Page 83 of Burning for Alexander
Ella Marian snorted from the doorway of her office, which was next to Will’s. “Critical oversight,” she murmured.
Will himself looked horrified and guilty. “I’m so, so sorry! What can I do to make it up to you, Ms. Marian?”
Hazel’s eyes widened. “Well, for one, you can stop calling me that. Since when do we do last names around here?”
Ella snickered and crooked her finger at me. “Now that the danger is gone, do you have a minute?”
I glanced at Sujo, who indicated he had everything under control, and then I followed Ella into her office. When she closed the door, I was surprised.
“How can I help?” I asked politely, reminding myself she had no idea I was in a relationship with her brother.
As far as she was concerned, I was the fire chief who gave her brother grief… not the fire chief who gave her brother dick.
I blew out a breath and tried to find my chill again, but it was gone.
“Who is my brother sleeping with?” she asked, folding her arms over her chest.
“Um, what?” I’d been wrong before when I thought I had no chill. Now I had actual negative amounts of it.
I had… what was the opposite of chill?
I had hellfire.
“I know you know who my brother is hooking up with. The other night at Frank’s, you corrected him.” Ella’s intelligent eyes bored into me. “Who’s the guy in Emigrant? I need to know, and he’s not talking.”
“Why do you need to know?” I asked, stalling for time.
“Okay, you don’t know this about my brother, but he’s actually very sweet. And naive. I don’t think he has as much experience as he claims to have, and I worry about him getting hurt.”
I opened my mouth to say something, but I didn’t even know where to begin.
Which was fine because Ella kept talking. “Look, I’m going totell you something in confidence, okay? And only because I’m genuinely worried.”
I nodded, throat tight, and she continued.
“He was talking to this guy online a few years ago and really fell for him. Only the guy ended up ghosting him. Alex totally believed this guy’s story—that he had a dangerous job and he couldn’t meet up in person because he was stationed overseas at a ‘mystery location’ and blah blah,” she said with air quotes and an eyeball. “He even thinks the guy died and that’s why he suddenly disappeared. That’s how naive he is.”
“Or maybe the guy was exactly who he said he was,” I tried. “Maybe Alex wasn’t naive at all. Maybe something really did happen to him. Maybe he… maybe he’s been desperate to get back in touch with Alex all this time but hasn’t found a way yet.”
“In several years?” Ella snorted. “At this point, I hope the asshole stays gone because no good could come of them getting in touch again. The whole experience… it broke Alex, Chief.Crushedhim. He spent years grieving someone who might never have existed, and he’s avoided getting close to anyone romantically ever since. It’s like he’s almost expecting to get his heart broken again.” Her eyes met mine. “So if Alex finallyhasput himself out there again, I need to make sure whoever he’s hooking up with isn’t another asshole user who’s going to fuck him over or saddle him with more pain and confusion.” She blew out a breath. “My brother deserves happiness. Simple, uncomplicated happiness.”
I stared at her.
She was right that Alex deserved nothing but happiness. But she was wrong about wanting the past to stay buried. Alex would want to know who I’d been to him. Whowe’dbeen to each other. That wasn’t a complication; it was the truth. A part of our story.
Ella firmed her jaw in a way that was very familiar. “So tell me who the guy is,” she said.
I wanted to tell her it was me. And that I was sorry for what Alex went through. And that I cared more for him than any ten more perfect men ever could.
But I wasn’t about to tell her before I told him.
I shook my head. “I don’t know anyone in Emigrant, I’m sorry.”
Ella was kind of cute when she was stymied. “Well, hell. How can that be? How did you know he was seeing someone in Emigrant, then?”
“I didn’t. It was all a big misunderstanding. Sorry, I need to get back to the station. Talk to your brother, Ella. If he wants you to know who he’s seeing, he’ll tell you. He’s a big boy. Give him credit for making his own decisions.”
I didn’t wait for her response. After telling Sujo I was heading out, I left… feeling ten times worse than I had this morning or last night.
