Vivian Arend - High Passion

Tripp shook his head. “I got to thinking about it last night after I talked to you, but it was just this morning I clued in to the possibility. I’ve been going in circles ever since. It makes sense, but there’s no reason for anyone to drug me, and what kind of ass would I be to make an accusation that could ruin someone’s career without proof?”

Hell. “How much worse would it be to not say anything, then have someone on the team seriously hurt because we didn’t mention it?”

The other man’s face tightened. “I’m not eager to go pointing fingers at a teammate who’s done nothing up to now to indicate any reason for him to act out of line.”

Devon took a deep breath. “Tripp, this isn’t something we can laugh off and wait and see what happens next. Marcus needs to know. You don’t have to accuse anyone of anything, but you have to tell him you think you were drugged.”

Tripp shuffled his feet uneasily.

This wasn’t a matter for debate, and Tripp needed to understand that. “If you want me to, I’ll go with you, but I’m serious. You tell Marcus, or I will.”

“I will. You’re right. I’ll talk to him first thing in the morning.” Tripp took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You okay if I hang out here for a while? Jonah is gone this weekend, and I’d . . . well, I’d like to see Alisha.”

Devon patted Tripp on the back and pushed him toward the living room. “You’re welcome to stay. She should be awake soon. We were going to order a pizza and watch a movie.”

“Don’t say anything about this to her right now, okay?” Tripp turned in the doorway, holding up a hand. “I’ll talk to Marcus first.”

No problem on Devon’s side. “I agree, let’s keep things low-key tonight. Give her another day to recover before tossing anything else into the mix.”

Tripp went one direction while Devon went the other, checking the fridge for food ideas.

The doorbell rang and Tripp beat him to the front door, opening it to let in Erin, who had a huge box balanced in her hands.

“Take it before I drop it,” Erin ordered. “Hey, Devon. I brought dinner.”

“Visitors bearing gifts. The best kind.” Devon grabbed the box, glancing behind her to see Anders and Xavier also on the walkway. “What are you, the Pied Piper?”

Erin grinned. “I’m surprised they’re here already. Anders said he had to nab something. We won’t stay if Alisha’s not up for it, but . . .” She shrugged. “I wanted to make sure she’s okay.”

Devon nodded as his tiny house filled to the brim, Anders and Xavier filing through the door with their hands full as well. “I was just about to check on her.”

“I’ll go,” Erin offered.

She was down the hall before he could answer, which was probably for the best. He herded Tripp toward the couch, forcing the man to stop staring at Xavier and causing trouble before it was time. “Pick a movie, guys. And do I still need to order pizza?”

“Of course,” Anders clicked on the TV and booted up the Internet. “I mean, even if Erin cooked, pizza never goes to waste.”

“It’s the perfect breakfast food,” Xavier pointed out. “I’ll get drinks. Who wants what?”

Tripp’s brows were buried in his hairline, and Devon jumped in. “I’ll give you a hand.”

Honestly. It was like herding cats at times, but other than Tripp’s awkwardness, it was good to see them all.

Good to know they were as concerned about Alisha as he was.

She had a family here whether she realized it or not. Now he had to figure out why that thought made him uncomfortable. Or maybe he had to admit to himself that what he was feeling was more than the concern of one team member for another. More than mere sexual interest would explain.

There were some doors that were a lot harder to open than others.

Devon joined Xavier in the kitchen and pulled glasses from the shelf because that was simpler than dealing with anything else.

She��d already been awake when the doorbell rang and conversation began in the other room. Alisha washed her face, happily noting that she only looked half like death warmed over. By the time someone knocked on Devon’s bedroom door, she’d pulled on sweats and one of Devon’s oversized sweatshirts, rolling up the sleeves so her hands weren’t buried in the excess length.

“Come on in.” Alisha scrambled in her bag for her hairbrush, looking up in time to see Erin poke her head around the corner. “Hey you.”

“Hey you, yourself. Dammit, girl, what the hell were you pulling? Hospital time? You need a vacation, you should ask Marcus for one.”

Alisha sat on the edge of the bed and went to work on her hair. “Yeah, trust me, an actual holiday would be far better than the local ER. For one thing, I tend to remember holidays.”

Erin shook her head, closing the door behind her and sitting in the chair beside the dresser. “You really okay?”

Alisha nodded. “Tired, but no more than when we’ve pulled back-to-back rescues too many days in a row. I figure one more solid sleep and I’ll be up to full speed.”

“Good, because while I don’t want you to rush it, I need you at Lifeline before I get testosterone poisoning.”

Guaranteed grin. “They are a handful, the guys.” She paused, eyed Erin closer. The urge to tease was probably a sign that she was feeling a lot better. “But there’s Lana now. Surely she helps fight the overload?”

Erin made a rude noise. “Don’t even start me on that woman.”

“Aren’t you besties yet?” Alisha clicked her tongue. “I’m so disappointed.”

Erin chuckled. “Sarcasm becomes you. You need to try it more often.”

Alisha blinked innocently. “I wasn’t being sarcastic.”

They stared at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing. When Alisha could speak again she put her brush down on the side table and twisted to face Erin. “Forget Lana. She’s not a part of the team. How do you like the new chopper?”

“It’s awesome. Anders and I have worked out the bugs, and she’s ready to roll at the next call-out.” Erin pointed in her direction. “So you get better, because I want you along, okay?”

The warmth flooding Alisha wasn’t only from her nap anymore. Having Erin express interest and caring was something special—something that hadn’t been there the previous season. Finding a place as friends as well as co-workers was so right. “I’ll do my best. Devon’s taking good care of me.”

Erin nodded. “I bet he is. He’s totally gone on you.” Alisha laughed, pausing when Erin didn’t join in. The woman raised one perfect brow, her smooth dark skin shining in the soft bedroom light. “You doubt me? You need to open your eyes. I mean, I joked about losing the bet, but you two are good together. Don’t miss the signs.”

“We’re hot together, I’ll admit that. He’s not half the pain in the ass he used to be.”

“Hate to tell you this.” Erin gave her that look again. “I don’t see Devon’s changed much. He’s still the same works his ass off, jokes about it type of guy he’s always been.”

Alisha went searching for socks so she could think about that more before she responded. Devon had shown a new face in the past days, but had she been the one ignoring the real him? Did it matter?

Lingering effects from the drugs forced her to focus on the here and now. She looked Erin in the eye. “I like him.”

“Honey, you always liked him.” Erin winked, her deep brown eyes twinkling with amusement. “You just weren’t admitting it to yourself.”

Like a lot of things. “Hey, I have a question. A pretty awkward, personal question.”

Erin smoothed her shirt and leaned back in the chair. “Ask. If I don’t want to answer, we’ll change topics to discuss the weather.”

“You ever have someone you needed to discourage? I mean, a guy.” Alisha’s cheeks heated. She and Erin had gotten closer, yes, but romantic advice was not on the list of things they’d spent time discussing, even with the change in status quo. She rushed onward. “I remembered you saying something once about there being someone . . . bossy . . . in your life and that they weren’t around anymore. That’s all.”

Erin lost her relaxed posture, leaning forward on her elbows. “You got troubles, hon? Are you in danger?” Her eyes widened. “Shit, you think you know who might have drugged you?”

The idea of Vincent being involved seemed impossible. “I’ve got troubles, but right now I have no idea how Vincent could have orchestrated something like drugging me. I’m . . . Devon knows. It’s part of the reason why I’m living here temporarily.”

“Vincent?” Erin frowned. “Who’s that, and what’s he been doing?”

Alisha gave a brief rundown, noting with satisfaction that Erin didn’t seem ready to run from the room, but instead her spine stiffened as if she were ready to do battle on Alisha’s behalf.

When Alisha was done, Erin nodded slowly, folding her fingers together and holding them to her lips for a moment as she considered. “I’ve had a bad relationship before, oddly enough not with the guy you heard me mention. He was . . . a different issue. As well, in a way, the solution to the first creep.”

“You had a guy get rid of the first troublemaker?”

“Him, and a restraining order.” Erin shifted position to sit on the bed beside Alisha. “Look, there are times no matter what you do, no matter how firm you are in handling a situation, you won’t be able to deal without help. It’s one of the downfalls of being a woman in today’s society.”

Alisha nodded. “Society can go suck eggs.”

“Agreed.” Erin caught her hand and squeezed it. “Thanks for telling me. I’ll keep an eye out for you, but honestly? Being involved with Devon is great front-line help. On a different topic, if you need to get your stuff out of your old apartment, well, I’ve got room to store things. Heck, you can move in with me temporarily if you’d like—I’m not keen on a permanent roomie, because I enjoy my personal space, but the offer is there if you need it.”