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Luca
“Luca, Cap wants to see you in his office before you leave,” my brother—and the engine lieutenant—Marco announces as we step out of the truck after a long night of back-to-back callouts.So many fires in one shift means I’ll still be smelling smoke while on my forty-eight hours ofR and R.Being a firefighter for almost half my life means I’m used to it by now—but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
“Damn, what did you do, Luc?”Scotty, a fellow firefighter, smacks his hand on my shoulder as he walks past.“Can’t be good if you’re being summoned to the boss’s office.”
“Maybe he’s commending me for being the best damn firefighter at 101.Ever think of that?”I counter.
“Hey guys, look at that flock of pigs flying past the station.”Marco points out the open garage doors with a laugh that spreads around the crew.
“Nice to know I’m appreciated around here,” I mutter with a shake of my head.
Our friend Rhodes wraps his arm around my neck and pulls me toward the door leading inside.“Oh cheer up, buttercup.You know we love you.”
“Not as much as the Captain’s daughter, mind you,” Scottyunwisely jests, causing me to whirl around and point my hand in his face.
“That, right there, makes you uncool, dude.London and I arefriends,” I reply.“Newsflash, Jones.Itisactually possible to be friends with a woman andnotbe sleeping with her.”
Scotty holds his hands in the air in surrender.“OK, OK.I was just messing with you, Luc.Jeez.”
“You think the Captain would like to hear his crew talking about his daughter like that?She’s my friend.Just a friend.Nothing more.I wouldn’t do Cap wrong like that.”
“Hey, Luc.He’s kidding.Aren’t you, Scotty?”Rhodes adds, pinning the man with a stare.“’Cause thelastthing you want is to be on cleaning duty for a week or two until he pulls his head out of his ass, right, Jones?”
Damn, Rhodes has the wholemenacing father figurerole down to a fine art.Then again, with a seventeen-year-old son and an eleven-year-old stepson living under his roof, he’s had a lot of practice perfecting it.
Scotty huffs out a grumbled breath and stomps off into the station, muttering under his breath about being the butt of all jokes.
“So, any idea what it's about then?”I ask Marco as we walk through the doors side by side.
“Beats me.But it can't be a bad thing.It's at the end of our shift.Unless he's asking you to stay on for a double, I think you're golden.”
I snort and plaster a shit-eating grin on my face.“Of course I'm golden.I'm thebestRossi at 101.”
Marco chuckles.“That's a big call, brother.Don’t let Skye hear you say that.”Skye is our youngest sister and a paramedic at the station, along with her husband, Cohen.
“Technically, she’s a Cook now, therefore my statement stands,” I say with a smirk, earning a shoulder bump from my brother.
“You won’t be so cocky when I tellheryou said that.”
“I’m not worried about our bratty sister.Anyway, I better go see what Cap wants before hauling ass to breakfast.”
A curious smile quirks my oldest brother's lips.“Don’t let him give you the intentions talk.”
“What?”I ask with a frown.
“Nothing.It's just funny that for someone so anti-relationship, you seem to be oblivious to the fact you're kind of in one.”
I stop dead mid-step down the corridor, my brows so narrowed I’m surprised my face doesn’t implode.“What are you talking about?”
“You and London.Best friends my ass.”
“Weare.”
“And I’m a monkey’s uncle.”
I gasp in mock surprise.“Don’t you talk about our nephew like that.I think it’ll bemetalking to Skye about what you just called her son.”
