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The door opened and she came out of the bathroom. Sitting on the bed again, she pulled the sheet around her, to Leon’s relief.
“I remember now. He broke up with me at that bar. At least I think that’s what happened. You came to my rescue. I remember dancing with you. What time does the Uber receipt say?”
He got his phone out again and looked at his text messages to Uber. “Two ten. That means we probably closed Barnacle Ben’s.”
Just glad he hadn’t driven into LA drunk, he was ready to get out of that creepy hotel and never return.
“I’ll probably never talk to you again, so thanks for getting me up here in one piece,” she said, holding out her hand.
Nodding at her, he quickly went for the door before she stood again without the sheet. Rather than risk getting stuck in the filthy elevator, he took the stairs down, calling for another Uber. It would cost a small fortune to get back to his car, but he didn’t have a choice.
When he saw his beat-up Honda in the parking lot of Barnacle Ben’s, he was so relieved he almost cried. Home sweet home.
Chapter 1
At Fire Station #34, Leon Saint wasn’t as nervous as most newbies are on the first day of work. After doing an internship as a volunteer at the firehouse every summer since high school, he knew the routine. Also his father, brothers, one brother’s wife, and his uncle were firefighters or EMTs at Station #34, and he’d socialized with the rest of the firehouse staff since boyhood.
The only difference was that now it was the real deal. He’d had trouble sleeping the night before, fantasizing about what the day would bring. And whether or not he was known by the group, there was still a pecking order, and he was at the bottom. He’d have to earn their respect and trust before he found his place on the team. The best advice his older brothers gave him was to be seen and not heard.
And of course, there was the Rookie’s Ten Commandments, which included being the last to go to bed at night, making sure the station was in pristine order, and first up in the morning, as well.
“Hey, buddy, you’re finally here,” Leon’s father, Big Mike, said, hugging him.
They’d driven in together, but it was important to have a show of solidarity. The Saints stuck together, and there was no getting around it. The rest of the staff crowded around him, patting him on the back and giving him theattaboysall new recruits received.
It didn’t last long, however, because within minutes of turnover, where the shift coming in receives reports from the shift going out, a call came in over the loudspeaker.
“Break’s over,” Charlie Saint, battalion chief, called out, then to Leon, “Rookie, you’re lucky! You were going to clean toilets today.”
“He can do the toilets when we get back,” Big Mike said, laughing.
The team took their positions within seconds, driving the rigs out of the garage. It was a brush fire, common in Southern California, especially along the highways and roads where thoughtless drivers throw their lit cigarette butts out the window as they’re driving along. Leon acted as the helper, doing whatever the others asked of him. He stayed behind with the mop-up crew, and the sun was setting by the time they returned to the station, dirty, hungry and exhausted.
Big Mike was waiting in the bay when the engine backed in. “You did a good job, son,” he whispered. “I got a report already.”
Smiling, Leon nodded at his father. “I’ll go do those toilets now.”
“Leonardo Saint?”
They turned around to see a nondescript guy standing in the open garage, holding a photograph and an envelope.
“Who wants to know?”
“You’ve been served,” the man said, handing Leon the envelope and the photo, which was of him.
“How embarrassing for the first day on the job,” Katherine Winston, one of the volunteers, whispered.
Stuffing the envelope in his shirt pocket to be dealt with another time, Leon nervously began the task of cleaning up after the call, first the engines and other vehicles they’d used, and lastly himself. As a rookie, Leon would work while the others showered and sat down to eat. His father was curious about the summons, but controlled it. He didn’t want to embarrass Leon.
Because of his age and poor health, Big Mike didn’t have to stay the night at the station but stopped by to say goodnight to Leon on his way out.
“Let me know what your summons is about, Lenny. I won’t be able to sleep.”
“I will, Pop,” he said. “Go home. I’ll talk to you later.”
While he worked, he wondered what it was, too. If he opened it in public, the swarms would demand to know what it contained. There was no privacy for a rookie.
Then his uncle Charlie, the battalion chief, appeared, as though reading his mind. “I’m taking off now. Go into my office if you need privacy.”
