Chasing the Fire (Backdraft, Fully Involved, Flashover) (9 page)

He felt Lela tug at his arm. “Okay, you’ve
seen her. Now go, Linc. She doesn’t want you here.”

“If you leave now, I won’t report you to the
hospital review board.” This from the firefighter. Who also
approached him. Hell, Linc was causing a scene, and he’d vowed to
do better with his attitude since everybody here already hated
him.

“Dr. Roberts, report to ER Five.” The PA
belted out his name.

Without a word, he headed next door.

By the time he returned to check on Lisa
Beth, she’d been released. He found Lela at the nurse’s desk
talking to…hell, another firefighter. They were everywhere. The two
of them were off to the side, standing close. The man looked down
at her with an expression that reminded Linc of how he felt about
Lisa Beth.

Linc waited until she kissed the guy on the
cheek, said, “See you later, honey,” and turned around.

“Nurse Allen, may I speak with you a
moment?”

Lela was pretty much the only one here who
didn’t look at him as if he was pond scum. She walked toward him
with a kind smile on her face. She was a pretty woman with
beautiful eyes and a bright smile. “Let’s go to the lounge. I’ll
give you a report there.”

Once inside the small doctor’s haven, she
poured them coffee and sat opposite him at a table. “There’s no
injury to her spine. She’s got a hematoma, but she knows enough to
do RICE.” The acronym for rest, ice, compression and elevation.

“Was the hematoma soft or hard?”

“Spongy.”

“Well, that’s good.” His gaze narrowed. “I,
um, I’m sorry if I was out of line.” He couldn’t remember the last
time he’d apologized to a nurse, but this woman brought out the
best in him.

Lela smiled sweetly, her gaze filled with
understanding. “I know she means something to you.”

“Of course you do. Everybody does after the
incident with Gallagher when Lisa Beth got involved.”

“Can I ask you a personal question?”

“You can ask.”

“Why are you so hard on her? You’re not Dr.
Sweetie Pie with anybody, but you’re particularly hard on Lisa
Beth.”

“Because I want something from her and she
looks at me like I’m a cockroach.”

“Seriously?”

“I lose my temper.” He ran his hand through
his hair. “Shit, I can’t believe I’m telling you this.”

“I’m a good listener, if you want to talk
about her.”

“No, but thanks.”

“Did you come here to Memorial because she
lives in town?”

“I did, Lela. I did.”

oOo

“You sure you’re okay? I can call and get a
sub.” Jane Phillips hovered over the bed where Lisa Beth laid
facedown, her head and chest elevated by pillows.

“I’m fine. I’ll sleep. I took a
Percocet.”

“Your back must hurt like a bitch.”

“Not now. Better living through
pharmaceuticals.”

“At least it’s only bruised.”

“Janie, don’t hover. Go to work. I’ll be
fine. I should get up soon and move around, anyway.”

“But someone should be here in case you’re
unsteady.”

“I’ve been alone most of my life. You don’t
understand because you’ve been with Riley since you were fifteen.
How’s it going, by the way?”

“It’s going. I really think—”

“You’d better leave or you’ll be late. I’ve
taken care of myself in worse situations than this.”

“Someday you’ll have to tell me your story.”
They’d become friends after the fiasco with Riley, but Lisa Beth
still hadn’t shared personal stuff. Though she knew Jane wouldn’t
gossip, the last thing she wanted known at the hospital or
firehouse was her sordid history with Linc.

Jane checked her watch again. “All right,
I’ll go. But call me when you’re up, okay?

“Sure.” She closed her eyes. All she wanted
was sleep…

Much later, Lisa Beth moaned. Needles of pain
mercilessly pricked her back. But the ice pack was cold and she
felt as if she’d slept awhile. “What the hell?” she asked before
she even opened her eyes. “Didn’t you go to work, Jane?”

“Yes, she did. I muscled my way in with a
threat to press charges against the idiot who slugged me for
talking to her.”

Lisa Beth looked over to the chair pulled up
to the bed. “Leave me alone, Linc.”

“No. We had a date tonight. And you’re not
getting out of it this easily.” His tone was dry and she resisted
the urge to smile.

“It’s not a date.” She thought of something.
“But yeah, this is okay. I get to sleep through our first one
together.”

“Go ahead, honey,” he said pulling up the
covers. “You need rest.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Sleep.”

Soon, oblivion claimed her.

oOo

LINC FIXED HIMSELF
coffee and took a
stroll around Lisa Beth’s place. He’d heard she’d bought it from
another paramedic in the fire department, Felicia White, who didn’t
take any crap from him, either. The rooms were large and airy
though there were only three of them—bedroom, living space, which
was the biggest, and a well-equipped kitchen. She’d never liked to
cook…

Okay, let’s play poker to see who makes
dinner.

I’d rather play strip poker.

As if you need to win to get me in the
sack.

Of course he hadn’t. They’d had a perfect sex
life, right from the time they starting sleeping together. When he
was with her in bed, he’d felt nothing else in the world
mattered.

He poked into her cupboards. Oatmeal, granola
bars, whole-grain bread. There was fruit in a dish on the island.
When had she become a health nut?

Let’s go to the gym.

Are you kidding? I’ve been up for thirty-six
hours. I’m going to sleep.

Gotta take care of yourself, babe.

She’d kissed him and flopped face down on the
mattress.

Argh. No matter what he did, Linc couldn’t
stop the memories. He’d been able to let go of them for a little
while after he’d left her. Soon, though, even before things went
south for him, Lisa Beth Duncan had come back to haunt him.

Her desk was off to the side of the living
room. He sat down at her computer and called it up. The faces of
the people on her squad greeted him.

All those years ago, they’d put a picture of
them kissing as a screen saver on their common computer.

He should check his email.

He should go home and sleep.

He should forget this silly blackmail and
give up on her.

No way in hell. Not when I’ve come this
far
.

Yawning, he checked his watch. She’d been
asleep only fifteen minutes. Maybe he could grab a couple of z’s
before she awoke. He’d had to train himself to zonk on a dime.
Kicking off his shoes, he stretched out on her couch. Closed his
eyes…

He kissed her lips. She moaned and moved
into him. His arms wrapped around her. She was thinner than she’d
been in med school. Than she’d looked in the pictures he’d found of
her on the internet, mostly saving people’s lives. His hands went
to her sweater. It was soft, like cashmere, which was odd because
neither one of them had money and were both ridden with debt. He
kissed the shoulder he bared, inhaling the scent that was his
woman. Then he drew back.

But instead of Lisa Beth’s interesting face
and mischievous eyes, he looked into the cold, clear blue gaze of
his wife.

“No!” He bolted up. It took him a minute to
realize where he was. Jesus, in Lisa Beth’s apartment. Not with
Juliet.

A cough, then a moan behind him. Turning, he
saw her standing next to the couch, dressed in sweats with a scowl
on her face. Her nearly auburn hair was tousled.

“You shouldn’t be up.”

“You woke me yelling.”

“I’m sorry.” He eased off the couch and
stood. “Go back to bed and I’ll get you whatever you need.”

“I gotta pee.”

He smiled. “Can’t help with that one.”

When she returned to the living room, she
said, “I’m going to walk around. I don’t want to get too stiff for
work.”

His brows furrowed. “You can’t go to
work.”

“Not tomorrow, no. Maybe the day after.”

“Take some time off.” For God’s sake,
couldn’t she have chosen a safer profession?

She cocked her head. “What I do is none of
your business.”

“You have to be kidding me. I’ve been trying
to talk to you for three years. I had to take a job out here to be
near you.”

“I don’t want to hear that. What’s more, I
don’t care.”

“But I do, Lise, and I never stopped.” That
was the truth. Linc had sold his soul but not his heart.

“Well, I stopped loving you when you got a
new girlfriend. Then fiancé, then wife.”

“I can’t tell you how much I regret the path
I took.”

“Why? You’re a double–board certified,
hotshot doctor. Hospitals stand in line for you. You’ve gotten
everything you ever wanted.”

“Except you.”

“I won’t listen to this.”

He folded his arms across his chest as he
watched her limp around the room. She was disheveled and ornery,
but still his body tightened at the sight of her.
That
he’d
never gotten over either. “Why did you quit med school? I graduated
right after we separated, so you could have finished without me
around.”

She snorted. “I would have stayed, anyway.
Your ambition and superficial values would never have stopped me
from getting my dream.”

“What did?”

She remained quiet as she passed by the
computer, stared down at it.

“Why did you quit? You loved medicine.”

“As I said, none of this is your business.”
She rounded on him. “Can’t you get it through your head that I’d
eat ground glass before I’d ever give you a chance to hurt me
again?” Her eyes misted. He guessed she was in pain, because she
never cried.

“Arguing isn’t good for you. Come, sit
down.”

“I don’t want to be near you.”

“Then go in the bedroom.”

“I need something to eat.”

“I’ll make it. What do you want?”

“Scrambled eggs and toast. I’ll go back to
bed while you fix it.” She started out but pivoted to him again.
“And remember, Linc, I expect you to keep our bargain. This counts
as one of the nights you blackmailed me into.”

“I’ll keep my word.”

“Yeah, well, pardon me if I don’t believe
you. You broke every promise you ever made to me. But I’ll fight
you on this.
I
promise that
.”

oOo

THREE DAYS LATER,
Lisa Beth donned a
dark blue sweat suit, picked up her duffle and headed to her gym.
One she didn’t tell anybody at the firehouse about so she could
work out here alone on days off. She entered the unpretentious
building marked
Jake’s
and immediately felt better. All that
time in bed had driven her crazy.

“Hey, there’s my girl.” Jake sat on a stool
watching two of his own go at it in the ring. He wore a biker
bandana with grizzly gray hair sticking out of it, and his
trademark black T-shirt and shorts. He called out to the
contenders, “Kirk, your footwork’s off. Take a break.” He got up
when Lisa Beth reached him. “Where you been?

In answer, she turned, lifted up her shirt
and heard a whistle. “Musta hurt.”

“I been on my stomach for four days. I’m
going nuts.”

“You can do some weights. Start on light
ones. Fifteen minutes on the treadmill.”

She nodded to the ring. “I’d rather do
that.”

“Not for a while, sweetheart.”

Begrudgingly she headed to the backroom and
hopped on a machine. As she began to walk, she thought of work and
how Tony refused to let her come back for a whole tour. She could
have done the job, but on the off chance she’d be too weak and put
other firefighters at risk—a real no-no in the department—she
hadn’t protested.

After the treadmill, she sat on the bench and
picked up two free weights. Jake peeked his head in. “Start with
ten and no more than twenty-five.”

“I know.”

She was beginning to work up a sweat when she
looked up and saw Linc in the doorway. Goddamn it. All week, when
she was awake, she’d been trying not to think about him, but it had
been hard because she’d had nothing to do. Jane and Riley had come
over each day to check on her and keep her company, so that had
helped. Immobility had been only part of the problem; she’d had
erotic dreams about the bastard and woke up edgy and covered with
sweat.

Now she glared at those navy blue eyes and
thick wavy hair, which was too long. “What are you doing here?”

“Imagine my surprise when I reached your
place and saw you leaving.”

“You followed me?”

“Yep.” He scanned the weight room. “I’ve been
walking around. Pretty basic place, Lise.”

“I told you not to call me that. And yeah,
it’s basic and why I like it.” She shook her head going in for the
kill. “But not glamorous enough for hotshot doctors making two mil
a year. I hear there’s a fancy—translate sissy—gym on the side of
Hidden Cove closest to New York. It might work for you.”

He took a seat on the bench across from her.
“I don’t need fancy.”

She rolled her eyes. “If that isn’t the
biggest whopper of the decade. Fancy’s all you ever wanted.”

His face turned sober. In it she saw pain,
which she ignored. She couldn’t let her defenses down around him.
“Not anymore.”

“Good luck with that.”

She stood, gave him her back and bent down to
retrieve another weight. She felt him pull up her shirt. “Christ,
Linc.”

“Don’t get your panties in a twist. Your
back’s good enough for you to do weights.”

“I don’t need your permission.”

“Just sayin’.”

He watched as she did several arm curls. She
saw him in her peripheral vision and that’s when she noticed what
he wore. “Why’re you in gym clothes?”

“As I said, I was stopping by to see if you
wanted to go for a walk. I figured you’d be going stir crazy.”

That was it! She dropped the weight to the
floor and it clanged with another one. She wasn’t putting up with
this anymore. Calling on all the steel she’d cultivated over the
years, she faced him squarely. Luckily, no one else was in the
room. “What are you doing, Linc? Pursuing me like this. Coming here
to Hidden Cove at all.”