Monroe, Melody Snow - Truth and Seduction [The Callens 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

The Callens 2

MELODY SNOW MONROE

Copyright © 2012

Chapter One

“That’s a wrap.” Scott, Jessie McCallister’s lanky photographer, clicked the latch and pulled the TV news camera off its tripod.

Jessie handed the mike to her partner and headed back to the KRPT news van.

Scott followed her, stowed his gear, and hopped into the driver’s side seat. “Not the same level of crime as in Denver, huh?”

She laughed. “No, but this domestic violence call could have turned ugly.” At least the police had shown up, making for better video. “I don’t mind. It’s a lot safer covering the news in Wyoming than in the big city.”

This was the first real call she’d had since she’d arrived three days ago. The first few days, she’d spent going through police reports and had to make a news story out of a parakeet kidnapping. That stretched even her ability to make something that lame sound exciting, but she knew what she was getting into when she moved back to a town a fraction the size of Denver. She just hoped the viewing public would like her interview with Martha DeNardo, the elderly woman whose parakeet had been ransomed. Scott said the people of Intrigue revered the last crime reporter, so she needed to work extra hard to gain an audience. She’d spent her whole life proving to the world she could do whatever she set her mind to and planned to do the best job she could.

If the political situation at the Denver station hadn’t been so bad, she never would have left the exciting town. But it was either get out or be fired.

Needing air, Jessie rolled down the window. The refreshing breeze skimmed across her face and cooled her damp skin. A hint of sweetness registered. Closing her eyes, she sniffed. “Something’s burning.”

Scott inhaled and shrugged. “Someone might be doing some controlled burning, but they usually do that in the winter.”

Her senses alert, she scoured the area. Black smoke billowed off in the distance. Since her job included covering crime and fires, she leaned forward to get a better look. “Do you mind heading over there?” Her pulse raced as she pointed in the direction of the darkened sky.

Scott increased his speed a bit, but as he passed a line of trees, they both got a better visual. “Holy shit. That looks bad.”

Her head slammed against the seat as he took off. As they got closer, it was clear this was not an intentional burn, but something far worse. Then Jessie saw the real cause, and her heart dropped to her stomach. “That house is on fire!” Her second thought centered on her job. “We need to capture the video.” Dread blasted her, but the chance to be first on the scene mitigated the horror.

Grabbing her phone, she dialed 911 and gave them the location of the blaze. She disconnected. “Fire department is on the way.”

“That’s Greg and Rhonda Tanner’s farm.” Scott’s voice came out strangled, as if he knew these people quite well. “Sweet Jesus, I hope no one’s home.”

She’d covered fires in Denver, and the devastation always sickened her. Next, she called her news station, KRPT, and asked them to send over a live truck.

“We won’t be able to get one there for another fifteen or twenty minutes,” the dispatcher informed her.

“You have to be kidding me.” She inhaled, telling herself this wasn’t Denver. “Fine. We’ll shoot the video and send it back to you.” Good thing she had her computer with her.

Scott raced down the two-lane road. He had to be going close to ninety. She gripped the door, hoping he didn’t flip the van when he turned into the drive. When they got there, another truck was wedged between two trees. When she’d lived in Intrigue eleven years ago, no one had owned this land. During her absence, the small town had more than doubled in size.

Scott slammed on the brakes, causing her to shoot forward. The moment he came to a stop, she pushed open her door and ran to the scene. With her iPhone in hand, she was ready to take her own video. That way she could e-mail it right back to the station and get the story online immediately.

When the heat blasted her, she stopped and waited for Scott. The house looked ready to collapse.
Dear God
. Someone could still be inside. All she could hear was the roar of the flames. It was difficult enough to breathe with all the heat filling the air, let alone get close enough to help.

Her eyes watered, but she had to record this terrible destruction. Scott ran toward her with the camera on his shoulder. He spun toward the nearby white fence to get the balance right.

Only then did she see two men with their backs to her, both dressed in jeans, standing right next to the house. They didn’t have any hoses in hand, so they weren’t trying to put out the blaze. What the hell were they doing here? Something seemed out of place, and her sixth sense shot into overdrive. It looked too dangerous to be so near to the flames. Maybe they had something to do with setting the fire. Her fists clenched at the horrible thought.

From the back, she judged them both to be a bit over six feet, and packed with enough muscles to tip the scales at two hundred.

Her gaze followed the taller man’s outstretched arms.
Oh, my God.
A young boy was perched on a second story windowsill clasping the frame with both hands. She wiped her sweaty palms on her blue linen slacks. The poor little boy must be so scared.

“I’m here.” Scott rushed up behind her and handed her the mike.

She turned her back to the flames and took the microphone. Her hand shook so much she had to use two hands to steady it. “This is Jessie McCallister cutting into your regular programming to bring you breaking news off Highway 230. As you can see behind me, a home is engulfed in flames, and a young boy’s life is being threatened. Two men are trying to coax the boy down.” Her damned voice quivered, but dammit, there was a young boy’s life on the line.

Her expert cameraman moved to the side and zoomed in on the men and the boy.

She moved as close as she dared, hoping to hear what was going on. “My own heart is beating at the intensity of the situation. Let’s listen in.” That sounded so callous, but if she expressed her true feelings, she’d be too choked up to talk.

The taller of the two men had his hands in the air, ready to catch the little boy. “Come on, Andy, jump.”

“I’m afraid.” The poor kid was trembling. She didn’t think the microphone could pick up his thin voice over the roar and crackle of the fire.

“I’ll catch you. I promise.” The man yelled louder this time, tearing open her own heart.

She mentally urged the kid to let go. Given the amount of muscles on this man, she bet he could catch someone a lot bigger than a five-year-old boy.

The kid twisted back into the room. Had someone come in behind him? Maybe his parents had come to save him.

The yellow hue behind him meant the flames were getting close. She bunched the bottom of her shirt, then immediately smoothed out the wrinkles. Her stomach fluttered. The front door was already encased in flames.
Shit
. There was no way even the fire department could get in there now. The sirens sounded near. Thank God, help had arrived.

“Remember when you would jump into the pool?” the man asked, pleading with the child. While his voice cracked, he remained calm.

“Uh-huh.”

Please trust this man.

“I caught you then. Remember? Come on. I’ll catch you now.”

“Jump, Andy, jump
.
” She couldn’t help but urge him on.

Her arm lowered. She was so focused on the man saving the little boy’s life, she forgot she was live.

The second man threaded his hands with the first, making a sort of net with their arms.

“We’re both here, Andy. Let go. You’ll be safe.” The second man appeared as calm as the first. These remarkable men were true heroes.

The boy closed his eyes and pushed off. They caught him easily, thank God. The first rescuer took hold of the kid, turned, and sprinted away from the building, his head buried in the top of the boy’s hair. His friend followed closely behind.

The fire truck pulled to a stop, and men descended. While she was fascinated by the rescue, the human-interest story caught her attention. She motioned Scott to keep filming. She pulled out her iPhone to interview the two town heroes and raced toward them.

She introduced herself and held up the phone to record them. The little boy whimpered, and she rubbed his back.

“You’re safe now, Andy.” She tried to keep her tone as even as possible.

Both men looked up, their faces streaked with soot. She’d grown up in Intrigue, but she never expected her two heartthrobs from high school to be the heroes. These two entitled rich kids focused on football and girls. She never would have picked them to save a little boy from a burning building.

“Shane and Cody?” Boy, had they changed. Shane had short black wavy hair, strong cheekbones, and a killer body. Last time she saw him, he was much thinner and had a baby face. Cody’s light brown hair looked the same, as did his intense blue eyes, but not only was he buff, the five-o’clock shadow spoke to the man he’d become.

Shane stared at her. “Jessie? That you?”

“Sure is.” The reporter instinct kicked in, and she stepped beside them. “I’m here with Shane McKee and Cody Callen. These two men just saved Andy Tanner from the blazing inferno. Can you tell us what happened?”

Cody leaned toward the phone. “We were at my parents’ house when Shane got a call from his department. We were close by and rushed over here.”

That explained how they beat her there.
Wait a minute
. He was a fireman? “What do you do for the department?” How was this possible? His dad ran a nationwide philanthropy organization for helping orphans. She was sure Shane would follow in his rich dad’s footsteps.

The kid began to fuss, and he rubbed the boy’s back. Shane glanced to the trucks then back at her. He touched her hand to move the phone toward him and sparks shot up her arm. She chalked it up to static electricity. “I’m a fireman and an arson investigator.”

Really?
She had a hard time imagining how this wealthy, spoiled high school kid had ended up saving people’s lives for a living. That was awesome. “Do you know how the fire started?”

“The house was nearly gone when we got here. I tried to get inside, but the heat was too intense. I couldn’t have made it without gear.” The pain of failing seemed to nearly crush him.

Two paramedics rushed up to them, and she backed off, not wanting to get in the way. They took the young boy. When Shane was holding him, Andy appeared to be in shock, mostly staring straight ahead as if he didn’t understand what had happened. Now the kid started to wail.

Once the boy was safely away, she moved in again. “Where are his parents?”

Shane swallowed hard. “I don’t know. I pray they weren’t inside.” He looked away. She could almost detect watery eyes.

It was time to end the broadcast. Arm outstretched, she turned the camera back on herself. “This is Jessie McCallister. I’ll have more coming up online.” She stopped the recording.

An older man in uniform rushed up to them. He wrapped an arm around Shane and moved him away, but she was close enough to hear the conversation.

She spotted Scott still filming the firemen working the blaze, and she knew this would make a great story.

“We’ll need you to investigate,” the older gentleman told Shane.

He nodded. While he and his superior were talking, Cody touched her arm. “What are you doing here?”

She nodded to the KRPT van. “As you can see I work for the station now. I’m a crime investigator. I just moved back a few days ago. And you?”