Series: Fever Falls Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 96922 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96922 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
“Well, at least I have Nance and Keeg to keep me company,” Dax said.
They’d planned to have a little day date at Willow Brook Park, something they’d done occasionally when Dax was in town.
“Thank you for spending time with them,” I said.
“I like spending time with them.”
I could tell he meant it too, and like so many other things with Dax, he couldn’t know what hearing that meant to me.
Mac jumped up, putting his front legs on me and looking at the ball in my hand.
“I think he wants you to throw it,” Dax said.
“Why? So he can watch me fetch it?”
We attempted to get Mac to fetch a few more times before returning to my place to spend another magical evening together.
* * *
Zed and I moved through the dense smoke filling the air. My sweat was a blanket covering my body. My breath only warmed my face mask even more as we searched upstairs through the east side of the two-story home for possible victims.
To think that less than twelve hours earlier, my biggest worry had been trying to pin Dax to the bed to finish Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason…and then pinning him to the bed for a whole other delicious reason.
When we’d arrived on the scene, the neighbors said it was a family with kids and that the mother usually stayed at home during the day. No sign of her outside, but with a car in the drive, we’d headed inside to take a look for survivors.
Zed and I used thermal imaging cameras to guide us through the space, cautiously navigating the second level, moving as fast as we could. Beau’s voice came over my two-way radio, letting me know we were running low on time before they had to run the lines. As usual when we had a high probability of a survivor, the crew wanted to give us a minute to search, considering if we ran the hoses too soon, the steam was liable to suffocate anyone in the house faster than the smoke that was already billowing through the space.
As we headed into the master bedroom, I caught something on my camera. Sure enough, even over the sounds of cracking and crushing surrounding us, I could hear what sounded like a woman coughing.
I alerted the guys on the radio, and they prepared for a window removal since we were rapidly losing the west side of the house.
A crashing sound, like thunder, came from nearby, and I turned, searching for Zed, but only seeing the smoke. I knew he had to be in the room, but fuck if I could see him.
“Floor broke. I’m stuck,” Zed said over the radio.
My feet froze in place.
“We’ve gotta run these hoses, guys,” Beau’s voice came through. “Zed, Jace?”
I could hear the house being fucking torn apart, and it only became more difficult to concentrate.
“My leg’s jammed, and I can’t see.”
I could tell Zed was panicking. The worst thing we could have had right then.
“Don’t move,” I radioed to Zed, iterating what I was sure he already knew, but felt he had to be reminded of to keep from totally losing it.
The smoke was too thick for me to see for shit without my camera, so I turned it and caught Zed’s image on the screen.
“Zed, Jace?” Beau pressed.
We didn’t have much time.
In a moment, my thoughts shifted back to my past…to losing Crawford. My anxiety intensified, thoughts of peril flashing through my awareness. What if this was the last job?
Had I said I love you to Nance and Keeg?
Had I said it to Dax?
And the horror of him never knowing the depths of my feelings for him pulsed through me as I became vividly aware that if we didn’t figure this out fast, the guys weren’t going to be doing a window removal.
They were going to be doing a body retrieval.
35
Dax
“Thank you guys for inviting me out today,” I said as I walked alongside Nance and Keegan on a path in Willow Brook Park. They’d been good about making me feel included, and it was nice to spend time with them while Jace was working.
“You’re gonna have to get used to us, it looks like,” Keegan said matter-of-factly. “It’s kind of strange, honestly. Bro’s never taken to anyone like this before.”
“You think you should be telling me that?” I teased.
“From what I understand, he hasn’t been subtle about his feelings,” Nance added.
“Well, he doesn’t beat around the bush about that.”
She giggled. “I don’t imagine he does. You’re a good man, Dax, just like he always says, and you know you’re always welcome in our home.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
“Your mom can come visit too,” Keegan said quickly. “She seems cool.”
“Does she? Cool? Really?”
“Why does that surprise you? She’s funny and she has interesting stories.”
“She’s definitely quirky,” Nance said, the stiffness in her expression suggesting she didn’t quite take to her the way Keegan had.