Fighting the Fire: A Warrior Fight Club Novel Read online

  Fighting the Fire

  A Warrior Fight Club Novel

  Laura Kaye

  Fighting for Everything

  FIRST EDITION March 2021

  FIGHTING THE FIRE © Laura Kaye.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  No part or whole of this book may be used, reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work via electronic or mechanical means is a violation of international copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines and/or imprisonment. If you are reading the ebook, it is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. The ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share the ebook, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. Please do not participate in piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and/or are used fictitiously and are solely the product of the author’s imagination. Any similarity to persons living or dead, places, businesses, events, or locales is purely coincidental.

  Cover Design and Photography by Sara Eirew

  Created with Vellum

  READ HARD WITH LAURA KAYE

  Warrior Fight Club Series

  FIGHTING FOR EVERYTHING

  FIGHTING FOR WHAT’S HIS

  WORTH FIGHTING FOR

  FIGHTING THE FIRE

  Blasphemy Series

  HARD TO SERVE

  BOUND TO SUBMIT

  MASTERING HER SENSES

  EYES ON YOU

  THEIRS TO TAKE

  ON HIS KNEES

  Raven Riders Series

  HARD AS STEEL

  RIDE HARD

  RIDE ROUGH

  RIDE WILD

  RIDE DIRTY

  Hard Ink Series

  HARD AS IT GETS

  HARD AS YOU CAN

  HARD TO HOLD ON TO

  HARD TO COME BY

  HARD TO BE GOOD

  HARD TO LET GO

  HARD AS STEEL

  HARD EVER AFTER

  HARD TO SERVE

  Hearts in Darkness Duet

  HEARTS IN DARKNESS

  LOVE IN THE LIGHT

  Stand Alone Titles

  DARE TO RESIST

  JUST GOTTA SAY

  * * *

  Join Laura’s VIP Readers for Exclusives & More!

  Contents

  The Warrior Fight Club Series

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  The Warrior Fight Club Series!

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  The Warrior Fight Club Series

  This fight club has one rule:

  you must be a veteran…

  FIGHTING FOR EVERYTHING

  FIGHTING FOR WHAT’S HIS

  WORTH FIGHTING FOR

  FIGHTING THE FIRE

  To all of you, for hanging in there with me

  Chapter One

  Daniela England was raring for a fight.

  The day felt like it’d been a whole week long already and it was only four o’clock in the afternoon. To begin with, she’d been part of a team that hadn’t been able to resuscitate a stroke patient. Then she’d had another patient leave against medical advice. And the cherry on top had been getting harangued by the Emergency Department director for maybe the dozenth time to accept the open designated charge nurse position on the 7AM – 7PM shift. Which, no way. He kept pitching it as a promotion, but it came with massive headaches for only another $1.50 per hour, so Dani had been saying no for weeks.

  She loved being a nurse and adored knowing that her words and actions had the power to put her patients at ease, but dear God sometimes the losses and red tape threatened to suck the life blood right out of her soul.

  All of which meant she was more than ready for Warrior Fight Club.

  She walked into the big gym space at Full Contact where WFC met every Saturday and immediately bit back a curse. Because her gaze scanned for one particular club member. Sean Riddick. Which was freaking ridiculous since he drove her crazy.

  And not in a good way.

  Well, mostly not in a good way.

  Annnd that thought proved she needed to beat on some things. Repeatedly. Because Sean was arrogant, sarcastic, immature, an adrenaline junkie, and a player. In other words, he was irritating in the extreme.

  If only he weren’t also hot as fuck. And a hot fuck. Really, they were interchangeable truths.

  Girl, what is the matter with you? You already made that mistake once.

  That was the tenor of Dani’s thoughts as she crossed to the bleachers where the others had dropped their bags. She caught Tara Hunter’s eye and waved to the former navy diver who jogged over as Dani looked for her gloves.

  “Hey,” Tara said, her long brown waves pulled back in a messy bun—one that left the curved scar running down the pale pink skin of Tara’s throat fully exposed. The diving accident that caused it had led to her medical discharge from the military—yet she was still working in commercial diving, just like Dani still worked as a nurse. Maybe that was why, despite Tara being a relative WFC newbie compared to Dani’s almost five years, they’d clicked right away.

  “Hey,” Dani said, eyeballing her friend. “You’re beaming. What’s up with that?”

  Tara flushed. “Nothing’s up. Things are just good right now.”

  Smirking, Dani teased her. “And by ‘things’ do you by any chance mean the hot bomb squad cop you’re shacking up with?”

  Laughter spilled out of the younger woman as she elbowed Dani in the arm. “I might in fact mean the hot bomb squad cop I’m shacking up with. Yes.”

  “Mmhmm. I thought so,” Dani said, genuinely happy for her friend. It hadn’t been that many months ago that Tara had confided that things hadn’t worked out between her and Jesse Anderson—one of WFC’s newest members and the hot cop in question—so seeing them so happily together now was really nice. Every once in a while, good things happened to good people, and that was always the best. Dani wasn’t sure why that thought weighed on her shoulders so heavily, but it kinda did.

  You know exactly why, Dani. She heaved a breath.

  “Hey, you okay?”

  “What? Why?” Dani said, brazening it out.

  Giving her a long, too-appraising look, Tara shrugged. “You just seem like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders.”

  Directness was one of the things Dani liked about Tara, so she gave her at least part of the truth. “Just a hard shift at work. Comes with the territory.”

  “Maybe beating the crap out of something will help,” Tara said with an understanding smile.

  “Exactly. Or someone.” She grinned.

  Tara laughed, but her gaze shifted to a point just beyond Dani, which was all the notice she had before a voice rumbled low and dangerous in her ear.

  “Got anyone in mind, Daniela?”

  Sean said her name as if his tongue caressed
every letter, and she cursed the shiver that raced up her spine—the shiver that resulted from knowing exactly how damn good his tongue felt. She turned slowly, lazily, as if she were bored to tears. No way was she letting him know he got to her. So she gave him a once-over that she hoped read as full of disdain.

  Even though, damn. DAMN.

  So tall she had to tilt her head back to roll her eyes at him. Dark hair cut short because it curled when he let it get even a little length to it. With scars near his eye and hairline and a nose that had been broken, his face was too beat up to be handsome. But it was even more interesting for having character—of the fearless I-run-into-burning-buildings-to-save-people-and-sometimes-get-hurt-doing-it variety. And then there were the tattoos—on his neck, shoulders, arms, the back of one hand, not to mention the hard muscles underneath, because of course the guy was freaking cut, with shoulders like mountains and thighs like tree trunks. Sean oozed unquestionable strength and a fierce masculinity.

  He knew he looked good.

  He wasn’t wrong. Damn him.

  And damn her for being stupid enough to find out just how good he was. Just once, eight months ago, at that fucking Halloween party with the yummy-but-evil Jell-O shooters and him in that should’ve-been-ridiculous-but-was-insanely-hot gladiator costume. The one that had put his impressive shoulders, chest, and thighs on display. And since he’d been injured earlier that week in a fire, he’d come complete with a healing head laceration and giant bruise on his upper back that made his costume feel even more authentic. So, yeah, she’d given into his appeal just that once.

  But it’d been enough to keep her body attuned to him even as her head screamed been there, done that, shouldn’t have done it the first time and ain’t doing it again.

  Dani sniffed. “Not you.”

  His grin was pure wicked sin. “You sure about that?”

  She sighed. “Absolutely.”

  He gave a low chuckle. “Well, you’re welcome to try to beat the shit out of me any time.”

  “Don’t you have anyone else to irritate?”

  “Oh, I irritate you, do I?” he asked, dropping his bag to the floor. He winked at Tara. “Hey, T.”

  “Hey, Sean,” she said, amusement plain in her voice.

  But Dani was too busy noticing that more people had filled in during the few minutes since she’d arrived to dignify his attempts to goad her with a response. Billy Parrish, Noah Cortez, and Moses Griffin were talking over by the water fountain, and Coach Mack was rolling out a cart of gear with the help of Leo Hawkins and Colby Richmond, two of the original members from when the club had first formed eight years before. All prior military, of course, since being a veteran was the first rule here. It was the one place in Daniela’s life where she remained connected with her old life and career in the army.

  Just then, one of the few other women who belonged to WFC walked through the door. “Oh, Jayne’s here,” Dani said, surprised because her friend hadn’t attended in weeks.

  Without another word to Sean, Dani and Tara left him to greet her.

  Halfway across the gym, Tara leaned close. “Seriously, do you really dislike Riddick or are the two of you in a perpetual state of foreplay?”

  Dani threw her a look that made the other woman chuckle. “Ugh, not you, too,” she said, remembering the awkward dinner where Jesse had asked in front of everyone how long Dani and Sean had been together. Apparently others could sense the weird chemistry that tried to tie the two of them together, even though the last thing Dani wanted was being tied to, well, anyone—let alone Riddick. “You really can’t tell?”

  Tara twisted her lips and shook her head. “Nope. But something’s different between you guys lately, and I’m dying to know the story.”

  “There’s no story,” Dani said. Probably too fast. Definitely too fast, given that Tara had also picked up on the heightened friction between them. Because, of course, there was a big freaking story.

  So. Big.

  Dani at least had to give Sean credit for honoring his word and keeping their one night a secret.

  “Suuuure.” Tara arched an eyebrow, and Dani thanked God that they’d reached Jayne.

  Jayne Harper was petite and curvy with warm brown skin and pretty shoulder-length black curls. “So glad you could make it,” Dani said, happy to see the former Marine who was also the sole caregiver for her elderly father and couldn’t always get away on Saturdays for WFC.

  They hugged. “I’ve been dying to get back, but Dad’s appointments lately have taken over our whole lives.”

  “How’s he doing?” Dani asked as something inside her chest squeezed just a little. It had been her own father’s death when she was just eight had been a big part of what made her want to pursue a career in medicine.

  “Actually, he’s been doing pretty good lately,” Jayne said with a smile. “Warmer weather always helps his arthritis and lifts his spirits.”

  “Oh good. I’m happy to hear it and to get to see you,” Dani said. “You remember Tara?”

  “Yeah, of course.” Jayne extended her hand for a shake.

  Tara returned it. “I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t. I’m good with faces but terrible with names.”

  Jayne laughed. “No worries. I have the memory of an elephant but I’m not always sure that remembering everything is the best either.”

  Coach Mack blew a whistle and clapped his hands. “Take your places and let’s get started everyone.”

  They spread out on the floor. As restless and unsettled as Dani felt, WFC was exactly what she needed. She breathed through the stretches and yoga positions they did at the start of every club meeting. Because WFC was as much about training the mind as it was about training the body.

  Problem was, this time of year her mind fought tooth and nail to pull her in directions she didn’t want to go. She never did well come July.

  Dani might not have been in the army anymore, but with nursing she still did similar work—work filled with its own losses and stress, and work that so often reminded her of people she’d lost years ago. Back when her patients were frequently people she’d been stationed or trained with at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. Back when she’d loved little more than her work as a nurse doing combat medical evacuations on Black Hawks.

  Until her army husband had died while she’d been on one of her flight shifts. And it’d been hours before she’d found out Anthony was gone.

  She and Anthony had met as ROTC members in college. From the very start, they’d accepted and even prized that they were both planning military careers. But as supportive as Anthony had been, her training to become certified to do aeromedical critical care evacuation and transport had been one of their biggest fights. He’d thought it too dangerous. Too unnecessarily risky when everything they did on deployment was already risky enough. But she’d been stubborn. She could still hear her granny encouraging her to look for the helpers when bad things happened, so Dani had always wanted to be a helper. And, more than that, she wanted to be forward deployed. On the front lines. Being one of the people who made a difference between life and death in the moment when it mattered most. Anthony had finally come around to supporting her, and then she hadn’t been there for him when it was his time.

  “Okay,” Coach Mack said. “Pair up. Puncher versus kicker drills. Five-minute rounds.”

  Back at the bleachers, Dani pulled on her padded black fingerless gloves and shin guards. She returned to the floor to find Tara and Jayne pairing up, then turned again to find Sean grinning and holding out his hands in invitation. She almost groaned. But fine, whatever. She could handle Sean. Maybe his annoyingly hot…everything would even fuel the fire in her belly.

  The fire of loss. Of grief. Of anger.

  Not that it ever really went out. Because, in the end, her love of her work had kept her from being there when her husband had needed her most.

  Kept her from even saying good-bye. And they’d thought deploying through the married army couple pro
gram would give them more time together…

  “Punch or kick?” Sean asked. “Lady’s choice.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m no fucking lady.”

  He smirked and looked like he had so many things he wanted to say. But, for once, he kept his sarcasm to himself.

  “I’ll take punching,” Dani said, ready as hell to land her first hit. Ready for fighting to focus her to the point where it was all she could think about.

  And she didn’t have to wonder why she needed that so much. The sixth anniversary of Anthony’s death was less than two weeks away. July 3rd. And she couldn’t avoid thinking about Anthony, and about how she’d failed him.

  Or about her father, and how he’d died in a construction accident when she was eight.

  Or about the mama she’d never known, who’d gotten an infection during labor that killed her when Dani had only been two weeks old.

  Or about her granny, her mother’s mother, who’d struggled all her life with diabetes and died when Dani was fifteen.

  Or about her nana and pap, her dad’s parents who’d raised her after he died, and how they were gone now, too.

  In the end, everyone always left her. Without always understanding why, she’d survived each and every loss. And the anniversary of Anthony’s death was the strongest reminder that being alone was apparently her lot in life.

  Hopefully, the next two hours would at least help take her mind off of it.

  “Bring it,” Sean said, giving her a wink.