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and kissed her hot and hard.
    He took her hands and held them loosely. She wished she could see his face, but even though the generator was thrumming, the elevator was still in darkness. “I’m going to have to give you your job back now. Are you sure you want it?”
    Silence pressed against her chest. She understood what he was saying. The minute she accepted her job back, the affair ended.
    She could leave the mayor’s staff now that she had the tape, of course. But after tonight, she knew she’d never use it. No. What had happened between them had been as unexpected and bizarre as the aftershock that had trapped them in the elevator.
    There’d been a lot of time in the night to think. She’d intended to tape Patrick making an inappropriate pass. She would say no, loud and clear, then record him trying to talk her into having sex. The reality was pretty much the opposite. Patrick had tried to say no and Briana had thrown herself at him. She knew her uncle believed Patrick had faked the evidence that destroyed Cecil’s chances of ever becoming mayor. She’d believed it, too. Who else had anything to gain by publishing a doctored picture and leaking a bogus story? Now, however, she was beginning to wonder if Patrick actually had anything to do with leaking false evidence against his rival Maybe someone on his campaign team had done the deed. Possibly, they hadn’t even told him.
    Okay, it was a slim chance, but she’d just made love with the man. She wanted him to be as decent as he’d seemed in the two months she’d worked for him.
    One way or another, she’d find out who had blackened her uncle’s name. If that person was Patrick, then she’d do what she had to do.
    She owed her uncle her loyalty.
    But after tonight, she felt she owed Patrick some, too.
    “I can’t stay fired,” she told him with real regret. “You need me.”
    He touched her face, and she felt tenderness in his fingertips. “You have no idea how much,” he said.

CHAPTER FOUR
    T HE SOUNDS OF their approaching rescuers had Briana and Patrick pulling reluctantly apart.
    “Okay, guys, stand back now,” Shannon’s voice came through the metal door, and before Briana could take a step backward, Patrick was reaching for her hand. Not that she was scared anymore, but it was nice to have the comfort of his warm hand in hers. A loud bang sounded, then a creak, followed by the screech of metal pulling against metal.
    As light flooded the elevator, Briana freed her hand from Patrick’s and shaded her eyes.
    “Good to see you, kid,” Patrick said to his sister. Anyone could tell they were related, Briana thought every time she saw the siblings together. Both were tall, athletic, black-haired and blue-eyed. They shared the trademark O’Shea grin she’d also seen in his children.
    The grin on both faces was particularly broad this time. Briana knew that not all Shannon’s rescues turned out this well, yet she risked her life day after day, as her brother had done in his previous career.
    In full uniform, Shannon seemed tough, and she was, but Briana knew she had a soft heart under all the protective gear.
    The elevator had come to a stop about three feet above the main floor, so they had to bend down and jump to get out. Patrick naturally gestured for Briana to go first. She did, pulling off her high-heeled shoes and clutching the hands of Shannon and another firefighter. She managed to land on her feet without any injury, other than to her pride.
    “I think you lost a button in there,” Shannon said in an undertone just after Briana landed.
    A quick glance down showed her blouse gaping open to display a good bit of cleavage and the ice-blue silk of her bra. Briana grabbed the front of her blouse to cover the gap, forcing back the blush that threatened. It didn’t help that she caught one of the male firefighters checking her out with an interested expression on his face. She gave him the ice-queen don’t-even-think-about-it look she’d