Ripping a bit of cloth off the bottom of his shirt, Ben tied it around his mouth and nose. He wished he had something to cover his eyes to prevent the smoke from making them burn and water, but he didn’t.
Ben started searching the apartment, moving quickly but carefully. The kitchen and the bathroom were as empty as the living room. Ben headed for the bedroom on the far side of the apartment.
He heard barking before he reached the closed door, and dread filled him. Ben rapped his knuckles on the hard wood when he reached the door. “Mrs. Morgan. My name is Ben. I’m a firefighter. I’m going to open the door.”
Ben waited a moment and then turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. A grayish white ball of furry attacked his pant leg, snarling and barking and doing his level best to protect his owner…who lay in the bed, unmoving.
Ben ignored the dog for the moment and rushed to Mrs. Morgan’s side. He immediately reached to check for a pulse, blowing out a relieved breath when he found one. It wasn’t even faint but thudding along nicely.
Ben then went into emergency mode. Could the older woman be injured in some way? He scanned her body from head to toe. She was lying on top of the comforter but was covered by a lavender-colored afghan. There were no injuries that Ben could see.
“Young man,” said a voice that was clear as day and calmer than Ben would have expected, “not that I am complaining but is there a reason you are in my bedroom?”
Ben pulled the cloth over his face down and smiled at the cheeky woman. “My name is Ben, Mrs. Morgan. There’s a fire upstairs and Danny asked me to make sure you and your dog got out okay.”
“A fire?” When Mrs. Morgan started to sit up, Ben reached out and helped her. She seemed pretty spry for a woman that looked to be at least eighty years old.
“Yes, ma’am,” Ben replied. “And it’s already filling your apartment with smoke. We need to get you out of here.” And the sooner the better. The smoke was growing thicker. As spry as Mrs. Morgan might be, Ben was worried about her getting smoke inhalation. It wouldn’t be good for the dog either. “Ma’am, please. We need to go.”
“Son, this body doesn’t do anything quickly.”
Damn
.
“Does your dog have a leash?” Ben started looking around, hoping to spot something he could use to keep the barking fur ball under control.
“It’s on a hook by the front door,” Mrs. Morgan said as she climbed to her feet, wobbling just a bit. Ben instinctively reached out and grabbed her arm, steadying her. The woman smiled and patted the hand wrapped around her arm. “You’re a good boy.”
Ben wasn’t so sure of that but he wasn’t about to argue with the woman.
“Let’s get you out of here.” He grabbed the cane he saw leaning against the wall next to the bed and handed it to Mrs. Morgan. Keeping his hand on the woman to keep her from falling, started leading her toward the door.
“Oh, Howard,” the woman said with a small cry. “I can’t forget Howard.”
“Howard, ma’am?” Good god, did she have another dog?
Mrs. Morgan pulled away and hobbled over to her dresser. She grabbed a framed photo of a man in World War II Army uniform, a folded American flag in a wooden triangle box, and a medium sized wooden box. Ben knew without looking that the box held the ashes of the man in the photo.
“Here, let me help you with those.” Ben grabbed one of the pillows off the bed and pulled the pillowcase off. He wrapped everything up in the lavender afghan that had been covering Mrs. Morgan earlier before placing it inside the pillowcase. “That should keep them safe.”
Mrs. Morgan beamed.
The little white dog barked as it danced around Ben’s feet. Ben never understood why people liked little fur balls like this. All they did was eat, shit, and bark. Ben was not impressed. Still…Ben reached down and picked the little yapper up. He’d shove him into the pillowcase if he thought he’d get away with it. As it was, he would have teeth marks in his arm by the time he got the dog and its owner to safety.
And he did.
By the time Ben got Mrs. Morgan out of the building and turned her over to the paramedics, he had three sets of teeth marks in his arm. He rubbed the abused skin as he searched out the fire chief. He needed to report what he knew about the fire and his suspicions.
“Ben!”
Ben turned just in time to catch a beautiful little spitfire in his arms—not because Danny had thrown himself into Ben’s arms but because the guy tripped just as he reached for Ben. “Careful, baby.”
“I was so worried.” Danny’s words were muffled against Ben’s wide chest, but he heard them anyway. He patted Danny’s back with one hand, holding the man pressed against him with the other.
“I’m fine, Danny.”
“The fire—” Danny gulped as he turned in Ben’s arms and glanced up at the smoke and flames coming out of the third floor windows. “We could have died.”
Ben gritted his teeth, refusing to fuel Danny’s panic by telling the man just how close they had come to dying. Until he knew for sure that someone had tried to kill them all, he didn’t want to cause Danny any additional stress.
“We didn’t, and that’s what matters.” Ben met Abe’s eyes over Danny’s shoulder. “We’re safe, we’re together, and we’re going home.”
The faster, the better.
Killing was too good for whoever had tried to take Danny from him. Abe was ready to draw out their torture and make them suffer painfully until they truly understood that Danny was off-limits to any that thought to harm him.
Standing there with Danny protected in his arms wasn’t enough. He wanted to take the man and head for Pacific Cove as fast as his truck would go. Knowing he had to stand there as Ben talked with the fire chief and then the police didn’t make him happy in the least, but he understood it. He wanted to know who was after Danny just as much as his brother did.
And Abe had no doubt someone was after Danny. After what Ben had told him about the debris burning in front of Danny’s door, Abe wasn’t going to let Danny out of his sight. Someone was after his mate and Abe would happily let his bear loose before he allowed Danny to be hurt again.
“What’s he doing?” Danny asked as he watched Ben talking to a man dressed in a fireman’s outfit.
Abe swallowed hard as he glanced down at Danny. How much to tell him? “He’s giving the guy in charge information on the fire. If the people fighting the fire know what they are facing when they go inside the building, they have a better chance of putting it out and coming home safe.”
“Oh, okay.” Danny nodded like he understood exactly what Abe said but the frown on his cute little face said otherwise. Danny was about as confused as he could get. That was okay. He had two very strong men in his corner now. Ben and Abe would keep him safe from the world around him.
“Would you like to hold your kitten?” Abe wanted Danny’s attention off what Ben was doing and on just about anything else. The cuddly kitten seemed like a good bet. Abe held the soft white fur ball out to Danny, smiling when the man’s eyes softened and he reached for the kitten.
Score one for Abe!
He almost pumped his fist into the air but he didn’t want Danny to know much the man’s sweet smile meant to him. Abe knew the feelings that were developing for Danny were right, and that he was supposed to feel them. He just hadn’t expected them to be so powerful. One smile from the man and Abe was ready to drop to his knees and beg for another one.
Abe felt like a king when Danny rubbed the soft fluffy kitten against his cheek. He wanted nothing more than to continue to stand there and watch Danny nuzzle the fur ball but the hairs on the back of his neck were starting to stand up, warning him to possible danger. He wanted Danny somewhere safe while he investigated that feeling, because it was very rarely wrong.
“Danny, why don’t we go put the kitten in her carrier?” Abe asked as he placed a hand in the middle of the man’s back and started steering him toward his truck. “Being out in this crowd is probably a little scary for her. She might feel safer inside the cab of the truck.”
He was hoping Danny would agree to stay there with the kitten because he would be safer in the truck as well. Standing out on the sidewalk with the chaos from the fire and the crowd of people gathering to watch the mess was not a good place to be. Danny was exposed to whoever might be after him.
Abe didn’t like it one damn bit.
“Keep your eyes open, Ben,”
Abe told his brother through their twin bond.
“Something’s not right.”
Abe saw Ben’s head swing around, his gaze scanning the immediate area before meeting his eyes. Ben nodded his understanding. He went back to talking to the fire chief but continued to watch everything. Abe led Danny toward the truck, keeping a close eye on all activity around him as well. Two sets of eyes were always better than one.
“What aren’t you telling me, Abe?” Danny asked without looking at him. “I’m a klutz, not an idiot. I know when something is wrong.”
Abe grimaced. He didn’t like the idea of telling Danny of the possible danger he was in and watching fear enter his eyes after seeing it leave earlier. But he was even less in favor of lying to the man. He just wouldn’t do it. Lack of communication and lying were the death knoll of many a relationship.
“I think you’re in danger, Danny.”
Danny turned. His eyes were wide, fear filled, the one thing Abe had not wanted. “What sort of danger?”
“We don’t know.”
Danny’s eyes shot to Ben. “We? Ben knows about this?”
Abe tapped his temple to remind Danny of the telepathic link he had with his twin. “We’re both keeping an eye out so I don’t want you to worry. We’ll keep you safe.”
“I still want to know what’s going on.” Danny’s voice was as firm as it could be with fear lacing through it. “Please.”
Abe’s shoulders sagged. “Let’s get the kitten into her carrier and then I’ll tell you what I know.”
Danny frowned for a moment as if reluctant to do as Abe suggested but then he turned and walked toward the truck. Abe followed closely behind him. When they reached the truck, Abe unlocked and opened the door and then pulled it open. He grabbed the cat carrier out of the backseat and set it on the front seat.
Danny nuzzled the kitten against his face for a moment and then handed her over. Abe sent Danny a smile as he took the kitten and placed her inside the cat carrier. He took a moment to tuck the blanket inside around the kitten, making sure she had her orange stuffy, and then closed and locked the cage door.
“She’ll be safe in here, Danny.” He could tell that the man hated leaving the kitten in the carrier. He didn’t blame Danny. As someone extremely aware of his animal nature, Abe would hate to be caged up as well. He felt for the kitten.
“Okay, so tell me.”
“Ben believes someone deliberately set the fire outside your apartment with the intent of trapping you inside.” Abe drew in a breath after speaking so quickly. “And I think that whoever did it is still here somewhere.”
With each word Abe spoke, Danny’s face drained of color. Abe started to feel like the monster Danny had thought him when they met a mere twenty-four hours ago. He wanted to take his words back.
“Here?” Danny whispered as he glanced around as though someone was going to jump them at that very moment.
For about half a second, Abe considered lying to Danny. He hated seeing the fear in his moss-green eyes. But then he remembered his promise to himself not to lie to Danny. “I think so, Danny. That’s why I wanted the kitten put away. If something happens, I don’t want her getting in the way.”
“Do you think something is going to happen?”
“I’m not taking any chances where your safety is concerned.” Abe clenched his hands when his bear pushed closer to the surface. He was suddenly riding the edge, his bear so close to coming out that he could feel the hairs on his arms thickening. “You’re too important to me.”
Big, luminous shards of crystal green stared up at Abe. “I am?”
Abe snaked an arm around Danny’s waist and pulled the gorgeous man flush against his body. He brought his hand up and cupped the side of Danny’s face, tilting his head back. “You are everything to me, Danny.”
“But…how?” Danny’s forehead wrinkled as he frowned. “You don’t know me.”
“I know that the sound of your laughter is just as beautiful as you are. That tells me that you are as beautiful inside as you are on the outside. I know that you look out for those you care about. That tells me that you have a big heart. I know that you work hard and nothing has ever been handed to you. That tells me you are smart.” Abe’s smile wobbled. “And I know that your smiles steal my breath and your tears rip my heart right out of my chest.”
“Abe, I—”
“I know that when I fall in love with you, I’m going to fall hard and fast and never love another until the day I die.” Abe’s breathing was a little shaky as he bared his soul to Danny, but so were his hands. He had never spoken like this to another living person. It was a bit nerve racking. “And I know I’m already halfway there.”
“Oh, Abe, I—” Danny frowned when Abe stiffened, but Abe couldn’t help it. His back had just exploded in pain. “Abe?”
“Go to Ben, Danny.” Abe gritted his teeth to ward off the agony in his shoulder. He didn’t know what had hit him but it hurt like hell and he smelled blood, his blood. He needed to get Danny to safety before it was too late.