Page 97 of Five Alarm Love
“What the hell?”He scrolled up and down.“This has to be a mistake.”
“It’s right there.”
“Yeah.Damn it.Tuli, you idiot,” he muttered to himself, pulling out his own phone and texting.“Hey, let’s go into the work area.Take a break.Get something cool to drink.”
“Sure.Sure.”She let him pull her to stand, and she weakly brushed the dust off her butt before following him to the office/kitchenette/lounge/sleep area that the medics used when on shift.
Mav said nothing while he poured a glass of water and brought it over to her where she sat at the small table.He glanced at her, then exited, returning with a box of hospital-grade tissue.
She laughed, a high-pitched, inappropriate sound.She couldn’t even score a name-brand tissue for this meltdown.
He sat across from her and waved for her to take a sip of water.
It tasted cool and wet and did nothing to relieve her humiliation and horror.
Mav had the most worried expression she’d ever seen on him.
For several minutes, they just sat there, with Lou picking at the scratches on the linoleum tabletop.
He occasionally checked his phone, then turned it back over with a huff.
More minutes went by.
A door slammed and footsteps grew louder.She looked up.Someone was running through the ambulance garage.
Bursting in the lounge door, Tuli yelled, “Lou!”making her jump.
Fresh tears burned.
Through blurry eyes, she spied him hovering in the entrance of the lounge.He gripped the doorjamb, balancing on his black work boots.His dark hair was wild, like he’d run his hands through it.
Like she had done last night.
Damn it.
She sniffled and glanced at Mav.
He rolled his lips and looked from Tuli to Lou.“It seems like maybe I should go check the truck.Um, unless you want me here for support?Or to perform some ass-kicking?”
“I’m fine.”She waved her hand.
“Clearly.”He stood and dropped his hand on her shoulder with a gentle squeeze.“Holler if you want me back, okay?”He glared at Tuli on the way to the garage.
“It’s about the post, right?”Tuli slowly approached the table.
He’d better not touch her, or she would lose what little control she had over herself.
“Why?”she whispered.
“I didn’t do it.I swear.”He sat next to her at the table, one hand planted flat on the surface, the other one rolled into a fist on his knee.His forehead creased with pain and his eyes were filled with sadness.
She wanted to believe him.
He continued, “Never in a million years would I do something like that.I know how private you are.”He reached out but stopped short of touching her.“The post is already deleted.”
“How many screenshots are there of the post?Never mind.Just… why?”she asked again.
“I promise you on my parents’ graves that this wasn’t me.”He ran his hand through his hair.“Seriously, Lou, I must have been hacked.”
