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“Thanks, Jerry. I don’t think we could have had a better incident commander. I’m glad you’re the fire chief,” I say to the older man whom I have worked with only briefly before.
“Of course, Margot. You need anything else, you let me know. I have to go call the fire marshal and the coroner. Get them both out here. We’re going to need to go back in that building and get those bodies out of there.” He walks away, his phone already out as he makes the appropriate phone calls.
The entire time I have been at the scene, I haven’t taken the time to talk to any of the deputies, and I have completely forgotten that Maya brought me. Maya, who must have left sometime during the fire. I look at my phone and see all the missed calls and texts from the night before—none of them looking important.
Making my way to where Brian stands, I wait until he isn’t busy before I say anything to him. “Hey, Brian. Any way you can take me home? Maya dropped me off, but I can’t really drive.”
“Holy shit, girl. You didn’t have to come out here.” He turns away from me for a moment. “Hey, Jake! Get over here,” he calls out.
I watch as the other man looks up from the paperwork he has been handing to the employees, and when his eyes settle on me, I can see anger, fear, and something else pass through them even from a distance. He immediately makes his way over to me.
“Hey, why are you here? Why aren’t you at home getting rest?” he asks me, concern clear on his face.
“I don’t have a deputy EMA director yet. So I had no choice. I need a ride home. Can one of you guys do it?” I motion to him or Brian.
While I’m waiting for an answer, the sky starts to spin, and then I’m vomiting all over the ground and everything turns black.
9
JAKE
I catch her,lifting her into my arms before she can hit the ground. Holding her against my chest, I know that there is no other place I’d rather be. Even if shehasgotten vomit all over my boots.
“Damn. You need to get her to the hospital. She probably has a concussion after all.” Brian moves forward and pushes her hair out of her face. “Poor girl. You need to take care of her. Don’t leave her alone.”
“What the hell happened?” a new voice says, approaching from behind Jake.
I turn slowly, trying not to disturb the woman in my arms. Standing in front of me are four firefighters, all of them sooty, carrying their equipment in their hands.
“She threw up and passed out,” I mutter, knowing without a doubt that the speaker is Ray, the guy who’s trying to date my Lilly-girl.
“Oh, sweet girl. She shouldn’t have come,” he says. “I can’t take her home, though. Do you mind, man? We still have to get the tanker back to the station and get everything taken care of for the next shift. I can meet you there in a few hours.” He really does sound like a nice guy. Too bad I’m not going to give him the chance he deserves to win her over.
“Nah. I’ll take care of her. She’ll call you tomorrow. I’ll call Mom and have her come over if I have to leave.” I toss out the statement casually, gauging how much the other man knows about Margot and our connection. When his eyes widen slightly, I realize that he doesn’t know anything about Margot or her life.
“Okay, man. Thanks. I’ll call her later.” He moves toward Margot, and I know that the other man is about to touch her, but I can’t do anything to stop it.
I feel the anger and rage build inside me as the other man gently touches her forehead and caresses her cheek with his hand, then walks away. Before I lose the little control I have over myself, I turn and take her to my cruiser. Again.
After I secure her in the front seat, I go back to where Brian is standing.
“I need a favor,” I say without taking my eyes off my cruiser. “Before you say no, just think of how much I’m going to owe you after this.”
“You’re gonna be buying beer for the next year, no doubt. What’s up?”
“Can you cover me for the next two days? I wanna make sure that I’m the one with her.” I look at my best friend, hoping that all the times I covered for the other man will be worth it.
“Of course. But if Maya gets upset, you’re the one who has to explain it to her and what it means for her plans.” Then he turns and pulls out his phone, no doubt to call her.
“Thanks, man.” I leave, knowing that I’m going to have a few days to reconnect with Margot. I can take care of everything for her, and it makes me feel a little better. I absentmindedly touch my pocket, where the locket is stowed safely for when I get the chance to give it to her.
As I pull the car out into the traffic leading through town, I know that I’m going to have to do something to show that she can trust me. I know that I was a dick when she first got back to town, but I was hurting. I need help, so I pick up my phone, knowing that Brian was right and Maya is going to have to be the one to help me.
“Maya, I need your help.” I say the words as soon as she answers, because otherwise I’m going to get an earful. “Oh, and in case you get mad at your man, he said that he’d cover for me for a few days so I can take care of her.”
“Finally. Like I told Brian, I’ve been rooting for you two since before she left the first time.”
“Do I have a chance to fix this?” I ask the blunt question, knowing that if she says no, it will crush me.
