Round and Round (23 page)

“At least our fire starter has been quiet. I hope to hell he’s moved on,” Mark said.

Clark lightly smacked him on the top of the head. “What you hope is that he’s been caught and is in jail. Never wish our problems off on someone else, because the reverse can always happen.”

Mark rubbed his head and glowered at Clark. “You can’t do that,” Mark said.

“Yeah, I know. But you’ll remember the lesson.”

Angus stepped away and let the two of them hash things out. He had to agree with Mark that he hoped ‘quiet’ meant ‘gone,’ but he wasn’t counting on it. Whatever happened, when it did, was sure to be big and destructive. The arsonist was building up his need like a junkie, and the fix required got higher and higher as the days passed.

Angus used the few minutes he had to respond to Kevin’s texts that he was looking forward to seeing him too, and
Woman in Gold
was a fine movie choice. He’d expected an action flick, but something cerebral was fine with Angus too.

“Angus,” the captain called down the stairs. “I’m supposed to remind you it’s your turn to cook.”

He groaned and began climbing the stairs. He usually tried to prep something in advance so all he had to do was heat it up, but he’d forgotten. When he got to the kitchen, he found Randy Trump, one of the other firefighters, who’d been there about a decade longer than Angus, getting things ready. “You’re a lifesaver.”

“Since you were out on a call, I started sloppy joes. They can eat those as they’re hungry and when they aren’t busy with other things.” Randy loved to cook and did a great job.

“That’s awesome.” Angus got to work, and soon they had food hot and ready. It wasn’t gourmet, but it was filling, and the scent called the other guys to dinner.

One by one they came in, filled plates, and wandered away. Some sat in the television area to watch the news as they ate, while others took the time to be by themselves. On television, fire stations always ate together like some huge family of brothers, but Angus had found that varied depending on the guys. Mark got his plate and watched Clark, then headed in the opposite direction. They’d work it out eventually, but in Angus’s opinion, Clark was in the wrong on this one, and if Mark chose to make an issue of it, Angus would have to tell the captain what he’d seen.

“I hope it stays quiet. We’ve been run ragged for days,” Randy said as he sat down across from Angus. “Tell your… friend that the cake was delicious and thank him for bringing it.” The hesitation was a reminder that while Angus was pretty open about who he was, not all of the men were comfortable with it. The central part of Pennsylvania was conservative, but Angus never thought them unaccepting, just not quite sure how to take gay people in their midst. It continued to surprise him how men like Randy lived their lives, having never traveled more than a hundred or so miles from where they were born, even in this day. Randy knew that Kevin was more than Angus’s friend, but he’d made the effort and that was enough.

“I will. He’ll be thrilled to know that everyone liked it.”

Mark strolled in for seconds and helped himself to sloppy joes. “If you keep seeing Kevin, will he keep bringing in food? ’Cause if he does, you should marry him. Heck, I’d consider marrying him.”

“I think Laura would have something to say about that.” Mark was marrying his high school girlfriend in a year. Apparently they had been dating for nearly five years, and he had finally asked her to marry him a few months ago.

“Yeah, I suppose she’d never understand that.” Mark laughed nervously, and Angus wondered if there was more to his comment.

“Actually, Laura is the smart one of us,” Mark said. Angus motioned for him to sit, and Randy got up, leaving the two of them. “I was really shy. I still am, I guess. But not as bad as I used to be. See, in high school I couldn’t read very well. The words got all messed up. They still do, but I understand it now.”

“You’re dyslexic. Wow, I’ve never seen any sign of it.”

“I can handle it now. Anyway, Laura asked me out when we were in the eleventh grade. She said she thought I was cute and that she’d grow old waiting for me to make the move.” Mark chuckled, and Angus smiled. “After a while I think she figured out I couldn’t read well, but she never said nothing. She waited until I told her. I’d been faking it a long time with everyone, even my mom. I figured she’d leave me when she found out I was a dummy, but she got me help.”

“Why are you telling me this? Not that it isn’t a great story, and Laura has to be an amazing person, but I thought that already.”

“I heard you talking to Clark.” He made a face, and Angus knew the feud wasn’t over. “He talks like he knows everything, but you wanted to know how he knew if his wife was the one.” Mark looked down at the table, and Angus waited for him to continue. “I think what Clark said was so full of crap. I think you know you’ve met the right person when you can tell them your greatest fear, the one you’d never tell anyone, and they love you more not in spite of it, but because of it. Then that’s the person you should be with.” Mark smiled quickly, nodded, then stood up and left the table.

Angus watched him go and then turned back to his meal, finishing the last of his sloppy joe. The name was appropriate—he had to be careful not to end up with it all over his shirt. He could remember his mother telling him he wore more of his food than he ate. “I’m sorry,” he whispered to the memory, keeping still for a few seconds. He didn’t realize he was still holding the bun for a minute. Angus ate his last bite and took care of his dishes. Then he thanked Randy for all his help and went in search of something to do.

He hadn’t expected the discussion of relationships he’d started to circle around and then knock at a door deep inside that he’d kept locked and thought hidden, even from himself, for a very long time. But now he stood right in front of it, black and ominous. He was afraid to even touch the knob for fear it would burn him.

“Angus,” Mark called as he approached. “I was hoping you’d show me how to maintain the breathing equipment. That is, if you have a few minutes.”

“Sure,” Angus said, relieved that he had something to do to keep his mind off his immediate problems. “Let’s go down and I can run you through the process.” Angus checked the clock on the wall—just after eight—and wondered what Kevin was doing right now. Then he blinked to bring himself out of his daydream and led Mark down the stairs.

“Everyone relies on this equipment during a fire to breathe, so it has to be kept in top condition. Valves are checked and all the hoses must be free of wear of any sort. If not, then they’re changed. We use compressed air, not oxygen, in the tanks. Otherwise they could become an accelerant in a fire.” Angus walked Mark through the equipment and its maintenance and care. He was just about to call it done for the day when the alarm went off. As soon as he heard the address, Angus went completely cold for a few seconds, then his professionalism kicked in and he jumped into his gear, raced to the engine, and drove to the destination he knew all too well.

KEVIN WAS
having a ball. The club was rocking even if it wasn’t super busy. The guys who were there were all having an incredible time. “I can get into my new apartment on Friday,” he told Zach when he saw the e-mail from his new landlord saying that everything was good to go. Not that he had anything to move into the place, but at least he’d have a home to call his own once again, and he could furnish it as he went.

“When you buy furniture, we’ll help you move it all in,” Jeremy said, looking around the table. “So I take it that the benefit-planning portion of the evening is over.”

“Yeah.” Kevin closed the notebook he’d brought along. “I have lots of ideas that Angus and I can run past Janice and see what she thinks.”

“The kilt-party idea is awesome,” Tristan said as his gaze traveled over to the office door, where Harry was just coming out onto the club floor. “I bet Harry would look good in a kilt. He has great legs.”

“So does Bull,” Zach said.

“Lowell would never wear a kilt—too conspicuous—but if we’re talking about our boyfriends’ legs, then Lowell’s are pretty awesome.” Of course he looked over to where Spook stood off to the side watching the crowd. Kevin sighed and refrained from saying anything out loud. Angus’s legs had them all beat; that he was pretty sure of. He was also the only one whose boyfriend wasn’t there.

“I have a few questions for Bull about the benefit,” Kevin said, slipping out of his seat and walking carefully around the dance floor to where Bull stood talking with Harry.

“Hey, Kevin,” Bull said without pulling his attention off the floor.

“I was wondering if I could talk to you about a benefit I want to hold here at the club.” He followed Bull’s gaze and waited.

“Sure. Go on into the office. I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Bull explained, and Kevin used the access code to unlock the door and head inside. The door closed behind him, and he went down the short hallway toward the office. As he approached the door, it opened and a man came out. Kevin didn’t recognize him until he turned at just the right angle.

“What are you doing here?” Kevin asked as the arsonist turned toward the back door to get away. The scent of petroleum reached Kevin’s nose.

“I wouldn’t suggest that,” the arsonist said as he grinned and pointed inside the office. “I’ve already laced the room with gasoline. All I have to do is light a match and it goes up in a whirl of dancing flame.”

Jesus, the guy thinks he’s a poet or something
. “What do you want?”

“You, Hero Boy. My nemesis. I want you to see that I’m better than you, and that I get what I want. Your apartment was gorgeous: flames reaching for the sky, shooting out of windows, and the building collapse was spectacular.” The guy was practically salivating, and Kevin couldn’t miss the prominent bulge in his pants. God, he was sick.

“You hurt people,” Kevin said quietly.

“I never meant to. All I wanted was to build a spectacular fire, bigger and higher than before.” He shook and trembled with excitement. Kevin could almost feel it. The guy was getting off on what he’d done and what he thought he was going to do. “I just wanted to see my work on the news, to be able to watch it over and over again.”

Chills went up Kevin’s spine, and he wondered how in the hell he was going to get out of this. “What do you want with me? I never did anything to you,” Kevin said as gently as he could, wishing he had a baseball bat to knock the guy’s head in. “People are going to be coming back here soon.” The gasoline aroma was getting stronger, starting to burn his nose.

He shrugged and smiled. “Let them. As soon as that door opens again, I’ll light the office and the air flow will carry the flames out to the club like a flamethrower. It’ll be glorious, a pyre worthy of a master of fire.”

“Okay,” Kevin said, worried Bull was going to come in at any time. “What do you want?”

“I want you to see my work up close and personal. You stopped me here once, but not a second time.” He smiled and pulled a lighter out of his pocket, his eyes wild and his gaze darting around. “If the door stays closed, there will be time for everyone in the club to get out. But if it opens, whoosh!” He waved his arms over his head, and when he did, the lighter dropped to the floor. Kevin knew it was now or never so he rushed him, knocking the man to the ground. He didn’t get up right away, and Kevin grabbed the lighter and ran for the door, burst through it, and slammed it behind him. He knew he might have just seconds.

“Bull, get everyone out,” Kevin said as he yanked on his arm. “He’s in the back and it’s doused with gasoline.” He was surprised he didn’t cough. “The arsonist—he’s going to set the club on fire.” Bull raced over and pulled the newly installed fire alarm behind the bar. Lights flashed and an alarm sounded. The music in the club died instantly, and people hurried toward the doors. Additional alarms sounded as secondary door alarms went off, but no one paid attention. The overlapping sound was nearly deafening.

“Everyone out! Go to the nearest exit. That includes the front doors as well as all emergency exits. Don’t run, but move quickly,” Bull boomed over the din.

The club emptied of people quickly, and Kevin was about to follow when he saw the office door open. He tried to slam it closed but was too late. For a second the air seemed to get sucked away, and then flame burst through the door. Kevin got knocked to the ground, but he remained conscious. He stooped and hurried to the front door. He made it and looked back to see Bull lying still on the club floor. He hurried back inside and grabbed him by the arms, then started dragging him toward the door.

Flames seemed to be everywhere above him, and the heat intensified by the second. Glass shattered and exploded, then the bar off to the side became a blaze of fire as bottles broke or fell to the floor, adding fuel to the already manic flames.

Slowly he pulled Bull closer to the door. “You gotta wake up, Bull.” He kept moving as the smoke built, making him cough and then want to throw up. But he kept going as best he could. He turned and saw light for a few seconds, but then it was gone. Kevin hoped he was going in the right direction. The fire was less intense over there, so he hoped like hell it was the way out.

Someone in a firefighter suit and mask pulled him away. Kevin pointed, and the figure grabbed Bull and together they got him moving. The firefighter pointed toward the front, and Kevin understood that he needed to get out. Bull was in good hands, and they were near the door. He got to the opening and stepped out as a crash sounded behind him.

He turned in time to see part of the ceiling fall. Kevin was about to rush inside when he was grabbed around the waist and moved farther away. Kevin saw two other firefighters race into the inferno. He couldn’t help wondering if one of them was Angus.

“Can you breathe? Are you okay?” the firefighter asked when he pulled off his mask.

“Yes. I’m okay,” Kevin said and then coughed a few times. His lungs settled down, and he took a deep breath of fresh air. “Go do what you need to. I’ll be fine.”