Round and Round (3 page)

“Me?” Kevin asked, instantly feeling stupid. There was no one else here, after all. “MacDreamy Hotness is asking me out.” Kevin slapped his hand over his face and hoped like hell the ground under his feet would open up and swallow him whole.

“What did you call me?” he asked with a grin.

“I only made that up because I didn’t know your name, and with your accent and all, it just came to mind.” Kevin’s cheeks heated. He wondered how much longer he was going to have to endure this before MacDreamy Hotness decided he was crazy and turned to leave. At this point, Kevin gave him thirty seconds, tops.

“I think that’s the nicest thing anyone has said to me in a long time.” He continued smiling. “I’m Angus MacTavish. At least that’s my real name, but I’ll have it changed to MacDreamy Hotness for you.”

Kevin’s cheeks heated even more. But at least Angus wasn’t upset. “I’m Kevin Foster,” he stammered.

“So how about it, Kevin Foster?”

Dang, he loved the way Angus said his name. “Okay.” He wanted to giggle, but that wouldn’t give the impression he wanted, so he managed to stifle it and ended up smiling like some sort of idiot. “Ummm, do you want some coffee or something?”

“That would be nice,” Angus said.

Kevin backed up so Angus could come in. Kevin immediately began fluttering around the apartment, touching pillows and wishing he’d thought about what the place looked like before inviting MacDreamy inside.
Angus. His name is Angus.
He offered him a chair and then fluttered into the kitchen. He started the coffee and put the plate of baklava on the table. “Mrs. Vertebedian made them for me. She’s the lady who set her stove on fire earlier. Poor thing, she came up here to give these to me, and I asked her to stay, and she forgot what she was cooking. So the fire earlier is partly my fault, and I feel really bad for her because now she doesn’t have a stove, and all the people in the building are going to blame her because everything smells like smoke, and it wasn’t her fault.” Had he really just said all of that without taking a breath? He needed to get a grip or Angus would think he was some twink version of the Energizer Bunny.
Breathe. Take a minute and breathe,
he reminded himself.

“Do I make you nervous?” Angus asked.

Kevin stared at him for two seconds and was off again. “Of course you do. How can you not? MacDreamy Hotness is in my apartment. I mean, I only saw you the first time last night, but….” He fanned himself. “Those fire pants aren’t very flattering, but they do leave a lot to the imagination, and then you took off your jacket—” He found himself staring at Angus’s chest and completely lost his train of thought, which was probably good because at least now he wasn’t rambling on like a complete fool. He abruptly turned away and went back into the kitchen. He needed to shut the hell up. This was embarrassing. He’d only just met the guy and he was already making a total fool of himself. He willed the coffee to hurry up. When he turned around, Angus was just biting into one of the sweet pastries.

“Dang,” Angus muttered.

“Mrs. V is awesome. She’s pretty much alone now, so when she cooks, I tend to be the recipient of part of the amazingness. That’s why the fire started, I guess. She needs someone to talk to, and we were having coffee.” He felt terrible.

“Things like that happen. What’s really important is that no one was hurt and everyone got out of the building safely.”

Kevin’s mind went immediately to Mario and Bradley.

Thankfully the coffee finished, and he poured two cups and handed one to Angus. “I never know what to say at times like this,” Kevin said as he sat down. “I mean, I sort of knew the guy who died last night, and I’m sorry that he’s gone and all, but would it be awful to ask how badly the club was damaged? Bull and Harry are friends, and….”

“Thanks to you, things are mostly just wet and smoke-damaged. The fire itself didn’t get much of a chance to get going. We gave them the name of a fire recovery company. They’ll come in and clean, and they have the equipment to get the smoke smell out of everything. They can even help with some of the building repairs.”

“I should call them,” Kevin said.

“They’ll need all the help they can get, I’m sure,” Angus said as he sipped from his mug. Kevin could feel him watching, and at first he shifted nervously, but then he started getting warm and tingly. It was nice being the object of Angus’s intense gaze.

“Do you know what actually happened?” Kevin wanted to lift the mug, but he was mesmerized by Angus’s stare. He turned away and began to fuss with the edge of the place mat on the table.

“Someone set the fire—that much is pretty clear. We’re not sure if it’s connected to any other incidents yet.”

Kevin’s phone rang and he started. He jumped up and snatched it off the coffee table. “Hi, Zach, how’s Bull?”

“He got home early this morning and went right to bed. It was bad, but not near as awful as it could have been. We’re all going down there in an hour or so to help start cleaning things up. There’s a company in there now, but I know Bull and Harry are going to need help.”

“I can meet you there,” he said, turning back toward the table. “What about insurance and stuff?”

“That’s who Bull was waiting on before he got home. So he’s all set there.”

“Is Bull still asleep?”

“Yeah. Harry called and he was going to the club to meet the restoration people. Bull sent him home last night.” Zach sighed. “They’ve been through this drill before. Remember when Eddie’s people smashed the place up?”

“Yeah. Just call me when you’re ready to go, and I’ll get over there. I have company at the moment, and then I can tell you about my morning. You aren’t going to believe this… or who’s sitting at my table right now,” he added in a whisper. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Thanks.”

“Does Bull know you’re doing this?” Kevin asked.

“You know how he is. Every time anything happens, he gets all big and puffy, telling me to stay home. He only wants to protect me, the big lug. But he and Harry need help, and we’re going to be there the way we have in the past. Bull and Harry may own Bronco’s, but we’re its heart and soul. They just haven’t figured that out yet.” Kevin could almost see the mischief on Zach’s face.

“Okay, but if he gets mad….”

“I’ll handle him.”

Kevin chuckled. “I bet you will.” They signed off, and he put his phone in his pocket. “The guys and I are going to the club to help clean up in an hour. There are four of us, and we’ve been friends a long time. The others are all married. I’m the last one.” He didn’t say he felt like the one nobody wanted. That wasn’t exactly true—Ken had been interested, but not enough for him to stay. It really sucked.

“What happened to put such a sad expression on your cute face?” Angus asked.

“I’m not cute. I’ve never been cute. The other guys are adorable. I’m just normal.”

Angus reached across the table and lightly caressed Kevin’s cheek with his fingertips. The touch was almost ghostly, and it sent a ripple of heat through him. “Why don’t you let me decide what I think is cute?” Angus withdrew his hand, and Kevin immediately missed it. Angus glanced at his watch and then stood. “I need to get to the station or I’ll be late for my shift. Please try not to get involved in any more fires today.”

“Okay,” Kevin whispered. He walked Angus to the door and said good-bye. He closed the door with a wide grin on his face until he realized Angus didn’t have his phone number. Kevin burst out the door and down the stairs, then ran down the walk. He got to the parking area just in time to hear the throaty roar of a motorcycle and see Angus, bent over the handlebars, zooming away.

AN HOUR
later Kevin pulled into the small parking area next to the club, near a group of familiar cars. The acrid scent of smoke and damp assaulted his senses and made his eyes water as he walked inside. Men in coveralls were cleaning the walls and floors. Fans hummed everywhere, sucking air in through the front door and blowing it out the others.

Zach hurried over and gave Kevin a big hug. “We’re over at the bar. Everything has to be washed, including all the bottles. We don’t want to rub off the labels, but everything is covered in a film. Bull said we should just throw everything out and get new, but that’s a huge expense, so we’re going to clean everything up. The insurance people are being dicks because of the last incident with Eddie. Harry thinks they’re going to raise their rates sky high, and Bull thinks they may need to find someone else because the company is going to dump them the next time the policy comes up for renewal, so….”

“Where do you want me to start?” Kevin asked.

“Tristan and Jeremy are washing all the glasses and wiping down the bar and refrigerators. You and I can start on the bottles. We have to take them all down and wash the mirrors, shelves, and everything. They gave us some stuff that will cut through the grime, but you have to wear gloves because it’s strong.”

“Okay,” Kevin agreed, and Zach handed him a pair of gloves. “I’m going to get some tables from the back. That way we can put the clean bottles on them while we wash the rest.” He hurried to the office area and the smoke smell lessened quite a bit. He hefted one of the folding tables and brought it out to where they were working. He set it up, and Zach began placing the bottles he’d already cleaned onto it. Kevin pulled on his gloves and got to work.

“So what’s this big news you alluded to on the phone?” Zach asked.

“Well, Mrs. V baked again and brought me up some baklava. We were having coffee when I smelled smoke. At first I thought it was the stuff I’d been wearing from last night, but then when I opened the door, the hallway was full of smoke. Mrs. V left something in her oven and forgot about it, burning the thing up. She called the fire department, and I got her out, but I got too much smoke and the next thing I know MacDreamy Hotness, from last night, was giving me oxygen.”

Tristan stopped to listen, pausing with his hands in the dishwater. Jeremy remained bent low where he’d been washing the refrigerator doors.

“His name is Angus, and he stopped by this afternoon to make sure I was okay, and he asked me out.”

“The hunk running around last night in the fire pants and T-shirt? He was hot,” Tristan said and started working again.

“Yeah, the thing is, he said he wanted to ask me out, but he had to go back to the station, and I forgot to give him my number.” He’d been kicking himself about that since Angus left.

“Don’t worry. If he came to your house to find you, he’ll find you again,” Zach said. Jeremy made a humphing noise, and Tristan smacked him on the shoulder and glowered. “Stop being an ass,” Zach chastised, and Jeremy went back to work.

Kevin began lifting bottles down from the shelves, then carefully cleaned them and put them on the table. Zach removed the register and hauled it away. It needed to be cleaned as well, but had to be done carefully, and one of the restoration contractors took it from him.

“What’s this?” Kevin asked as he plucked a strange-feeling envelope from behind a couple of bottles. “It feels weird.”

“Set it down and don’t touch anything more,” Spook said gently from the other side the bar. It was creepy how he always appeared when Kevin wasn’t looking. Kevin did as he said, and Spook leaned forward, sniffing it. “Stop what you’re doing and get out from behind there.”

“What is it?”

“The reason it feels weird and smells funny is it’s been sprayed with fire retardant. This was meant to survive the fire.” Spook turned and waved Bull over. They spoke quietly while the rest of them stood nearby, wondering what to do.

“I’ll call the police and fire department. They both need to know about this.”

“What about us?” Zach asked.

“You might as well continue. They cleared the place for us to be here, and you’ve already moved most of the bottles. Just be careful and don’t touch anything that seems out of place,” Bull told them.

Spook left the area, and Kevin followed him with his gaze.

Zach tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned away. “Let’s finish up,” Zach said.

Kevin nodded, and when he turned back around, he couldn’t see Spook anywhere. “I hate it when he does that,” he grumbled.

“Lowell does have his advantages,” Jeremy said with what Kevin thought was supposed to be his naughtiest grin, but it came across as silly.

“I know. He just startles me all the time,” Kevin said. He couldn’t be angry at the guy. He’d rescued Tristan a few months ago, when Tris’s psycho ex-boyfriend had kidnapped him, and he’d helped all of them at one point or other. Spook was a good guy; it was just that maybe he should wear a bell or something.

Kevin returned to the task and didn’t find anything else. The last of the bottles were clean and lined up on the table when Reyes, the police officer from the night before, strode in.

“What have you got?” Reyes asked.

Bull met the officer and guided him to the bar. “We were cleaning up and found this. We think it has flame retardant sprayed on it. One of the guys touched it with his gloves, but it hasn’t been opened or touched otherwise.”

“I found it behind the first row of bottles,” Kevin explained.

“So it could have been placed there by one of the bartenders?” the officer asked.

“I suppose,” Kevin told him. “Except when the fire started, none of the bartenders were in that part of the club. They were all working, and it started in that corner way over there, away from the bar area. I was the one who saw it, so I doubt it was the bartenders.”

“Remind me who you are again?” Officer Reyes asked in a tone that shot cold up Kevin’s spine.

“Kevin Foster.”

“He’s the one who put out the fire last night,” Bull said.

Reyes checked his notes. “Right. He’s also the one who sees what’s going on, and then this morning he finds this with flame retardant on it.” The mockery in his voice was clear. “This kid seems to be in the thick of everything.”

“You can go!” Bull bellowed, and the officer flinched. “This is private property, and we called for help. I think my next call will be to the local news media, and we’ll see what they think of your harassment. You don’t get to treat people like this in my place.”