Page 16 of Passions Ignite

As the simulation came to an end, Lux let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. The room was silent for a moment, the pilots catching their breath as they took in the results of their efforts.

“Good job, everyone,” Lux said. “You handled that well. We’ll pick this up again tomorrow and run through one more scenario.”

The pilots nodded, standing up from their stations and stretching. Lux watched them for a moment before turning back to the control panel.

The door to the simulation room flew open. Jolted, Lux turned to meet Zoey, her gaze fixed in Lux’s direction. Her heart thumped unreasonably fast, no matter how much she willed it to slow down.

There was something in Zoey’s eyes that Lux couldn’t quite place—something intense, something that made it hard for her to breathe.

“Lieutenant,” Lux said, “you just missed the simulation.”

“Good,” Zoey said, walking toward her. “I came here to see you, not the simulation.”

Lux raised her eyebrows and then signaled her pilots to leave. They all exited the room. Lux walked out from behind the control panels, taking a few steps in Zoey’s direction.

“Was there a simulation room like this in Forest Vale?” Lux asked.

“A simulation room? Yes. Was it like this? No.”

Lux chuckled. “So, no then?”

“No.”

“Actually, I guess I did come to see the simulation,” Zoey said, pointing to the control panel.

“What about it?”

“I figured I’d better understand your views if I saw your simulations firsthand.”

Lux nodded. It wasn’t an apology. It wasn’t an admission of guilt either. It was one strong woman speaking to another.

One strong, beautiful woman.

“My team just finished their rounds. It’s just us now.”

Lux could feel the tension between them, but she pushed it aside, focusing on the task at hand.

“Let’s start with a basic scenario.” Lux moved to the control panel. “We’ll go through a forest fire situation, similar to what we’ve been working on. I’ll walk you through the process.”

Zoey stood beside her, close enough that Lux could smell the subtle scent of lavender on her. It was distracting, but Lux didn’t let it show. She set up the simulation.

“First, we establish the perimeter,” Lux said, pointing to the screen. “The helicopters will focus on containment while the ground team handles evacuation.”

Zoey frowned, her eyes narrowing slightly. “I think we should prioritize evacuation first. If we can get people out safely, then we can worry about containment.”

Lux’s jaw tightened. “If we don’t contain the fire, it’s going to spread faster than we can evacuate. We need to prevent it from getting out of control.”

Zoey shook her head. “Containment isn’t going to matter if we lose lives in the process. We should focus on getting people to safety.”

Lux’s frustration flared, but there was something else too. Something about the way Zoey’s lips moved when she spoke, the way her brown eyes, like warm hot chocolate, stayed locked on Lux’s, unwavering. Lux felt a strange pull, a distraction that made her want to look away, but she didn’t.

“The wildfire isn’t predictable,” Lux said. “We have to contain it first or we’re risking everyone.”

“And if we waste time on containment while people are trapped?” Zoey’s voice was calm, but Lux could see the intensity in her eyes. “That’s not a risk I’m willing to take.”

Lux’s eyes darted to Zoey’s lips then back to her eyes. Her mind raced, and she kept getting caught in the way Zoey was standing, the way her body seemed so close, almost brushing against hers.

“We’re talking about lives here,” Zoey continued. “I understand the need for containment, but I think our priority should be the people.”

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