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

his mouth. “Hell of a guy, Hal Rossi.”

My heart pinched in my chest. Hal was a good man. The very best man I had ever known and had the pleasure of working with. “Why is your captain sending this James guy to us?” Firemen and EMTs transferred stations all the time. Some of them wanted to work closer to home, and unfortunately, some of them had internal issues which could only be solved by packing their gear and moving along. The Newburyport captain put in the transfer paperwork, but it remained to be seen if it had been Saxon who’d requested the move.

“Orders from above. Something about Ozzy dragging his feet in choosing a replacement for Hal. Since he wasn’t willing to make a decision, one was made for him.”

I had been on my brother’s case for months to get him to fill Hal’s vacant position. Ozzy kept putting it off. Now we were stuck with some asshole. “Define ‘bad seed.’”

“He’s one of those big-dicked fuckers who thinks he’s king of the hill, when in reality, he’s shit.” Toby sounded as if Saxon’s name tasted bad in his mouth.

“Big-dicked fucker?” Obviously, Toby was a dick connoisseur. No wonder he hadn’t called after our one week in Boston. He was off to conquer the next big dick.

“Yeah, you know, the kind of man who thinks his way is the only way and struts around like he’s got a big dick swaying between his legs.”

“So, you know from experience.” I shot back, feeling like a jerk for asking. It was none of my business who a former one-week stand was or was not fucking.

“Don’t be bitter, cutie. We had a good time while it lasted. Besides, I don’t shit where I eat. Although now that he’s your problem, I might just have to throw Saxon a going away party. Good luck!” With those words, Toby was gone.

I set the phone back in its cradle. Damn Ozzy. I sent him lists of suitable replacements, and my brother never got back to me. I assumed we’d get some kid straight out of school. The only thing worse than a greenhorn was a dick who wasn’t a team player.

I took a deep breath, hoping to keep my temper in check as I got out of my seat and headed toward Ozzy’s office from my own.

“Got a hot date?” Oz grinned at me when I walked into the room.

Shutting the door slowly, I turned on my brother. “When were you going to tell me?” I took a seat in front of his desk and waited for his answer.

Ozzy’s dark eyes narrowed on me. “Tell you what?” He truly looked as if he had no idea what I was talking about.

Christ, was it possible he didn’t know about Saxon James? “The man who just called wasn’t a hot date. It was Toby Whitmer from Firehouse Bravo up in Newburyport.”

My brother rolled his eyes. “That dumbass who fucked you silly at the conference last spring and never called again?”

Sharing everything with my four foster brothers didn’t always work out to my benefit. “Yeah, him.”

“Was he finally calling to apologize or to see about knocking boots again? I swear if I see him, he’s gonna wind up with a broken nose.” Ozzy cracked his knuckles menacingly.

“As nice as it is for you to defend my honor, Toby’s call had nothing to do with our fling in Boston. He was calling to warn me.”

“Warn you?” Ozzy thundered. “He didn’t give you something, did he? I’ll fucking kill him.”

I grinned at my older brother. He always had my back, no matter what. “No, he didn’t give me anything. Toby was calling about something he’s giving you.”

“Giving me?” Ozzy’s confused face morphed into guilt.

Ozzy knew exactly what I was talking about now. He could play dumb all he wanted, but I could see right through him. “Light dawns on Marblehead,” I said sarcastically. “When were you going to tell me?”

My brother sighed. “I just got the email this morning. I was relieved the decision was out of my hands.”

“Christ, Oz! Toby was calling to warn me about this Saxon James.” The only thing worse than being down a man was getting a replacement who needed to be watched like a hawk.

“Warn you about what? I looked at his service record. It’s impeccable.” Ozzy leaned forward over the desk, his dark eyes studying everything about me.

“Then why was Newburyport so eager to send him our way?” Paramedics were in short supply in Massachusetts.