Under Fire (Southern Heat Book 7) Read online

  26

  Scarlett

  Scarlett was halfway across town to the high school when Holly’s words rung in her head. I need you at the National Guard base. Why was she holding units back? Unwilling to pull over, she grabbed her radio and called in, rather than use her cell. It would mean someone else could potentially listen in, but getting to the school was more important. She’d be careful, wouldn’t say anything that could give away the investigation over an open channel. “Holly, what’s the sitrep at the school?”

  “Multiple fire squads have arrived. Triage and shore-up has begun. Sergeant Christensen, Captain Harrelson has requested you find him as soon as you arrive on scene.”

  Despite her self-reminder just a moment ago that they were speaking on a public channel, Holly’s use of her rank and last name surprised Scarlett. It was unlike her friend to be so formal, even in an official setting. But then again, the sheer scale of the disaster had likely overrun Holly as much as anyone.

  Scarlett swerved, avoiding a car that had suddenly come barreling out around a corner, nearly crossing the yellow line. The streets had been just the usual daytime traffic on her way to the station just half an hour earlier, but now they were beginning to choke up. First responders clearly weren’t the only ones rushing to the school. Scarlett knew the town. Anyone who could help at all would be heading that way. Even just helping to serve tea or sit with those who were injured. It all mattered. That didn’t help her mounting frustrations at trying to work her way through the streets, especially with idiots like that out on the road.

  “Holly,” she tried again. “What’s the situation with the National Guard building?” It seemed like the entire city of Monroe was under attack. Scarlett could only pray there was nothing else going on. With the multiple fires, and now this, they couldn’t afford to have their attentions divided any further. It would be all hands on deck at the school, and anything further could split their efforts to the point lives were threatened.

  “Nothing, yet,” came Holly’s reply, and Scarlett let out a whoosh of air. “But I’m diverting a unit there anyway. We’ve got visiting army bigwigs there today, along with federal staff. Some sort of demonstration.”

  “Copy that. I’ll keep heading to the school.” Scarlett dropped the radio back on the seat and turned the car toward the school. Whatever was going on across town could wait. There wasn’t an immediate threat, and for the most part, the army guys could take care of themselves. She could only hope that when she arrived, her captain would let her out in the field with the rest of the world.

  Either that, or she could dodge around him until she found Connor’s crew and could make herself useful. She didn’t care what job she was doing, as long as it kept anyone else out of the claws of whoever the hell did this.

  When the rescue efforts were all over, it would be another matter entirely. She wasn’t stopping until she had these guys in cuffs and locked away. Hell, she’d even hand them over to the Feds right now, if they promised her they’d make them disappear in return. She couldn’t care less what happened to these assholes once she had what she needed from them.

  Scarlett parked her car as close to the growing madness as she could get and stepped out of the car. A quick check to make sure both her service weapon and backup were where they should be, and she was ready to move. At the last moment, she turned back and removed her jacket, throwing it on the back seat of her car. Scarlett grimaced at the bandage that it exposed, still wrapped around her upper arm. It was a weakness that she hated exposing to the world, but with a mass of casualties and civilians roaming around the lawn, the last thing she needed was to be mistaken for anything other than law enforcement, especially carrying multiple firearms. With her jacket out of the way, the shield on her hip was clearly visible.

  Holding a hand up to her eyes to shield them from the sun, she spotted a group of firefighters. They were moving around the main entrance to the school, carrying what looked to be a giant blow-up pillow. Another several were behind them, carrying props and ropes. Light glinted off the reflective stripes on their uniform, and she stepped toward them. Unlike anyone on her side, she could at least rely on current and upfront information from the firefighters. Behind them, a group of young guys were marshaling, lifting and moving lumps of concrete and building materials that littered the scene.

  She looked left and spotted the makeshift command, the white shirts of HQ already speckled with the ever-present dust from the explosion and collapse. In any other circumstances, the civilians hauling debris would be told to stand down, to leave it to the professionals until the area had been deemed safe. No one seemed to be bothering with that today. Scarlett was on the side of the dudes hauling. It was an all-hands-on-deck situation. Besides, she’d never let authority stop her from doing what needed to be done. Why start now?

  She changed her direction to move toward the young guys to join in until she could find Connor and get a bead on the situation, when a hand came out to catch her elbow. Instinctively, she reared back and almost clocked her boss right in the face. Scarlett froze. She had hoped not to run into the guy, but elbowing him in the nose before running in the other direction probably wasn’t the greatest next move. Pity.

  “Christensen. There you are. Holly told me you knew to find me as soon as you arrived.” His face was pinched, clearly showing the strain of the situation. Normally, Scarlett might cut the guy some slack. But then again, she’d been cutting him some slack on his attitude for over a year, and it hadn’t made any difference.

  “I did just get here, sir. And I didn’t see you. I was heading in the other direction.” She looked pointedly over to where the fire crews had begun shoring up the entrance to the building. She hoped that meant they could get in there soon and start locating victims. There was no way she was standing there on the sidelines arguing when she could be helping.

  Harrelson followed her line of sight, his eyes narrowing when he caught sight of where she’d been looking. “That’s another thing we’ll need to talk about: your inappropriate relationship with McClellan. But we’ll have time for that later.” He grabbed her elbow again, and Scarlett shook him loose, stepping back several paces. She so did not have time for this.

  “Inappropriate?” She almost spluttered the word. A year of keeping the peace, of allowing him liberties she wouldn’t give anyone else—even herself—because of his grief and misplaced guilt came sputtering to the surface. She was done. “First, what I do in my private time is none of your business! Second, there’s no law or department guidelines against us seeing each other. If you need me, I’ll be over there. Helping.” Her voice strengthened the final word and she turned to move away. Let him discipline her, fire her, whatever, later. She didn’t care anymore.

  “No!” The shout from Harrelson was loud enough to be heard over the machinery and rumbling sounds coming from the building. Scarlett’s eyebrows shot up at its forcefulness. Something wasn’t right. She glanced over to the firefighters shoring up the building. One of them was unmistakable, even from behind. He’d turned at the shout, and even from a distance, there was no mistaking the concerned frown on Connor’s face or the glint of anger in his eyes when he spotted Harrelson barging toward her. “We’re leaving,” her boss ground out, grabbing her arm hard. “Right now.”

  She looked back at Connor, but before she could get a word out or take another step, Harrelson dug his fingers into her upper arm and dragged her over and behind the buildings. This side of the school was undamaged and vacant, everyone’s attention on the chaos on the other side. They were completely alone.

  Scarlett yanked on her arm, trying to escape his grip, to grab her weapon, anything. When the slap came across her face, it was completely unexpected. Her teeth rattled, and the pain was intense and immediate, blooming across her jaw. The world blurred for a moment, and she shook her head. If she passed out now, it would be all over, and she didn’t even know yet what the hell was going on.

  She looked back at the c
aptain, his face swimming back and forth before finally snapping back into focus. His face was contorted, his mouth snarling, the tendons in his neck standing out in sharp relief as he strained to hang on to her. “You couldn’t just stay out of it!” His voice was low and harsh, the words clearly not remotely a question.

  He yanked her again, hard, and Scarlett stumbled forward. The look on his face scared her. His eyes were roving all around. She expected him to be watching his six, but his movements were chaotic. The man had just about kidnapped her, for fuck’s sake, but somewhere in his rant, he’d stopped looking at her. “All you had to do was stay out of the way. Keep your head down. I promised them, Scarlett! I promised them you didn’t know anything. That you were nothing to worry about, that you’d do whatever I told you to.” His attention snapped back to her, his eyes dark and cold. “Why couldn’t you have just done what you’re told! Derek didn’t, either, and look what happened to him!”

  Dread filled Scarlett, and she pulled again at her arm, finally breaking Harrelson’s hold. She tumbled backward onto her ass, but barely even noticed where she’d landed. What on earth was he talking about? Derek? Derek had been killed by a one-percenter on an undercover job. Sure, Harrelson had been the one to assign him, but the case had been federal. Harrelson hadn’t had a hand in it.

  A sting in her palm wormed its way into her mind, and she lifted a hand to her face. Bleeding. She was bleeding. Adrenaline rushed through her, combining with the confusion and disbelief and disorienting her. What did he mean, Derek didn’t listen? Ignoring the pain, she pushed her hand back onto the ground and levered herself up. Halfway to her feet, Scarlett stopped cold when the cool metal of a gun barrel met her forehead.

  27

  Connor

  Connor looked over the school’s lawn, catching sight of Scarlett as her car pulled up. With one hand stabilizing the strutting they were putting in place, he couldn’t leave to go over and meet her, but a smile crossed his face as relief settled on his shoulders at the sight of her. She was there at the disaster, yes, but in one piece. The makeshift command center was just across the way. Make her way there and she’d be safe, surrounded by half a dozen captains and battalion chiefs from their own departments, let alone the sheriff’s deputies as well.

  His smile dropped away when he spotted Captain Harrelson storming his way out of the command center and over to Scarlett. Her eyes focused on the massive damage to the structure in front of her, she didn’t notice him coming until he had caught up to her. Connor shifted, his gaze swinging back to the rigging as he crouched down further to stabilize the load.

  He knew Scarlett would have preferred to avoid her boss and march into the fray head-on, but Connor’s gut, let alone his heart, would relax properly once he knew she was at command and safe. Besides, Alex Stone was doing a great job ensuring that no one else got access to the scene—cops or otherwise—until his squad and others had shored up the structure and made sure everyone had the right protective gear. Even then, it would likely be them clearing anything inside. The cops and associated law enforcement could help with rescuing surface victims and crowd control.

  He grimaced, not from his hand tightening on the rig, but from the realization that whoever did this was likely standing out there, somewhere among the vast sea of people on the lawn. Arsonists loved to revisit the scene of the crime, often even situating themselves into the handling and investigation. He’d hazard a guess that asshole bombers were no different. Scarlett’s perp was likely out there right now. Watching. Waiting.

  And she was standing right in the middle of the fucking lawn. The rigging finally in place, he stood and looked over for her again. What Connor saw made the knot in his belly from his fears for Scarlett’s safety unravel into a massive rush of adrenaline as her Goddamned boss grabbed her arm and dragged her around the building’s corner. The disappearance of Scarlett from his line of sight and likely away from anyone’s view at all made Connor’s breath quicken to match his thumping heart.

  He looked over to Seth, who had followed his line of sight. His jaw was tight and his muscles tensed, too. “Go,” Seth said. “I’ll hold it down here.”

  Connor didn’t need to hear anything more. He dropped his tools and ran. The distance was minimal, just enough to get away from the crowd and likely not be overheard, but every step felt like an age. When he finally reached the building’s edge and turned the corner, he stopped dead. His heart nearly did the same in his chest at the sight of Scarlett scrambling on the ground, a gun pointed directly at her head.

  His feet were moving again before his brain had even made the call. It was instinctual, his need to place himself between Scarlett and the gun, and Connor’s body reacted.

  He threw himself at Harrelson, throwing his arm wide as their bodies collided. They hit the ground in a cloud of dust, blanking out Connor’s vision for a critical few seconds. He could still hear, and the sound of the gun going off splintered through his mind. Had he been fast enough? Was Scarlett safe?

  He reached out blind, struggling against a body lying underneath him. Sweat ran down his face, barely able to make out the face of Harrelson beneath him. The man might have been able to best Scarlett physically, but Connor was bigger, younger, and fitter than the captain. He’d die himself before he let the man get another shot at the gun.

  Harrelson got a leg out and managed to lever himself up and over Connor. Not on his watch. He rolled, grabbing the man by the throat. He didn’t care if he suffocated the bastard, as long as Scarlett was safe.

  Scarlett.

  He heard her voice, ringing out over the sudden chaos surrounding them. “Connor! Don’t kill him! I need to know.”

  What on earth had the bastard told her that had her pleading for his life? The pain in her voice was enough to have Connor loosen his grasp just enough for Harrelson to breathe. He hadn’t counted on the man’s hand coming up with a rock, impacting the side of Connor’s head. He fell backward, his vision darkening around the edges as pain danced and swirled through his mind. No. He couldn’t lose consciousness. He wouldn’t allow it. Had to keep her safe.

  Connor lurched to his feet, and he launched at Harrelson again, when another crash rang out, along with the best sound he’d ever heard.

  “Freeze, Asshole!” Scarlett yelled. “Or I’ll take you out myself.”

  The shock of the sound had Harrelson twisting, and Connor saw his chance. He grabbed Harrelson’s arm, locking the elbow and moving it behind him, forcing the man to roll. Once the other man was on his belly, Connor ignored the pain shooting through his spine and moved, locking the arm behind Harrelson and placing his knee square in his back. Only when he’d grabbed the man’s hair and forced his head up, completely immobilizing him, did he dare look up. The sight before him made him finally be able to breathe again and almost stopped his heart all at once. Scarlett stood before them, blood pouring out of a wound on her shoulder, holding her gun in a shaking, single hand.

  “I dare you,” she said. “Twitch, and I’ll do it.”

  Harrelson grunted beneath him, and Scarlett’s hand shook with the exertion of holding up the weapon. Just as Connor thought he’d have to race Harrelson to the discarded gun lying just yards from them on the ground, Seth rounded the corner, followed closely by Mason and then Scott Wilder, Seth’s best friend and a member of Monroe P.D. Scott’s eyes widened at the sight of his boss lying restrained on the ground, but seconds later, he was standing by Connor’s side. The man deserved a damn medal. He didn’t question a thing, just took one look at Scarlett and grabbed his cuffs, taking Harrelson into custody.

  The moment Scott took ahold of his boss, Connor dropped his own hold and ran to Scarlett, scooping her up in his arms and planting a hand over the wound in her shoulder. “Medic!” he called. He looked over to Mason and Seth with wild eyes. “Where the hell are Shane and Charlie?”

  Scarlett looked up at him, a soft grin on her face, despite the pain in her eyes. “We did it, Babe.”

  C
onnor leaned forward and dropped a kiss on her forehead, his hand still pressing firmly on the wound. “We sure did, Gorgeous. Together.”

  28

  Scarlett

  Scarlett looked over at Connor, laughing at the amount of hot sauce the man had added to his eggs. No, not the man. Her man. Forever. She’d finally done it: put the hurt and guilt surrounding Derek’s death behind her and moved on.

  In a weird way, she had Harrelson to thank for that, she supposed. Until that day of the school bombing, she hadn’t realized just how much guilt she’d been carrying around over Derek’s death. She’d blamed it all on her grief, but really her inability to move forward with her life was more than that. She’d blamed herself. That she’d encouraged him to the part of the taskforce, a “great opportunity,” that she hadn’t seen the danger before it was too damn late, even that she was a cop and still working the same job that had taken his life. It hadn’t mattered that Derek hadn’t seen it, either, or that he’d want her to be happy. Scarlett hadn’t been able to admit any of it to herself, and so she’d remained stuck in limbo for over a year. Not dead, but not living, either. Until Connor.

  Connor McClellan had burst into her life in literally a blaze of glory. When she’d seen him at the first fire, in full turnout gear, outlined against the flames, he’d made her heart come alive again, to fight for something more than existing for the first time in months. And yet, her mind couldn’t follow what her heart had wanted. It couldn’t let go of the guilt.

  Until Harrelson had admitted under interrogation that there’d been nothing she could have done. It was his fault: Derek’s death, the bombings, the entire damn thing. He’d masterminded the entire damn thing to cover up his own crimes. He was a dirty cop, on a terrorist’s payroll. Now, he was in federal custody, spilling the entire sordid secret to them. He was still trying to cover his own ass, but the good guys would win there, too. She was still sure of that.