Page 70 of Memories with Fire

Brody shakes his head. “Shit.”

“Jesus.” Nate says, running a hand through his hair.

“I wouldn’t normally object to that, but under these circumstances,” Liam mutters.

“Yeah.” I glance down at the phone still in my hand to see if Hailey has returned my text, or if I missed a call from her. I already know I haven’t, but that doesn’t stop me from checking anyway. “I let it go the first time she broke in. The second and third time I had her charged. The fourth is when I filed for a restraining order which the judge granted once we saw the paternity results, and only after half my firehouse came to vouch for me.”

Liam crosses his arms over his chest. “So, like I said, this chick is bat-shit crazy.”

“How do you think she found you?” Brody asks after I nod at Liam.

My eyes move to him as I lean against the chair next to his. “Probably my cousin Angela. She still doesn’t believe me, even after the test. Priscylla has her screwed up in the head and she’s a bit of a man hater, so she refuses to see her friend is in the wrong.”

“This is why I stay single,” Liam says, giving a full body shudder.

I snicker at him humorlessly. “I was single. It didn’t matter.”

With Priscylla I’m not sure it would have mattered one way or another. She was bound and determined to have me. Refusing her only made her try harder. The fact I have a restraining order and moved halfway across the country says as much.

He winces then changes subjects. “Did you find Hailey?”

All eyes are back on me.

“Captain said she left for an appointment. Her phone is off, and she hasn’t texted me.” I frown, dread welling in the pit of my stomach. “Irene said Priscylla talked to her. Showed her some bogus ring.”

The three of them exchange looks. Liam waves a hand dismissively. “It’ll be fine. She’ll be like me. Angry until you explain.”

I don’t tell them I’m worried she won’t give me a chance to explain.

CHAPTER 22

LUKE

Nothing.Damn it.Damn it.

“Damn it,” I shout into the emptiness of my Jeep, slamming my hand down on the steering wheel. “Fuck.”

Hailey’s driveway is empty. Having the confirmation she isn’t here has the anger that’s been building for the last twenty hours coming to the surface.

I don’t know how I managed to make it through shift. Quinn had to take my phone at one point because I was obsessively checking it to see if I’d missed a call or text. No one has heard from her since she left the firehouse, other than we know she made it to her appointment, which I found out from Nate was with the department’s psychologist. We also know she stopped by her mom’s house. Debra called the station yesterday afternoon trying to track her down. By then everyone was trying to reach Hailey. Her phone was going straight to voicemail, and she wasn’t answering anyone’s texts.

Quinn’s car reappeared later that afternoon while we were out on a call, the keys back in her locker. Nate and Captain Bernard reviewed the security footage and confirmed Hailey dropped it off minutes after we’d all left the station, which told me she was watching and waiting for us to go.

Avoiding me.

Scrubbing a hand over my face as I head further up the mountain to my place, I sag in my seat. I should have told her about Priscylla. In retrospect, that would have been the best thing, but thinking about telling her made me freeze. For the better part of the last year, that woman screwed my life up so horribly that it made me panic to tell Hailey about her. We were wrapped so safely in a little cocoon, having a good time, avoiding all the other terrible things going on, that I didn’t want to taint what we had. I didn’t want to freak Hailey out, or add to her plate.

At least that’s what I’m telling myself.

Truly, I’m just a fucking coward, terrified that Hailey wouldn’t believe me, just like everyone else.

All day yesterday I had flashbacks of how people in my life slowly turned against me when I told them I wasn’t the father of that baby. No one believed me besides a couple of my brothers at the firehouse. My own family didn’t believe me. My dad said until I smartened up and took responsibility for my actions, he wanted nothing to do with me.

I got a massive apology when the results of the paternity test came back, but things haven’t been the same between us since.

When my house comes into view at the end of the road, I sit up straighter, eyebrows furrowing. There’s a car parked out front that I don’t recognize, and my stomach churns with dread, thinking Priscylla found my place.

Until I see a head of red hair stand up from my porch.

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