Page 23 of Burn Point

He leaned down, his uniform shirt stretching dangerously taut over his thick arms, the crackle of his leather belt sounding oddly erotic.

He shifted a couple of things around and stood, turning to me. “I don’t think you’re going to want any of this. It’s pretty bad under there.”

My shoulders slumped. “Crap.” I forced a small smile, trying not to let the situation get the best of me. “Well, it’s okay. I guess I have enough to get by.”

His intense stare made me want to fidget. A bad guy would have a tough time under his inscrutable gaze.

After a moment, a huge smile broke out over his face, and he said, “Nate is so fucked.”

“What?” I tilted my head, confused.

His smile lingered as his gaze traveled over me. “Nothing.”

Nate joined us and they did some weird, complicated man-handshake in greeting.

“Thanks for coming by. You met Jordan?” Nate tucked his hands into his back pockets.

Mike braced his legs wide, hanging his thumbs on his belt, that big grin back on his face.

Testosterone absolutely swirled around these two.

“Yeah, we met.” Mike motioned to the mess around us. “I think y’all have found just about everything worth saving here.”

Nate nodded. “Jordan’s been getting after it this morning. She’s a tyrant.”

Hands on hips, I mocked outrage. “I’m no such thing. I just know you’re busy and have limited time, and I wanted to make the most of it.”

Nate’s adorable grin flashed. “It’s all good, Skippy, but Mike is right. I think we’ve done about all we can do.”

I scanned the area around me, heartbroken at the thought of all I had lost. A cleaning crew would have to come in and trash the remains.

I sucked in a deep breath, trying to find the positive. At least I was alive. I could replace things. I’d already done it once before when I’d left Gerry. I could do it again.

Nate’s phone pinged again. He’d been a popular guy the whole time we’d been working. He’d stop and answer a text, or take a call, then dive back in. He was the king of multi-tasking.

“Shit, I gotta go in,” he grumbled, frowning at his phone.

“More storm relief?” I asked him. He’d been working so hard for the past few days.

He nodded and looked at his friend. “What’s Leah doing? Is the studio okay?”

Mike nodded. “The studio is fine. They’ve canceled classes for the week. She’s just out volunteering, helping where she can. What do you need?”

“We’ve been trying to find Jordan’s laptop cord, but I think it’s gone forever. If Leah could pick up a new one, I’d appreciate it. I know Jordan needs it for her work.”

My face burned with a blush. I hated the thought of putting someone else out. My words stumbled over each other as I rushed to correct him. “It’s seriously not a life-or-death thing. There are other, more important things happening right now. Honestly, I’m okay.”

Nate looked at me and narrowed his eyes like he could read my mind. “Stop. It’s not a problem, and you aren’t putting anyone out. These people want to help you. Plus, you need it for your business, right?” He turned to Mike, who was already texting.

“Leah says she’ll meet you at your house in fifteen.”

Nate held out a hand and helped me climb out of the rubble. “Let’s roll then.”

When we returned to the house, Nate ran in and changed and was back out the door in a flash. He’d been working so much, he had to be running on fumes.

Was he eating while he was out working?

I knew he wasn’t sleeping much.

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