Page 24 of Too Much Heat

“Lots of things happened. I haven’t been dating at all. When I was ready, I called you.”

“Lots of things?”

“That I don’t want to discuss, Andrea.” His tone was stern. She liked strong men.

“All right.”

Looking over her shoulder, Joe caught sight of two people stumbling boisterously into the bar. The Deputy Chief, Allan Frank, with-oh my God, Diana Hartfield?

He turned his head away hoping they might not notice him. But the two of them trekked to the bar and stopped on their way to empty seats.

Frank said, “Hey, Romano.”

“Hello, Joe.” Diana’s words were slurred and she moved closer to him. She was all dressed up in blue sequins. But her scent of excessive perfume almost made him choke.

“Hello, Diana. What are you doing here with Frank?”

“He’s my new boyfriend.”

“Doesn’t your husband mind?”

“Divorced, sugar. Your incompetency ruined my marriage.”

Frank only had eyes for Andrea. “And who are you, pretty lady?”

“Andrea Lincoln.”

Frank’s brows rose. “As in Lincoln Architects?”

“Yes.”

“Well, well, well. Can we buy you two drinks?”

The asshole. Joe pushed back his chair. “Sorry, buddy, but we’re leaving.”

Andrea seemed surprised but stood and sidled around the guy. “Let’s go.”

They headed out. His hands were a bit shaky from the encounter with the woman whose twins he couldn’t save. The guilt still haunted him. With herculean effort, he forced down the memories and concentrated on the woman ahead of him. She looked great as she navigated the high heels and skintight dress. He couldn’t wait to get her out of both. And forget about everything else.

* * *

Day one of their off shift arrived with sunshine and a cloudless sky. Lara had risen at six in the morning to have some time to herself. Sammy didn’t get up until nine.

She made coffee and headed to the back porch, which once was a snazzy sunroom. It still let in the sun, but the screens had holes in them and the floor was scarred. At least it had okay furniture. A firefighter put up an ad for sunroom furniture andshe got it cheap. She sighed as she sat down on the rattan couch that hadn’t been ruined by constant use like the one in the living room.

She sniffed her coffee. It smelled great. And tasted sweet. When she started to think about yesterday, she forced herself not to obsess. She picked up her old iPad which she’d left on the table and clicked into FaceTime.

She found the firefighter website she frequented and saw a new video had been posted. Its headline read, “A fight broke out at The Landings last night. Take a look.”

Alan Frank, The Deputy Chief who was a jerk, and a woman Lara didn’t recognize stood in front of a seated couple. When they got up to leave, she saw Joe with a stunning beauty. He said something to Frank, then he left with his gorgeous date.

A man sitting at the bar said to Frank, “Seems like you struck out, buddy.”

Frank leapt forward and clocked him.

Caught unaware, the man fell back. But he snagged Frank’s legs causing him to fall to the ground.

Lara clicked out of the site.

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