America's Bravest (24 page)

“Isn’t it great?”

“I wouldn’t be comfortable with that kind of
closeness.”

Hmm. For some reason, he wanted to rattle
her. “What kind of closeness are you comfortable with?”

Tension stiffened her shoulders. “That’s a
little personal, don’t you think?”

“Aw, come on. Open up some.”

Tiny lines marred her forehead. “I’m close to
my squad.”

“Yeah, that’s family.”

“And I used to do things with Rachel
Wellington, but not since…” She trailed off. “How’d we get on to
this, anyway?”

He ignored her question. “You don’t like that
she hooked up with Gabe?”

“It gives us female firefighters a bad rep.
Wait till Parker Allen gets hold of that one.”

“The bitch. Brody really hates her.”

A small smile flirted with Felicia’s lips. “I
think of her attack as a challenge.”

“You’re having fun thwarting her, aren’t
you?”

“I guess.”

“What else do you do for fun, Felicia?”

“What do you mean?”

“Activities.”

“Now that the weather’s nicer, I like to hike
in the hills around Hidden Cove.”

“Hey, me, too. Maybe we can do it together
sometime.”

“Hardly.”

Her clear distaste irritated him. For one
thing, he wasn’t used to not charming a woman immediately. Second,
he’d never done anything to her personally. “You got a boyfriend,
Lieutenant?”

“I’m a little old for a boyfriend.”

That was the second time she alluded to her
age. “All right then, a friend with benefits? I saw you with Derek
Dennison at the New Year’s Eve thing.”

“Isn’t bragging about conquests your thing,
O’Malley?”

“I never brag about them!” Purposely, he
arched a lascivious brow. “Though there are legions.” He pushed
away from the ledge more irritated than he let on. “But you’re
right about one thing. This is a bit too personal. Let’s go finish
our tasks.”

He went inside ahead of her so she couldn’t
tell by his face that he was upset by her barbs, though he couldn’t
freaking figure out why. He’d opened the conversation to see what
made her tick and realized more than ever that he didn’t like the
woman.

She was too cold and withholding for his
taste.

Saturday was a work day at Hale’s Haven, a
camp for the children of slain firefighters and police officers of
Hidden Cove. Three years ago, Megan Hale and Mitch Malvaso had
gotten the place running, and the whole endeavor had grown
exponentially after they extended invitations for neighboring
departments to participate. This year, they were roofing the sixth
cabin, which would bring the tally to three units for boys and
three for girls. There was also a boathouse and a patio home for
Mitch and Megan who’d subsequently married and lived on site during
the summer months. Both took unpaid furlough from their individual
departments for July and August so they could keep the camp
going.

When Felicia arrived, the sun was so bright
she had to shade her eyes to check out the scene. She’d overslept
because she’d been working hard on the arson case for three days
and that meant spending time with Ryan O’Malley. Which made her
edgy. He’d managed to do what no other man had been able to: get
under her skin.

So she was glad to be working outside today.
She took in the scent of the lake, the clatter of hammers and the
buzz of saws amidst the shouts and chatter of workers, all of which
put her at ease. She reached Gabe Malvaso, who held a clipboard in
a group of about six; he nodded to her. “Okay, we’ve got three
people up there already. Anybody have roofing experience?”

Felicia raised her hand. “I do. Last year,
when we put shingles on the second girls’ cabin.”

“Good, head on up then. You’ll work on the
right.”

Dressed in olive green shorts, boots and a
light green shirt with a tank beneath it, she headed to the ladder
and climbed up to the top. Two people were working in tandem to the
left but the sun bounced off the shingles and she couldn’t tell who
they were. Same with the guy to the right, whom she edged toward
carefully because of the steep pitch of the roof. “I’m here to
help,” she called out.

The guy’s naked back was already sweaty and
gleamed in the sun. It was a nice back which narrowed to a trim
waist. “See anything you like, darlin’?” he asked over his
shoulder.

Shit. She’d been caught ogling Ryan O’Malley.
No way, though, would she let him upset her today. “Just checking
to see if you’re getting sunburned. What can I do?”

“Come here and help me.”

She edged her way up to him. When she was
close enough to see the expression on his face, he said, “Didn’t
know it was me, did you?”

“Well, I have to admit I didn’t. We work
together enough, don’t you think?”

“It’s fine by me.” He dropped down on his
butt on the roof, braced his feet on the slant and held out some
shingles. “You nail, I’ll hand. I been at this a while.” Half of
their side was done.

She liked that he didn’t try to put her in a
passive role.

Someone set up a CD player down below and
Otis Redding blasted out with
Pretty Woman
. Ryan sipped
some water from the bottle he unsnapped from a work belt, then
started to sing along. Of course, he was good. But at least the
tunes occupied his mouth. They’d finished several rows when he
said, “Okay. I’m rested, I’ll do the nailing now.”

“No thanks. Keep exercising your vocal
cords.”

After another half-hour, he insisted. And she
was
tired so she sat, took a water out of her own belt and
drank as she handed him some nails and shingles. They finished
another row. She, however, didn’t sing. When the sun continued to
rise, she took off her over shirt, exposing the tank.

Ryan glanced at her. “Trying to make me fall
off this roof, Licia?” The nickname his brother sometimes called
her.

“Shut up and keep pounding.”

At noon, the lunch break was called. Below
them people scattered but she and Ryan finished a few more rows.
They’d quit to eat when from the other side, someone screamed.

“Oh, Jesus, what? Hey,
somebody
…”
Rachel Wellington had lost her footing, fallen face down and slid
toward the edge of the roof. Felicia started over with Ryan behind
her.

She reached Rachel just as the woman slipped
over the side. Her hands gripped the edge of the roof but she
wouldn’t be able to hold on for long. Felicia went down on her
belly, and felt Ryan immediately grab onto her legs. Thank God. She
managed to get hold of the Rachel’s forearms. “I got you,
Rach.”

“Good, ‘cause it’s a long drop.” Though her
words were lighthearted, there was fear in her brown eyes when she
looked up.

Straining all her muscles to stay in place,
Felicia heard Ryan ask, “Can you get her over?” he asked. “Or
should I try?”

“I can, but don’t let go of me.”

“I won’t. I’m squatting down and my feet are
braced.”

Felicia pulled on Rachel’s arms as Ryan held
tight. Her own muscles screamed. The woman was heavier than she
looked. “I’m gonna have to back up on my stomach. Ryan, help drag
me back.”

“You’ll get scraped to hell,” he said.

“No choice. I’ve done it before.”

“Yeah, with a harness and proper clothing.
But you’re right. We got no choice.”

Inch by painful inch, Ryan drew Felicia back.
She tracked her progress by Rachel’s body parts coming onto the
roof: her wrists, her forearms, then elbows and finally her chest.
When half of Rachel was braced, Felicia said, “Ryan, let go of me
and help her the rest of the way so she doesn’t go back down. My
arms are saturated.”

Edging down beside her, Ryan grabbed onto
Rachel. Felicia collapsed into the roof. She watched him help the
other woman to safety. From her vantage point, she saw Rachel lay
back, breathing hard.

Ryan was sidled over to Felicia and eased her
to a sitting position. “How badly are you scraped?”

“I don’t know. The heat of the shingles was
the worst.”

They heard from below, “Hey, what’s going on
up there?” Gabe Malvaso stood on the ground staring up at them,
unaware of the danger the woman he loved had been in.

oOo

A crowd had gathered around them as Ryan
knelt beside Felicia, where she lay under a tree in the cool grass.
The scrapes and burns on her arms and legs looked painful. He’d had
to pick her up and descend the ladder with her over his shoulder
because she was too hurt to get down by herself. “Shouldn’t she go
to the hospital?” Ryan asked, his voice as shaky as he felt
inside.

Zach Malvaso checked her pulse and heartbeat
as Casey, his wife, both paramedics, set out antiseptic, gauze and
salve. “I don’t know yet,” Casey told him. “I’ve got to clean the
wounds.” To Felicia, she said, “Want a shot of painkiller?”

“No, just fix me up.”

“Shit, Felicia, take the shot.” This from
Gabe who hovered over her, a stunned expression on his face,
holding Rachel’s hand. Ryan had never seen the captain so visibly
shaken.

“I don’t need a shot.”

Gabe growled, “Give her the shot, Malvaso. My
orders.”

As the analgesic took effect, Casey shooed
everybody away, including Ryan; he hadn’t realized he was holding
Felicia’s hand. Backing off, he watched the process.

When her wounds were cleaned, he realized the
scrapes were not as bad as he thought they’d be. But her knees were
scarlet. Together, Casey and Zach treated everything. Ryan’s heart
was still beating fast.

“Hey, your forearms need some salve,” someone
said from behind him. He turned to see Grady O’Connor holding a
first aid kit.

Ryan looked down. There were red blotches all
over his arms, too. “Yeah, I guess.”

“What the hell happened?” Grady asked as he
pulled Ryan to a picnic table nearby and began doctoring him.

“Rachel lost her footing and Felicia got to
her first. I braced Licia while she dragged Rachel back up. It was
a sight, I’ll tell you.”

“Licia’s pretty banged up.”

“I know. She was unbelievably brave. She
didn’t even hesitate putting herself in harm’s way.”

“None of us would. You guys either,” he said
referring to the police department.

“I guess.” In his mind, he could see
Felicia’s muscles bulge, hear her grunts as she saved Rachel from
certain broken bones, if not worse.

Since Felicia refused to go to the hospital,
they brought her into the house Mitch and his wife shared, placed
her on the couch, and sent everybody back to work. “I’ll stay with
her,” Ryan volunteered. “I’m can’t go to the roof either because of
my arms.”

“I’ll hang here, too,” Rachel offered. Her
face was still bloodless and her eyes concerned. Otherwise, she
wasn’t even scraped.

“No, you’re coming with me.” Gabe stood
behind Rachel with his hands on her shoulders. His face was ragged.
“For a bit.”

Megan directed Ryan to water and food, and
finally the house cleared out. Felicia lay with her eyes closed,
and Ryan stretched out on the other couch, watching her.

“I’m not asleep,” she said, her words a bit
slurred.

“Want something?”

“I want to have worn jeans and kept on my
long sleeved shirt today.”

“Ditto.”

She opened her eyes. “You hurt?”

“Just my arms.”

“Thanks for helping us.”

“Thanks for saving Rachel.”

“…am mad at her.”

He chuckled. “I know. It didn’t seem to
matter. You were very brave, you know that?”

“Come’ere.” Ah, the painkiller must be really
working if she wanted him closer.

Stiffly, he rose and crossed to the couch,
which was wide.

She patted the side. “Sit.”

When he did, she placed her hands on his
pecs. His muscles leapt and he regretted putting on an HCPD
shirt.

“I like your chest.”

Uh-oh. “You do?”

“Yep.”

Well, he was only human. “What else do you
like, Licia?”

“…hair…nice legs…”

“That’s my line.”

Her eyelids drooped. “…can see why…”

“You can see why what?”

“The women. Why they flock.” She sighed and
took his hand, brought it to her breasts.

Then she went out cold.

Ryan couldn’t help but grin. So the aloof
lieutenant liked his looks? Cool.

Returning to the couch, he stretched out and
for a while stared over at her. Even with the bandages, he thought
she was attractive. More, really. Sexy. Funny, he’d never viewed
her as more than passable.

Huh? he thought, a bit confused. He certainly
hadn’t seen this one coming!

Four days after the roof incident, Felicia
drove to Noah Callahan’s office. She was healing fine and would
return to work tomorrow. While she was off the line, she’d met with
Eve and Ryan O’Malley and they’d finished documenting their
evidence, did some analysis on their own and the findings were to
be presented to the chief today. Profiling and further
investigation would be the responsibility of the arson team so she
was done with the assignment today. She only hoped they’d catch the
bastard who set the fire where Brody got hurt.

An odd thing had happened those days she was
off, too, and she thought about it on the drive. Rachel Wellington
had come to see her…

On Felicia’s doorstep, Rachel held up a
wicker picnic basket. She looked young and fragile in a way Felicia
had never seen her before. “Hi. I brought you lunch.”

Her offer made Felicia uncomfortable because
they’d been estranged—her decision—since Rachel and Gabe broke all
department rules and became a couple. Since Rachel transferred to
another house, Felicia hadn’t had to deal with her former
friend.

At Felicia’s silence, Rachel cleared her
throat. “Look, if you don’t want me here, I understand. I know how
you feel about Gabe and me. Let me say thank you for saving me from
the roof fall, and take this.” She held up the basket. “It’s your
favorite stuff. Quiche Lorraine, salad with pine nuts, and crusty
bread.”