Through Smoke: The Troubled Heroes Series (8 page)

Cold air replaced where her pants had been.  She felt nervous, but at the same time excited.  Closing her eyes, she arched her back as she enjoyed the pleasure she was feeling.  She reached down and helped him get his shirt off, exposing his smooth chest.  She moved forward, running her lips down his stomach and back up.  A subtle flavor of salt stayed on her lips.  He let out a low growl as his hands moved below her waist.  She dug her nails into his back, unable to control herself any longer.

He paused and reached down for his pants, grabbing for his wallet. Eva longed for his touch again, missing it the moment he stopped. She sat back and admired his body as he pulled out a condom.  She couldn’t help but wonder if he had planned this. She pushed her curiosity aside and went back to observing him. He wasn’t overly muscular but he definitely looked in shape. She watched the rise and fall of his back as he breathed, his breath coming out in short pants.  He turned back to her, flashing a smile.  It was nice to finally see that.  Whatever was bothering him when he first got to her apartment seemed to be dwindling away.  She felt his weight on top of her again, enjoying the warmth guarding her naked body. Wrapping her legs around him, her heart pounded.  The embrace was perfect and at that moment all her cares and worries were pushed aside.  She would deal with her confusion later.  Right at that moment she was right where she wanted to be. 

Chapter Five

Michael left Eva’s house around three AM.  He had dozed off from time to time but finally decided to get back to his place since he had an early shift coming up.  He was also worried about Casey. He hated leaving him alone at his place if that could be avoided.  He was also shocked at what had happened between him and Eva.  His intention wasn’t to sleep with her. He just needed someone to talk to and it escalated.  Regardless, he was glad it had happened.  It felt right and it was better than he could ever imagine. 

He didn’t sleep much the rest of the night knowing he had to get up around six o’clock.  His mind raced with things that had happened in the past twenty-four hours.  There was so much in such little time that he couldn’t even comprehend most of it.  His main worry was of course Casey and the predicament he got himself into.  A ten thousand dollar bet on a baseball series that could end either way.  It was baseball.  There was no set outcome, even if it was the Yankees and the Mets.  The Mets could very easily upset the powerhouse team.

Turning over, he glared at the alarm clock.  After his evening with Eva he should have been sleeping soundly, but he couldn’t relax.  Would this step in their relationship complicate things? They weren’t even officially a couple. Scoffing, Michael couldn’t help but wonder what made a relationship official in the first place.  It was as if he had to fill out paperwork with the required signatures to make it on the up and up. 
From past experience, Michael knew that sex changed everything
.  He was mad at himself for letting it happen that quickly but it was like a freight train he was unable to control.  It happened and now he could only hope that things would be okay. 

Eva was stocking the ambulance when Michael got to work.  She nodded at him as he walked past but the usual smile she wore wasn’t present.  She looked exhausted.  He didn’t want to approach her at the moment.  Work wasn’t a good place to bring up stuff like that.  The last thing they needed was for rumors to fly around about them.  That would surely scare her off. 

He nodded back. “Good mornin’.”

She didn’t say anything and ducked into the back of the truck, a duffel bag on her shoulder. 

Darryl had beaten him to the station house, as usual, a mug of coffee and the newspaper waiting in Michael’s spot. Darryl was scraping something out of the bottom of a skillet and Michael’s stomach growled at the sight of whatever it was.  Steam lingered from the mound of food.

“You bring your appetite today, buddy?”

Michael took a long sip off the coffee. It was strong, just like he liked it.  He thumbed through the local section of the New York Times.  There was a small blurb about the apartment fire they ran on the day before, as well as a brief mention of Probationary Firefighter Harper and how he was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.  Michael grimaced but was thankful that there was no mention of him in it.

Looking up, he shook his head at Darryl and grabbed a piece of bacon.  “Any word on Harper? He gonna be back?” The bacon was a little crispier than he liked but he wasn’t going to complain.

“Nothing that I’ve heard.” Darryl paused and poured Michael more coffee.  “Hey man, like I said yesterday, don’t beat yourself up about it.  What else could you have done, put a leash on him?”

“I guess if that’s what it takes.”
Michael wanted to let Darryl know of his night with Eva.
There were just too many people around and he was almost certain that someone would hear bits and pieces and turn it into their own little scandal to suffice the boredom.  Everyone was short on gossip lately. Any new news would surely spread like wildfire. 

Darryl patted him on the shoulder. “Yeah, we were all probies once, don’t forget that.”

Michael stared up at him a few more seconds and averted his attention back down to the sports section.  He couldn’t help but look at the stats of both the Mets and the Yankees.  Baseball was going to be so much more intense this season and Michael never thought that would be possible.

Casey’s heart skipped a beat when he heard a knock at the door. It was almost seven and Michael would be getting off of work soon. He wasn’t expecting anyone but his bookie was notorious for showing up unannounced.  Opening the door, Casey let out a deep sigh when he saw Viper on the doorstep.  He invited himself in, pushing Casey aside.

“Hey man, you can’t be here. My brother is gonna come home. He can’t know that you know where I am.”

Viper shrugged and ran his finger over a shelf with some of Michael’s things on them. “I’m your bookie.  I can do whatever I want. You owe me a shit load of money, the least you can do is let me in.  What’s your brother gonna do anyway, he has no idea who he’s messin’ with.”

Casey’s palms grew sweaty. He glanced at the clock. It was six fifty. Hopefully Michael would get tied up at work and get home late.  “What do you want?”

Viper smiled, exposing the gold caps over his front teeth.  In one of them a skull was engraved with a diamond in the middle.  Casey would never admit it out loud that Viper terrified him.  He was sure he wasn’t hiding the fear very well anyway, mainly because Michael would have his ass for this too.  He had already given him so many chances just in the past week and this would surely send him over the top.

“I’m just makin’ my rounds. Checkin’ on all my boys and makin’ sure you haven’t skipped town.”

Casey ran his hand through his hair.  Viper walked throughout the house, almost as if he were browsing to take some things.  “I’m still here and I’m not leaving. You checked on me, now you can go.”

Viper stopped short of Michael’s bedroom and his fingers lingered down the door and over the knob.  “Why you so scared about me running into your brother
? If he knows what’s good for him he won’t do shit to me.”
Viper paused and then pushed the door open.  “In fact, I kinda wanna meet him.  Big brother of Casey McGinnis. He’s gotta be a fuck up just like you.  In fact, he can be leverage in this whole bet if you skip town.” Viper nodded as if he were trying to convince himself.  He took in a deep breath as he eyed their father’s Medal of Valor. “Yeah, I like that idea.  Collateral is always good in a loan, especially of this caliber.”

“Michael has nothing to do with this. Leave him out of this.”

“Well, Mr. McGinnis, you got him involved when he decided to help you out. Sorry.”

Casey was at a loss on what to do. Viper was a determined guy and until the bet was settled, he was extremely vulnerable with him.  He just had to hope Michael wouldn’t come home before Viper left.

Michael was almost too tired to walk up the stairs to his apartment.  They had a few calls here and there, but emotionally he was drained and it was taking its toll on the rest of his body. Sighing, he stared at the metal numbers on the outside of his door. Two eleven was written out in rusty numbers.  He leaned his head on the wood for a moment before he unlocked the knob and entered. 

Casey wasn’t in the living room but the TV was blaring.  He edged into the kitchen and there was still no sign of him. “Case?” He took his hat off and threw it on the kitchen counter, smoothing his hair down with his hand.  Walking down the hallway, he was caught off guard when he saw Casey standing outside his bedroom door. “Hey man, what are you doing?” He could have sworn he left his door closed before he left in the morning. Did he just catch Casey snooping?

Casey had a deer in the headlight look and backed into the wall, rattling a few picture frames. “Mikey! Hey!” His words were quick and panicked. “How about you go into the kitchen, I’ll cook you some supper. You look like you had a busy day.” Casey began to try and divert him backward but he resisted.

Michael arched his eyebrow. “I’m not hungry. What the hell are you doing?” Before he could say anything else another man came out from his room.  Anger flared and Michael stepped forward.  “Who in the hell is this?” He pointed his thumb at the random stranger. 

“No need to worry about who I am. You’ll get to know me in due time, don’t worry.” The stranger patted Michael’s cheek, grinning as he spoke. His teeth were capped with gold and silver and Michael got a quick smell of his stale breath.  He pulled his face away and fought the urge to punch him.

Looking from Casey and back to the man, he bit his bottom lip. “Well ya see, I am going to worry when I come home to find some low life going through my bedroom.”

Casey broke in, breaking the long stare that Michael and the thug were sharing.  “Mikey, he’s Viper. He was just here for a little bit and he’s about to leave.”

Michael nodded and let out a sarcastic laugh. The man’s blonde hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail. He reminded Michael of a cliché drug dealer seen in movies.  Maybe that’s who he was, Casey’s drug dealer. That still didn’t give him the right to be there and him being in his bedroom worsened his cause.  “You need to leave. If I find anything missing out of there..”

Viper cut him off. “You’ll what? Believe me, Mikey, none of your personal possessions interest me. Casey knows what interests me.  You remember how you’re talking to me. Cause I sure as hell won’t forget it.”

Michael grabbed hold of his shirt, shoving him against the opposite wall.  He couldn’t help but look closer at the caps on his teeth. “Get out of my house or I’ll have you arrested for breaking and entering. I better not see you around here again.” His grip was tight on the fabric and he could feel his palms growing numb.  “Casey is done with your kind.”

Viper smiled again.  His arrogance just added fuel to the fire raging inside of Michael. “Like I said, you remember exactly what you did here tonight.  You’ll regret it.”

Michael released his shirt and watched as he walked down the hallway and out of the front door.  He wouldn’t mind letting Casey have friends over if they weren’t the type that got him into trouble, but Casey had no friends of that nature.  His trust issue was at an all time low with everyone and the last thing he wanted was random drug addicts shacking up in his home.  He was almost certain that if he allowed Casey to continue staying with him that while he was at work, Casey would sneak them over like he obviously had already done.  He didn’t want to kick him out but for the sake of his sanity, there wasn’t any other option.

“Mikey, that wasn’t what you think, I swear.”

Michael walked back to the living room and sat down, burying his head in his hands. He was hesitating. He felt guilty for wanting to kick him out.  He tried his hardest to help him and he still went behind his back.

“Why’d you let someone in when I told you not to?” He spoke through his hands and hoped it was loud enough for Casey to hear.

“I didn’t. He came in uninvited.”

Michael looked up. “And how did he know where you were then? He just knew that you were staying here?”

Casey shook his head no and raked his hand over his face. “You have every right to be pissed.”

“You’re damn right, I do.” He paused and leaned back on the couch. It was now or never. If he didn’t kick him out he would constantly have to worry about what was going on in his own house.  He wouldn’t be able to focus on work and a bad day at his job meant someone either gets hurt or dies.
He couldn’t live with that on his conscious.
Then of course, he would definitely worry about Casey too. If he kicked him out where would he stay? He was hoping that maybe with him staying there he would be a good influence on him.  Back out on the streets he had even more exposure.  But who was he kidding? If he wanted to use the drugs, he would find a way regardless of where he was living.