Under Fire (Southern Heat Book 7) Page 18

  She looked down at her plate, moving food around restlessly with her fork. They were supposed to be celebrating, and she was letting the past drag her down again. Recent past or years old, it didn’t matter anymore. She’d made the promise to Connor, and to herself, that she would allow herself to move on and live again. Love again. It was a promise she intended to keep.

  All that time, she’d thought Harrelson’s grief from Derek’s death was the same as hers, when in reality, it had been the guilt of taking the life of one of his own men. He was forced to, according to him, by the men who controlled the syndicate he worked for. The same men who had masterminded the group Derek’s taskforce had been tracking, and the same men who had been experimenting with the deadly explosive TATP in Monroe.

  It wasn’t until the day after the school bombing that the forensics from the earlier fires had come through. Amazing what you could do quickly when the Feds got wind of terrorist activity. She snorted. Guess they were useful for something, after all. Under the weight of the new evidence, Harrelson had folded.

  The group had been trialing the explosive in Monroe, both for its explosive potential and damage and the first responders’ actions. All with plans to take out the National Guard building that day, and about a dozen high-ranking military officials and federal agents with it. The high school had been nothing more than a spectacular distraction, aimed at taking all the county’s resources away before they struck.

  What they hadn’t counted on was Holly’s gut. Scarlett had learned the previous few weeks that it rivaled her own. Something hadn’t smelled right to Holly, even in all that chaos, and she’d kept a few units back. When Harrelson had been arrested at the school, those units, along with members of Derek’s original taskforce, had taken them down before they’d detonated their final bomb.

  It was a bittersweet moment, seeing some of the men and women he’d worked with again. They hadn’t stopped after his death, vowing to discover what had really happened to him. Now, thanks to them and Connor, Derek had justice.

  They all did.

  The sound of a chair scraping on the floor brought her back to the present. “What?” Jeremy said, grinning at her. “You thought you’d be able to eat without us? Never.”

  Scarlett chuckled, wincing in sympathy when their arms bumped together. Jeremy’s was in a sling too, his shoulder completely immobilized. He’d injured himself in the high school rescue, a torn rotator cuff that had sidelined him, likely for months. She could relate with his frustrations. She’d been damn lucky, with no nerve damage or broken bones, but the gunshot wound had still required surgery. She’d woken up to find Connor grasping her hand, his gaze locked on her face. When she’d opened her eyes, his expression had changed from tight stress to a smile so wide and beautiful she’d fallen in love with him all over again on the spot.

  That’s what it was. Love. Now that the guilt and pain of the past had finally fallen away, Scarlett had been able to see what was right in front of her. She’d moved in with Connor while she was recovering from the surgery, and she’d never left. She still had at least a month before she’d be able to return to work, too, but hey, she could keep Jeremy company. Maybe they’d even see each other at physiotherapy. Though, from what she’d heard from the guys, Jeremy would rather keep his appointments just him and his new, very hot physiotherapist only. Scarlett chuckled. She and Connor had found each other on the job. Who was she to stand in the way of true love?

  She leaned over the table, taking his hand and entwining her fingers with his. The crowd of sweaty and dirty firefighters that had surrounded their table prevented her from getting up and moving to sit next to him—had they even washed before stopping by on their last call of shift?—but that didn’t stop her from gazing into his eyes. From seeing the love that was reflected there. Nor did it stop her from quickly dropping his hand and stealing his last piece of bacon. Hey, she may be injured, but nothing was going to keep her down for long. Best he learned that now.

  Connor’s eyes lit with lust, and he stood, leaning over the table, taking her mouth in a kiss. He ignored the hoots and cheers of his squadmates and took his time, his tongue thrusting into her mouth and tangling with hers, before he finally broke away, licking a droplet of maple syrup from the corner of her mouth. His eyes sparkled as he sat back down. “Hmmm,” he said. “Sweet.”

  Scarlett grinned and stuffed the stolen piece of bacon in her mouth. Yes, life with Connor was sweet. Very sweet indeed. It even came with extra bacon. What more could a girl need? She stood, elbowing Jeremy out of the way with her good arm and ignoring his pretend yelp of pain, and then sat down on Connor’s lap. She rested her head on his shoulder, and his arms came around her, holding her tight. She needed nothing else. She was home.

  Also by Jamie Garrett

  Marked By Desire

  Books 1 - 5

  Southern Heat

  From the Ashes

  Fighting the Flames

  Burning the Past

  Trial by Fire

  Line of Fire

  Up in Flames

  Under Fire

  Dreamcatchers

  Books 1 - 5

  DARC Ops

  Darkest Hour (0.5)

  Dark Secret

  Dark Web

  Dark Heart

  Dark Control

  Dark Threat

  Dark Lies

  Dark Salvation

  Dark Discovery

  Dark Enemy

  Riley Reid Mysteries

  Books 1 - 3 (first book free!)

  Acknowledgments

  A huge thank you to you—all my readers, subscribers, and social media followers. Thank you for choosing to read my books!

  Thank you to my ARC team, for all your support. You’re all amazing!

  Lisa, Kate, Adele, and all the badass babes. You make my day on a regular basis. Thank you!

  A special thanks also to Anette King and Kristine Piiparinen, for all that you do. You are both incredible ladies.

  Come and hang out with me, plus authors Lisa Ladew and Kate Fargo, along with the fabulous badass babes in our Facebook romance group, Books, Babes, and Badasses. We talk about anything and everything, and there’s plenty of yummy eye candy too. Stop by and say hello anytime! You can also subscribe to my newsletter, send me an email, find me on Facebook, or visit my website.

  About the Author

  Hi, I’m Jamie. I live with my husband, two beautiful children and three cats. I loves to read almost as much as I loves to write, and can’t imagine anything better than getting to be an author and writing every day. There is at least one cat draped over the keyboard at all times.

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