Page 10 of Frostbite & Mistletoe
I can’t stay closed for months. I just can’t.
“Gabriel, please understand,” she said, fighting to keep her voice level.“I already had to cancel tonight’s live music booking and refund the band and everyone who bought advance tickets. And I have three big holiday parties booked in the next three weeks. And then there’s my biggest event of the year, a wedding reception on Christmas Eve. The couple already paid me a big deposit.”
Gabriel’s expression remained impassive.“I understand how difficult this is for you, but—”
“No, youdon’tfucking understand,” Kymberlie cut in, desperation fueling her temper.“You don’t understand at all. This club is my livelihood. If I have to cancel everything, I’ll lose at least twenty grand, maybe even thirty grand. Or more.” She stepped closer to him, panic making her bold.“Look, what if I fix the doors on Monday? Or I can hire shifter security guards to monitor the exits and make sure nothing blocks them. And I’ll replace the extinguishers today.”
His jaw tightened.“I’m sorry, but it doesn’t work that way.”
“Please,” she pressed.“Just let me stay open until Christmas. That’s all I’m asking for, so I don’t have to cancel the wedding reception or lay off my employees just before the holiday. Then I’ll shut down for as long as it takes to fix everything.”
She desperately hoped that Tyler over at Swanson Construction could fix up the water and smoke damage to her dining room and bar before the first holiday party next weekend.
Gabriel shook his head. She sensed his patience wearing thin.“It’s a miracle no one was killed last night. With half of your exits blocked or malfunctioning, people could havedied, Kymberlie.”
The blunt assessment stung, partly because she knew he was right.
“I don’t write the fire safety codes,” he continued.“But I believe in them. They protect people’s lives.”
“No, you don’t make the rules,” she snapped, her wolf surging forward, bristling at his tone.“But you sure seem to enjoy enforcing them.”
The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Gabriel’s expression hardened, his eyes flashing with something dangerous.
“Enjoy?” he repeated, his voice dropping to a low rumble that made the hair on her arms stand up.“You think I enjoy shutting down businesses? You think I get some kind of satisfaction from this?”
He stepped closer, and Kymberlie was suddenly hyper-aware of how much larger he was. His powerful frame towered over her. Not that she was intimidated. Her wolf could handle herself. A completely inappropriate thrill shot down her spine as he leaned in and his clean, musky scent washed over her.
“I’ve seen what happens when places like this burn with people inside,” he said, his voice tight with controlled emotion.“I’ve pulled bodies from the rubble. So, no, I don’t fucking enjoy this part of my job. But I do it because it’s my duty to make sure that preventable tragedies don’t happen here.”
They stood locked in a silent standoff, faces inches apart. Kymberlie’s heart hammered against her ribs, and she wasn’t sure if it was anger or attraction that made her breath catch. It made her wolf sit up and take notice—and not in a hostile way.
“I’ll have the paperwork ready for you to sign in an hour,” Gabriel finally said, breaking the charged silence.“And you’ll need to post the closure notices immediately on all your doors and windows.”
He turned and walked toward the front entrance, leaving Kymberlie standing in the wreckage of her dreams, shaking with a confusing mix of fury, fear, and unwelcome attraction.
∞∞∞
Kymberlie stood motionless in the center of her ruined club long after Gabriel’s heavy footsteps had faded away. The silence pressed in around her, broken only by the occasional drip of water from the ceiling onto the saturated carpet.
She’d sunk every penny she had into this place. Five years of backbreaking work, of proving everyone wrong when they said she couldn’t make it work.
And now, with a few strokes of his pen, the fire marshal had brought it all crashing down around her. Christmas season—the three weeks that would make or break her year—gone. Just like that.
She ran her fingers along the bar top, the smooth granite now gritty with soot. Even with insurance, the smoke damage alone would cost thousands to remediate. Add in the electrical work, the repairs to the doors, and a set of new extinguishers… the total was climbing into the impossible range.
She’d been counting on the holiday party and wedding reception revenue to build a financial cushion. Without them…
The heavy front door swung open, sending a shaft of cold December sunlight cutting across the dim interior. Gabriel now carried a thick manila folder and a rolled tube of bright orange papers. The sight made Kymberlie’s stomach lurch in dread.
He strode to the grimy bar and laid out the folder, opening it to reveal a stack of papers filled with official letterhead.
“These are the citations,” he explained, his tone neutral and professional.“I’ve detailed each violation, the applicable code sections, and the required remediation.”
Kymberlie flipped through the pages, her heart sinking further with each one. The technical language blurred before her eyes, but the dollar signs flashing in her mind remained crystal clear.
“And this,” Gabriel continued, unrolling the orange papers,“are the official notices.”
Bold black letters screamed across the top:
