Hi everyone! This month I’m sharing an excerpt from Lights and Sirens, which is the second book in my Emergency Services series. It’s currently in editing now with the awesome people at Riptide, who will tighten up the prose, and kill all my extra commas, and generally make me out to be a better writer than I actually am. God bless all editors, right?

Lights and Sirens is the story of Matt Deakin, a copper, and Hayden Kinsella, an ambo (that’s Aussie for paramedic!) who hate each other, all because of a stupid misunderstanding. Here they are sorting it out when they’ve both had a little too much to drink:

***

City Lane was a purpose-built alley that ran between Flinders Street and Sturt Street. It had bars and restaurants on each side, with seating spilling out from each one and meeting in a central area. The public toilets were situated near the exit onto Sturt Street. It took two drinks for Hayden to have to go and search them out. He picked a path through the tables and stools, the slight rush of dizziness warning him to slow down his alcohol consumption. He wasn’t driving—the apartment he shared with Monique was at the bottom of Stanley Street, less than a five-minute walk away—but he didn’t want to have to crawl home either.
The toilets were oddly quiet after the sound of so many people outside talking and laughing in a small space. Hayden pissed, and then washed his hands. He inspected his face in the mirror, checking he wasn’t obviously drunk yet, and then pulled a paper towel out of the dispenser. He wiped his hands, and turned to toss the towel in the bin—
“Shit.”
The balled-up paper towel bounced off the front of Matt Deakin’s graphic t-shirt, and landed on the floor.
Matt Deakin looked down at where the paper ball had landed, and then looked up at Hayden. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
Hayden showed him his palms. “That was an accident, mate.”
“Oh, I’m your mate now, am I?” Deakin asked, and then snorted. “Constable Dickhead?”
Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.
Hayden’s stomach clenched, and heat rose in his face. He didn’t want to escalate things with Deakin, but he didn’t want to back down either. He had to stand his ground here, right? Or was that just the alcohol talking? All Hayden could remember was that you were supposed to stand up to bullies. And, okay, possibly he was the bully in this situation given that he’d been the one calling Deakin names, but the principle was still the same right? And besides, Deakin had started it.
He held Deakin’s gaze. “To be fair, you were a dick to me the night we met.”
“Excuse me?” Deakin’s eyebrows shut up. “You mean the night you tried to flirt your way out of a speeding ticket?”
“Wait, what?” Hayden blinked. “I wasn’t trying to flirt my way out of a speeding ticket! I was just trying to flirt!”
“What?” Deakin asked, his voice flat.
“I was just trying to flirt!” Hayden exclaimed. He huffed out a breath.
Deakin stared at him. “Are you for real?”
“Yes! Fuck!”
Deakin’s mouth twitched, and suddenly he was fighting what looked to be a rueful smile. “Seriously?”
“Yes!” Hayden raised his hand to cover his own smile, but a laugh bubbled out of him that had just as much to do with the buzz of alcohol in his blood than it did the absurdity of the situation. The tension drained out of him. “Holy shit!”
“I—” Deakin looked almost abashed. “I’m sorry?”
It came out like a question, and who could blame him? Even Hayden didn’t know if Deakin owed him an apology or not.
“Well, I didn’t have to be a dick about it,” Hayden admitted.
Deakin raised his eyebrows. “You really didn’t.”
Hayden shrugged. “To be fair, I totally thought you started it.”
“Jesus.” Deakin didn’t hide his smile this time. He even laughed, the skin at the corners of his eyes wrinkling. He shook his head. “So who owes who a drink in this scenario?”
Hayden looked him up and down. “Is a drink all I’m going to get out of this?”

***

Keep an eye on Riptide’s website for details of when Lights and Sirens will be out! And, if you give it a try, I hope you enjoy it! Meanwhile, the first book in the series, Two Man Station, is available now.