4. two
two
. . .
CREW
After running my towel roughly through my hair to soak up the excess water, I wrapped it around my waist and padded from the showers toward my locker and a fresh set of clothes. It didn’t matter how many times I scrubbed up after a call, though. The scent of smoke was forever a part of my DNA.
In the row over from my locker, I could hear two of my crew members talking in hushed, excited voices.
Childers and Tuck from the sounds of it.
“She’s so hot.”
“Who is she?”
“No idea. Obviously not from around here, because I’ve never seen her before.”
“I’d like to see a lot more of her, if you know what I mean.” I could practically see Tuck’s accompanying shoulder nudge and smarmy smile.
“Wanna make a bet?” Childers asked.
“What kind?”
“Let’s see which of us can get her number faster.”
“You’re on.”
“What the fuck are you two whispering about?” I asked .
My words were followed by the slam of metal, almost like one of them had startled and slammed into the lockers, and I chuckled.
A beat later, as I was pulling on fresh boxer briefs to cover my junk, Tuck’s head peeked around the corner.
“Hey, Cap,” he said with a sheepish grin.
Childers, not embarrassed in the slightest, fully entered the aisle and dropped onto one of the benches bolted to the floor. “There’s some chick in Chief’s office,” he said with a sly grin. “Fucking smokeshow.”
I knew the expression he wore—had seen it numerous times over the course of the last five years since I’d moved home and became a captain with the Dusk Valley Fire Department. Dude was about to become a fucking problem.
I leveled my finger in his face. “Stay away from her.”
Childers gasped theatrically and pressed a palm to his chest. “ Me ? What about this fucker?” He hooked a thumb in Tuck’s direction.
“You stay away from her too,” I said as I stepped into my pants.
“Ahh, you say that now, Cap,” Tuck grinned. “But you’ll be singing a different tune when you see her. Take my word for it and get in on the action. I’ll bet you guys a hundred bucks I get her digits first.”
I shook my head, and Childers protested as droplets of water sprayed in his direction.
“I can’t be playing your childish games anymore, Tuck.” I paused to pull my polo over my head, tapping at the patches on the lapels of the collar that held my bugles, smiling cheekily. “I’m a big boy now.”
“With a big stick up your ass,” Childers muttered.
Tuck tipped his head back and laughed, and I dove at Childers, wrapping an arm around his neck and giving him a noogie .
“Lawless!” Chief Madden’s shout stilled me, my head swinging around to meet his eyes. “Stop fucking around and get your ass out here.”
I let Childers go and straightened. “Yes, Chief.”
When he disappeared with an exasperated shake of his head, I stuffed my feet into my boots and saluted the guys. “Duty calls.”
We filed out and found Chief standing in the center of the common room, an unfamiliar woman at his side.
Tuck and Childers hadn’t been lying—she was a fucking stunner.
Rich, warm brown hair and eyes the color of cinnamon. Full, pouty lips with a light sheen I guessed came from lip balm; she didn’t look like a gloss or stick kind of woman.
She was petite, barely coming to Chief’s shoulder. So petite, in fact, that with her pert little nose, delicately pointed chin, and high cheekbones, she almost looked like a fairy.
But there was something…hardened about her. I couldn’t quite put my finger on why I thought that, other than the darkness in her eyes, and the way her smile didn’t quite reach them.
Somehow, I knew this wasn’t a social call for her, or some fun exploratory mission about bringing her kid in to see the fire trucks and meet some real life first responders.
“This is Aspen McKay. She’s a private investigator looking into the Prom Night Arsonist,” Chief said, confirming my suspicions. “She was hoping one of us would be willing to sit down with her and review our incident reports.”
“I volunteer!” Childers supplied quickly.
The withering look Chief gave him had Tuck and I coughing into our fists to hide our laughter.
“Appreciate the enthusiasm, Childers, but this is a job for your Captain.”
I collected myself, perking up at that.
The woman—Aspen—raised a brow. “ You ’re the captain? ”
Shuffling forward a few steps, I extended my hand. “Captain Crew Lawless, at your service.”
God, I sounded like a tool.
The corner of that plump mouth ticked up a fraction before it flattened again.
When her hand slid into mine, those slight, delicate fingers wrapping around my much larger and calloused ones, a jolt shot up my arm, like an electrical current coursing through my veins. I barely held myself from yanking back in surprise.
“You’re awfully young to be a captain,” she said when she released me, and I flexed my hand at my side, attempting to shake off the lingering tingling sensation.
I shrugged. That wasn’t the first time I’d heard the sentiment, and it likely wouldn’t be the last until I aged another decade or so. “I’ve been a firefighter for thirteen years, ma’am. I think I can handle myself.”
Behind me, one of the guys snorted, and Chief shot them a glare.
“Noted,” Aspen said. “Well, if you wouldn’t mind letting me pick your brain, I’d love to sit down and chat when you’re off shift next.”
My eyes flicked up to the large, glowing-red wall clock over our heads, my mind mentally tabulating the hours between now and the end of my shift.
“I’m off tomorrow morning at eight, so how about we meet at the diner for breakfast shortly after that? My treat.”
Aspen was already shaking her head, and my brow scrunched in confusion. Aspen laughed. “Yes to breakfast,” she clarified. “But it’s my treat. You’re doing me a favor here, not the other way around.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, and I didn’t miss the way those cinnamon eyes flared as my biceps bulged, like she thoroughly enjoyed what she saw.
Or maybe it was less about the muscles and more about the sleeve of tattoos that engulfed my left arm. Women loved that shit, right? They loved the thrill of getting with a bad boy, and once upon a time, I was about as bad as they got.
“Tomorrow then,” I said, greeting her with a smirk when her attention flew back to my face.
She grinned in response, unbothered that I’d caught her checking me out. “Tomorrow.”