Playing With Fire (Tangled in Texas, #2)(6)

“Hold up, Mandy. Where’s the fire?”

She stopped in the doorway and looked back at us over her shoulder. “At the library.”

Cowboy’s head snapped to me, then back to Mandy. “But we’re in the library.”

“No shit,” she said. “That’s the problem.”

Cowboy made it to the door before he realized I wasn’t behind him.

As Mandy’s words had sunk in, I’d panicked and my throat had closed, rendering me speechless. My stunned mind grasped the danger I was possibly in, but my frozen limbs couldn’t seem to react to the notion.

“Hey, what are you waiting for?” he asked, staring back at me. “You plan on staying inside a burning building?”

My body bristled with fear, and a strangled sound released from my mouth as terror-inducing recollections and smoke-filled memories choked me. No, I can’t do this. Not again.

I staggered a step forward, gripping the counter to keep myself upright, but I felt the blood drain from my face.

“Christ. What the hell’s wrong with you?” When I didn’t answer him, he moved toward me with an outstretched hand. “Anna…?”

He must’ve thought I was in shock. And hell, maybe I was. One second I was standing there in complete silence, frozen in place, and the next I was humming a tune under my breath to keep the painful, all-consuming memories at bay.

No doubt he was utterly confused by my reaction. Nothing was stopping either of us from evacuating the building. Nothing, except me, that was.

His hand clamped onto my wrist. “Damn it, come on! Snap out of it.”

Thankfully, I did. With one touch, he’d somehow grounded me back to reality.

Gathering my strength, I forced my legs to move as Cowboy tugged on my arm and headed for the door with me in tow. By the time we made it outside and caught up to Mandy in the parking lot, sirens were blaring in the distance.

“Those are our boys,” Mandy announced proudly. “I was driving past when I saw the flames.” She motioned to the side of the library, where an orange glow illuminated the dark alleyway. “At first, I thought you were here because of the fire, but then I looked through the window and saw you inside with a book in your hand. Don’t know which surprised me more.”

Cowboy gave her a petulant look. “What’s on fire?”

“Oh, um…I’m not sure, but I think it’s the dumpster. I called it in over the radio and had Reynolds grab my bunker gear from the station in case they needed any help.”

“Good thinking,” Cowboy told her.

Flashing lights swung across the parking lot asphalt as two wailing fire trucks pulled in and rolled to a stop nearby. Several uniformed firefighters spilled out and sprinted in the direction of the fire. A tremor ran through me. With Cowboy’s hand still latched onto my arm, I had no doubt he felt the physical vibration reverberate through my body and into his.

Our eyes met briefly, then he glanced to Mandy. “Go suit up, Barlow.”

“Aren’t you coming, Captain?”

“No. The crew can handle this one without me.”

Mandy hesitated, wrinkling her forehead in puzzlement, then ran for the trucks.

The moment she got out of earshot, I looked up at Cowboy. “If you need to go—”

“What happened back there, Anna? Why’d you freeze up?”

And just like that, reality smacked me in the face. There was no way I could explain it to Cowboy without telling him more about me than I cared for him to know. Or anyone else, for that matter. Like he said, news traveled fast in small towns.

“It was nothing. I’m sorry.”

“No need for apologies, darlin’. I only want to make sure you’re okay.” When I didn’t say anything in return, he dropped the subject and focused his attention to the firefighters in action.

Even though the reinforcements had everything under control, Cowboy kept a sharp eye on the men as they hustled back and forth between the trucks and the fire, laying hoses and opening water lines. They were obviously capable of handling themselves, but he stayed on top of them by occasionally shouting orders from the sidelines where he babysat me.

We couldn’t see the fire from our position in the parking lot, only the orange glow coming from the side of the building. Every time the flames shot higher, red-hot embers released into the air and then dissipated, before the ashes floated away in the evening breeze. Although I was awestruck by the lethal beauty, the pungent smoke littering the air took me back to a time I didn’t want to remember. I was still a little shaken, but the last thing I wanted was for Cowboy to witness one of my physical or mental meltdowns.

Moments later, the flickering light vanished. Judging by how fast the blaze dwindled, and what knowledge I had of fires, I gathered this one hadn’t been very large. If so, he probably would’ve left me in someone else’s care while he led his team.

No surprise there. He liked to be in control. And it was sexy as hell.

A young fireman approached us, suited up in his bunker gear. “Engine four crew is heading back to the station, Captain. The rest of us will stick around for a few and make sure the fire stays out.”

“Sounds good. Tell Barlow to fill out a report and have it on my desk by morning,” Cowboy ordered.

The kid nodded and headed back to the trucks.