Page 10 of Instant Heat
***
Drumming me fingers against the wheel, I stared at the brick building. Station Sixy-Three.
Me house.
With that thought, me fingers stilled. Adam at the forefront of me mind yet again. He'd been the best damn lieutenant I'd worked with. So much so when things went horribly south, and I was asked to fill his shoes, I refused.
I didn't just refuse, I quit.
I hadn't even cleared me locker before I made the call to Donald and begged him for a favor. How desperate I'd been to get away from the memories haunting me was evident in how fast I'd accepted the lieutenant position at Sixty-Three.
I didn't want to lead a team; I was perfectly happy just being part of one. Now, here I was leading one I didn't know shite about. I'd bet Adam would be laughing his arse off if he knew.
Yeah, like Adam could feel anything other than hate.
With that somber thought, I shoved at the door and stepped onto the street. The firehouse was already buzzing with the new shift relieving the last one. I grabbed me duffel from the truck, threw it over me shoulder, and took a deep breath before I made me way toward the building.
Two men walked past me, nodding a greeting. Judging by their bloodshot eyes, last night must have been a long one. But those kinds of nights were what I lived for. Nothing like running into a burning building while half of the world was still asleep.
The high was like nothing you could ever imagine. Unfortunately, the lows were pretty catastrophic. Not being able to save someone will haunt you for the rest of your life. It will steal your dreams and hijack your sober thoughts.
I stepped onto the sidewalk just as a car came rolling down the street. Me jaw landed somewhere at me feet a few seconds later. Because sitting pretty behind the wheel of the silver Mazda was the gorgeous brunette who'd been in me bed mere hours ago.
Me gaze zeroed in on the license plate, hands furiously patting me pockets in search of me phone.Shite. I'd left the thing at home. And I wouldn't be able to get the damn thing until me shift was over—me twenty-four-hour shift.
With Rae's disappearing car me sole focus, I paid no attention to where I was going and almost plowed over a pedestrian."Ah, shite, sor—"
"Your mama never told you to watch where you're going, asshole?"
What the?Me gaze snapped to the mumbling idiot, the curses I had ready for him dissolving on me tongue the instant I saw he was a fellow fireman. As much as I itched to teach this big dumbass a thing or two about manners, it wasn't going to get me very far.
People who already hated me would just hate me even more and that would make for a very insufficient firehouse.
So, I told me ego to stand down as I held me hand out to Dumbass."Sorry, man."
He stopped swatting at the wet spot on his shirt, his gaze locked on me outstretched hand. When he finally met me stare, there was nothing but ice in his eyes."You the new LT?"
Instead of voicing me answer, I gave him a curt nod.
Dumbass puffed out his chest and clasped his hands behind his back before he ground out,"Well, you can go ahead and piss off." With that, he spun on his heels and stomped into the building.
Yeah, the next twenty-four hours were sure as shite going to be interesting.
5
RAELYN
"You little hussy."
I was in the middle of placing my purse in my locker when the words reached my ears. Bag still in hand, I turned to face my accuser. Lacy stood with her shoulder propped against the doorframe, looking quite pleased with herself.
"You talking to me?" Feigning innocence, I made a show of searching the room before I pointed a finger at myself.
"Pfft." Lacy pushed off the frame and stalked toward me, a small purse dangling from her fingers."This look familiar?" she asked."It should. You were in such a hurry to get out of there last night, you forgot it. Good thing you drove to the bar with me, otherwise it'd be your car keys hanging from my pretty little finger."
Damn, I was really hoping I'd left the thing in Griffin's truck. It would have made for a great excuse to show up at his place without an invitation. I had to admit, I was more than a little disappointed that he hadn't texted yet. I knew he was supposed to be the rebound guy, the one to get me out of my funk.
Maybe I was being silly but last night I'd felt more than a physical connection and I wanted to explore that.
