank vault in the first place?”

“I promised Parker I’d look after Misty. I’d just opened an account here when the bank was robbed.”

“And you dove into the safe to protect your money?” Noah asked with a smirk.

“Of course not. They were making Misty do their dirty work. Opening the safe, going in and filling the bags… They had guns and fired one to prove it was loaded. I waited for a distraction and reacted.”

“And you thought locking the two of you in the vault would keep her safe.”

“I never said I was thinking straight at the time, but yeah.”

Noah scratched his head. “I guess it worked. Not what I would have done, but it was…effective.” He leered again.

“Knock it off, Noah. Or I’ll knock it off for you.”

“Oh, tough guy.” He slapped Gabe on the shoulder and said, “Don’t worry. I won’t say a word…until Sunday dinner when I have the whole family to protect me.”

* * *

A cheer went up when Misty emerged.

“Thanks, guys.”

Someone helped her off the ladder, and someone else handed her a bottle of water. Before she opened it, she asked, “Are my coworkers all right?”

A few firefighters glanced at each other, and one of them said, “Yeah. I think so. The cops took their statements, and they all went home a couple of hours ago.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “All of them? Even the manager?”

A familiar-looking guy shrugged. “Yeah. He said he had an appointment or something.”

One of the other firefighters grinned. “I think he shit his pants and had an appointment with his closet, Dante.”

“Dante?” she said to the first guy. “Dante Fierro? Is that you?”

He stared at her a moment. Then his eyes widened in recognition. “Misty?”

She nodded. “I think you’re the only one who’s recognized me since I returned to Boston.”

He crossed his arms. “I’ll be damned. You look…different.”

She grinned. “I got rid of the braces. And, well, I’m covered in cement dust.”

“Yeah, there’s that.”

“You look about three feet taller.”

He grinned and kicked at the floor. “Yeah, I was a little runt for a while there. You were a couple years younger than me but about a foot taller. All the girls were.”

One of the firefighters came over with a blanket and draped it around her shoulders.

“Thanks.” She glanced over at the hole in the floor and asked, “Where’s Gabe?”

“Good question…” Dante wandered over to the hole with the ladder sticking out of it. “Hey, Noah. Is Gabe alive, or did he die of starvation? He probably hasn’t eaten for at least three hours.”

“He’s fine. We’re just having a little chat,” Noah called up.

The captain huffed. “Stop cramming cash in your pockets and get up here.”

Seconds later, the ladder vibrated with heavy footsteps, and Gabe emerged. Dante grabbed his hand and helped haul him up and out.

Firefighters who apparently knew him were slapping him on the back, and clouds of dust rose from his jacket. He grinned and greeted them, then walked right over to Misty.

“Are you all right?”

“Yeah. I guess all my coworkers have deserted the place, but at least they’re okay. If they’re all okay, then I’m all right.”

“They’re just a little poorer,” the captain said. “The criminals didn’t want to leave with nothing for their trouble, so they made the employees empty their purses and pockets. Plus, the manager had to give them the cash from the drawers without slipping a dye pack in.”

“Oh no.” Misty excused herself and ran down the stairs as fast as she could in high heels, straight to where she’d left her purse in the back room. All the cubbies were empty—and so was her purse. “Oh, shi…shoot.”

“What’s wrong?” Gabe must have followed close on her heels.

“They emptied my wallet too. That had my CharlieCard in it.” Her shoulders slumped. “Damn. Now I’ll have to walk home.”

“We’ll take you home in the truck,” Dante said. Apparently, he had followed Gabe. “That is, if you don’t live far from here. We’ve got room for one more, but if we get another call, you’ll have to wait until we’ve handled it.”

More firefighters filed down the stairs, carrying the equipment they’d brought in.

“No need to drive her home,” Gabe said. “I was going to take her out for a drink after this anyway.” Gabe gazed at her with some kind of intense expression on his face.

“Yes,” she said. “But thank you, Dante, for the offer.”

Dante clapped his brother on the back. “Okay, Bro. You win. Just don’t forget to call your station. We went on duty a couple hours ago, and since you’re on the same rotation, your captain must be wondering where the hell you are.”

“Actually, I switched with someone. He needed tomorrow off. But thanks for worrying about me, Mom.”

“Yeah, yeah. I was just trying to save your job. Next time, I’ll let you get fired.”

Gabe chuckled. “Nah. You’re right. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

Misty had always enjoyed the insults and banter the Fierro boys heaped on each other. Gabe had been the quietest, but it looked as if he could dish it out when he wanted to.

The captain joined them. “So, another Fierro. Gabe, is it?”

“Yes, sir.”

They shook hands, and the older man smiled pleasantly.

“You and the young lady will have to give statements to the police. They’re waiting outside.”

“Oh joy,” Gabe muttered.