Sizzle (St. Martin Family Saga): Emergency Responders by Gina Watson Page B

for the gun.”
    Eve trembled and wrapped her arms around her body. He started to recognize that move as something she did when she was uncomfortable. Good, she needed to be on alert. It would be martial law around here, and he needed to know she understood that.
    “Do you live in a bad neighborhood?”
    “No, not a bad neighborhood. I know this is scaring you, but do you know what martial law is?”
    She shook her head.
    “When the local authorities have been compromised, due to emergency situations like weather, the military steps in—especially if things get chaotic, and they will once people start getting out on the streets again. Don’t leave this house. Don’t open the door for anyone but firemen or Jack. Here, take this.”
    He walked to the console table and handed her a two-way radio.
    “Local emergency services are using this right now, so only use it if you have an emergency. Just hit this button”— he hit the yellow strip on the side of the device—“and ask for me repeatedly until someone answers you. Answer anything for… Minnie Mouse. Got it?”
    “Minnie Mouse?”
    “It’s what all the guys use to address their wives and girlfriends across the radio.” She nodded. He hoped she was getting all of his directives.
    “Keep the radio in the room with you.” He looked at her with a raised brow. “All good?”
    She nodded again, looking very sleepy. He knew it was a lot of information, but he needed more than just a head nod this time.
    “Are you sure?”
    “Yes. Thank you.”
    “Tell me the passcode.”
    “Forty-five, ninety, thirty-three.”
    He lowered himself to her height. Using his thumb and index finger, he massaged her earlobe.
    “I’ll be thinking about how you taste and feel; the memory of your sweet spice will keep me going.”
    He bent and kissed her chastely on the lips, then he lowered his feet into his rain boots.
    “Don’t forget to use the door bar and set the alarm after I leave.”
    He opened the door and was engulfed by the storm.

8

    W hen Clay left, Eve’s heart sank in the absence of his comforting presence. Somewhere in the back of her mind a thought was brewing. One she didn’t care to address, but she couldn’t stop it from forming and taking over. It caused her to worry about his safety. Firefighting was one of those jobs that took lives. It was like a deep-sea fisherman or a police officer. Sometimes the men didn’t come home. She prayed for the safety of the emergency responders.
    The storm was bearing down hard, but his home felt safe and warm. She did as she was told and applied the door bar and set the alarm.
    She walked to Clay’s bedroom and climbed onto the bed that smelled of him. In their haste to have one another, she’d forgotten to ask about other women. Who was Clara?
    She lay back on the bed. With the addition of electricity, the sounds of the storm were heavily muted. She focused on the thrum of the air conditioner. Her eyelids grew heavy and she was ready to fall asleep in his sheets, surrounded in his scent.
    She was awakened a few hours later by a loud crack. Groggy, she fell back into the haze of her comfortable cocoon.
    “Minnie Mouse, this is six-Y-five-C-S-M. Come in, please.”
    One of Eve’s eyelids shot up, but exhaustion dragged it back down.
    “Minnie Mouse, this is six-Y-five-C-S-M. Come in, please.”
    Eve came slowly alert. She knew she’d heard Minnie Mouse twice now and something C-S-M. C-S-M … Clay St. Martin. She reached for the radio and mashed the button.
    “Six-Y-five-C-S-M, this is Minnie Mouse. Over.” She didn’t know where the “over” came from, but it felt right.
    “Roger that, Minnie Mouse. State you condition. Over.”
    State her condition. She’d been asleep. Could she say that?
    “Six-Y-five-C-S-M, Minnie Mouse was sound asleep until you woke her. Over.”
    “Roger that, Minnie Mouse. My sincerest apologies. Over and out.”
    She laughed. Then she dozed off again. When she woke, something was