Revealing Annie - Freya Barker Page 0,73
to pick up the board by his feet when Ben Conley, a patrol officer who’s been talking to possible witnesses, walks up.
“No one knows where he lives. Does he have a phone on him?”
“Give me a hand loading him and I’ll find out,” I tell him. “Blue, grab the gear?”
In minutes we have Jake loaded and Blue is working on getting a line in. I hand the phone I fished from the kid’s pocket to Conley.
“Tell his parents he’s awake and was talking,” I tell the officer.
That’s something I wouldn’t usually do, but for the first time in my life I have a clearer understanding of the shock awaiting his parents. I hope I never have to experience a call like that.
“Line’s in,” Blue confirms, and I close the back doors.
“You good?” I climb in behind the wheel and call over my shoulder.
“Let’s go.”
I hear the urgency in her voice and I flip on the lights and siren.
“Are you okay?” Blue asks.
We’re on our way back to the station after dropping a very seriously injured Jake off. It took us a while to get the back of the rig clean—head wounds tend to bleed a bit—and the whole time I was thinking what I would do if anything ever happened to Bryce.
“Fine.”
“Please, that’s such a chick thing to say. You’ve barely said a word since we got the call.”
I glance over at her and see her face shows strain too.
First day back on the job for both of us, and it occurs to me my partner is a new parent too.
“Was it hard leaving Esme behind?”
“Yeah,” she confirms, her eyes drifting out the window. “I was eager to get back to feeling useful. Thought I’d be happy to get back in the swing of things, but…”
“I hear you. First serious call of the day and it being a kid doesn’t help.”
“No.”
I snort. “Stupid. A few weeks ago I wouldn’t have blinked. Now I’m a father, the call suddenly bothers me.”
“Scary, isn’t it?” I feel her eyes on me.
“Fucking terrifying,” I have to agree.
“He’s okay, though, right? When you’re working?”
“Yeah, Annie’s there. She says she’s handing in her notice at the bakery.”
“Oh no! I’m gonna miss her pastries.”
“I’m sure she’ll be happy keeping you supplied. She does us. At least for now.”
I think of Annie barefoot in my kitchen, wearing her baggy jeans and a tank, her hair sticking out every which way, and those blue eyes shining when I walk in.
Fuck. I didn’t want to ask in front of Bryce—or maybe I was just afraid to hear the answer—but when she mentioned giving up her job at the bakery, I realized maybe this was inevitable.
She’s a TV star who was happy enough leading a simple life when she had no other choice, but with Parsons caught, I’m sure it won’t be long before she’ll be looking to go home. Giving her notice at the bakery is the first step in that direction.
“For now? I thought she moved in with you?”
“She’s staying with me, yeah. She’s got nothing left to move. I’m sure she’ll be heading back to LA at some point.”
“Did she tell you that?”
I turn into the fire station and turn the rig around so I can back into the open bay.
“Why wouldn’t she? Her life is there, why would she want to give that up?”
I open my door when Blue punches my arm hard.
“Are you an idiot?”
She yells so loud, Chief Aimes, who is inside his office, turns his head to see what’s going on.
“Don’t wanna talk about it,” I tell her, getting out of the rig. She does the same on the other side and catches up with me before I can hit the stairs.
“You are an idiot,” she hisses, pulling me around by my arm. “God, men are so fucking frustrating. Why don’t you try talking instead of always drawing the wrong fucking conclusions?”
“Everything okay here?” The chief comes walking out of his office.
“No. Sumo’s being a stubborn ass. He’s about to let the best thing—okay, maybe second best thing because Bryce is first—that’s happened to him walk out the door without a fight.”
“Trouble in paradise? Already?”
Hog, one of the guys on my crew, is at the top of the stairs, a big grin on his face.
Clearly there are no boundaries in this firehouse or secrets in this town. Everybody’s up in my fucking business.
“Fuck off, Hog. Mind your own business.”
His grin only gets bigger when Cheddar steps up beside him, a matching one on his