Saxon's Savior (Protect and Serve #3) - Pandora Pine Page 0,24

shouted.

“No, just stubborn.” I owed him one, that was for fucking sure.

“Let go of me, you son of a bitch!” Dallas roared. “We can save her!”

Ozzy and Kennedy eyed me suspiciously. I shook my head no. The brothers exchanged a knowing look. “Put him down,” Kennedy said softly.

I did as he requested and stood back, rubbing my jaw where Dallas had hit me. I expected him to come roaring back at me, but he crumpled like a ragdoll into Kennedy’s arms. I couldn’t hear what the cop was saying, but whatever it was seemed to be soothing Dallas.

“Are you okay?” Ozzy asked, pulling me away from the others.

“I’ll be fine.”

After taking a closer look at my face, Ozzy stepped back. “You got lucky. Out of all of us, Dallas punches the hardest.”

I didn’t know if I should be relieved or pissed off. “You want to tell me what the hell happened in there? I was ready to sedate him and call for a psych consult.”

“It’s not my story to tell.” Ozzy’s angry look had morphed into one of sadness.

“I would have to be a complete idiot not to know something was going on with him. Something personal.” I looked over my shoulder, Kennedy was still holding Dallas. “He’s so damn strong. It must be a hell of a story to lay him this low.”

“Look, you didn’t hear this from me,” Ozzy said, his voice just above a whisper. “Today is the anniversary of his mother’s death. She died like Marcie. Dallas was the one who found her.”

Everything made sense in a flash. “He wanted to keep going in hopes he could save Marcie, since he wasn’t able to save his mother.”

“Something like that,” Ozzy agreed. “Our work here is done. Let’s get back to the firehouse. Will you be okay to take the ambulance back by yourself? I’ll take Dallas.”

“Yeah, I know how to get back from here.” I didn’t, but the Google Maps app on my phone would know the way home.

“He’s not going to thank you later.” Ozzy raised an eyebrow at me. I saw the warning in it, loud and clear.

“Got it. I’ll see you back at the house.” Giving Dallas and Kennedy a wide berth, I headed back to the ambulance.

Christ, this was only the second call I’d been on with Dallas and Firehouse Three. Both times there had been incidents between Dallas and me, and Ozzy just warned me of another fight to come. I wasn’t stupid. I knew Dallas wasn’t going to be thrilled with the way I’d restrained him and kept him from rendering further aid to Marcie. What I didn’t know was how to handle what he was going to throw at me. He wasn’t the only one dealing with sharp-toothed demons.

How much longer could I go on like this?

11

Dallas

I was going to kill Saxon. No two ways about it, that handsome motherfucker had to die. No one treated me like that at a scene and got away with it. Making me ride back on the engine with Ozzy and his crew was the final humiliation. I sat patiently, stoking my anger and biding my time until we got back to the firehouse.

Saxon was standing at the base of the stairs when I climbed out of the truck. “There you are, you son of a bitch.” I took off running for him and he stood his ground. This was going to be easier than I thought. Suddenly, a pair of strong arms grabbed me from behind. Fucking Ozzy. If he wanted a beating, I’d be more than happy to give him one. “Let me go!”

“Damn it, Dallas. Calm the hell down. This is a firehouse, not Caesar’s Palace.” Ozzy released me, taking a few steps back. He knew I was capable of roundhouse-kicking him into next week.

“I’ll deal with you later.” I pointed at Ozzy before turning back to Saxon, who looked like he hadn’t moved a muscle since I’d climbed off the truck and headed for him. “As for you. Who the fuck do you think you are, carrying me off a scene like that?” My hands were balled into fists and I was ready to fucking rumble.

Saxon kept his composure. He didn’t seem afraid of me in the slightest. “Her body temperature was eighty-nine, Dallas, she’d been dead for several hours. When I walked into that house, her skin was grey and the foam around the corners of her mouth was crusty. She was gone.” He held his hands out