Fan the Flames Read Online Free Page A

special-ordered a Springfield 1911 TRP for him. He’d mentioned wanting one a while back. I said I’d requested a standard-length recoil spring guide and plug system instead of the two-piece, full-length guide, so it might take a little extra time to arrive. I figured I’d hide it in back for a few months after it got here, or at least until Julius showed up sober. And started showering again.”
    Ian was quiet for several seconds, his expression unreadable. When he suddenly strode toward her, she jerked in surprise, knocking the stool out from under her and almost falling. Ian caught her, pulling her into a fierce hug.
    â€œThanks, Rory.”
    All she could do was grunt in response, since shock and his tight grip had squeezed most of the air from her lungs.
    â€œI’m trying to be there for him,” Ian said, his breath warming the top of her head. “I really am, but it’s hard. He’s either drunk off his ass or won’t leave his bedroom, and I have to keep reminding myself that he’s just lost his wife. Sometimes I’m so tempted to shake him and tell him to quit acting like an idiot, but then I feel guilty for being impatient. But, Jesus, I just lost my mom. I can’t lose anyone else.” Rory felt a few strands of her hair flutter as he exhaled shakily. “Sorry. Don’t mean to dump this on you.”
    His grip loosened, and he stepped back.
    Once her arms were free to move again, she didn’t know what to do with them. How were normal people supposed to act when their friends were obviously hurting? Should she give him a conciliatory pat? Rory mentally swore at her impaired social skills. She blamed isolation and home schooling—well, that and the fact that her parents had been full-blown nuts.
    Instead of offering him any kind of sympathetic gesture, she settled for an awkward smile.
    â€œIt’ll get easier,” she babbled. “For Julius, I mean. Uh, and you too. It doesn’t feel like it’s going to at first, but it eventually does. After my parents—” She closed her mouth abruptly, appalled that she’d almost dumped a messy load of emotions on Ian Walsh, of all people. Sure, he was her friend, but he was also her perfect, gorgeous, unattainable, long-term crush, and he didn’t need to know exactly how messed up she was.
    â€œAfter your parents…?” Despite his nudge for her to finish her sentence, Rory pressed her lips together.
    â€œNever mind.” Her gaze darted around the shop as she wished desperately for someone to arrive. She’d even be happy if Billy came storming in with Zup in tow. “Did you need anything else?”
    When he didn’t answer right away, she risked a glance at his face and immediately wished she hadn’t. He was looking at her in that way he sometimes did, like his X-ray vision could see all the way to her hidden, insecure, terrified depths. Rory quickly shifted her eyes to the glass beneath her tapping fingers. Seeing the SwissMiniGun nestled in the display case settled her. After Ian finally left, she decided, she would pull out the Glock 21 that had been brought in that morning for cleaning. The familiar process would be soothing.
    â€œNo.” The belated answer to her question made her jump. “But since when did I need a reason to visit?”
    â€œYou don’t. Of course you don’t. I’m just…” She didn’t know how to finish that sentence. She was what? Panicked? Clueless? Socially stupid? Silence stretched until it moved beyond awkward and into agonizing.
    He still didn’t leave.
    â€œI have a Glock to clean, so…” Rory took a step toward the safety and comfort of the back room.
    â€œThen I better get going.” Moving slowly, reluctantly, Ian headed for the front door and then paused, looking over his shoulder at her. His smile was small and a little sad. “Thanks again.”
    She watched as the door