Cade Creek 11 - Race Against Time by Stormy Glenn Read Free Book Online Page A

There was only one other man that looked at him with that degree of heat, and he seemed to be missing from the truck bay. “Hey, Raff,” he said when he saw the big guy, “have you seen Ari?”
    Raff rolled his eyes as he pointed to the top of one of the fire trucks, then he continued walking through the truck bay. When Vinnie glanced over, he could see Raff’s husband, Dr. Noah Helmond waiting for Raff across the street in the park. Must be lunchtime.
    Having an inkling what Ari might be up to, Vinnie grinned and then held a finger to his lips. He gestured for Race to follow him before making his way to the steps that led to the back seating area of the massive vehicle.
    Stepping up into the back area, Vinnie stretched up to take a peek. Sure enough, Ari was stretched out along the back of the fire engine. His legs were crossed and his arms were folded beneath his head. The guy was sound asleep.
    Vinnie chuckled silently as he climbed back down. He pressed his hands together and placed them along his cheek, tilting his head and closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, Race was staring at him with a big grin.
    Vinnie took the plastic container from Race and set it on the front seat. He then grabbed Race around the waist and lifted him up onto the floor of the back area before climbing up behind him. Race’s eyes danced with laughter as he covered his mouth. Vinnie motioned for Race to plug his ears and then reached over and hit the siren.
    Ari came up as if he had been struck by lightning. His arms and legs went flying as he struggled to roll over. Vinnie’s amusement got the better of him and he bent over laughing. Tears started to stream down his face.
    When he finally got himself under control, he looked up to find Ari glaring at him. When the man went to open his mouth—no doubt to chew him out—Vinnie pointed to the gorgeous man standing next to him. As short as Race was, his head barely tipped the top of the fire engine.
    “Race brought us muffins.”
    Ari’s eyebrows shot up. “Muffins?”
    “He wanted to thank us for picking him up from the airport.” Vinnie smiled as he glanced down at Race. “Isn’t that what you said?”
    Race’s soulful green eyes still danced with merriment. “Yeah.”
    Ari’s mouth slowly spread into a grin. “Nice,” he said before scrambling over the side of the fire engine and then dropping down to the concrete floor. He met Vinnie and Race at the truck steps. Holding up his arms, he said, “Come on, Race. I’ll catch you.”
    Race took a few hesitant steps, right to the edge of the back platform, and then leaned down. Vinnie wasn’t worried. He knew Ari would rather cut off his arm than hurt Race. Once Race was on the ground, Vinnie jumped down. He reached into the front seat for the plastic container.
    “How about we take these over to the park?”
    Race’s eyes widened as he took the container. “Can you do that?” he asked. “Don’t you have to stay here in case there is a fire?”
    Vinnie smiled, warmed by the thought that Race hadn’t said no. “As long as we don’t go any farther than just across the street to the park, and we let the chief know where we’re headed, we’re good. If the alarm goes off, we will hear it and we can run right back.”
    Race stared for a moment, and then said, “Okay.”
    “I’ll go let the chief know we’re headed across the street,” Vinnie said. “I’ll meet you guys in the park.”
    Ari gave him a long look before smiling at Race and leading him out of the truck bay. Vinnie watched them walk across the street and then turned to go find the chief. He thought it would take longer to meet up with Race and show their interest. He never dreamed the man would come to them. That made things a lot easier.
    Now, he just had to make sure everyone was on board. Somehow, Vinnie had the feeling that was going to be a bit harder than it seemed.
    Luckily, he was up to the challenge.

Chapter Six
     
    Race clenched his