Play With Fire (The Men of Fire 1)

I cringe, preparing her for the worst. “I'm sorry,” I murmur. “We're going to have to cut her out.”

Angel sucks in a breath, her baby blues flicking towards her daughter. “What? Are you sure?” she panics. “Can't you just ... I don’t know, bend the poles and slip her out? You know, like sometimes with the ketchup bottle, all you have to do is turn it upside down and bang it on the bottom for it to come right out.”

I give her a blank stare. I really hope she’s not suggesting that I do that to her kid. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to save this kid from the confines of these poles, but even I have my limits.

The overwhelming need to ease her worries burns through me, and I resist reaching out and pulling that sexy little body of her into my arms. “Wish it was that easy,” I tell her, pressing my lips into a tight line and letting her see the regret on my face. “We'll make it quick and as safe as possible for Ryan, but any longer in there and she could gain injuries. Just one slip of her foot and she could ...”

“Shit,” she cuts me off. “Don't. I don't want to think about what could happen. Just … make it quick. She's going to be terrified.”

I look over at Ryan who's watching Ax with a strange curiosity, and I wonder if she can sense that there's something different about him. He looks the same as the rest of us fuckers, but on a deeper level, he's just a little messed up. “You know,” I tell Angel. “I think she's tougher than you think.”

With that, I turn back to the boys and give Chief a nod. He takes that as the 'all good' and reaches for the grinder and extension lead. “Where's your closest outlet?”

Angel looks to Chief and gives him a panicked smile. Her eyes wide as she takes in the grinder in his hand. “Just inside the front door to your right.”

Chief nods and makes himself busy while Jet takes a moment to make an ass of himself. “So,” Jet says slowly, eyes on Angel before flicking back to me. His eyes dance with a cocky playfulness like the little prick that he is. A shit-eating grin spreads across his face. “You two know each other?”

Fucking asshole.

“No,” she laughs, her lips pulling up in a beautiful smile and showing off her pearly whites. “He wishes he was that lucky. I couldn’t even tell you his name.”

I resist a laugh. She’s never been so right. "It's Bull," Jet supplies as helpful as ever.

Angel arches a brow, looking at me with curiosity. Her eyes sparkle and I find myself hanging onto every fucking word. She gives me a dazzling, flirty smile, telling me that she has a cheeky side, one I’d very much like to explore. "Like, as in Bulldozer, or Bullshit?"

"Neither," I scoff, shaking my head as a grin tears across my face, wondering why I liked that comment so damn much. "Bull as in prepared to always fucking charge."

"So," she grins. "I shouldn't associate you with a cow, or it’s shit?"

My eyes narrow and I want nothing more than to fold her across my lap and spank that perfectly plump ass of hers until it’s stinging red. I slightly shake my head, a smirk sitting on my lips as I watch the amusement flare in her eyes. She’s sarcastic and quick and I fucking love it.

“What’s your name, Angel?”

She watches me for a moment, probably fighting with herself whether to give me that sort of information. But what’s there to worry about? I know where she lives, I’m about to save her daughter, I’ve seen her tits, and she just called me a fucking cow. I think I’ve earned her name.

“Amelia,” she finally admits, though the tone in her voice is telling me she’s still guarded about opening up. It’s almost as though I can feel her wall beginning to slide back into place.

I hear the boys getting ready behind me, and I take that as my cue to get shit sorted. “Well, Amelia,” I say, loving the feel of her name on my tongue. “How about we save your baby?”

With that, I turn to the boys and find them hovering around a panicking Ryan. Chief stands behind her with the grinder and the boys on either side. Her eyes are worried as she can clearly see that something is about to go down.

Amelia squeaks beside me.

“Alright, Pretty Girl,” I tell Ryan, moving forward. “I’m going to help you lay down, alright?”

She nods her little head, and I move in beside her. We want her as far away from the grinder as possible. Not only to protect her from the spark but to minimize how much she can actually see. Believe me, if a little kid sees those sparks coming at them like that, they’re bound to freak out, and freaking out is the last thing we want when electrical tools are being used.