Free Red Hot Party by Cheryl Dragon

much, but what she felt was so deep she’d been blind to it. She needed to be alone with her thoughts and figure this out. When she walked in her apartment, all she saw what the huge bouquet of flowers from Ham. It was real, and her life wouldn’t be the same no matter which way she went.

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Six
     
     
    The gnawing frustration fueled Ham the next morning. Lolly had ignored his texts and calls. She’d taken a personal day. While the manual labor of cleaning the truck helped, he knew it wouldn’t solve anything. Something was keeping Lolly back. Maybe Alex had called or someone had made a comment. But she was pulling away, not turning to them, and that hurt.
    “Go over and see her. Kicking the dog won’t make you feel better,” Shane said.
    “We don’t have a dog!” Ham snapped.
    “It’s an expression. Don’t take it out on other people. Being pissed doesn’t do you any more good than hiding out does Lolly. Go get her.” Bruce put the buckets away.
    “We all need to go.” Ham wasn’t giving up the guys or Lolly. He didn’t need the world to know, but he’d grown addicted to men as well. The hard bodies and rough feel. Bruce and Shane might have something deeper between them, but Ham was part of it. They didn’t all have to be equally in love with each other for it to work. They just had to agree that it worked.
    “It’s been quiet for days.” Bruce shrugged.
    As they put the supplies away from washing, the siren blew and their phones went crazy with info from the call center. Ham’s brain changed directions immediately, and the three got in their gear and climbed on the truck. The old horse barn out on Ms. Maggie’s farm was set close to the house.
    Ham drove, and Bruce radioed ahead to the police to make sure Maggie was safe. They pulled into her yard in under five minutes to see smoke pouring out of the two-story barn.
    “No animals or people inside. We just need to keep it from spreading to the house. Put it out,” Bruce said.
    They walked over to survey. The roof was holding, pouring water on it wouldn’t work. “Get the ladder up, we need to hack it open.” Ham nodded to Shane.
    The lightest, Shane was the best roof hopper they had, but it always made Ham nervous to put any of his men in danger. A few volunteers texted in that they were at the firehouse to cover and ready to come for backup. Small towns took care of their own. Ham texted back that he wanted a backup and an ambulance on scene. With Shane in the air, they had to be safe.
    “That roof should’ve given by now.” Bruce hooked up the hose and was ready as soon as there was a hole to fill.
    “I’ve heard stories about Maggie’s horse barn. No horses.” More kinky fun and equipment. Shame to lose it. He’d bet she’d gotten soundproofing on the walls and roof. Probably insulated and drywalled with fire walling, too. Ms. Maggie wasn’t a poor widow. Damn good thing the fire wasn’t during one of her parties. Ham had been invited to the parties, but BDSM lifestyle kink wasn’t his thing. A little spanking he liked. But whips and cages? Not his thing. Still, he’d keep Maggie’s secret and save what he could.
    He watched as Shane hacked the peak of the roof at an angle to give them access.
    “It’s starting to give back here!” a cop shouted from the backside.
    “Hold it, Shane!” Ham yelled into his radio.
    Shane tried to back up. A beam gave, and he went down.
    Bruce ran inside. Ham shared the panic but held his ground. If it were Lolly, he’d have given into panic. Hell, they all might, but Ham had to keep it together. He turned on the water and let it pour. The volunteer arrived just in time to take the hose, and Ham ran through the smoke-gushing barn door. Bruce had Shane on his back and was trying to drag the dazed man out. Together, they carried Shane to the ambulance.
    It was Lolly with the oxygen and pulling off Shane’s gear to check him.
    “I’m okay. Damn roof!” Shane said