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Marnie was innocent and he’d bullied her. Borderline torture. He owed her an explanation, and a big apology.
Back in the cabin, he tossed the used condom in the trash. She headed to her room to shower, and he took a quick one in the other. He dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt, padding back into the living room to pour himself a double shot of whiskey before sitting on the couch to stare out of the large windows. He was keenly aware of her entering his sphere as she tentatively sat in the chair across from him.
“I’m sorry,” he said, not looking at her. “What I’ve done was messed up and wrong.”
“Yeah,” she replied in a cautious tone. “So, you believe me now?”
“Yes, Marnie, I do.”
He finally looked at her. Her hair was damp, little tendrils curling around her temples. His fingers itched to touch her and smooth them down. Instead, he finished his drink.
“I’m a fireman too,” he said as he placed the glass on the coffee table. “In the same firehouse as Dan, but my partner was a man named Joe.”
“Was?”
The memories replayed through his mind, and the lingering ache in his heart threatened to overwhelm him once more.
“A serial arsonist in the city has been burning down historical sites,” he said. “There was a fire and it was bad. We were told a janitor might have been in the building, so Joe and I prepared to head inside. The visibility was pretty much zero. We tried to find that damn janitor, but Joe made the call to leave so I turned to head back the way we came. At the threshold, the floor beneath us caved in and Joe … he, ah, pushed me to safety.”
“Joe didn’t make it?”
Reece shook his head and cleared his throat. “I went on leave until I talked to a counselor and completed a psych evaluation. I thought I was in the clear, and they released me to return to work.”
She cocked her head. “What happened?”
“I froze. I couldn’t even enter the fucking firehouse, so how could I ever enter a building on fire? Joe gave his life for mine, and I broke out into a damn panic attack. It should’ve been me.”
“Reece,” she said and he looked up. Compassion softened her blue eyes. “Joe did exactly what you would have done. Right?”
He nodded.
“Maybe he would’ve gotten PTSD from watching you die. Maybe he wouldn’t have been able to step foot into the station. Maybe he would’ve kidnapped a woman for the complete wrong reasons.”
He couldn’t help but grin at that. She grinned back.
“Anyway, I felt my life was out of control,” he said with a shrug. “Dan called and told me he had cheated on his wife, and was being blackmailed for the cash. In that moment, everything else faded away. My grief. My self-contempt. Suddenly, I could focus on something besides me.”
“So, you decided to teach my sister a lesson.”
He nodded. “I took so much out on you, and for that, I’m truly sorry. I know it’s not an excuse, but I thought you deserved the reason why.”
“Thank you,” she said. “My sister is a sex worker. While I may not like it, it’s her life. It’s not my place to judge her, and it’s not yours either.”
He nodded.
“But, I get that you were trying to protect your friend. I can relate to that because there’s not much I wouldn’t do for Bec, including pretending to be her to prevent a psycho from getting her.” She winked. “I’ll talk to her to make sure she doesn’t bother Dan again, but he should come clean with his wife.”
“Yeah.” Reece rubbed the back of his neck. “Tomorrow, we’ll head back and I’ll turn myself into the police.”
Unable to look at her anymore, he rose and left the living room. He slipped into his bedroom and closed the door. He didn’t think she’d run again, knowing they were going back in the morning.
****
He didn’t expect to see her that evening. He cooked spaghetti with a side of garlic bread, and as he set the table, she appeared.
“Smells good,” she said.
“Yeah. It’s an easy dinner.” He nodded to the bread basket. “Wanna grab that?”
