Chapter 20
twenty
The look on Brex’s face morphs from one of surprise to full on bravado.
“Do I make you nervous, Pretty?”
“Something like that,” I mutter, unable to stop a smile from tugging at my lips.
He grins and the next thing I know he’s sitting next to me on the bed.
Brex’s eyes darken as they drop to my mouth, and the air between us shifts. Suddenly, my small room feels even smaller, walls closing in as tension crackles around us.
“So,” he says, voice dropping to that low, dangerous rumble that makes my insides quiver. “Looks like we’re gonna be working together.”
“Looks like it.” I swallow hard, my throat suddenly dry. “And Logan is our boss.”
Heat flashes in his eyes as he leans in just a little. “Yup.”
The sultry look in his eyes laces with hurt when I flinch away.
Quickly masking it with a casual grin, he slaps his hands on his thighs and abruptly stands. “Speaking of,” he checks his watch. “It’s about time for your orientation.”
My hearts jumps. “Oh. Right.”
“Come on. I’ll walk you over.” Brex extends his hand, and I take it, letting him pull me to my feet. His palm is warm and rough as he gives my hand a quick squeeze before releasing it.
“You don’t have to,” I say, following him out the door. “Dave already gave me the tour.”
“It’s cool. I want to.”
We walk side by side. Every few seconds, I catch him glancing at me from the corner of my eye, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips.
The conference room is at the end of the hall, just past the kitchen. A long wooden table takes up most of the space, surrounded by a dozen chairs, with a whiteboard covering one wall and a projector hanging from the ceiling.
Logan is standing at the head of the table, fiddling with a stack of folders. His captain’s uniform fits him like it’s been tailored specifically for his broad shoulders and narrow waist. Even from across the room, I can sense the tension radiating off him.
“Close the door,” he says, keeping his focus on his task. His tone is clipped, professional. Nothing like the low, raspy growl I remember from our weekend we spent together last year.
Brex is right behind me as I step inside.
When the door clicks shut, Logan finally looks up.
His green eyes meet mine for one brief, electric second before darting away, muscle in his jaw ticking as he clears his throat.
“Good afternoon, EMT Winters.”
Oh. Keeping this professional right from the get-go. Alrighty, then.
“Please, have a seat.” He gestures to the chair kitty-corner from his.
I pull out the chair and sit, folding my hands on the table in what I hope looks like a professional, ‘I’ve-got-my-shit-together’ and not the ‘I’m-about-to-have-a-panic-attack’ pose it actually is.
Ever the picture of casual indifference, Brex moves between us and leans against the wall, arms folded across his massive chest, hooking one ankle over the other.
Logan glances at him. “You don’t need to be here.”
“I think I do.” Brex shrugs. “Reyna and I are going to be working closely together. So I need to know what’s going on.”
There’s a moment where I think Logan is about to argue. Muscles feathering at his temples, he shakes his head. “Fine.”
Dismissing Brex, he turns his attention back to me.
Visibly relaxing against the wall, Brex’s lips twitch, but he says nothing.
Flicking open the top folder, Logan slides it over. Inside is a stack of paperwork—schedules, protocols, emergency contact forms, all the standard first-day stuff.
“Welcome to Lakeside Fire Search and Rescue. As you already know, I’m Captain Cade and you’ll be reporting directly to me.”
I give him a quick nod.
“Your partner will be EMT Calloway,” he continues, tapping the stack of folders with his pen. “Dave’s been with LFSR for six years. He knows the territory, the protocols, and he’ll be your go-to for any questions that come up during your first few weeks.”
Eyes fixed on the folder, he continues. “As captain, I’m on call twenty-four seven,” he says.
“Whether I’m here at the station or at my apartment—which, for the record, is right next door—I’m available.
You need something, you call. You have a question, you ask.
But make no mistake, EMT Winters.” Finally, his green eyes lift, locking onto mine with an intensity that makes my stomach flip. “I’m your captain. Nothing more.”
Even though I expected them, hearing those words—the finality in his tone, the absolute wall he’s attempting to build between us—stings.
Thankfully, I manage to keep my voice much steadier than I feel. “Understood, Captain.”
He holds my gaze for a beat longer than necessary before looking back down at his papers. “Our schedules run three days on, three days off. You’ll be on A-shift, which means you’re working the same rotation as Lieutenant Saint,” he growls, waving a dismissive hand at Brex.
I glance over at Brex, who gives me a lazy grin and a wink that makes my face heat.
Logan’s gaze bounces between us, irritation more than evident in his tone.
“Which brings me to my next point.” Narrowing his focus on Brex, his expression hardens.
“Whatever happens outside these walls is none of my business. But in here—on shift, at the station, during calls—you will maintain a professional relationship. Both of you.”
“Jesus, Logan.” Brex pushes off the wall, arms dropping to his sides. “Can you stop being a dick for one freaking second?”
Keeping his eyes locked on the folder in front of him like it holds the secrets to the universe, Logan sucks in what sounds like a fortifying breath.
“I mean it,” Brex growls, stepping up to the table. “For the past year you’ve been sulking about what went down between you two, and now she’s here, right in front of you, and you’re treating her like she’s nothing but a new recruit.”
“Because she is a new recruit.”
The words hit hard making me flinch, which Brex happens to notice. His expression darkens as he turns his attention back to Logan.
“Bull fucking shit,” he growls. “You spent a whole weekend with her, Lo. Two fucking days. And you’re going to sit there and pretend—”
“That’s enough.” Logan’s voice drops into a low and dangerous growl, making the hair on the back of my neck stand at attention.
Eyes blazing, they lock onto Brex. “What happens between you and EMT Winters on your own time is your business. But when you’re here—on shift—you keep your hands to yourself. And for the love of God, don’t let the rest of the crew catch wind of what happened between you two.”
“Or what?” Brex challenges, crossing his arms again. “You’ll what, Logan? Ship her off to another station?”
My stomach drops. The tension in the room is so thick I can barely breathe.
Logan’s chair scrapes against the floor as he stands. He’s massive—his broad frame blocking out some of the light streaming through the windows behind him. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know you had her first,” Brex fires back. “I know you got to spend all that time with her and then acted like she never existed. And you might try and come off like you don’t give a shit, but I know you’re pissed about Portland.”
“You mean when you had your dick down her—”
“Hey!” I stand so abruptly my chair nearly topples over. “Do you think you two could stop acting like a couple of Neanderthals for half an effing second?”
The expressions on their faces are almost comical as they both look at me in shock. Almost as if they forgot I was still here.
Brex grimaces, looking sheepish.
Logan looks pissed, shoving his hands in his pockets as he glares out the window.
“Logan’s right.” I sigh. “Now that we’re working together we need to keep things professional.”
Neither of them says a word, which makes me shift uncomfortably on my feet. “Look. I get that this is... complicated. There’s history between all three of us. None of which any of us really knows how to navigate. But I’m not some fucking conquest for you two to argue over. Understood?”
“Not once have I ever thought of you as a conquest,” Logan murmurs.
My heart flip-flops.
But before I can respond to that shocking revelation, he squares his shoulders and clears his throat.
“Your first official shift starts tomorrow at seven a.m. sharp. You’ll be riding with Dave.
I expect you to be on time and ready to work.
” He closes the folder with a definitive snap. “Any questions?”
Well, yeah. I have like a thousand of them, none of which are appropriate for this conversation, so I just shake my head. “No, sir.”
As soon as those two words fall from my lips he stills, shooting me a heated look before quickly extinguishing it.
When I sneak a quick glance at Brex, he’s tapping his fingers against his mouth, lips twitching in amusement. As if he knows something I don’t.
“Good,” Logan says, collecting the remaining folders. “EMT Calloway will go over the rest of the protocols with you. Dismissed.”
“Fucks sake, Lo.” Brex shakes his head, moving to stand beside me as Logan strides out of the room without another word.
“Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine.” My voice wobbles. “I deserved it. He’s still pissed at me.”
“He’ll get over it. Eventually.” Brex grins down at me. “We’ll just have to work together to break him down.”
“What are you saying?” I ask, voice catching.
His grin widens as he leans against the conference table. “That underneath all that broody captain bullshit, Logan still wants you. He’s just too stubborn to admit it.”
I shake my head, snatching my folder off the table. “He made it perfectly clear where we stand.”
“Logan has always been like this.” Brex’s voice softens. “After what happened with his ex in college, he built his walls so thick, a nuclear bomb couldn’t take them down. Until you came along.”
“Doesn’t seem like it matters now,” I mutter, clutching the folder to my chest.
“It does.” Brex steps closer, golden-brown eyes searching mine. “And for what it’s worth, I’m not just talking about him.”
My heart stutters. “Brex—”
“I know, I know,” he chuckles, holding his hands up. “Professional boundaries. I get it.” His smile turns playful. “But I’m not Logan. I don’t do walls.”
Despite the ache in my chest, I laugh. “You’re impossible.”
Brex shifts, so close I can feel the heat radiating from his sexy as fuck body. Lowering his voice, he brushes his knuckles softly down my cheek. “I will change your mind about us… Pretty.”
My heart soars as I return his grin. “Give it your best shot… Smirky.”