AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Starting to walk off, she turned back to me and added, “And I certainly wouldn’t let him know you were asking around about his daughter.”
Thud.
My mouth instantly went dry. “His…his…daughter?”
“Yeah. Rory Adams. She’s Captain Adams’s daughter.”
I nearly stumbled back as I reached for the wall to hold myself up.
With a stunned expression, I looked around. “No wonder everyone was telling me to let it go.”
Nikki busted out laughing. “Damn. If you value your life…and your job…I’d steer clear of her.”
Once I got my bearings again, I shot Nikki a cocky grin. “Now, Nik, have you ever known me to back down from a challenge?”
She slowly shook her head in disbelief. “When they find your body in the Boston Harbor, I just want you to know…I’ll be really sad. You’re one of the fun ones to have around.”
—
After cleaning up the dinner dishes, I made my way over to Chuck, our lieutenant. Giving him a slap on the back, I sat down next to him. He was reading the evening paper, his normal daily routine. Some of these guys had routines they never deviated from.
“How’s it going, Chuck?”
He lifted his eyes over the paper. Flash, the station dog, was lying at his feet. “It’s going, Ward.”
I nodded and squatted down to pet the dog. Still a puppy, he was a feisty son-of-a-bitch. “You need me to take Flash for a walk or anything?”
He lifted a brow. “Are you wanting to take Flash for a walk?”
“Sure!” I responded enthusiastically.
“Then by all means, knock yourself out, kid. Speaking of, you run every morning, right?”
I nodded. “Sure do.”
“Good. You have a new running partner.”
Oh fuck. “What?”
Chuck pointed to the six-month-old Dalmatian. “He’s got a lot of energy. Much more than our old girl had.”
Yeah, I’m sure he does. Our old firehouse dog was a ten-year-old golden retriever and this was a crazy-ass puppy.
Captain Adams walked by, and Chuck called him over. “Cap, get this. Ward here just volunteered to take on Flash. Full-time.”
“Wait. What?” I asked in a panicked state.
With a slap on my back, Captain Adams gave me his first real smile since taking over the position of captain. “That’s what I like to see from my guys—stepping up to the plate. I like that you’re not afraid of a challenge, Ward. I like that a lot.”
I forced a laugh. “No, sir. Not afraid at all.”
My eyes swung to Chuck, who lifted his brows, then focused back on Cap. “I think it would be good for Flash to actually bond with one of the guys.”
Captain Adams tried to hide his smile, but failed. “I agree. And since Ward here isn’t afraid of a little challenge, take him home with you when your shift ends. Bond with him so he trusts you.”
I swallowed hard. “I thought the station dog stayed at…the station?”
Captain Adams looked at me and frowned. “You not up for the challenge?”
I lifted my hands. “No. I mean I’ll gladly take him home, sir. And…um…bond with the little guy.”
Flash started jumping on me.
Captain Adams pointed to him. “First thing is to get him to stop jumping. I’m tired of the little son-of-a-bitch all over me every day.”
I reached down for Flash and said, “No! Bad dog. Sit.”
Flash did just that. I straightened and looked at the beast. Hell. This is going to be easy. The dog’s already listening to me.
“See. He likes you already,” Cap said with a laugh. “Let’s try something new with this one. He’s your partner for the next four months.”
My legs about buckled out from under me. “Four months? Sir?”
“Train up, Ward. This is your special project.”
Once he’d walked off, I turned back to Chuck. “What in the hell was that? You totally set me up for that.”
He laughed. “Please. You don’t think I know about you snooping around asking about Rory Adams? Tell me someone finally told you she’s the captain’s daughter.”
Scrubbing my hands down my face, I gave him a pained expression. “You set me up.”
“Hell yeah I did. I’ve been doing this shit for too long to be stuck with another fucking puppy. The whole taking-him-home thing was Cap’s idea, and I have to say, his choosing you to do it tells me things don’t look to good for you, son. I don’t think he likes you all that much.”
Groaning, I dropped my head and silently cursed.
I was fucked. In more ways than one. But not in the way I wanted—or by the girl I wanted, but would no doubt never have.
—
“Flash!” I yelled out as my arm was practically yanked from my body.
“No! Walk! Walk, boy!”
I was two seconds from dropping the damn dog’s leash as he pulled me through the Fens on the way home.
Oh, just take the dog home. Bond with him. What the fuck! I began to hate Captain Adams with a passion as I watched the damn dog make a beeline for a female jogger.
