Page 48 of Heat Exchange
“Hunt,” he heard, recognizing the voice as that of the incident commander. “Let’s go. Striking fourth alarm, so we’ve got more companies incoming and we need to get this shit under control.”
He itched to get his hands on the asshole whose time was more important than their safety, but that wouldn’t help Jones and it sure as hell wouldn’t put the fire out. He started to walk away, but turned back to speak to the officer. “You make damn sure you get a statement from me when this is over.”
As the ambulance carrying Jones pulled away, Aidan double-checked his gear and went to do his job.
His phone vibrated a few times, but it was almost two hours before he had the opportunity to dig under his gear and pull it out of its holster. There were a few from Scotty, asking him if he was dead.
Not dead,which you probably know by now.Jones has concussion&waiting on hip X-ray, he texted back.
And there was one from Lydia sent not too long ago.
Iswore to myself I’d never do this again.
It might have been short, but it said a lot. He tried not to picture her waiting for news. He hadn’t even told her he’d picked up a tour for another guy, and he wondered how she’d found out he was there. He didn’t know that, but he did know she’d probably spent the past couple of hours kicking herself in the ass for getting involved with another firefighter.
I’m sorry, he typed.It was crazy,but I’m okay.
She immediately texted back.
Iwant to see you later.
Tour doesn’t end until 0600.
I’ll be asleep on your couch when you get home.Wake me up.
He smiled, but he wasn’t sure how that was going to work.
Door’s locked.
Istole the key from Dad’s office.See you in the morning.
He’d forgotten about that key. When he moved into the apartment, he’d given Tommy a key to keep in the office in case anything happened to him. And if he ended up in the hospital at a weird hour and wanted something from home, he didn’t want Tommy having to drag his landlord out of bed in the middle of the night.
After securing his phone, he took a deep breath and looked around. The scene was a mess. The fire had gotten in the pipe chase and, from there, it had free run of the three-decker building. They were still finding hot spots and checking the integrity so the investigators could get in there and determine the cause and origin.
There were three families in the street, getting some help from the Victims Assist Team, and there were hoses and tools all over the damn place. It was going to be one long damn night. But as he hefted an axe and went back inside with his temporary company, he found himself smiling.
When it was over, he was going home to Lydia.
* * *
LYDIAOPENEDHEREYES, her sleep-fuzzy brain trying to figure out what was going on and why she was awake. The realization she was on a couch came first, followed quickly by the fact it was Aidan’s couch.
She jerked upright and saw him standing at the kitchen island, putting his keys in the wooden bowl he kept there and plugging in his cell phone. A small duffel bag was at his feet and she knew it held some toiletries and a change of clothes for when he was going to a firehouse besides his own. He’d showered, though he hadn’t shaved, but he looked exhausted.
He looked over at her and smiled when he saw she was awake. “Sorry. I tried to be quiet.”
“I told you to wake me up.”
“It’s pretty early. I figured I’d let you sleep another hour, at least.”
“By then, you’ll probably be asleep.”
He shrugged and turned on his coffee brewer. “I never go right to sleep when I get home. I’m having decaf, but do you want a coffee?”
“Sure.” She got off the couch and stretched her back. “Just let me run in the bathroom real quick and then I’ll help you make them.”
She probably should have skipped looking in the mirror. At least her hair wasn’t too insane. Though she hated sleeping with it in a ponytail, she’d left it when she crashed on his couch so it would stay reasonably contained. But her face was slightly puffy and her eyes a little bruised-looking from not sleeping well.
