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“Everything that has happened over the last few months has made me realize just how out of the loop I’ve been.”
“Honey—”
“Dad, please.” She levels him with a stern look, and surprisingly, it shuts him up.
“I’ll admit, some of this is my fault. I knew Blaze was more than a specialized team of firefighters, and I chose not to learn more about it, a decision that technically shouldn’t have been mine to make once I accepted that pin. But, at some point, everyone decided they knew what was best for me and purposely kept me in the dark, and they were wrong to do so.” She looks from her dad to me. “You were all wrong. Not telling me our lives and business were at stake was selfish and the easy way out. Would it have been hard to hear? Probably at first, but I’m here for a reason. I was chosen as Blaze for a reason, and I am educated enough to understand the importance of the things we’re doing here.”
Her dad hangs his head in shame.
Rowan starts to stand. “Oakley … maybe I shouldn’t—”
Oakley cuts him off, “Sit down, Rowan. You’re as involved now as me. Just because you didn’t take the pin my dad tried to give you doesn’t mean it’s not on its way. I want you here. You belong here.”
My eyes widen, and I glance his way.
He made Blaze?
Way to go, brother.
“I spent the last two weeks reading over every file from the last five or six years, and eventually, I hope to go over the ones from before that. I need you guys to understand that I am just as capable as you are. And I won’t tolerate being lied to again. If you lie, you’re turning your back on Blaze, and that’s against conduct.”
She takes a deep breath and drops her guard a little.
“This place is a part of me, and I want to be able to walk in here every day, proud of who and what we are, be it the academy or Blaze. And that won’t happen if I feel like you’re hiding things from me. If something happens, we need to discuss it as a unit.” Her eyes travel over all of us. “Can you each promise me this?”
Everyone nods their head, and Oakley sits back, a weight visibly lifted from her shoulders.
I’m so damn proud right now. This is who she is, who she’s meant to be, strong and determined, demanding what she wants.
Damn brave.
Rowan and Hillock stand, each kissing her on her head before walking out, and her dad and I stand next. He leans across the desk to kiss her just the same and then heads for the door where he pauses.
“We only wanted to protect you as best we could,” Trick speaks low, his regret easily received. “You’re my baby.”
Tears line her eyes, and she nods. “I know, but from now on, I need to know everything there is to know”—her eyes slide to mine—“to protect mine.”
And my knees hit the floor.Chapter Thirty-SevenOakleyI can’t believe I just said that.
I can’t believe he dropped to the floor.
My dad closes the door behind him, and I just sit there, frozen, Alec’s heavy breathing the only thing heard in the room. His fists are on the carpet like his knees, and he makes no move to get up.
Suddenly, I’m even more nervous.
I slowly stand and walk around to the front of the desk. Unable to control my shaking, I run my hands down the front of my jeans before I’m brave enough to touch him. With trembling fingers, I reach up to slide my hand through his unkempt, dark fade, the muscles of my chest tightening as I do. Feeling him is just as overwhelmingly soothing as I thought it would be.
Ever so slowly, his head lifts.
Watery jasper-green eyes, a shade I’ve yet to see from him, burn into mine. They’re clouded with too many emotions to name, shame being the easiest detected.
His stubble, so coarse and outgrown for him, sends a shiver down my arm as I slide my palms against it until I’m cupping his face in my hands.
“She told you … didn’t she?” I whisper.
His shoulders slump before me. His face crumbles as he nods his head, his heavy exhales breaking across my wrists. His fingers tremble as he brings his hands up to wrap them around mine, his eyes closing as his lips glide across my palm, making me inhale sharply.
“I thought she was lying.” His stare meets mine again and his arms fall to his sides. “But I was hoping she wasn’t.”
My face pinches, and I swallow, voicing a fear for the first time. “Does it make me sick if I admit I wanted the test to be wrong?”
“No, baby.” He shakes his head, his forehead wrinkling, showing how my admission pains him just as it does me. “As much as it tears me apart to hear, I understand why you’d want that. I lied to you, hurt you in ways I wish I could take back but … can’t.” He slides his knees across the floor, moving closer, but he doesn’t reach for me.
