“I’M COMING, I’m coming.” Fuck, I can’t get any freakin’ sleep these days.
I need to take a piss. More banging. Hold your damn horses. I’ll stop at the bathroom, maybe they’ll go away. Christ, look at me. Bloodshot eyes. Sagging puffs under them. Not good. Shit, I’m coming. Halfway to the door, knockings louder.
Wait! Don’t go too close. Look out but be careful not to be seen. Got a lot of practice at this. Fucking son of a bitch. It’s that cunt that’s been nosing around. Okay, okay, don’t panic. Just open the door and see what they want. Just in case, get your gun first.
o0o
SOPHIE BROUGHT LUNCH to Joe Carusotti at his office. It was his first day back at work, and she wanted to see how he was doing. When the ceiling had fallen on him in that ill-fated fire, he’d cracked three vertebrae in his back. After six weeks of recovery, he was finally healed enough for desk duty. She’d spent a lot of time with him during their simultaneous convalescence, seeking comfort in the kind of family she had with him. Now that he was back at work, she didn’t want to lose touch.
His office was huge and airy with plaques decorating the wall space. His desk, where he sat now, was backdropped by several accolades from 9/11 when Joe had worked tirelessly at the Pile. There was also a poster that read “Remember Our Brothers.” When he sensed her presence and raised his head, his face looked pale in the white captain’s shirt. “Hey, Sophie baby, what are you doing here?”
She held up a bag from a local deli. “Just brought you lunch.”
“You done at the Rock?”
“The class isn’t even halfway through. But I gotta meet with Mackenzie today about coming back to the line and so I decided to stop in and see you first.”
“Give me what you got then.”
They moved to the conference table and were working their way through meatball sandwiches slathered with mozzarella cheese when Joe’s partner, Olivia Marsh, came to the door. Even dressed in the fire department uniform—but with a navy skirt not pants—her brunette good looks were evident. She smiled at them, but Sophie could tell something was wrong.
“Hi, there. I don’t mean to interrupt.”
Joe tensed. “What is it? You look like you lost your best friend.”
“I have some very bad news.” She glanced at Sophie.
“Want me to leave?” Sophie asked.
“No, I think it’s best you stay. This concerns you, too.” The woman came inside and took an empty chair at the conference table. She folded her hands and met her partner’s gaze. “Joe, while you were out on medical leave, I started running the investigation of the arson cases in lower Manhattan.”
“I know. You ran some things by me.”
“Not everything. I had some suspicions that I didn’t tell you about at the time the fires happened, or even after I took over. I followed up on them.”
“What were they?”
“We caught the arsonist.”
He dropped the remains of his sandwich onto the paper it had been wrapped in. “What? When?”
“This morning.”
“I was here.” Sophie felt his anger from where she sat next to him. “Why wasn’t I in on this?”
“I’m sorry, Joe, but the arsonist is your brother Tommy.”
Joe recoiled back as if he’d been slapped. “Fuck that. He couldn’t be.”
“I’m sorry. He is. I noticed he was at the scene of the fires too many times to be a coincidence. We investigated further and got a warrant. We found evidence in his garage.”
“There must be some mistake.” Joe shook his head wildly. “Somebody set him up.”
Olivia looked pained. “He confessed, Joe. He was arrested an hour ago.”
“No.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “No.”
“Oh, Joey.” Stunned, too, Sophie grasped his arm. “I’m so sorry.” She looked at Olivia. “Why? Did he say?”
Olivia shot a worried glance at Joe. “He was tired of Joe being the hero of the family. Of taking second place. Your involvement, Sophie, was gravy.”
“My involvement?”
“Toward the end, he targeted your group.”
Sophie felt her stomach pitch. How could something like this happen? Tommy was her family, too. “I don’t know what to say.”
Reaching over the table, Olivia squeezed Joe’s hand. “Your father has to be told. We’re keeping it quiet until then.”
Joe stared mutely at her shoulder.
“I’ll drive you out to Brooklyn,” Sophie offered.
Finally, Joe came around. “No, it’ll be better for Dad if you’re not there. He’d be protective of you, and he should be able to vent. My poor mother.”
“Are you sure, Joey?”
“Yeah.” He patted her arm. “You okay, honey?”
“I’m shocked, but I’ll be all right. Don’t worry about me. Take care of yourself and your parents.”
“Keep your appointment with Mac.” He stood, moving stiffly. “I just can’t believe this.”
Olivia rose, too. “I’ll come with you, Joe. I’ll drive. I’ll stay in the car while you meet with your dad.”
Joe nodded and they left together. When Sophie could move again, she followed them out in a daze. On the short walk to Company 14, she could barely think straight. Foul weather battered her face, but it was fitting for what was happening around her. God, everything was falling apart. Tommy. Joe. The O’Neil kids. Liam. She was so sick of it all. For the hundredth time, she questioned her choices, and what she’d given up for her job. She wondered if Joey was thinking about his choices, too.
She arrived at the station house conflicted. It didn’t help that Yvette Trudeau was the first person she bumped into in the kitchen. Her face in its perpetual frown, she confronted Sophie right away. “If it isn’t the golden girl. When the fuck are you coming back? You’re behaving like a typical female, babying that arm. Toughen up, sister.”
“I’m fine, thanks for asking.”
Trudeau sniffed. “I can barely tolerate these morons.”
“Feeling’s mutual, sweetheart.” Bilotti came out of the common area. He picked Sophie up and swirled her around. “Please, say you’re comin’ back.”
She held up her arm. “Cast is off. Soon, maybe.” Over Bilotti’s shoulder, she caught a glimpse of Yvette watching them. For a second, the woman had this look of longing in her eyes. Sophie knew her whole life was firefighting, yet the guys despised her.
Cooper and Jules and Murray greeted Sophie warmly, too. It felt good. But good enough?
“I gotta meet with Mac,” she said after their greetings. “I’ll see you all before I go.”
Mackenzie was clicking off the phone when she walked in his office. “Hi, kiddo. I just heard about Carusotti.”
“I can’t believe it, Cap.”
“Joe must be leveled.”
“He is. I was with him when he got the news.”
“You freaked, too?”
“Yeah. They’re family.”
“We all are, Soph.”
“I came in to talk to you about coming back to the house.”
“Music to my ears. Trudeau’s driving us nuts.”
She thought of family and of building one of your own. “But I want to talk about something else first.”
“Okay, shoot.”
Dropping into a chair, Sophie wondered if she was making the right decision to even talk to her officer about this. But what the hell? “I need you to tell me the truth about something, Cap.”
“Always. What’s on your mind?”
“A lot. Some things are just becoming clear.”
o0o
DYLAN STOOD in the back of the church peering down the long, carpeted aisle. “Jeez, they said a small wedding.”
“It is small for our family and C.J.’s.” This from Patrick, who tugged at his tux collar. “I hate when I have to wear one of these things.”
“Aren’t her sisters lookers?” Dylan raised his eyebrows suggestively. “My jaw dropped when they came to the rehearsal last night.”
“Aidan said they were beauty pageant material,” Pat commented. “Even if they are blondes.”
C.J.’s brother Luke, also in a tux, joined them. On his arm was another beauty who had soft brown hair, hazel eyes and a knockout face. “Hi, guys. I want you to meet somebody.”
“Ah, you must be Kelsey.” Dylan kissed her cheek. “No exaggeration on your beauty. And it must be a lie that you just had twins.”
“This is Dylan, the ladies’ man, though Bailey calls him the Taunter. Stay away from him. Pat, the Fighter by the way, this is my wife. Where’s Liam?”
“Right here.” Dylan watched Liam come into the back of the church and shake hands with C.J.’s brother. “How are you, Luke?”
“Liam, the Manipulator. This is my wife, Kelsey.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Kelsey smiled at them. “I’ll have to watch my step with you guys.”
Luke went to seat his wife, and Mitch Calloway and Clay entered the church through a side door. They were both wearing tuxes. Behind them, of course, was a team of Secret Service agents.
“All the groomsmen are here,” Dylan said. “Where’s the bride and her maids?”
Grinning like an idiot, Aidan strode out of the vestibule. “She’s here putting on finishing touches. Not gonna stand me up, I guess.”
Dylan watched Liam’s face tighten. Today was hard for him. He had tried to get in a festive mood at the rehearsal party last night, and was putting up a good front today as everyone was seated: Brie and her kids; his Pa; Dylan and Liam’s kids. And the mothers. Aidan had been right. Matka, C.J.’s mother, was the perfect Polish matriarch, matched only by their Irish ma, Mary Kate O’Neil, dressed in burgundy that set off her white hair. She asked Liam to take her down the aisle. Mama sensed his grief, too.
Dylan ducked over to the door off the side. He cracked it open and saw C.J. had indeed arrived, and the women were fluttering around her, including Bailey, who was also a bridesmaid. Three female Secret Service agents were standing guard; one gave him a warning look and closed the door.
From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of someone hovering in shadows. Sophie? But when he walked over, the figure receded. He grabbed for her.
It wasn’t Sophie, it was Rachel Scott. “What are you doing here?”
Pulling back, she held up her arms, arrest style. “No cameras, Dylan, I promise. I just thought maybe I could do a small piece on the ceremony.”
He stared at the lovely woman before him. She wore a simple black dress, but on her there was nothing simple about it. Gold jewelry completed the package. Watching her, Dylan felt something shift inside him. “I guess we owe you one.”
“You do.”
Scowling, he asked, “Is that why you did it? Called me from the fire?”
“No, of course not. I’m a decent person.”
“Well, you’re beautiful, I’ll give you that. You promise no camera?”
“I do.” Her delicate brows lifted and there was a hint of a come-to-me-baby smile on her lips. “You can search me if you want.”
“Hmm, now there’s a thought.” Which lead to another. And another. What the hell? He grasped her around the waist, tugged her close and gave her a long, luscious kiss.
When she drew back, his heart was thumping in his chest.
She didn’t seem offended, just confused. “What was that all about?”
“Damned if I know. Truce is off after today, darlin’. We’re even.”
She was sputtering when he left her. That made him chuckle.
o0o
LIAM WATCHED Aidan’s face as he said his vows. His happiness for his brother was finally superseding the clawing ache he felt over Sophie not being here with him.
“I promise you, Caterina, that I’ll do my best to be the husband you need. I’ll protect and cherish you” —here he winked at his bride— “but not too much.”
A rumble of laugher from those assembled in the pews who knew the couple’s path to the altar had not been easy.
“I’ll let you be your own person, and try to be reasonable. I’ll give you my heart and we’ll build our lives, one step at a time.” He leaned in and kissed her. “I love you.”
C.J., dressed in a floor-length, off-white strapless dress with lace and beads, and flowers in her hair, smiled back at him. “I promise to love you, too, Aidan. To cherish you always. To be unselfish and giving. And to do my best to stay safe and deal with your feelings on that.” Did her eyes sparkle a bit with mischief, too? “I’ll love you and care for our babies.” Her hand went to her stomach. “Starting with this one.”
Gasps went through the crowd. Had she just said what Liam thought she said? She kissed his cheek. “Happy wedding, Aidan. I hope you like your present.”
Slack-jawed and silent, Aidan just held on to her.
Liam heard the clapping start and looked over to see Dylan had begun it. Everyone else joined in. The priest chuckled, did the ring and the do-you-take-this-woman thing then ended with, “I now pronounce you husband, wife and well, baby, I guess.”
Aidan beamed.
C.J. glowed.
And Liam sighed. At that moment, he wanted what his brother had so much, he thought he might be willing to do just about anything to get it.
o0o
IN THE BACK of the church, Sophie wrapped the pink voile shawl tighter around her shoulders and chest. The neckline of the navy blue dress with a handkerchief hem she’d let Hannah talk her into buying was low cut. The dress itself was form fitting. At the time, she thought she’d need all the ammunition she could get. But now, here in church, she felt exposed.
She’d been shocked to hear C.J.’s news, given from the altar. But that was so them. Their relationship was and probably always would be a roller coaster. And as they came down the aisle arm in arm, they looked happier than any couple she’d ever seen. Their courage to forge ahead shamed Sophie.
C.J. spotted her and grinned. Aidan gave a startled “oh.”
Then the guys came with the bridesmaids. Patrick, Dylan, Mitch Calloway, Clay and someone else she didn’t recognize, all with a Ludzecky sister on their arms. What a picture they made, black tuxes with cummerbunds matching the wine-colored dresses the girls wore. Last in line was Liam escorting Bailey. He looked breathtakingly handsome in his snowy white shirt and dark tux. Sophie couldn’t take her eyes off him. She thought her heart might leap out of her chest.
Just as he reached her pew, he looked over. And stopped in his tracks. His gaze raked Sophie from head to toe. Bailey stood on tiptoes and whispered something in his ear then the Secret Service closed in on her.
Liam couldn’t believe she was here, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let her go. Glancing from side to side and behind Sophie, he spotted what he was looking for, stepped into the pew and grabbed her arm. Without saying a word, he led her through the back of the church into a room labeled Baptismal Area. He shut the heavy wooden door and leaned against it, folding his arms over his chest. “Take off the shawl.”
“In church?”
“Yeah.”
She let it slip to her hips.
He shook his head. “I’ve missed that beautiful body of yours, Sophie Tyler.”
“I’ve missed yours, too. You look so handsome in that tux.”
“I’ve been thinking.”
“I’ve been thinking, too.” She waited. “Come up with any answers?”
“Nope.” He chuckled. “You?”
“Not a one.” She moved in then, came flush with him so her breasts brushed his shirt. Her scent, so familiar, filled him, and made him remember what he really wanted in life.
She said, “All I can offer is a way to buy some time.”
“Time? For what?”
“For us.”
Reaching out, he traced the neckline of the dress. She looked so beautiful and vulnerable and, if he wasn’t mistaken, willing to compromise. “And what would we do with the time you can buy?”
She glanced at his finger, which had made goose bumps on her skin. “That, too.”
He laughed, then sobered, and slid his hand to her neck. “Time to figure out how to live together? To get married? To have a baby?”
“Uh-huh, time to figure out how to do all that. I’ve decided to stay at the academy until the end of the class, and give us the opportunity to work things out on both our sides.”
“You have?”
“I talked to the cap. He’s all for the respite. Besides, they’re crying for instructors at the academy, especially women, so much so they’ll save my spot with the group.” A frown marred her forehead. I don’t want to mislead you, Liam. I intend to go back to line firefighting.”
“What about the fear you experienced those few times?”
“I’ll have to work on that, too.”
“Well, darlin’, I’m all for this plan. We’ll take the time you bought us and find a way to be together.” He kissed her lips gently. “I can’t live without you.”
“Me, either, without you. I want you and Mike and Cleary as my family, my real family.”
“Thank God. They’re mad at me and have been impossible to live with.” He shrugged. “So have I.”
“I’m sorry.”
He pulled her close. Kissed her again, harder this time, with more passion.
She smiled when she drew back. “Does this mean I can have my job back at the pub?”
“That and more, a ghrá.” He took her hand. “Let’s go tell the boys.”
“I don’t want to steal C.J. and Aidan’s spotlight today.”
“That little stunt she pulled on the altar assures that we won’t. Besides, it’ll make everybody happy.”
Holding hands, they opened the door and stopped short. All his brothers, Bailey, Clay, his parents and his two sons were waiting right outside the room. Briefly he was glad he’d controlled himself from any hanky-panky inside.
“So, is it good news, Dad?” Cleary asked, looking at their joined hands.
“Yep, son, good news.”
Mike threw himself at Sophie and Cleary hugged Liam. Over the boys, he saw the acceptance on his brothers’ faces. Even Aidan was there, smiling his approval, then left to find his bride. Finally they all traipsed out, except for his kids.
Liam was glad they stayed behind to celebrate the little miracle that happened in the Baptismal Area of their church. God, he guessed, had finally listened to his prayers. Liam felt a certainty and a sense of peace that Kitty was up there with Him, looking down on all of them, giving her blessing.
Mikey drew back and met his gaze, looked up to the heavens, too, then back at him. Liam nodded and Mikey smiled. He knew it, too.
Then the four of them left the church, hand in hand.
-o0o-
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