Chapter 8

Noah

I’ve Got a Room

Sitting in my squad car with my speed gun aimed up the road, I wait for someone to inevitably drive by going over the speed limit. Some get pissed that we have routine speed checks. But having had to console a woman whose daughter was killed by someone driving recklessly and witnessed firsthand the aftermath of a wreck that could have been avoided…. Yeah, I do not mind one bit that people get pissed when they’re pulled over for breaking the law.

When a car comes around the bend, I glance down at the numbers that appear on the device, then set it aside and flip on my lights before pulling out behind them. As they start to pull over onto the shoulder of the road, the radio in my car cuts on, and Winnie who works at dispatch asks officers to respond to a fire at the townhomes where Bridgett lives.

With a curse, I speed by the car that has now pulled over and head into town, trying not to think about why the fuck a ball of some emotion I’m not ready to recognize is sitting heavy in my gut. When I arrive at the complex, the fire trucks are already set up in the lot, along with an ambulance and two other cruisers.

I notice right away they’re focused on the building Bridgett’s unit is in, but I don’t see any flames coming from the structure, which connects three separate townhomes. There’s only a plume of black smoke rising above the building, where they are aiming the water. I park at the curb and get out, doing a scan of the lot for Bridgett’s car, but I don’t find it in her designated parking space.

With it being after four in the evening on a Tuesday, its absence brings me some relief because it’s likely she’s not home right now and instead at work.

“Have you guys cleared Unit B?” I ask as I walk past the fire chief and the other officers gathered on the sidewalk.

“The building has been cleared,” David, who’s been the fire chief in town for the last year, shouts at my back. I still head for her doorway to check for myself. I knock and wait, then pound again. When I get no response, I head to the group of men gathered out front.

“You know someone who lives here?” David asks, and I jerk up my chin.

“My best friend’s sister has been staying at his place.” I look over at the ambulance and notice they have an older woman on a stretcher. “What happened?”

“Kitchen fire. The woman who lives in Unit A had a pan on the stove, and it caught on fire when she forgot about it and went to bed. She phoned in the fire when she noticed smoke filling her place. We were able to put it out, but…but there’s currently a hole in the wall that gives a nice view into the unit next door, along with damage to the roof between the two homes.” He glances at the building. “The building and units A through D will be uninhabitable for at least a couple of weeks. If you have your friend’s number, you should let them know.”

“Fuck.” I jerk my cell out of my pocket and step away from the group as I dial Aiden. When he doesn’t answer, I hang up and tap my cell against my thigh. I should have gotten Bridgett’s number from her the first time I saw her. And I definitely should have gotten it when she shocked the shit out of me and showed up at my job with cookies.

Cookies that were so good I would have sworn she bought them if she hadn’t been so adorable when talking about the kind of fucking chocolate chips she used.

Knowing I can’t do anything right now but wait for her to show up, I get to work gathering the information I’ll need to give to the families displaced by the fire.

At ten to six, when I watch Bridgett pull into the complex’s parking lot, I get out of my car. With the lot now empty of all emergency personnel, she’ll have no idea what took place today until she sees the yellow tape on her brother’s front door. As she exits her car, I walk up behind her and try not to acknowledge how beautiful she looks with her hair up in a bun, and her fancy-ass clothes and shoes on.

“Bridgett,” I call out. She spins around as a squeak of surprise escapes her lips currently painted a pretty burgundy color.

“Oh, you scared me.” Her eyes move over my uniform. “What are you doing here? Are Aiden and May okay?”

“They’re both fine—or I think they are. I haven’t been able to get in touch with your brother all evening.”

“I think he’s been in meetings all day.” She shakes her head as she pulls her handbag up over her shoulder. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, and no.” I rub my hand down my jaw rough with a thick layer of stubble. “There was a fire in the unit next to yours today.”

“What?” she whispers, spinning around to look at the large structure. “Is everyone all right?”

“The woman who lives there went to the hospital for smoke inhalation but was released shortly after. No one else was home.” She turns to face me. “That said, the building is uninhabitable and will be until the inspector can make it out, and the damage can be repaired.”

“So I can’t stay here?”

I shake my head, and my gut twists as her chin wobbles. “I got clearance from the chief to take you in to get your stuff.”

“Okay.” She drags in a deep breath. “Okay, sure, that would be great.”

I lift my chin, then lead her up to her entryway, taking her key from her when I notice her hands shaking, making it difficult for her to unlock the door. I let us inside, then take my flashlight off my hip and flip it on. With it still being winter, it’s dark even now.

“They shut the electricity off earlier as a precaution,” I tell her, then hand her the light. “Lead the way.”

She takes it and drops her bag onto the couch, shining the beam through the room and pausing in the kitchen, where the wall has a gaping black hole that looks like something out of a horror movie.

“Thank goodness no one was hurt,” she says. I don’t know if she’s talking to me or herself.

“Are you going to stay with Aiden?”

“No.” Her voice is quiet as we walk down the hall and enter her room. “I think there is a hotel just outside of town that does weekly rentals. Maybe I’ll see if they have something available. ”

“You’re not staying there,” I bite out without thinking. I know the hotel she’s talking about and answer the weekly calls we get from there when shit goes down. “What about your parents’ place or Aiden’s?”

“No.” Her laugh is humorless. “My parents’ place is not an option, and I know Aiden doesn’t want me staying with him and May.” She goes to the closet and comes out with a suitcase that she tosses up onto the bed a second later. Then she places the flashlight on the edge of the dresser, pointing it in the bed’s direction. “I’ll stay at that hotel.”

“It’s not safe.”

“I’ll be fine.” She disappears into the closet again, and I hear the rattle of hangers before she comes back out with an armful of clothes, dumping them haphazardly into the bag before going back once more.

“I’ve got a room,” I tell her when she comes out with another armful of stuff. “There isn’t a bed, but there’s a pull-out couch. You can crash on it until things get sorted and you can get back in here.”

“That’s very kind, but it’s not necessary.” I step forward to help her zip the bag.

“I know it’s not necessary, but if you refuse to stay with your parents, Aiden, or me, I’m telling you now, I’ll arrest you to keep you from staying at that hotel.”

“You wouldn’t!” She gasps, and I grin wickedly.

“Try me.”

“You can’t just arrest people. You need a reason.” She goes back into the closet, grabbing another large suitcase.

“Yeah, but I know enough people that I could keep you there for a while before any real questions are asked.”

“You’re ridiculous,” she huffs, going to the bathroom and taking the flashlight with her.

“You’re staying with me.” I scrub my hands over my head, knowing I’m setting myself up for disaster. I have a hard enough time keeping myself in check around her without her living under my roof, but here we fucking are. “I work a lot. We’ll hardly see each other,” I tell myself more than her.

“I don’t want to impose.”

“Just fucking accept my offer,” I grit out and swear I hear her laugh.

“Okay, if you’re sure you don’t mind.”

“I don’t.” I watch her come out with a small bag that looks like a purse, along with shower shit, a curling iron, and a blow-dryer. She puts it all into the bag, then picks up a laundry basket from the floor, turns it upside down, and dumps the contents in there, as well.

I ignore the fact that it’s all lacy shit in a multitude of colors.

“Okay, I think that’s everything I need for now.” She looks around.

“I’m sure I can get you back in here if you need anything else,” I assure her.

“I’ll need to borrow your washer. Everything smells like smoke.”

“I don’t have one.” I keep my face blank, and she blinks at me. “I’m just kidding. That’s fine.” I close her second bag. “Do you wanna bring your pillow?”

“Yeah.” She grabs it off the bed, along with the thick blanket. I haul both bags down the hall to the front door, and she stops to get her purse before following me outside.

When she pops the trunk of her car, I put the luggage inside, then take the stuff in her arms and put it in with them before slamming it closed and turning to face her. “You can follow me to my place. I’ll get you settled, then take off.”

“Are you on the clock right now?”

“Yeah.”

She shakes her head and takes a step back. “I can find somewhere to hang out until you’re off tonight.”

“Babe, I’m not off until four a.m.” I open her door.

“Noah.”

“Just follow me.” I slam her door and head for my car without a backward glance, waiting until she’s at the entrance of the parking lot before pulling out in front of her.

It takes fifteen minutes to get out of town. When I hit the dirt road that leads to my house, I check the rearview mirror, finding Bridgett right behind me. I park in front of my double garage, open the door with the push of a button, then roll down the window and wave her in.

A few minutes later, carrying her luggage, I stop at the front door and glance down at Bridgett on the step below me. “Brace, babe. Lola is gonna be excited someone new is here, but she’s also on edge with her puppies in the house.”

“There are puppies in the house?” she breathes like I just told her Santa is real and we’re taking a trip to the North Pole to visit him.

“Yeah.” I grin, then push open the door. As soon as I do, Lola rushes to greet me. Her tail wags a mile a second before she goes on alert and begins to bark. “Lola, calm.” I drop the bags and pick her up, then turn to face Bridgett, who looks a mixture of scared and in love.

“She’s very sweet. You just have to show her you’re not someone she needs to be afraid of,” I tell her. Bridgett carefully reaches out her hand to Lola, allowing the pup to smell her fingers before petting the top of her head.

“She’s cute. What kind of dog is she?”

“My best guess is a mixture of Pomeranian and poodle, but really, I don’t know. I found her at an abandoned house a few months ago.”

“And she had puppies?”

“Just had them a couple of weeks ago. That was a surprise I found out about when I took her to the vet for the first time.” I carry her into the house, leaving the bags in the hall. When I get to the laundry room, I place Lola down, and she immediately goes to the box where her three pups are rooting around, looking for her.

“They are so tiny,” Bridgett whispers, stepping up behind me and pressing her tits into my arm.

“They are.” I watch Lola lie down for them to feed, then point out the washer and dryer. “This is the laundry.” I leave the room, then head farther down the hall to the kitchen. “Eat and drink anything you want.” I point at the stairs. “My room is up there.” I head across the living room and open the door to my spare bedroom that is more office than anything else. “The couch folds out into a bed, and there are sheets and blankets in the closet.” I turn to face her and find her looking around the room. “I hate to leave you like this, but I gotta get back into town. My boys are covering for me now, but—”

“Please, don’t apologize,” she cuts me off. “You’re doing me a huge favor by letting me stay here.”

“It’s not a big deal.” I head out of the room, and she follows me to where I stop in the kitchen. “I’m gonna leave you my cell number. If you need anything, just call.” I jot down my digits on the pad of paper on the counter. “Are you working tomorrow?”

“Yeah.”

“I might see you in the morning.” I go to the junk drawer and dig through until I find a spare key and a clicker for the garage door. “If I’m passed out by the time you get up, you can use these to come and go whenever you want.”

“Thanks,” she whispers, and I lift my chin.

“Call your brother and let him know what’s going on.”

“I will,” she assures me, then rubs her lips together as she wraps her arms around her middle. Seeing her looking so vulnerable makes my insides twist with the urge to give her a hug, but I remind myself it’s not my place to comfort her.

“I’ll set the alarm before I leave.”

“Okay.” She nods. And with that, I force myself to walk away.