Page 39 of His Greatest Treasure

“Why are you asking?” he asks a bit harshly.

I cock my head and raise a brow. “Everyone seems to have someone now. That’s why I’m asking.”

“I don’t,” he bites out.

I stumble over what to say back, coming up blank. Then a question just . . . tumbles free. “Are you mad about that? Do you want someone too?”

My eyes go wide when he jolts off the couch and rubs a hand over his scruffy jaw. The veins that bulge beneath his skin are provocative as they flex and pulse, and I stare at them for a moment too long.

“I have to go to the washroom,” he mutters before stepping into the kitchen, his plate clattering on the countertop.

It doesn’t matter that he didn’t answer my question. The answer is obvious with his speedy takeoff. If he does want something with someone, it certainly isn’t me, and that’s good.

We wouldn’t work anyway.

14

OLIVER

I’m not goingto drive by her house.

I’m not. Going. To drive. By. Her. House.

I didn’t demand Adams turn the truck down our street on the way back to the station from a small apartment fire. And I sure as hell am not leaning my cheek against the window so that I can get a closer look.

That would be pathetic. Embarrassing.Total simp behaviour, as Addie would say.

But yet here I am with my squad sending me half-cocked, humoured looks that I ignore while not risking dragging my eyes from the street for even a moment. Just in case I catch a glimpse of Avery and Nova in my yard. Playing inmypool.

The past two days have been non-stop calls with little sleep in between. We got halfway through making lunch yesterday when one came in. By the time we got back to the station, everything was ruined. Stale, cold, and undercooked.

We’ve all been running on fumes, but that’s the normal for us. We love the job, so we suck it up. Seeing the relief and tears in the old woman’s eyes that we saved from her bathroom while her apartment burned to a crisp was more than worth the ruined meal.

Despite the exhaustion and hunger, I made us take a detour. I’ve never been one to get so shaken up on a call that simple before, but I haven’t been able to shake the worry that’s plagued me since busting into that woman’s apartment. The array of children’s toys on the ground had my mind running at three times speed. It was only the woman there, but we didn’t know that at the time.

My mind went to Nova at the sight of the stuffed frog on the couch, and that was that. I’ve never rescued a civilian that fast in my life. But now I’m left on edge, my leg bouncing and heart thrashing with worry. It’s a mix of leftover adrenaline and genuine concern.

It’s unnerving. I know Nova’s okay. It wasn’t her grandmother’s apartment. She wasn’t anywhere close to the building, but that information doesn’t seem to mean shit to my erratic thoughts.

“Since when do we head to your house after calls, Lieutenant?” Adams asks, his deep voice coming through loud in the headphones cupping my ears. “I’ll be tossing you beneath the bus when Captain asks why we took so long.”

I ignore him. My squad is otherwise silent. If I looked back, I’m sure I’d find them dozing in their seats by now, no longer concerned with me.

My throat grows sticky when we come up on my house, the street busy, crowded with kids playing basketball on driveways and dogs barking. It’s after four on a Friday afternoon, the sun shining bright and hot without a cloud in the sky. Those who work normal jobs are either off for the weekend or planning on leaving work as soon as possible.

I’ve watched Avery more than I should. I’m well aware of that and even pissed a bit about it too. But it’s how I knew that she’d be home with Nova right now. It’s a wild hope to think that she’d take me up on my offer for them to use my pool while I’m working, but fuck, for some stupid reason that doesn’t make sense to me, I want them to.

I only bought it to get a rise out of Avery, and now that I have, they should get to reap the benefits of it.

Adams slows the truck a couple of kilometres as we drive by, and I don’t think about how overeager I must look when I turn to face the door and focus on the glimpse of my backyard.

The splashing water and frog floatie cause my heart to stall, only thumping again when I see Avery lounging in the flower tube I blew up for her last night.

She’d probably have punctured it with a knife if she knew I bought it especially for her.

It’s Patel’s voice that cuts through my intense staring, making me slump back in my seat. “Are you renting out your pool or something?”

“If you are, I want a turn. I’ve been stuck inside all summer and could use some fun in the sun,” Hart adds.

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