Free Blazing Hotter (Love Under Fire Book 2) by Chantel Rhondeau Page A

next photo, giving him a few seconds to look at it before going to the next.
    They all looked similar, although some of the stage names visible under the pictures Cassie snapped made him grin. Lola Lapdancer and Horny Harriet got outright chuckles. These women were definitely more inventive than Bambi and Candy had been.
    Speaking of Bambi!
    “Wait. Go back a picture.”
    Cassie complied.
    There on the screen was the familiar shot of Bambi posed in her white lace teddy, the same picture he’d used back when he was trying to decide whether to date her or Candy. He’d shown this very picture to Thayne, right before Thayne told him he was an asshole for not learning her real name if he planned to date the woman.
    In actuality, he’d planned to bang her. He didn’t think getting more than her stage name was required for that. Yet another sin to add to the list of reasons he was now stuck in a wheelchair.
    “Do you know her?” Cassie asked.
    What were the chances this woman would be the same who threatened Cassie? Why would she do it?
    “This is Bambi who works over at Guy’s Nite Out, right?” he asked.
    She nodded, her lips thinning marginally. She definitely didn’t like hearing he knew strippers, that was for sure.
    “Look, I think I told you I was a punk before the fire.”
    She nodded.
    “Well, I once asked Bambi and her coworker to have a three-way with me.”
    Cassie’s eyebrows rose and her face reddened, as though she was uncertain whether she should hit him.
    “I see that look.” Frankie held his hands up in surrender. “Don’t worry. Bambi had me taken care of. Three guys jumped me and beat me so badly that Thayne had to come pick me up. Granted, she felt bad afterward and gave me a lot of whiskey to dull the pain until Thayne arrived, but I learned my lesson.”
    Cassie nodded and her face assumed a more normal appearance. “Maybe that’s a good thing.”
    Frankie let out a rueful chuckle. “Nice to know you’re happy I got beat.”
    “Not that.” Her eyes seemed to sparkle as she looked at him. “But you did deserve it.”
    “Great. Now you’re laughing at me.” He pretended to pout.
    “Oh, you poor baby. What do I need to do to make it better?”
    Frankie wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “I can think of something.”
    Cassie giggled and swatted his arm, hitting him lightly above his elbow. “Be serious. What I meant might be good is that if Bambi felt bad for getting you beat up, she might feel like she still owes you something. Maybe she can help us figure out who sent the flowers.”
    The girl he intended to date wanted to meet a woman he’d once been a major asshole to? Sure, sounded like a good plan. Nothing could go wrong there.
    “Why don’t we ask the florist first?” he asked. “If she can pick out the right girl, I’d rather not bother Bambi.”

Chapter Seven
    B ig Frank came back into the dining room, a wide smile on his face.
    Cassie couldn’t help but glance at Frankie to see if he was okay. While she knew what divorce had done to her teenage self, she wasn’t sure what it would do to an injured firefighter. His guilt and need to call his mom endeared Frankie to Cassie even more, but it also worried her. If Big Frank was in the other room talking to one of his new girlfriends, that could be a major problem for Frankie’s sanity.
    “Good news,” Big Frank said, somewhat breaking Cassie’s tense mood. “I’ve found an easier way for Frankie to get around.”
    “What do you mean, Dad?” Frankie asked. “Cassie already bought me an electric wheelchair. Well, she and the guys, with help from the insurance company, bought it. Still, I can’t see what else could be helpful.”
    “Oh, yeah?” Big Frank’s eyebrows rose high, clearing up the crow’s feet around his eyes but causing deep furrows in his forehead. “And how, exactly, do you intend to fit that electric wheelchair in Cassie’s car? If you’re playing detective tomorrow and going to the