Read Online Chasing the Fire (Backdraft, Fully Involved, Flashover) by Kathryn Shay - Free Book Online Page A

nameplate that read Dr.
Lincoln Roberts and was hit by a sudden flash of memory…
    Dr. Lincoln Roberts and Dr. Lisa Beth
Duncan. Sounds good, doesn’t it, babe? We can share a
letterhead.
    “Come in,” a rusty baritone called out.
    Gritting her teeth, Lisa Beth opened the door
and stepped into the office. Big and spacious. Beautifully
decorated. Even the spring breeze coming through the window was
perfect, all of it befitting a world renowned trauma surgeon. She
said without preamble, “I need to talk to you.”
    He held a bag of ice to his jaw and a phone
in his other hand. “I’m about to call the police station to report
your firefighter buddy for assault.”
    “Don’t do that.”
    He cocked his head and gave her that studied
expression of his. “Why shouldn’t I?”
    “Because I’m asking you not to.”
    “Well, that’s a switch. I asked you not to do a lot of things in the last ten years, and you’ve
never once agreed.”
    He spoke the truth. He’d asked her not to
hold a grudge. She’d vowed never to forget what he’d done to
her.
    He’d asked her not to refuse his calls. She
didn’t answer his emails and messages.
    And later, when everything had fallen apart
for him, he’d asked her to reconsider a future they could still
have together. She’d told him to fuck off.
    “I know it’s a switch. But I’m doing this for
my friends.”
    “Why the hell did that guy hit me, anyway? I
was only talking to Jane.”
    “Obviously, they’re having problems. They’ve
been together since high school.”
    He stared hard at her with those navy blue
eyes that used to make her knees weak. “Lucky them.”
    Lisa Beth’s blood pressure spiked. “Oh, no,
you don’t. You don’t get to make me feel guilty for what you
broke.”
    He nodded. He wasn’t used to making
concessions. Though he’d only been at Memorial for a short while,
everybody on staff knew Linc Roberts had a God complex.
    “So, will you forgo pressing charges against
Riley? They’re going to have a tough enough time trying to work
things out.”
    Linc steepled his hands and waited. She bet
he made interns squirm. Of course she hadn’t been around to see
that. “All right, on one condition.”
    “What?” She didn’t like the gleam in his
eye.
    “That you see me outside of the
hospital.”
    Her jaw dropped. “No, absolutely not.”
    He picked up the phone again. “Okay.”
    She watched him punch in numbers.
    “Wait.”
    He paused.
    “Fine, I’ll see you once outside of
here.”
    “A week.”
    “ What?”
    “Once a week. For a month.”
    “You gotta be kidding me.”
    He rubbed his jaw. “I’ve been hurt.”
    “Oh, shut up with that.”
    Arching a dark brow in the way she always
hated, he said, “You have five seconds to decide. Then I call.”
    Goddamned son of a bitch. “All right. Once a
week. Four times.”
    With a victor’s smile, he set down the phone,
leaned over the desk and glanced at his calendar. “How about
Saturday night?”
    “Can’t. I’m going away tomorrow—two weeks for
a paramedic refresher course.”
    He flipped some pages. “Damn it. I’m flying
to Italy to present a paper when you get back. I’ll be gone two
weeks.”
    “A reprieve then. Call me when you’re free.”
She started to back up.
    It took him only seconds to round the desk
and grab her arm. She remembered the last time he’d touched her and
it hadn’t been pleasant. He said, “Not so fast.”
    Her dark eyes burned. “Get your hands off
me.”
    He spat out, “Christ,” but moved away. “We
set dates now.”
    “Now?”
    “Yes. Four weeks from today.”
    She pulled out her phone and checked her tour
schedule. “I’ll be on night duty.”
    “I work days.”
    Sensing victory, she shrugged.
    “Then five weeks.”
    That she couldn’t get out of. She’d see him
for Jane and Riley, but the thought of being alone with Linc
Roberts outside of the hospital made her stomach clench. She had no
desire to spend any length of time