The next morning, Connor slapped out his hand when his phone alarm sounded in the pre-dawn light, fumbling for the damn thing and switching it to silent before it could go off again. He rolled over in bed, his eyes still half closed, and for a moment, he was puzzled when his hands met nothing but cool sheets. It took a few seconds for his brain to catch up, but then memories assaulted him, and his morning wood turned to a full-blown hard-on as his cock tented the sheet. He scrubbed a hand over his face. Unfortunately, unless he was going to jerk himself off in the shower, there would be no relief for him that morning.

He’d wanted Scarlett to come back to his house the night before. She still had to be hurting from her injury, not that she’d ever admit it, and whoever had been shooting at her that night was still out there somewhere. Not that she’d ever admit it was anything other than a random act, either.

He threw back the sheet and padded into the bathroom, ignoring his dick even as it bobbed against his stomach. Any time his brain was on the topic of Scarlett Christensen, it took seconds to get him hard. Problem was, she’d refused his offer to meet him after work. Connor grimaced as he turned on the shower, making it as cool as he could stand. She’d gotten a call just as they’d arrived at the police station the day before. Scarlett had gone all quiet soon after she’d answered, and she had barely spoken after she’d hung up. Instead, she’d leaned over and kissed him quickly. He’d moved to capture her waist and draw her into a deeper kiss, but before he could, she’d opened the door of the truck and slipped out.

They’d exchanged texts throughout the day, but she hadn’t answered her cell, claiming that she was in meetings most of the day. What about, he had no idea, but Connor had figured he’d see her after her shift and find out what was bugging her then. Instead, he’d been met with more texts. Going by the tone, it likely wasn’t him she was mad at, but someone had Scarlett either pissed or scared as hell. Neither of those was okay by him, but it was as if she’d shut him out again.

Climbing into the shower, Connor let out a groan, finally giving in to temptation and wrapping his hand around his cock. He’d tried being mad at Scarlett for shutting him out once again, but he couldn’t do it. She’d been hurt, more than anyone deserved in one lifetime, and he’d vowed that he’d be there waiting for as long as she needed. She ignited something inside him that no other woman ever had, and Connor wanted more, even if he had to wait. But God, the feel of her hot, tight body surrounding his cock. He groaned, tightening his grip as he twisted his fist at the tip of his crown, imagining it was Scarlett’s hand, Scarlett’s mouth. With the image of her on her knees in front of him, it took barely two further strokes before he was coming so hard he shot out an arm to brace himself against the shower wall. He shuddered, watching as the water washed away the remainder of his cum that had painted the shower walls. He washed quickly and toweled off on the way back to his closet, grabbing his uniform. At least he had shift today to keep his mind occupied.

* * *

The drive over to the firehouse was quick, the streets quiet before seven a.m., even on a weekday. Still, Connor kept his gaze shifting every chance he got, watching for anything that looked out of place. Things had been relatively quiet for B and C shift, with no weird-ass fires. He’d been holed up with Scarlett for most of his days off, combing through her small mountain of illicit paperwork, but Connor was sure he would have heard through the grapevine if there’d been another explosion. That was the sort of information that got around the community, even if HQ tried to keep it under wraps. Either Liam or Mason would have found out regardless, and from there it was unlikely to be more than an hour before the rest of their squad knew the details. Anything larger and they might have even been called in.

He strode into the firehouse, waving at some of the members of C shift as he made his way into the communal area, reaching into his pocket for his cell. After he’d stashed his gear, he’d check in with Scarlett and see if she’d sorted out whatever had kept her so occupied the day before. Either that, or he’d just bribe Mason to make a trip over there and find out what the hell was going on. But when his feet traveled down the hall and hit the common room doorway, Connor nearly dropped his phone on the spot. There, sitting at the long dining table, typing away at a laptop, was the woman who was driving him equal measure horny as fuck and crazy as hell.

Scarlett didn’t look up as he walked into the room. She stared intently at her computer screen, her brows furrowed as she twirled a pen in her hand. He hesitated. His first instinct was to walk over and sweep her up in his arms, check her over in case there’d been another incident that she was keeping quiet, and then kiss the living daylights out of her. Connor didn’t give a crap who saw them. He was ready to stake his interest publicly, and by the clearing of throats as a line backed up behind him at the door, everyone already knew anyway.

Matt patted him on the shoulder as he pushed past him to get to the locker rooms. He eyed Scarlett and then grinned at Connor. “Go for it,” he said. “Best thing you’ll ever do.” Connor smiled back. Matt had recently rediscovered the love of his life, after giving up a chance with her over a decade before in an attempt save her life. Connor looked back over at Scarlett. Was that what would happen if he didn’t fight for whatever it was growing between them? When they were alone together, they burned damn hot, but in the light of day, Scarlett seemed to panic. After the night together where she’d blown his mind with both orgasms and intimacy, Connor had thought they were on the same page, but then he’d thought that before, too.

He sucked in a breath, moving out of the way of the door. He was overreacting. Whatever had happened on the other end of the phone the day before had spooked Scarlett, of that he was certain, but only days earlier he’d told himself that he’d be there to support her, not try to wrap her up in cotton like everyone else had. Did that mean letting her still charge into battle when something was freaking her out? He ran a hand over his head. As much as it sucked, it did. He’d just have to make sure she wasn’t going alone.

He walked over and plonked himself down in the chair opposite her. Scarlett looked up, her eyes widening slightly, but she didn’t look too shocked to see him. She had to know it was his shift, Connor figured, and Chief Stone had a reputation for putting you on scut for the week if you were late. No one really felt like washing the whole engine by themselves, or scrubbing the grease stains off the floor, and so usually every man was through that door at seven a.m. sharp. Except today it looked as though Scarlett had beaten them all there. “What you doing here? Everything okay?” Connor pushed his body to relax. Concerned casual  . . . that he could do.

Scarlett shrugged, looking back at the screen. She chewed on the end of her pen, talking around it. “Figured if I worked from here, no one would find me,” she looked up briefly, shooting him a grin. Connor felt his mood lighten. Looks like he’d at least read her right that he hadn’t inadvertently done something to piss her off. “I still have my database access,” she continued, tapping away at the keyboard, her gaze on the screen. “Until someone notices what I’m doing, I can keep working the case from here.” She looked up, her expression now back to tense. “I’ll probably find out more here than I would at the station, anyway.”

Connor frowned. They’d cut her out entirely? That wasn’t right. If he was pissed at that move, he could only imagine Scarlett’s reaction. Was that all the last twelve hours had been, her working furiously to prove they’d made a mistake pulling her?

“Engine 81, Ambulance 32, unconfined fire at Rolling Hills Preschool. Multiple squads en route.”

Fuck! Connor dropped his bag on the table and stood, moving quickly back down the hall and out to the garage. Calls like that were the reason he always arrived at work in his uniform. He didn’t want to waste a second. At least this early, the kids wouldn’t be there yet. He hoped that no teachers had decided to make an early morning of it. Within minutes, he was dressed in his turnout gear and sitting in the truck. He turned in surprise when the door was pulled open just as the garage bay doors were opening. He looked around the truck. Everyone was already there. His eyebrows jumped up when Scarlett hauled her way through the door and squeezed in next to him. “Mind if I catch a ride with you guys?”

“Fine with me,” Mason answered her from the lieutenant’s position in the front seat. “Just stay back when we get there, and don’t get yourself killed on my watch.”

Scarlett saluted him. “Aye, aye, Captain.”

He grinned back. “Save that for Chief Stone. I just care about your staying safe.”

A smile played on Scarlett’s lips, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Connor resisted the urge to pick up her hand and squeeze it. He was ready to shout it from the rooftops, but he wasn’t sure if Scarlett wanted the rest of the squad—or the world—to know what had happened between them. Instead, he concentrated on the soft press of her thigh on his, the way her shoulder bumped into him when the truck hit a pothole. Plus, it could have been his imagination, but he was sure Scarlett took advantage of every corner to lean just a little closer to him than was necessary. Perhaps she needed the comfort, too.

Being called out to a fire at the school was freaking Connor out just a little, which wasn’t going to help anyone once they arrived at the scene. With everything they’d been researching the last few days swirling around in his mind, another fire in Monroe—this time at a place small children played every day—was enough to make him want to hunt down the bastards and end it himself. Cops weren’t the only first responders who knew enough to make something look like an accident.

He tensed his jaw, and his hands fisted on his knees as he forced the thoughts out of his head. As much as he hated whoever was behind the fires, and assuming it was the same fucker, even more for what they’d done to Scarlett, he couldn’t think about it. Not now. His focus had to be on the fire, on rescuing anyone who was trapped and then putting the damn thing out before it could spread or take out more of the school than absolutely necessary. That was his job, and he would do it right. There would be time after shift for hunting the evil behind it.

When the truck pulled up at the scene, the area was already cordoned off, the lights from more than one emergency vehicle lighting up the scene. Mason made his way over to the lieutenant from a nearby firehouse. “Anyone inside?” His voice was loud, but Connor still strained to hear over the noises that blasted his senses: the crack of old wood, muffled thumps as it fell to the ash-covered ground, the hiss of melting plastics and the sharp cracking of glass crazed as the water from the hoses shocked it. All that intermingled with the shouts of the firefighters as they cleared the building. The only sound that Connor didn’t hear was the shouting of trapped victims, or their screams when the fire finally breached their hiding place. For that, he was grateful. With one last look back at Scarlett to make sure she was safe, he turned and walked toward the flames.