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in the department needed was to confirm the false
reputation that they slept around.
    Who knew, though, how she and Gabe were going
to deal with what they’d done.
    oOo
    Outside of Badges, the firefighter and police
bar of choice, hence the name, the night was warm, and Gabe was
glad to be alive. He’d taken a long shower, dressed in jeans and a
red shirt rolled up at the sleeves, and had O’Malley doctor him up
again. All told, he came out of the incident with a cut on his
forehead, which needed only a bandage, and a few scrapes on his
cheek and neck. But he knew in his heart he wasn’t the same man who
had rushed headlong into that burning building. In one short
afternoon, he’d compromised his principals and slept with a
firefighter under his command. Not only that, all those months of
keeping himself in check around Rachel Wellington were lost in a
dark room that he’d thought they’d never get out of. Which
explained why he’d bought a pack of cigarettes and wandered out
here with a beer.
    “Jesus, give yourself a break, asshole,” he
muttered, disgusted with his self-recriminations. “You thought you
were gonna die.”
    “Talkin’ to yourself?” His cousin Mitch had
joined him on the patio. “Did you get hit on the head harder than
we thought?”
    “Yeah, maybe.”
    Mitch dropped down across from him in a chair
at the wrought iron table, then nodded to his hand. “Thought you
gave that up years ago.”
    “I did.” Gabe smiled at the guy who’d been
not only a relative but a close friend all his life. He took a drag
then held up the butt. “For the life of me, I can’t figure out why
so many firefighters smoke. We breathe in enough shit as it is
every day.”
    “There’s a psychology behind it, I’m sure.”
Nonchalantly, Mitch leaned back, crossed his ankle over his knee
and linked his hands behind his head. “So, are you really
okay?”
    “Yeah, I am. Shaken some. That’s
natural.”
    “How’s Wellington doing?”
    “As good as me, I’d guess.” He didn’t want to
look at his cousin, so he rubbed his hand on the steel of the
curlicues in the tabletop. “Why do you ask?”
    “She lit out of the house in a flash.” Mitch
shrugged. “Maybe she had a date.”
    Shit. Gabe took another drag.
    Staring over his shoulder, Mitch got a
faraway look in his eyes. “I remember when me, Zach and Jenn got
trapped in that warehouse three years ago. It put everything in
perspective for us. I ended up with Meg, Jenn and Grady got
together and Zach found Casey.”
    Hell, could his cousin read his mind? “Lucky
you.”
    “So, Gabriel, what are you gonna change about
your life?”
    “Not much. I’m happy as I am, Mitello.” Their
mothers had given all their Italian names then shortened them.
    “Your divorce was five years ago. You need a
woman.”
    I just had one. And it was some of the
best damn sex of my life.
    “Yeah, I guess I do.”
    Mitch watched him for a minute, then checked
out their surroundings. Some bluesy jazz drifted out of the bar,
but no one else was on the patio. “I can tell you’re holding back.
I always knew when you were keeping something from me. And I’m a
pretty good sounding board.”
    “It’s bad, Mitch. Professionally. And you’re
a BC in the department.”
    “Fuck it. I’m your friend and cousin first. I
won’t tell anybody. Whatever you say stays here.”
    What happened in the basement stays in
the basement.
    “I didn’t think I was gonna get out.” His
voice sounded heavy, somber.
    Mitch waited.
    “Something else is goin’ on with me.” A
pause. “I’ve had…feelings. Hell. No, I don’t know, maybe…”
    “Spit it out. Gabe.”
    “I’ve been attracted to Wellington for
months. Kept a lid on it good enough so nothing happened, nothing
even showed. Apparently, she’d been doin’ the same thing.” He took
another drag then butted out the cigarette. “The lid blew today.
For both of us.”
    Mitch’s brows hiked up and he sat forward.
“Holy