Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 71814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
“Good idea, boss,” Matty quipped, knocking me out of my heated thoughts as he gestured for Zoe to follow us out of my office and to the gym where Tobin, Angus, and Jae were working out during their shift. There was plenty of things to do around here while waiting for our next call and keeping in shape was one of those things.
“I’m going to lie down,” Cohen muttered before slinking off to the dormitory.
I sighed to myself and leaned against the doorway of the gym as Matty took Zoe inside to meet the guys.
“Who is this?” Jae asked as he sat up on the bench, sweat gleaming on his forehead beneath his short black hair.
“Guys, this is Zoe. She’s a journalist from Raleigh who grew up here,” Matty introduced her. I swore he had a starry look in his eyes when he gazed at her. Not that I could blame him.
“Journalist?” Tobin replied as he stood under the pull-up bar with his hands resting on the waist of his blue workout shorts.
Zoe’s eyes swept between the three of them as their focus shifted from their workouts to her. She seemed a bit jarred at first, but she found her grounding and nodded to them with a polite smile on her face.
“I’m here to get to the bottom of all the arson incidents,” she said as she shook everyone’s hands.
“She’ll be accompanying us on calls and working with us to put an end to it all,” I spoke up, not missing the surprised looks on their faces. This was new for all of us.
“Kind of ballsy, huh? You could get hurt,” Angus told her as he moved toward her. He was the largest guy in our crew, but he was also the most compassionate. I suspected that had something to do with his complicated past with the law.
“That’s what everyone keeps telling me, but I can take care of myself,” Zoe assured him. “And I promise not to get in anyone’s way.”
“How do you know her, Matty?” Jae asked as he flipped his workout towel over his bare shoulder.
“We went to high school together,” Matty replied as he shared a warm look with Zoe. He then gestured to Jae. “This is Jae Kim. He’s our driver and one of our super smart engineers. Do not try his ramen unless you want your tongue set on fire.”
“It’s not my fault you have bland taste,” Jae joked with Matty, dealing a light, playful punch against his shoulder that Matty wasn’t fast enough to dodge away from.
“I have normal taste with taste buds that can handle normal heat,” Matty laughed, coaxing an amused look on Zoe’s face. He then gestured to Angus. “Angus Dreyfuss. Our in-house EMT. A literal lifesaver.”
“Heard the chief took my job when it came to you,” Angus told Zoe.
“She just passed out, and I took her to the hospital. No big deal,” I spoke up. I’d worked damn hard to get to where I was now, but the guys could paint me in a brighter light than what I believed to be reality.
“It’s a big deal to me,” Zoe assured me, our eyes meeting. It was quick but intense, and I found myself struck with an odd sense of longing when she looked away to Tobin.
“Tobin Hannah, our arson investigator. I guess you guys will be spending a good amount of time together since you’re trying to play detective,” Matty told Zoe with a cheeky look on his face.
Zoe smirked and shook her head.
“I’m just trying to find truth among the ashes,” she replied before nodding to Tobin. “Arson investigator. That’s pretty cool.”
“I could give you some investigating pointers if you’d like. Investigating fires is a whole different rodeo than investigating anything else,” Tobin offered, having the sturdy, reserved demeanor of his father, who was also a firefighter who passed away years ago that I knew pretty well.
“That’d be amazing,” Zoe said with an eager nod. She glanced around at everyone as her hands joined together in front of her. “I know me being here is a bit of a shock, but I do appreciate you guys letting me do this. We could all really make a difference. I’ll prove to you that I’m serious about it.”
“It’d help to get to know you better,” Jae pointed out. “We often get drinks after work. Why don’t you come with and shoot the shit with us for a little while?”
That was a test. We used it on the new guys to see how well they could assimilate with the rest of the crew. At the end of the day, we had to be as close as a family because we relied on each other for support and safety when things got tough…and blazing hot.
“After the night I had yesterday, a strong drink sounds perfect,” Zoe replied with a light laugh, coaxing small grins or satisfied looks on the others’ faces.