Page 5 of Calling a Cease-Fire

The team crowded me, giving me good jobs and way-to-gos until I was thoroughly overstimulated by it all. But it also felt good. Burned off the negative energy I had been carrying—and not just from today’s calls, but from the last few weeks.

“You coming out to celebrate after the game?” Sydney, one of the female volunteers, asked.

I shook my head. “I can’t. I have an early shift tomorrow.” I had learned early on that I needed at least seven hours of sleep to keep my patience and focus together during my shifts.

After Zack and Savannah gave a closing speech for the event and thanked everyone for coming, I gathered my stuff and said goodbye to the team and the girls before heading out to my car. I startled and stumbled back right outside the gymnasium doors as two young guys got into a shoving match. Their loud angry voices penetrated my subconscious, taking me back to my tough call from earlier. Thankfully, their friends intervened and broke it up before it turned into more. But it didn’t change the fact that I was frozen in place.

A hand landed on my shoulder, and I jumped, spinning to face a surprised-looking Zack.

“Hey, sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

My spine went straight, and I narrowed my eyes. “You don’t scare me, Zack. More like annoy me.”

He smirked. “Right, Raven. No way could I ever penetrate that tough-girl persona you got going on.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “What do you want?”

The smirk he wore morphed into a boyish grin. “I just wanted to say thank you.”

“Oh.” I tried to mask my surprise. “Sure. Glad I could help.”

“I owe you.”

Even though I itched to admit I was pretty sure I had benefited more from the opportunity than he had, I kept my mouth shut. No way was I giving him the satisfaction. Besides, I liked the idea of him having to owe me instead of the other way around.

“Sure. Maybe next time we’re around each other you could not talk.”

He gasped and grabbed dramatically at his chest. “And here I thought you enjoyed our time together tonight.”

I rolled my eyes. He was ridiculous.

“Goodnight, Zack,” I said, as I turned and walked quickly to my car.

Chapter Three

ZACK

I shifted in my seat again, itching for something to do. It had been a week since the volleyball game, and without something to plan and focus on—a project to get my hands on—the boredom of everyday life was driving me crazy. I’d rather be busy doing anything but sitting and waiting for the next event, the next call, the next practical joke… But I’d learned by now that the rest of the crew didn’t feel that way. They didn’t mind the downtime.

I smirked, knowing I was about to rile everyone up. “Quiet, huh?”

A chorus of groans echoed through the room.

“Jesus,” Seth spat out, slamming his phone down on the table. “Why do you do that?”

I shrugged, still smirking. “I like to tempt fate.”

“If we get a bunch of shit calls today, you’re cleaning the bathroom for the next month.” Jay pushed his chair back in annoyance and stood, leaning his hands on the table. The frown he aimed at me said he was serious.

I cringed. Damn.

But it might be worth it to not have to sit here bored any longer.

My phone chimed and I picked it up, clicking on the notification. It took me to the fire department Facebook page that I managed. I scanned the post that the page was tagged in.

Oh fuck. This wasn’t good.

“Everything okay?” Adam asked, studying me.