Page 68 of Calling a Cease-Fire

“Even better. So am I.”

I knew he was. I may have purposely sought out his Jeep and parked next to it. After saying bye to Izzy, I turned and made my way through the crowded bar to the back entrance. I didn’t look back over my shoulder, but I could feel Zack’s heated gaze trained on me the whole way out.

I didn’t stop once we were outside, just continued straight to our vehicles. Instead of getting in, I spun toward him and leaned back against the hood of my car. There were other people coming out and going in, preventing either of us from reaching out, but the air crackled around us and an invisible magnetic pull seemed to have him inching toward me.

“Your place or mine?” he murmured, need dripping from every word.

“Mine,” I purred.

“I’ll follow you.” He leaned down, close to my ear. The feel of him so close made my breath hitch. “And the minute we step foot in your apartment I’m hiking that skirt up and sliding into that soaking wet pussy of yours.”

I clenched my legs together with a sharp intake of air. “I can’t wait.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

ZACK

I closed out of my text thread with Mia with a smile and set my phone down on the counter when my Ring doorbell chimed. The last week with her had surpassed all my fantasies and cemented that, if given the chance, I wanted more than just a casual relationship with her. I wanted all of her.

I opened my front door, letting Adam in. He shut the door behind him and followed me into the kitchen.

“Thanks for doing this.” I grabbed the large cat carrier off the table and walked over to the playpen, placing it down inside. “Even though I could have handled it on my own.” I chuckled at the reminder that he’d jumped at the excuse to come over.

“No problem.” He sighed. “I’m going fucking stir crazy. Any excuse to get out of the apartment right now works for me.”

“How much longer before you’re back on shift?”

“Another week at least. Maybe two.”

“It’ll go quick.”

“I hope so.”

“Remembering any more of what happened the night of the fire?”

In the days immediately afterward, his concussion seemed to have messed with his short-term memory, and he could barely recall what happened. All Lyla could tell us was that he told her to follow everyone else out and he turned back. Of course, Lyla didn’t listen, waiting for him until lack of visibility turned her into a sitting duck.

“A little bit.” His brows furrowed. “I remember hearing screaming coming from the back hallway where the bathrooms were. It’s blurry, but I think it was a couple of girls trapped. I yelled to them to turn around and follow the hallway to the staff entrance. The next thing I remember is the sound of splintering wood.”

“I’m pretty sure it was that damn railing that was loose upstairs.”

He grimaced, then chuckled. “Well, at least now it’s going to get replaced.”

I frowned at him. Did he think almost dying was funny? “You know this is the second time I’ve had to fear for your life. How about you stop trying to play hero all the time.”

“We’re firefighters, dude. Kind of part of the job description.”

I grunted at that, because he had a point. Maybe we could all try to keep the heroics to when we were on-shift, though. Thinking about how this last incident seemed really personal was not bringing me any fucking comfort at all. I shook that thought off and tried to focus on the task at hand. No use going down that rabbit hole when we really didn’t have any other information to move forward with.

Adam helped me corral the last two kittens into the carrier so I could take them back to the shelter. Definitely a little bittersweet knowing the last two were being adopted. I’d miss their little meows and their fuzzy faces and demanding cuddles, but I was glad they’d all found forever homes. I’d considered adopting one, but I really didn’t have the time for a full-time pet.

“What’s the latest with you and Mia?” Adam asked, leaning back against the counter once we had the kittens ready to go.

“Nothing’s changed.” At the surface, that was true enough. Except honestly, it felt like everything had changed. I was a little surprised Logan and Seth hadn’t said anything since that night at the bar last week. I was sure they suspected. But if they did, they were smart enough to keep it to themselves.

“Why does that sound like you’re not saying something?”

Dammit. I didn’t know how to do this. Lie to my best friend. So, I gave him the truth I could.