Page 113 of Burn It Down

“I thought so too,” I admit, even though I can’t put my finger on why.

The proverbial shit keeps hitting the fan when Cassie says, “So, I think I’m going to move to Miami.”

“Miami?!” I practically yell. “What the fuck for?” She grimaces and I try to calm my attitude. “I mean, what’s in Miami?”

“Well, our cousins for one. I could try someplace new without having to be totally alone.”

“Have you talked to them about this?” It’s not like we’re close.

“Yes, of course I have. Rachel is close to our age and said I could stay in her spare room. I was thinking about becoming a certified medical interpreter.”

My stomach jumps to my throat.

When our mom got sick, we relied heavily on the interpreter. My dad speaks Spanish obviously, but medical terms are hard to navigate and often don’t have literal translations. Cass and I were teenagers and barely understood the English version ofwhat was being said and our mom was still more comfortable processing the challenging conversations in her native language. The interpreter helped keep us all on the same page.

“That actually sounds really great, Cass. I think you’d be amazing at that.”

“Yeah, Jake pointed out that the field is probably pretty saturated in Miami, so I could change my scenery for a while, see what happens, and then come home. But at least I’d have some time on my own and I’d come back armed with some way to make money doing something I really love.” She shrugs like she’s sayingwhat do you think?

“I think that sounds perfect.” I kiss my sister on the side of her head and walk back into the garage bay, trying to keep my rising panic under control.

Around five p.m. my cell phone rings, cutting out the music piping through the speakers.

Seeing Jake’s picture on the screen, I swipe to connect the call.

“Jacob,” I growl, uncomfortably hot and needing the kind of distraction from my day only he can provide.

“Uh-oh, what’d I do? You never call me by my full name.”

I drop my voice, aware that my dad’s still here. “For starters, you seem to have helped my sister put together a plan that has her moving to Miami.”

“Oh, that. I did point out that she’d probably want to come home at some point, though.”

“I know. I don’t love it, but if it’s what she needs, I support it. I also just wanted to try the growl out for later,” I whisper.

“Well, fuck, baby. If I’d known that’s how you were feeling Idefinitelywouldn’t have agreed to poker at Phoenix’s tonight.”

My stomach clenches and I feel the disappointment rise to the surface.

“Oh. Well, how long are you going to be there?”

“Wecan stay as late as you want. Or I can cancel all together.”

Jake hasn’t seen the guys outside of the fire station recently and truth be told, it’ll be nice to hang out with them again, especially if Jake and I don’t have to hide what we are to each other.

“No, we can go. It’ll be fun.”

But not nearly as much fun as getting you naked and hearing you scream my name,I think to myself.

“Great. I told the guys we’d be there at seven. Does that work for you?” he asks over the line.

“Make it seven-thirty and you have a deal,” I counter, fully planning to use the extra thirty minutes to work him into a frenzy until he’s blissed out and needy for me in a way that has him begging to leave early so we can continue our own party.

“Seven-thirty it is. I’ll be at your dad’s around six. I need to run to the penthouse and grab new clothes.”

“Have you had a chance to talk to the guys since you and Cora’s interview?”

“No, but we don’t have to hide in front of them. It won’t change a thing with those guys,” he says reassuringly.

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