And there it was. The sound of her heart being gently torn right down the middle.
She pulled her hands back. “Hence the job you do. Saving people.”
“Sometimes. Sometimes it’s more about filling in paperwork and sorting the rotas. I got the job, by the way.”
She wanted to race round the table and dive bomb him, throw her arms around his neck and then climb him like a tree. This job meant he would be home more with the kids, have a better work life balance, have a bigger income so he could save more for the children going to university, or bail money for Sadie Grace.
“That’s amazing.” She sat still. “I’m so pleased.” She was and even though she wanted to yell at him for how he’d crushed her wild heart without knowing, her imagination filled with the possibilities of the time they could have together. She wasn’t walking away from him, even if he didn’t see her as more than a friend.
“Shall we celebrate this weekend? We have two nights without my kids, meaning you can scream my name as loud as you want to.” His words were quiet, his eyes dancing. “Let me take you away for a couple of nights.”
“Don’t you think people will work out that we’ve gone away together?”
“Does it matter?” He spread his hands palms up on the table.
“But we’re friends – they see us as just friends. What we’re doing confuses everything.” Including her.
“Ray, just sit back and enjoy it, if you still want to.”
She still wanted to. The idea of never having him inside her again, of not spending another night wrapped in his arms was enough to make her heart crack even more.
“I still want to.”
“Good. So do I.”
Chapter Thirteen
Flames flickered against the dark sky, orange and red firing up as if it was Bonfire Night, only this wasn’t a party. Jonny shouted over instructions, aware that the blaze was about to burn out of control and spread with the help of the incessant wind to the neighbouring properties.
The block of four flats was derelict and had been for some time. There was no suspicion that anyone was inside, but even if there had been, he wouldn’t be able to send his men or himself inside until they’d doused the wicked flames that were eating the building.
It was a hot fire, the accelerant unknown yet but he suspected methyl alcohol or something of that nature given how it was burning.
“The wind’s making this fucker burn even more.” Will said as he passed. “I’m going to take a truck to the other side. Hit it from a third direction.”
Jonny nodded, a cloud of smoke heading their way. He was fully kitted out in their gear, just needed to put his mask back on. Whatever was inside the flats was nasty and sending out a whole lot of bad smells and smoke.
“I’m going to check out the north side. I’m worried what’s in there.”
Will nodded. “This is another arson. Same person probably.”
Jonny agreed. They had a serious firebug on their hands. He had his doubts now that the arson attack on Keren’s house was a single incident. It had resulted in her home being lost and Keren in hospital. The target had been her neighbour, the aunt of Lena and Lois, whose parents were members of the church at Felley Manor.
His thoughts passed momentarily to Rayah and what she’d told him yesterday. They were meant to be heading off in an hour to a hotel he’d booked for them, as soon as he came off shift, which wasn’t going to be any time soon. The idea of her being hurt had always been abhorrent, even when they were kids and he was diving in pools to rescue her or carrying her home when she’d fallen off her bike, but now that idea was ten times worse. He had the whole weekend with her; tomorrow when they woke up, they’d be in a boutique hotel with a spa in the middle of nowhere and no reason to leave their bed. For the first time, he’d be able to wake up with her in his arms without an alarm clock and the need to get out of her bed before they were caught.
Jonny walked round to the north side of the building, two of his team already there. The wind was blowing away from this side, the door still in place. Something didn’t feel right; the air contained a threat, the lack of fire disconcerting.
Too many years doing this job had taught him to follow his gut. The noise dropped, the wind seemed to take a breath.
The night was filled with a blast and fire and flames, angry reds and wired oranges crackled across the sky, a cacophony of cries and yells shooting through the wind. He went to the ground, the sheer force knocking him back, his body following the training he’d had instinctively.
The smoke and fire that had erupted from the explosion reduced visibility. Jonny scrambled to his feet, cognizant of the sound of footsteps and panicked hollers. There was a man down, he heard his colleagues, his team.
On the ground, twenty feet away from where he’d been standing before the explosion, Will lay crumpled and unconscious. He was being attended to by two of his team, the rest were continuing to deal with the explosion which was burning itself out.
“Fuck, man.” Jonny’s first priority was to his mate and second-in-command for these next few seconds. Sirens blared. An ambulance on its way.
Will’s eyes opened and he started to cough. He tried to move.
