Under Fire (8 page)

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Authors: Jo Davis

Tags: #Fiction / Romance / Suspense

BOOK: Under Fire
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Corrine Shannon. A wet dream in fuck-me designer jeans and high-heeled boots. As though sensing his scrutiny, she glanced in his direction as she exited the firefighter’s room before striding briskly down the hallway, tight ass swinging.
A chameleon who adapted to suit his purposes, Lionel wasn’t worried. She’d never dream of connecting the grizzled janitor swiping up urine with the enigmatic, urbane friend from her favorite coffee shop. And she’d certainly never know the man he’d been—until he chose to reveal the truth.
His secret was secure. Soon, he’d make his next move. A gorgeous former jet-setter like Cori had to be bored out of her mind in the boring vanilla community of Sugarland. She needed a concerned friend, a confidant. An exciting lover.
Lionel would provide all three . . . with a heaping dose of revenge as the coup de grâce.
Anger boiled in his gut. Lust in his groin.
Lionel’s hands tightened around the mop handle as he thought of Cori’s upset over her rescuer. A man named Zack Knight. Hadn’t been difficult to ascertain the situation with all the firefighters and cops hanging around shaking their heads, looking as though the world were ending. Since the shot Lionel had taken at her tire was intended only to frighten her, he supposed he ought to thank the poor bastard for salvaging his scheme.
Recalling the earlier call from his partner, his lips thinned into a grim line. The man had been pissed enough to shit monkeys.
“What in the goddamned hell was
that
? Do you have any idea how much creative maneuvering and string pulling I had to do in order to keep your little fiasco quiet on my end?”
“It didn’t go quite as planned.”
“No fucking shit! You’re supposed to kill her
after
you seduce the information from her, you idiot!”
“I’ll be more careful next time.” If he could, he’d shoot the sonofabitch.
“You’d damned well better.”
“You know, this whole operation would be expedited more efficiently if I simply took the slut and forced her to give us what we need. Screw this seduction bullshit.”
“And that would be exactly the wrong move. Cori would dig her heels in and die before telling us jack. We play this my way,” he’d said coldly.
And look where that had gotten them.
Fine. If Cori became too attached to Knight, the man’s only thanks would be swift elimination.
Lionel pushed the mop faster, working down the adjacent corridor. He’d been here too long and someone might get suspicious.
Returning the mop to the janitor’s bucket, he cast a furtive look around and, seeing no one, stepped into the men’s restroom. Quickly, he shed the borrowed coveralls and ball cap, stuffing them into the garbage. He shook out his dyed blond hair, which fell in artful array to the shoulders of his black sweater. Designer jeans hugged lean hips and long thighs, cupped his sex.
Not bad, he thought dispassionately, studying his reflection. He had never been homely, but now? He was nearly as beautiful as Cori. The idea made him smile, even though the total package was nothing more than a tool of a necessary trade.
A vehicle to the ultimate payback.
Caution, however. He wanted Cori all to himself, without interference. From his partner or anyone else. Straightening his shoulders, Lionel prepared himself to take another significant risk.
The traitorous bitch was about to discover she needed a ride home.
How convenient for them both.
 
Zack looked up, eyes widening in surprise as Julian strode into the room. “Lost?”
Julian moved to his bedside, extending his hand. “Heard the great news, man. We just finished a call, thought we’d stop by. The guys are in the waiting room at the end of the hall. I saw your lady outside and she said she’d been trying to call me. How’re you feeling?”
He glanced at the offered hand and up at Julian’s earnest expression again before accepting it with a half smile. Either the man really cared, or those were some good drugs. “Like my face caught on fire and someone put it out with a brick,” he said, his roughened voice little more than a whisper. “Pretty awful, huh?”
Careful of the IV, Julian clasped his hand briefly, then let it go, sitting in the chair beside the bed. Wincing, he studied the bruised and abraded side of Zack’s swollen face. “Nah, it’s not so bad. Besides, chicks dig a knight in shining armor. Get it?”
Zack snorted, then grimaced in pain. “Don’t make me laugh, asshole. Hurts too damned much.”
“Sorry. So this is what I have to do to get a pretty
chica
? Seems like a lot of trouble. What do you think?”
“That you’re full of shit. You have a different
chica
for every night of the week.”
“Yeah, sucks to be me.” Julian smirked, but Zack narrowed his eyes, thinking it seemed a little forced. “Anyway, we’re not talking about my love life. What gives with the luscious Ms. Shannon?”
“Nothing. A little bonding between victim and rescuer, maybe some subconscious, misplaced feelings of guilt on her part over my accident, whatever. Now that she’s seen I’ll be okay, it’ll pass. Happens all the time.” He hoped not, but wasn’t about to get warm and cozy with Jules, of all people.
“I don’t know, man. That’s not the vibe I was getting from her these past few days when we didn’t know if you’d make it. She practically camped here, bullying the doctors and nurses to keep us informed, sitting by your side when we couldn’t. Seems like more than—”
“Drop it, Salvatore. I don’t want to talk about Cori.”
Not with you
hung in the air between them. Appearing stung and determined not to let it show, Julian changed the subject. “All right. Well . . . work has been busy.”
“I’ll bet.” The unspoken accusation resounded in his soft tone. Shit, now things were getting awkward.
Heaving a sigh, Julian straightened in his chair. “Okay, listen good. I’m not after your job, Knight. I don’t want it, not like this.” He held up a hand, cutting off Zack’s protest.
“I mean, sure, I want to be FAO one day. But even you can’t believe I’m a big enough prick to walk over your corpse to get it.”
Zack frowned. “Julian—”
“I’m not willing to settle for what I haven’t earned, and I’ll put in for a transfer before I let Tanner screw me over with the team and alienate me any more than I already am.”
Zack knew he was staring at the other man as though he’d started speaking in tongues, but he couldn’t help it. Jules had a conscience. Who knew? “I don’t—”
“Whatever you think, I’m really glad you’re going to be okay. Get well and get the hell out of here. We need you. I’ll send in Eve or Six-Pack next.”
He stood, heading for a quick escape.
“Hey, wait!” Julian stopped, glanced over his shoulder. “Thanks for saving my ass. For . . . everything.”
“Forget it, geek. Had to do it over, I’d throw you back in the river.”
Well, it was a start.
5
 
The Explorer was a total loss, and now this.
Cori slapped a hand on the steering wheel of her rental in frustration. “Arrrgh! Stupid piece of shit!”
Normally, she wouldn’t lose her temper over a trivial matter out of her control. For example, the egg-shaped scrap heap the rental company stuck her with failing to start. This week, however, had been a
teensy
bit hard on her blood pressure.
A knock on her window nearly sent her into cardiac arrest.
“Cori?”
Splaying a hand over her pounding heart, she exhaled a whoosh of breath, trying to squash the spurt of annoyance at being surprised. She
hated
surprises, and holy macaroni if this week hadn’t been chock-full of them. Pasting on a smile, she got out of the car to greet Tony Banning, an artist whom she’d met several months ago at the local coffee bar where she and some of the other nursing students liked to hang out.
“Tony! What brings you here? Not a sick friend or relative, I hope.”
Delight shining in his dark eyes, Tony stepped up to her, skimmed a palm down the sleeve of her sweater, and zeroed in for a kiss. Quickly, she turned her head so he landed a harmless buss on the cheek. A maneuver she’d had to use more than once lately with him.
“No, no, nothing like that,” he said, apparently undaunted by his intended target avoiding full lip service. “Actually, I was looking for you. I called you at home and stopped by the coffee shop first. Then it occurred to me that you might’ve been scheduled for rotation.”
“No, not today. I was just visiting someone.”
Eyeing his tall, lean form from head to toe, Cori thought for the millionth time what a shame it was that Tony’s going to the trouble to seek her out didn’t affect her the way it would most women.
From his windblown, shoulder-length golden hair—cue Fabio posing in front of a wind tunnel—taut chest, slim hips, and long thighs, Tony was melt-your-panties gorgeous. He had money, if his taste in clothes and his black Viper were any indication, he was attentive, and his interest in Cori had progressed past mere friendship. He’d been sending off signals for months now, though he hadn’t pushed much. Until recently.
Cori’s friends thought she was nuts to keep him at arm’s length. Maybe she was, but unfortunately for Tony, he reminded her far too much of the world she’d left behind.
Too fast, too slick. The sex and money too easy.
That lifestyle had nearly destroyed her once. Over her dead body would she invite disaster again. Whether it was unfair to Tony or not, she’d listen to her instincts.
“Um, Cori, darling?”
She blinked at him. “I’m sorry; what did you say?”
He gave her an indulgent smile. “I asked if you’d like to have dinner tonight. There’s a new restaurant in Nashville off Broadway—”
“I can’t. I have a dancing gig tonight. Tomorrow night, too,” she added before he could ask. “Fridays and Saturdays are my busiest nights; you know that.”
Deflated, he sighed, mouth pulling down in disappointment. “Coffee after your Tuesday class as usual, then?”
“Wouldn’t miss it.” Gesturing to her rental car, she steered him off the topic of their nonexistent dating life. “Know anything about cars? This one seems to have kicked the bucket.”
“Wish I did,” he said, shaking his head ruefully. “I’d be glad to give you a lift home, though.”
Drat.
“No, that’s okay. I can call E-Z Rental and have Donnie Wayne send someone over.”
“Really, I don’t mind.” Face lighting, he snapped his fingers. “How about I drive you to the rental company? That way you won’t have to stand out here waiting for God knows how long before those yokels show. You can secure another car and be on your way.”
She had to admit, while she didn’t appreciate Tony calling them “yokels,” his offer was preferable to waiting. Donnie Wayne Tuttle, the owner of E-Z, who
did
remind her suspiciously of Larry the Cable Guy, would take ages to get someone here. Still, she got the impression Tony was more interested in finding an excuse to be alone with her than in helping out.
“Well, if you’re sure you don’t mind . . .”
“Not at all! Shall we?”
She retrieved her purse and keys from the car. Linking her arm through his, Tony steered her to the Viper parked on the next row. Instead of opening her door, he simply let her go, went around to the driver’s side, and slid in. Another tiny, but telling, black mark against her friend as potential lover material. Call her silly, but she was really an old-fashioned girl at heart when it came to the mating game.
The Viper roared to life, settling into a low purr under her bottom. Tony revved the engine a couple of times, and Cori suppressed a smirk. Poor man had obviously deluded himself into believing she’d be impressed by his expensive rolling phallic symbol, and she wasn’t insensitive enough to spoil his fantasy.
Real
class was on the inside.
Like a man willing to die for you.
Steering deftly from the parking lot, Tony cut her a brief, searching look. “You’ve been a tough lady to reach. You never did say why.”
Was he kidding? “Don’t you read the paper or watch the local news? I was almost
killed
.”
“Of course, I know! Why do you think I’ve been so concerned?” He pulled to a stop at a red light and arched a brow. “But you look fine to me. Radiant, in fact. Could your rescuer have anything to do with that glow? I wonder. I assume that’s why you’re spending so much of your time off at the hospital.”
He stated it like an accusation. Cori felt herself bristling in irritation. Her budding relationship with Zack wasn’t anyone’s biz, especially not that of someone who was only a casual friend. She tried to envision Tony hanging off a bridge, risking his life to save hers, and couldn’t picture him mussing one perfect, golden hair on his head.
“If I’m glowing, it’s because I’m happy to be alive,” she said evenly. “I owe Zack more than you can imagine.”

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