Page 127 of Controlled Burn
The obsession. The cold, festering wound in his chest.
He watched the videos every night. Looking for proof she was faking it with Maddox. Hoping she still wanted him.
But all he saw was distance.
And Jake knew, deep down, he’d never forgive her for it.
She’d learn what it felt like to be used.
And when she finally cracked?
He’d be the one holding the match.
Chapter 46
The Bait
Talia
The firehouse didn’t hum—it simmered.
It was in the pipes. In the vents. In the steel threads of the staircase and the sharp rhythm of boots on tile. Talia felt it in the air itself, heavy with unsaid things and barely leashed tension. The kind of pressure that built before lightning struck—a charge no one could see, but everyone could feel.
Jake hadn’t spoken to her in days, but his silence was louder than words. He was pacing now, circling like something wild. That kind of energy didn’t vanish. It waited. It pounced.
Good, Talia thought from the upper landing. Let it build. She wasn’t the one being hunted anymore.
Now? She was laying the trap.
Her gear was already half-on when the tones dropped.
Engine 12, Ladder 12: report of smoke showing, 242 Larchmont Drive, residential. Confirmed occupants. Proceed with caution.
The bay exploded into motion—boots thudding, doors slamming, adrenaline cracking through her like a live wire.
Talia climbed into the engine beside McKenna and Nina Watts. King slid into the rear, adjusting his SCBA straps. He gave her a slight nod when their eyes met.
Watts kept her gaze forward, jaw tight.
Good. Maybe the last disaster had stuck.
Halfway there, Watts started shaking.
“House fire,” she muttered, mostly to herself.
Talia didn’t turn. “Yeah. That’s the job.”
Watts swallowed, white-knuckling her harness. “Just... don’t forget the last time.”
“I haven’t,” Talia said evenly.
They hit the scene six minutes later.
Flames licked the rear of the single-story house. Black smoke rolled out from under the eaves. A barefoot woman stood on the lawn, screaming for her son.
“He was in the back bedroom—I couldn’t get to him—oh God—”
Talia was off the rig before the air brakes hissed. Mask on. Hood up. Bottle on. Go.
