Diana Read Online Free Page A

shoulder, but she's not that bad, really. I'll introduce you two later."
    Luke held the tray as Brian added the finished cheeseburgers to it. He walked toward the large serving table.
    He thought about Diana again, then stopped. She wasn't his type at all. She was tall and full of attitude. Most women he hooked up with were feminine, glamour girls who wore too much makeup and spread their legs easily. The fact he was a fire marshal was an instant turn on. The women were too stupid to realize he actually showed up ‘after’ the fire, to figure out the cause and to determine arson or accident.
    Luke eyed a couple of the other guys, feeling the jealousy in the pit of his stomach. He missed fighting fires, running into burning buildings, and hanging out at the firehouse.
    Thoughts of Stewart, the serial arsonist, filled his mind, and the fatal fire that took Eddie and Conrad's lives. The unsolved case that haunted his dreams. It was why he quit fighting fires and changed jobs. Luke was determined to put a face to Stewart and the fires he'd caused. He needed to, for the families’ sakes and for his own sanity.
    Then he thought about his dad, Paul. Damn it, he wished the old man would get off his case.
    Luke looked around at the family and friends of the Pellino family. This was what he always dreamed of being part of.
    He missed the close-knit families—firefighters, cops, and the other families in the neighborhood getting together to celebrate, or to grieve. It didn't matter if it was a happy occasion or a sad occasion, the fire department was one family, one unit, one team. Some of the best gatherings were on a whim, made up of whoever showed up, and what meal it was closest to.
    Luke had been avoiding such camaraderie for months. He cleared his head. He wondered why he got so upset? The past was the past, and there was no need to rekindle the pain. He had a job to do and that was to find Stewart Howard, if that was the arsonist's real name. He couldn't be positive, which made the investigation difficult.
    "Hey, Fontella, how are you? I haven't seen you in ages.” Jim, a fire chief, interrupted Luke's thoughts. He was grateful for the conversation.
    "They got you working the fires uptown now, huh?” Jim asked.
    "I've been all over the place lately. By next week, I should be handling any jobs that come in from your side of the neighborhood.” Luke took a slug of beer.
    "Really? Hey, I didn't know that. It will be like old times.” Brian winked as he removed the last of the burgers off the grill.
    "Not quite, Brian.” Luke looked away a second, avoiding eye contact with his old friend.
    The chief changed the subject. “Hey, weren't you working the series of fires in the private Christian community uptown, near the park?"
    "Yeah, the culprits turned out to be a gang of Satan worshiping teens.” Luke shook his head recalling the destruction, the disgust apparent in his tone.
    "Damn shame about the damage they did. Families were completely homeless,” Brian added.
    Luke sighed. “They were too stupid to see that. We caught them, though, and the community came together to assist the victims."
    "Yeah, I was by there a few weeks ago. They were rebuilding many homes,” Brian said.
    "What were you doing up there?” Jim said.
    Brian smirked, then looked at Jim and Luke. “Dropping off my date. Don't even say it, Chief. She wasn't a resident of the Christian community."
    "What would be wrong if she were?"
    Brian grinned. “Do I look like the kind of guy that dates respectable women?"
    "You better be, or I'll have your hide!” Brian's mom came up behind him, giving him a light tap on the back of the head.
    Luke and Jim laughed. Brian grabbed his mom around the waist as she placed the cake platter down onto the table.
    He hugged her tight and kissed her on the cheek. “There's no woman as perfect as you are, Mom. I keep looking."
    His mom placed her hands on her hips and gazed at him with obvious annoyance. She gave him a