Page 42 of Rescued
Then we hooked up that first time, and he stopped coming for a bit. When he came back… Well, I was gone… I couldn’t resist him, and he didn’t seem like he could resist me, either. One day, he hung around after Austin and Luca left. He followed me to my truck and stared at me for a second with those gorgeous eyes of his.
Before I even knew what was happening, I had him in my arms, and I was kissing him in the middle of the parking lot. Twenty minutes later, we were gasping for air and coming our brains out in the back seat of my truck.
That’s how it started. With the two of us fucking in the damn parking lot outside the gym. I’d like to say it was the only time. It wasn’t. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other. Thank God for tinted windows, I guess.
Eventually, I got him to my house, and that’s when he started showing up. I never once turned him away. Not that I wanted to. I need Arlo like air. Somehow he’s gotten under my skin, melded himself with my bone marrow, become one with the chambers of my heart. He’s so intertwined with my chemical makeup that I’m sure I’d cease to exist without him.
I shake myself out of my thoughts. “What are his plans? Is he wanting to publish?”
Austin nods. “I think so. He wants to send it off to agents, I guess. I’m not really sure how that works.”
I laugh. “Yeah, I’m not sure either. Sounds like a lot.”
Austin leans back, opening his mouth to speak, when the tones drop. It’s sharp and sudden, and even though I’ve heard them a hundred times, I startle.
The conversation dies in a heartbeat as Austin and I make eye contact and then jump to our feet.
Dispatch comes over the speaker, and I listen, taking in the major details.
Structure Fire.
Residential.
Reports of heavy smoke.
Possible occupant inside.
We’re halfway to the door of the lounge when my feet stop. Austin’s still going. Still moving. Getting further away from me as my body freezes.
2684 Hollow Drive. That’s…
The room tilts. The whole world shifts.
“Jasper?” Austin asks, pausing in the doorway. “We’ve gotta go, man. Let’s go.”
The house number repeats in my head as I follow Austin on legs that don’t feel like my own.2684.2684 Hollow Drive.
I step into my turnout pants on autopilot, muscle memory taking over. Suspenders. Coat. Hood.
My hands feel like wood. My lungs feel frozen. I’m not sure I’m even breathing. Is there oxygen here?
“Jasper?” Austin nearly shouts. “Let’s go! What the fuck is wrong with you?”
I lock eyes with him. “That’s Arlo’s address.”
His eyes widen briefly, then he stalks toward me, getting right in my face. “Keep it the fuck together. Keep it together, or you’ve gotta sit it out. Can you do that?”
I nod, swallowing hard. “I’ll keep it together.”
“Then let’s go.”
“Any update on the potential occupant?” Austin asks dispatch.
“Nothing as of now. The caller states the resident was home, but he hasn’t seen them leave the house. He was going to look inside, but he couldn’t get close enough.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
This cannot be happening. This cannot be fucking happening.
