Hell Is Burning (3 page)

“Yeah, I’m well aware. I’ll make sure I get this done. Maybe we shouldn’t see each other until then.”

He laughed. “Yeah, that should be nearly impossible since we’re both detectives.”

He had a point.

Brynn rolled off the bed, picked up her wedding band, and slid it back on her finger. “Yeah, you know what I meant. You and your dick will have to take a hiatus. I don’t need you caught up in this.”

“Thanks. I don’t want a Fed gunning for me.”

Brynn pulled on her clothes and picked up her cell. “Jesus,” she muttered.

“What?”

She tossed it to him.

“Ten missed calls and fourteen text messages?” He wanted to laugh, but he didn't want to add fuel to the fire. “Brynn, baby, you gotta handle this, and fast.”

“Yeah, I know. I have to swing by work and shower. If he smells man on me, it’ll be an interrogation. I’ll call him from my desk phone and tell him I’m working late.”

When she headed out, he got dressed.

He’d trust her to keep his name out of it. If not, there would be hell to pay.

Chapter One

Two Days Later

Tuesday

When he woke, it was the same as the last few weeks.

He was alone.

There was no wife beside him, there was no naked woman cuddling with him, and there was no smell of breakfast to be eaten together. It set the mood for the day, and it wasn’t a good one--that’s for sure.

Granted, Curtis Briggs was becoming accustomed to sleeping in the spare bedroom and getting up for work alone. His life at home had become one of isolation and desolation. There was no more laughter or happiness, and he was lost.

In all honesty, he had never felt so alone in all his life.

His wife, of a couple of months, was fast asleep in their bedroom--the one they no longer shared.

He’d been booted out but it was his own fault. He left of his own recognizance, and the second he did, she began locking the door.

It was sad, but true.

He gave her an inch, and she stole a foot.

When he moved them to the new place, he never thought his relationship would take a turn for the worst, but it had. No longer was there a partnership between them. There was no through thick or thin.

So much had changed.

They’d changed.

To make it so much worse, he’d pushed away the people he loved out of anger, and now the woman he cared about was also slipping through his fingers like sand.

Curtis wasn’t sure how to fix it or make it right. Normally, he’d ask the man he once called brother for advice, but he’d burned that bridge down.

No--he blew it up.

So, he was on his own.

Curtis knew that his life was falling apart and he was helpless to stop it.

He hated that he and Brynn were slipping apart. The more he tried to keep them together, the more she fought against him. They no longer showered together, slept, or ate as a couple. She went to second shift, and they began being nothing more than roommates.

Of all the emotions swamping him, threatening to drag him under, the greatest ones would have to be confusion and loneliness.

After Brynn had been hurt, he did what he thought was right. He blamed the people he believed had wronged them. As time passed, he was beginning to see that he’d made a mistake.

It was just one more in a long line of them which had eventually led him to the place he was now--
loneliness.

His family was gone.

His wife was indifferent to him.

Curtis was trapped in a downward spiral that he was helpless to escape. The harder he tried, the more he failed.

Somehow, he’d gone terribly astray from his path in life, and now he was trying to get back on track.

Only, he couldn’t do it alone.

He was smart enough to know that wasn’t a possibility. Yet, he had no clue how to rectify it.

What he wanted to do was go into his room, get back in control, and have some sort of reassurance from his wife that everything was going to be okay.

He needed that.

He craved it.

Yet, Curtis was pretty sure that boat had sailed.

When Brynn had been hurt, he jumped into action, wrapping himself around her like a big, safe cocoon. He didn't want the world to hurt her, and he truly believed that he was man enough to keep her protected. After all, he’d failed her, and that’s why she’d been hurt in the first place.

He was the man.

It was his duty to keep his woman safe.

Right?

Wrong.

It was apparent that she didn't want him protecting her. In fact, the vibe she was giving screamed
‘hands off’
!

Brynn obviously hated the idea that he was going to keep her protected, loved, and cherished. Curtis was pretty sure that was the job of the man, but then again…he wasn’t sure anymore.

Brynn was fighting him long and hard, and he was wearing down. Maybe not all women wanted the kind of man he was inside. What if he just wasn’t meant for her?

That thought scared him.

Had they made a mistake after all?

NO!

He wouldn’t quit.

He couldn’t.

Curtis would keep pushing on until he found a way to get through to her. He could be her knight in shining Kevlar if she’d only let him.

He wasn’t so bad, was he?

After all, when she got home from work, he was there for her. He’d have dinner ready, and he longed to hear about her day. Instead, she didn't want any part of that.

Immediately, she’d rush to the shower without a kiss hello, and then off to bed. Curtis would be left to ponder what he’d done wrong.

Was it him?

Was it her?

He wasn’t sure.

All he did know was they were broken. He wasn’t talking about a small crack. He was talking about a full-blown hole, destroying what little foundation he’d had time to build.

When the crazed killer took her, Curtis broke the law and killed a man to save her. He pulled the trigger and watched him hit the ground. If that wasn’t bad enough, he’d spewed so much venom on the two people who loved him that it made him ache inside.

He’d given up everything for his marriage, believing that once you said ‘I do’, you didn't quit. Now he was alone. Gone was his partner.

His family.

His heart.

Nothing he did for her was good enough.

Brynn wanted more, and Curtis wasn’t quite sure he had what she needed. What they should be doing was counseling. He was pretty sure that if she’d go with him, they could fix this.

It had to be repairable.

After all, a marriage worked if you nurtured it.

Right?

When he called to check on her it was because he was thinking about his wife. When he left cute texts, it was all out of love for the woman he gave his heart to those months ago. Who hated heart shaped pancakes for breakfast on the weekend?

Apparently, Brynn.

Now he was waiting for any sign of her feeling anything for him. If she did, they could make it work. Their hasty, drunken marriage wasn’t a mistake.

It couldn’t be.

Heading into the spare room he was now calling his own, Curtis stared into the mirror. His face was mired with misery, and a couple days’ worth of stubbly beard. He wanted to shave, but he didn't have the heart.

In fact, he didn't feel like doing much of anything anymore. The last two days, he’d tried to reach her, and when she wouldn’t even give him a chance, he’d turned to his mistress.

Booze
.

It dulled the pain.

It numbed his ache.

It helped him forget everything he’d given up and lost in his ill-timed rage.

Only, it didn't help. Every day, following his bender, he was reminded how pathetic he was when he stared at his reflection. He wasn’t kidding anyone--including himself.

As he touched his cheek, all he saw was age and the pain of a man so much older than him.

This whole thing was killing him.

How was it possible?

How could the one thing he craved his whole life be destroying him? Love was supposed to fill you with peace, not rot away everything inside your soul.

He was breaking.

No. He was broken.

Curtis had to turn away before he smashed his fist into his reflection in the glass. It wasn’t easy.

God! He hated his life.

He focused on getting dressed to abate the anger brewing in his gut. Despite the sucky life he was forced to live, he still had to go to work. They had bills, and if she wouldn’t let him be her partner in life, he’d at least be the man of the house.

He’d fulfill his financial obligation.

It was all he had left, and he knew it. He was just a wallet to her, and he was pathetic enough to allow it.

My how the mighty had fallen hard.

Curtis tried to find calm beneath the raging storm. At least he’d head to work and find a smiling face. His new partner would lighten the load for the time being. Thank God he still had that friendship. For the last two months, he’d been teamed up with Agent Tessa Brass.

She was a gem, and Doctor Paris Archer was one hell of a lucky man.

She didn't invade his privacy.

She didn't ask about Brynn.

Tessa always had an encouraging word to cheer him up. Plus, most importantly, she never brought up the ‘C’ word in front of him. Croft was no longer in his vocabulary.

It wasn’t just him. It was all of them. You could add Emma and Dante to the list too.

Curtis liked his partner because she didn't pry, and that was what he needed right now.

“I can’t give up,” he muttered, tucking his shirt in before he buttoned his dress pants. When he reached for a tie, his hand paused as he almost picked the one Brynn had given him for his birthday. It had been only two weeks ago, and it spoke volumes to their relationship.

Who gives their husband of two months a tie? Where were the sexy strip shows, the lingerie to make him drool, and the copious amounts of lap riding? Wasn’t that the appropriate gift for your husband’s big day?

Not in his world.

He got an ugly tie.

That had been his first sign that something bad was brewing. It pissed him off that the only person he could ask was the one man who now hated his guts. While he was pathetic, Curtis wouldn’t crawl--not yet.

He punched the wall, leaving a dent.

Then he opted to skip the tie. Instead, he slipped into his gun harness, and holstered his weapon. For a brief second, he hesitated, his fingers lingering on the grip as ugly thoughts filled his mind.

It scared him.

Was he really capable of doing that?

He had to shake his head to free himself from the ugliness. Curtis didn't know who he was, or why he was becoming this soulless human being.

All he knew was he had to fix it.

Tonight, when Brynn came home from work, he’d be waiting. When she got there, they were going to talk. If he had to break the locks on all the doors, he was going to do it. There wasn’t going to be a place she could hide in their home.

He couldn’t give up.

It wasn’t in him.

Curtis didn't want to be a failure. He didn't want to lose his wife of two months.

He was better than that.

There had to be something that Brynn saw in him that was redeemable.

Right?

When the going got tough, you manned up and took care of business, and that was exactly what Curtis was going to do. He was going to get to the bottom of this mess, if it was the last thing he ever did.

       
         
* * *
  Croft & Croft  * * *

Across Town

Sky Villa

Greyson Croft woke to his wife wrapped around his body. Her hair was twisted around his arm, and her lithe frame was splayed across his. The mingling of their scents gave him that tingly feeling that he’d come to crave.

It was addictive.

There was no better way to wake up than like this. With every passing day together, it never got old. It was like the first time, every time.

Frankly, he was grateful too.

After everything that had happened in the last two months, he always had that one rock in his life.

It was his Emma.

She anchored him.

When they found out that Randall Mason left them more money than God, they didn't panic. She helped keep him calm as they figured out what to do with it. Life had changed in that moment, but one thing remained the same.

Them.

This was just proof to him that they had what it took to make it. That chance meeting in Celestia wasn’t a fluke. Emma was meant to be his wife.

Their love was eternal.

Greyson believed that no matter what, Emma would always be his, and he was one lucky man. Most women would run when the shit hit the fan, but not his girl. She was tough, tenacious, and didn't leave his side. In fact, when the chips were down, Vegas didn't stand a chance. His fiery redheaded kitten dug in and stood by his side.

It was a good thing because without the love of a good woman, you were screwed.

Yes, they had money.

Correction--technically, Emma had more money than God, but it didn't change them. Yes, they could afford anything they wanted, but the funny thing was--they still didn't buy anything.