***
Ethan’s piece took the next three hours, and by the time I finished, I was ready to crash with a beer back at my house. My hand had a bit of a cramp to it, and I massaged it while cleaning up my station. Everysurface and tool needed to be sterilized, so this was a painstaking but necessary process.
I cast a quick glance to my phone. During the break we’d taken mid-session, I’d shot the news to Drake about Ethan being willing to play his fundraiser. He hadn’t texted back yet, but I was desperate to talk to him. To see him.
Which all spelled bad news for my heart.
Despite going into this with my mindset latched on hookup, I clearly hadn’t followed my own advice or direction.
A loud, ear-piercing alarm rang out.
I dropped the crumpled paper towel I was holding at once. The sound of a fire alarm had been ingrained in me from an early age, and my legs carried me forward even as my mind caught up.
“What’s going on?” Nyx asked as she rushed up to my side.
“No idea, but we better get out,” I said. “Who else is in here?”
“Just us and Owen. Clients are all gone for the day.”
“I’ll call,” Nyx said, whipping out her phone and dialing the fire department.
We reached the front of Alchemy Ink, but I didn’t spot Owen outside. My heart thumped hard, and I sucked in a breath, trying to suss out any scent of smoke in the air, a hint of fire. Owen came rushing up through the main area.
“Come on,” Nyx said, holding the door open. “Out, out, out.”
We rushed out of Alchemy Ink, my heart in my throat.
I couldn’t lose this place.
Chapter fourteen
Drake
The second we got the call, I launched into action, pulling on all my turnout gear and heading for the truck.
My adrenaline kicked in, but this time, the nerves did too.
The site of the call was Alchemy Ink. August’s job.
Even though I lived in the area and knew plenty of people in it, I wasn’t used to rushing to calls where someone I cared about might be involved. A cold sweat broke out on my forehead. I sure as fuck didn’t like it.
The sirens blared as Dooley drove, cutting through the streets at top speed. Couldn’t be fast enough.
We’d had a light day, yet it was still consumed with small instances of running out to handle small situations, more rescue efforts than fires. Which was fine by me, as the past few shifts had been exhausting.
A fire alarm had turned on, but the caller hadn’t specified a fire. I held onto the hope it was just a faulty wire that had tripped or something insignificant. Was he working? I thought he was working today, but maybe he’d already left. Still, we couldn’t get there fast enough. I clutched tight to the bar as we flew through another stoplight, the steady blare of the alarms an internal metric of my own fear. My mouth was dry. Fuck.
Dooley turned a corner hard, and I tightened my hold on the bar. The last time I’d seen August, he’d been sex and sleep rumpled and splayed out in my bed. Gorgeous as hell and with an easy smile I wanted to memorize. The last thing I wanted to see was the flicker of flames when we reached the end of the block. My gut soured. Damn it.
My focus zeroed in on getting to Alchemy Ink as fast as damn possible.
Hannigan stood across from me, not the person I’d have picked to be here while I was having an internal freakout. He’d been grating all day, and I couldn’t very well tell him the guy I was sort of seeing might be at the building we were headed toward. My palms grew sweaty inside my gloves, and I closed my eyes, focusing on leveling out my breathing before we arrived on the scene.
The truck braked to a halt.
I launched into action at once. My boots landed on the asphalt with a thud, and I raced around the side of the truck at the same time Dooley emerged from the front. Hannigan’s footsteps thudded behind me as the three of us raced up to assess the scene.
Not a hint of smoke marred the air, which was crisp and clear.
