Shit. Talk about feeling like a complete idiot…Gabe flipped the switch, and both he and Misty blinked away the blinding light that invaded their cozy darkness.
Noah looked her up and down again, and a slow smile spread across his face. “Yup. You arenota little girl anymore.”
Gabe wanted to punch his younger brother, because he looked like he was salivating. That wouldn’t give away his feelings at all.
An authoritative voice called down, “Fierro. Are they all right?”
“Oh, yeah. They’re just fine and dandy.” Noah snickered.
“Well, get them up here.”
“I guess I can’t tease you right now, Bro. It’ll have to wait until Sunday dinner. Don’t worry. That’ll give me and Dante plenty of time to come up with some zingers.”
Gabe put his hand on the small of Misty’s back and gently led her toward safety. “You go first, Misty. I’ll be right behind you.” He shot his brother a glare, daring him to challenge his elder authority.
Misty gingerly stepped over pieces of concrete in her high heels. At last, she had safely made it to the ladder. As she climbed up, her tight ass hugged by her pencil skirt was all too apparent. Gabe glanced over at his brother. Noah was grinning but quickly shifted his gaze back to Gabe’s and waggled his eyebrows.
Gabe stared at the bottom of the ladder and shook his head.
As soon as she’d made it up and out, Noah lowered his voice and asked, “How the hell did you get stuck in a bank vault in the first place?”
“I promised Parker I’d look after Misty. I’d just opened an account here when the bank was robbed.”
“And you dove into the safe to protect your money?” Noah asked with a smirk.
“Of course not. They were making Misty do their dirty work. Opening the safe, going in and filling the bags… They had guns and fired one to prove it was loaded. I waited for a distraction and reacted.”
“And you thought locking the two of you in the vault would keep her safe.”
“I never said I was thinking straight at the time, but yeah.”
Noah scratched his head. “I guess it worked. Not what I would have done, but it was…effective.” He leered again.
“Knock it off, Noah. Or I’ll knock it off for you.”
“Oh, tough guy.” He slapped Gabe on the shoulder and said, “Don’t worry. I won’t say a word…until Sunday dinner when I have the whole family to protect me.”
* * *
A cheer went up when Misty emerged.
“Thanks, guys.”
Someone helped her off the ladder, and someone else handed her a bottle of water. Before she opened it, she asked, “Are my coworkers all right?”
A few firefighters glanced at each other, and one of them said, “Yeah. I think so. The cops took their statements, and they all went home a couple of hours ago.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “All of them? Even the manager?”
A familiar-looking guy shrugged. “Yeah. He said he had an appointment or something.”
One of the other firefighters grinned. “I think he shit his pants and had an appointment with his closet, Dante.”
“Dante?” she said to the first guy. “Dante Fierro? Is that you?”
He stared at her a moment. Then his eyes widened in recognition. “Misty?”
She nodded. “I think you’re the only one who’s recognized me since I returned to Boston.”
