Fighting the Fire (Warrior Fight Club 3)

There were multiple ways to approach this. In order of movie release was the most obvious, of course, which put ‘Ironman’ first. But that movie actually came chronologically later in the universe, which argued for ‘Captain America’—which largely took place in the 1940s—and a newer movie, ‘Captain Marvel’—which mostly occurred in the 1990s, to be one and two. Then ‘Ironman’ would fit in after that.

Sean nodded to himself as he plugged this information into a spreadsheet until, finally, he’d determined the perfect thematic viewing order for all twenty-plus existing movies in the universe.

Not that they were watching them all on Thursday, of course, but maybe they’d get through the first couple, anyway.

Which had Sean picking up his cell and firing off a text Dani’s way. What time are you coming tomorrow—

He deleted that and started again. You still coming by tomorrow? Better. He didn’t want to assume. He hit Send.

An hour was a long-ass time when you weren’t otherwise occupied, and that was how long it took for Dani to reply: Was planning on it. That still okay?

He grinned at his phone. Hell yes. Just wondered what time and how long you were thinking of staying so I can make a plan.

We need a plan?

What the shit? Of course we need a plan. I made a spreadsheet. He frowned. Maybe he should’ve kept the spreadsheet to himself. Because Dani likely had no idea there were so many movies to watch, and he couldn’t imagine her being game for his level of fanaticism.

…

Those three dots were her only reply. Sean chuckled as his thumbs flew. Just trust me.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

That had him laughing out loud, which had him grasping his chest. Leave it to Daniela England to bust his balls via text. His cell dinged another incoming message.

Fine. I’ll be there around ten and I have the whole day off so I’m happy to help with anything you need. Want me to bring some groceries over?

He was well aware that it represented some seriously low expectations, but he was proud of himself for being able to say: Got it covered. See you then.

After that, Sean was back to a whole lotta nothing to do. He didn’t even have his bike to work on, which had been his usual go-to when idle hands threatened to leave him with too much time to think about the past and the long list of mistakes he’d made—and about how those mistakes had gotten others hurt. Too much time to think about why he was here when others weren’t—others who maybe deserved to survive more than he did.

Sean shook his head and forced the thoughts away. No. No way. He wasn’t gonna sit and spin on those kinds of thoughts. Not today, Satan.

There was at least one thing bike-related he could do, so he called his insurance company to determine the process for the claim regarding his bike. The good news was that the insurance company was available to send an adjuster to evaluate his bike’s condition this week. The bad news was that talking to his insurance agent was his idea of a good time these days.

For fuck’s sake.

Luckily, Mo texted a little before five to save him from boredom and overthinking. You up for chili dogs with me, Billy, and Shayna? I can swing by and pick you up.

Hell yes.

Mo was there by six, and they made it the short distance to Ben’s Chili Bowl fifteen minutes later. Billy and Shayna were inside and had grabbed them a table.

When she saw Sean, Shayna rose to her feet in an instant, her bright blue eyes filled with excitement to see him, and her arms reaching for a hug—before she stopped short. “Oh, I don’t know if I should hug you.”

“Yeah, o’course,” he managed, moved by her affection for him. And just a little uncomfortable as her arms came gently around him. Sean was weird about hugs, maybe because he’d rarely had them in his life. His mother had died when he was young enough that he didn’t have many first-hand memories of her. His father was an abusive asshole. While he’d had plenty of sex, a decade in the navy plus nearly five years of pulling every extra shift he could at the station hadn’t left him much time for relationships. So hugs just felt…weird to him. Foreign.

Soon their table was piled high with chili dogs, half smokes, and amazing fries. “How are you feeling?” Shayna asked him.

All eyes turned to him. “My chest is starting to feel a little better today. I can take deeper breaths easier, anyway.”

“That sounds like good news,” Mo said from where he sat beside Sean. “How long before you can get back to work?”

“Chief gave me four weeks of leave. I don’t know if I’ll need that long. A lot depends on my vision clearing up.” A feeling of dread stalked around in his chest. What if it didn’t? Jesus, he didn’t know what he’d do if it didn’t.