Page 60 of Hearts Storm

The way he says it—all casual and shit, like he has every right to make decisions about her well-being—makes me do something I hardly ever do with him.

“I’ll be the judge of what she needs,” I snap, immediately regretting my tone when Reyna’s eyes go wide.

“Christ, Lo.” Brex shakes his head. “I was just⁠—”

“I know what you were just.” I step up close, lowering my voice. “But this is my fire station, and she’s my responsibility.”

Something unspoken passes between us as Brex holds my gaze. “She’s more than just an employee, and you know it.”

The truth of his words hits me hard. I want to deny it. Maintain the professional façade I’ve been clinging to like a leech. But the image of a tree crashing down on top of them, Reyna trapped beneath it, flashes through my mind again.

“I’m… gonna go.”

I whip my head around to see Reyna gripping the doorknob.

“Reyna, wait.” I take a step, but she holds up a hand.

“I’m tired, Logan. I just want to lie down for a while.” Her eyes bounce between me and Brex, filled with something I can’t quite read. “Can we just... can this wait until later?”

The vulnerability in her voice makes something in my chest crack open.

“Of course,” I say softly.

Eyes cast to the floor, she nods, slipping out of the room without another word.

The silence that follows is deafening. Brex and I stare at each other, air thick with unresolved tension.

“What are we going to do about her?”

Brex shrugs. “I know what I want to do. The question is… do you?”

I frown, shoving my hands into my pockets.

“Come on, Lo. You can’t keep pretending you don’t have feelings for her.”

I turn to stare out the window at the rain that’s started up again. “She’s my employee. It’s complicated.”

He moves to stand beside me. “It doesn’t have to be.”

“This is... She’s...”

“Special?” he finishes, voice softer than I’ve ever heard it before.

“Yeah.”

He tilts his head, a knowing look in his eyes. “So, what are we going to do about it?”

“We?”

“Yes. We.”

I turn away from the window, gripping the back of my neck. “I don’t know. She’s not like the others.”

“Clearly,” Brex snorts. “You’ve been moping over her for the better part of a year.”

“I have not been moping,” I growl, though we both know it’s a lie.

“Whatever you say,” he quips, heading for the door. “We both want her. Maybe instead of fighting over her, we should see if she’ll accept us both.”