Richter and Tanner meet again! Tanner has a hard time staying in the straight life and out of the street life, and ex-cop Sandy watches his friend with both sadness and lust. When a fire in Sandy's nature park rages out of control, Tanner has to step up and give more of himself than he anticipated.

Fire

Tanner held Sandy with one hand and opened the door with the other.“Shut up.”


“Like hell.”The adrenaline flushed through him again,sending tingles of energy down his body.Partly sickening—toointense—partly exciting.Sandy smacked Tanner’s shoulders.“Let the fuck go.I mean it.”


Once the door slammed shut,Tanner bent and hoisted Sandy over one shoulder.A firefighter’s carry,absurd that Sandy recognized it.Disoriented,Sandy noticed the hall rug had a hole in it;the bathroom door had chew marks on its bottom.He twisted against Tanner and felt one hand clap him soundly on the ass.“Quit it!”


In the bedroom,Tanner tossed him on the bed.The old springs bounced down to the floor and Sandy lurched sideways then up,fast.His fist caught Tanner on the neck and Sandy swung the other around without thought.It glanced off Tanner’s face.No harm done.


Chapter 5