Round and Round (13 page)

“I’m not interested in Antonio.” Angus took Kevin’s hand once again and hoped he’d go back to sleep. “I’m starting to understand that he isn’t really my type.”

“What is?”

Angus leaned close. “Cute heroes with fire hoses,” Angus told him. He saw Kevin smile under the oxygen mask. “So don’t you worry about anything.”

“But I was nasty and didn’t call you,” Kevin said. “I should have but I was scared.”

“I yelled at you, and I had no cause to do that. So you think about getting better. Before I got the fire call, I was going to come over and try to see you. Maybe bring some flowers and stuff. But then other things got in the way.”

Two other guys about the same age as Kevin came into the room. Zach greeted each of them before introducing them to Angus. “This is Jeremy and Tristan.”

“We got here as soon as we could,” Jeremy said. “It was hard getting any information. Even Spook nosed around and didn’t find out anything.”

“Someone burned down my building,” Kevin said. “He’s after me and tried to kill me. He did kill Mrs. V.” Kevin began to cry, and that set off more coughing.

The nurse came in right away, but this time she didn’t scold him. “Honey, you need to try to give your lungs a rest.” She removed the mask and ran a line that attached to his nose. At least Kevin would be able to talk more easily. “You boys all need to let him sleep, or I’ll have to ask you to leave. He can only talk a little, and he needs his rest.” Her steely gaze settled on each of them in turn, and then she left the room.

“You really think someone tried to kill you?” Tristan asked. “That’s pretty dramatic, dude.”

“It’s true. The police were here a little while ago,” Kevin explained.

“Tristan and I got together and talked, and when you get out of here, we’ll take you shopping and get you new clothes and stuff. You can stay with one of us until you find a place to live, you know that,” Jeremy said.

“Thanks. Angus has someone helping me find a place already, and he brought me some things to wear.” Kevin smiled. “I’m not sure where I’ll live, but the police think this guy is fixated on me, so I don’t want to put anyone else in danger. I’m not sure that I’m really safe here, but I can’t leave.”

“You’ll be fine,” Angus said. “There are plenty of people around, and Antonio has things under control. It’s what he’s good at.”

“If you say so,” Kevin said. He reached for a cup of water. Zach helped him drink, and then Kevin closed his eyes and looked ready to drop off to sleep again.

Zach leaned over the bed. “I’m going to go and take one of the Boob-sey Twins with me. Jeremy and I can get anything you need, so just call us. Tristan is going to sit with you for a while.” Zach hugged his friend and pulled Jeremy out of the room with him.

“Why?” Jeremy asked.

“Because he doesn’t need all of us talking to him,” Zach said, his voice getting softer as they left. “We’ll be back in a little while.”

Kevin sighed, and Tristan sat in the chair Zach had vacated.

“I should let you rest too, but I’ll come up again later to see you.” Angus leaned over the bed and kissed Kevin gently on his forehead. “I’ll leave my number on the table here, and you can call if you need me.”

“I will,” Kevin said, and Angus left the room. He strode down the hallway to the elevators and saw Zack and Jeremy in one of the waiting rooms, talking together. Angus hadn’t really thought they’d leave, but giving Kevin some quiet time was definitely a good idea. He was about to get into the elevator, but instead he walked over to where they were talking.

“You might want to see about getting Kevin a replacement phone. He lost his in the fire.”

“We were just talking about that. Jeremy is going to stay here, and I’ll get Kevin a phone and stuff.” Zach stood and walked with Angus back to the elevator. “I don’t want him to be alone.”

“That’s a good idea. You heard what Antonio said. This guy is out there and will be looking for him. Tell Jeremy and Tristan to keep their eyes open, including hospital personnel. And don’t be afraid to ask questions.”

“Where are you going?”

“To the station.” The elevator doors opened, and the two of them stepped inside. “I’m going to see if I can arrange a safe place for Kevin once he can come home. Being alone in an apartment isn’t going to help him, and staying with a friend is only going to put you all in danger. Remember, this guy has already set half a dozen fires at least, and now he’s killed someone. He doesn’t have much to lose now. Guys like him get a thrill, almost a sexual high, out of fire. They feed off it just like the flames feed off the wood. He isn’t going to stop unless he’s caught.”

“Okay,” Zach said, “but promise you’ll let Kevin know about anything you find.”

“I will.” The doors slid open, and Angus walked toward the hospital exit. He got into his car, pulled out of the lot, and drove through traffic to the fire station.

“Your buddy was here stirring everyone up just a while ago,” Captain Justinian said when Angus passed him as he was heading out of the station. “I’m going home to spend a few hours with my family before my wife decides to divorce me. Collins is on duty, and he can help with anything you need.”

“Thanks.” Angus went inside and up to the captain’s office, knocking on the doorframe. “I’ve got some information you need to know.”

Captain Collins looked up from his desk. He was one of those men who, when they were at work, were all business. Angus doubted he had ever been “one of the guys.” “You do?”

“Yes, I was speaking with Antonio Reyes from the Harrisburg PD, and he said there was a note from our fire starter at the apartment-building fire.”

“Yeah. It was delivered to me by a kid.” Collins was impatient as all hell. “Get to the point.”

“The arsonist has fixated on one of the tenants there, a man named Kevin Foster, and he’s in the hospital and will need protection. What safer place could there be for him than a fire station?”

Collins laughed. “Rumor has it that the victim you’re talking about is also the guy you’ve been dating. So instead of using the fire station as a witness protection safe house, you could take him in. You know the regulations, not to mention the liability of allowing a civilian to stay at the firehouse. If we allowed it for this guy, then I’d have guys requesting conjugal visits with their girlfriends in the dormitory.” He rolled his eyes, and Angus was even happier than usual that he didn’t have to work with Collins on a regular basis.

“He needs protection and might be able to help us capture this arsonist.”

“If he needs help, then I suggest you put him up at your place. That way the two of you can play house and sew curtains together, or do whatever it is guys like you do.” Collins looked up toward the door, telling Angus he was dismissed and that his presence was no longer welcome.

Angus turned and left the office. “Asshole,” he muttered under his breath.

“What was that?” Collins demanded. Angus didn’t answer and continued to the exit. “I heard that,” Collins said, coming up behind him.

“And I heard what you said, loud and clear. I’ll be bringing it up with the union, and I will request sensitivity training. The department has a clear antidiscrimination policy as well as an antiharassment policy, and your words violated both. I’ve played the games and been a team member for a long time, but I’m not going to take that from you or anyone. So I see sensitivity training in your future.” Angus broke out in a grin at the way Captain Collins paled. The course was two days, taken during off-shift time. He’d had to take it once, as had most of the department, but sitting through it again would be painful.

“You know I can control your schedule,” Collins said softly.

“Add more nails to your coffin,” Angus told him plainly. He saw the other men pretending not to hear, but they all clearly had. “I have witnesses.” How a simple question had gotten him into a test of wills with one of the captains was beyond him, but he wasn’t going to back down. He’d done plenty of that in the name of getting along and team unity.

He turned to leave, needing to get out of the station before things escalated further. He was grateful when Collins didn’t follow him out. He got to his car and drove home, gripping the wheel until his knuckles were white.

“Asshole,” he breathed for the millionth time as he pulled into his garage next to his motorcycle. He went upstairs into the house and wandered aimlessly through the rooms. He wasn’t sure exactly what he was angry about. He did know the regulations, but an exception could have been made, especially for someone who might help them catch the arsonist who’d been keeping them so busy lately.

He pulled open the door to the guest room and sighed. He hadn’t had anyone use the room since a friend stayed over last year. He’d set it up when he’d bought the house, but he had very few guests, and this was the least used room in the house. There was dust on the top of the dresser and the bedding. Angus pulled off the spread and carried it outside, where he shook it out good. When he returned, he dumped the spread on the bed and got some Swiffer cloths and began wiping down everything in the room. He was halfway through his chore when he realized what he was doing. Collins might be an asshole, but some of what he said had struck a chord, and Angus figured he could offer his guest room to Kevin if he wanted it.

He finished dusting and then got the vacuum and ran it over the carpet. When he was done, Angus put everything away and remade the bed. He also opened the window to let in some fresh air.

The sun was setting by the time he was done. Angus ate a quick dinner and then left again, closing the windows and locking up the house before returning to the hospital.

Kevin was alone when he walked into the room. He opened his eyes and gave him a small smile.

“Where are your friends?” Angus asked.

“Most of them left a little while ago. Zach said he needed something to eat and that he’d be right back.”

Angus nodded. “How is the breathing?”

“Okay as long as I don’t laugh, swallow too hard, sneeze, chuckle, or inhale too deeply. Basically it sucks.” Kevin exhaled slowly. “I need to stop making jokes about it or I’ll make myself laugh and cough. Then I’ll have Nurse Adolph come in and yell at me again. The last time she did, she glared at me for almost half an hour and fluffed my pillows half to death.”

“Okay….” Angus sat in the comfortable chair on the far side of the bed.

“Have you heard anything from the police guy?”

“No. I probably won’t unless he needs something from me. It’s likely you’ll hear from him first.”

Kevin grew quiet and lay in bed, staring straight ahead. “I keep thinking about when I can go home, but I don’t have one. It’s gone. Everything is gone.”

“It will be okay. You have lots of friends to help you. I cleaned out my guest room in case you’d like to use it. I figured the safest place for you to stay was with a firefighter.”

“Do you know anything about the other people in the building? Is someone taking care of them? There were families with children.”

“I’m sure there are. The Red Cross was working with them—at least that’s what I saw at the scene.” Angus took Kevin’s hand. “You need to rest. Is there anyone you want to call? You can use my phone if you like.”

“I called my dad, and he came over from Shippensburg. He went with Zach to the cafeteria. He should be back soon.” Angus nodded, pleased that someone had alerted Kevin’s dad.

“Just rest. I’ll be here,” Angus said, holding Kevin’s hand as he closed his eyes once more. A few minutes later Zach returned with Kevin’s father. He looked like an older version of Kevin. Angus stood and quietly walked around the bed.

“This is Angus. He rescued Kevin,” Zach said.

“James,” Kevin’s father said. “I appreciate all you did.” Judging by the confusion on his face, he didn’t seem to understand why Angus was here.

“Angus and I are dating, Dad,” Kevin said softly. “He was coming over to see me when he was called in to work. He apparently pulled me out just before the entire place collapsed.”

James nodded and walked to Kevin’s bed. “I’m glad you’re okay, and when I get home, I’ll clean out your room for you to use until you find a place.”

Angus wasn’t sure how Kevin felt about that idea, and Kevin didn’t directly answer the question. “I’ll be here a little longer, and people are already working to help me find a new place.” Kevin’s father looked disappointed. “You can’t blame me for not wanting to move back home. I have my own life.”

“You can do more,” Kevin’s dad insisted. “You know you’re better than what they have you doing on that help desk.”

“Kevin and I are working on a project,” Angus said. “We have an idea that could be used to help us train firefighters. It’s sort of a fire simulation video game. Kevin hasn’t had time to work on it yet, but it could be a big help with training in the department.” He and Kevin hadn’t talked about it again since their date, but the glow in Kevin’s eyes said that speaking up had been the right thing to do. “As I was saying, I have a guest room at my house, and if you want to stay with me, then you and I could get started on the requirements.”

“That would be cool.” For the first time since Angus had seen him in the hospital there was life and some excitement in Kevin’s voice. “I already have some ideas, and as I was going around town, I started to make a list of the types of buildings that we could include. You said the capitol, and I was thinking the high-rise Hilton downtown as well. Also, we could include that paddle-wheel boat—the Pride of the Susquehanna—that goes out on the river. How would you fight a fire that happened offshore? Stuff like that.”

Kevin’s father sat in one of the other chairs, clearly defeated. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“I am.”

“He’s a hero,” Zach said. “He saved the club in a fire.”

“Good grief. Are these things following you? First everything is fine, and then there are three fires in a few weeks.”

“Someone set the fires, Dad, and I’m fine,” Kevin said. He reached for his dad, lightly stroking his arm. “Angus saved me and everything is cool.”

James’s eyes narrowed. “Zach told me someone was after you.”