Free Burnout (NYPD Blue & Gold) by Tee O'Fallon

didn’t give a crap about him. Her only love was for the department and grabbing that next promotion.
    Mike gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles cracked. He hadn’t seen it coming. He’d been blinded, thrilled to have a woman in his life who loved the same things he did: sports, fishing, watching NASCAR races on TV. Making love until they were both crazy. The perfect wife. That’s why he’d decided to ask her to marry him.
    The same day he planned to propose, the precinct commander informed him he’d been under investigation by IA, but after a six-month review was cleared of all charges. Turned out another shift supervisor wanted the lieutenant’s position Mike was about to get and fed IA a long line of shit that Mike was dirty. Three hours after learning the woman he thought he’d been in love with was only using his ass, he responded to a domestic and got clocked in the head. Two other people died because he’d been so damned distracted he couldn’t think straight. He still blamed himself and always would.
    Finding out his colleague had tried to sabotage his career was bad enough, but it didn’t compare to the shock of finding out about Elaine. It would have been quite a coup for a policewoman to nail a decorated officer. But Jesus, she’d crossed a major line where their relationship was concerned.
    Hell, what relationship?
    The whole thing had been built on one goddamn lie after another. Remembering what happened six years ago had him gritting his teeth so hard they hurt. Christ, he should have taken himself off the roster for the rest of the day when he’d learned about Elaine, but he couldn’t. As a supervisor, it had been his responsibility to cover a call if necessary, and the shift had been severely undermanned that day.
    When he’d finally checked out of NYU Medical Center, he couldn’t deal with what had happened and locked his emotions up tighter than Fort Knox. When the chief’s position in Hopewell Springs opened up, he jumped at it. The more distance from Elaine and the city the better. Since then, he didn’t get involved and he never looked back.
    Another vehicle coming down the road in the opposite direction caught Mike’s attention. It was a Trail Blazer, blue, like the one he’d seen Cassie driving. If he wasn’t mistaken, it was Cassie’s Trail Blazer. The SUV shimmied just before darting across the lane directly into Mike’s path.
    “What the hell?” He jerked the wheel hard left, his front bumper coming a hair’s breadth from smashing into the Trail Blazer as it fishtailed across the road at a crazy angle.
    And headed straight for a tree.
    …
    Cassie turned to verify Raven was unharmed. “Holy crap that was close.” Not only had she barely braked in time before embedding the hood of the Trail Blazer into a mammoth-sized maple tree, but she’d come perilously close to smashing into another SUV. If it weren’t for the other driver’s quick reflexes, she probably would have.
    Her hands shook as she shut off the engine. Cassie got out of the Trail Blazer to check on the other driver but froze at the sight of the police Explorer.
    And the chief of police charging at her.
    “Are you all right?” Mike gripped her upper arms, pinning her with a penetrating, concerned blue stare.
    “Fine,” was all she could manage. Even after the shock of a near miss, she felt every one of his strong fingers on her skin.
    “Blowout?” He looked over her head at the Trail Blazer.
    Cassie eyed the flattened left rear tire and wrinkled her nose at the pungent odor of burned rubber and hot, sticky asphalt. Damn thing was shredded beyond repair. What had sounded like an explosion was merely a violent blowout. “Thank God,” she murmured.
    “Thank God you had a blowout?” Mike raised his brows. “Lady, you’re damn lucky you didn’t plow right into me or go face-first into that tree.”
    “You don’t need to tell me that.” She pulled from his grasp, irritated at his anger.