Page 59 of Controlled Burn
Dean slammed him again, hard enough to make the lockers rattle.
"Say that again," he growled.
Jake froze. The color drained from his face.
"I didn't touch her," he said quickly. "Didn't do anything."
"You so much as breathe in her direction wrong again," Dean hissed, "and I'll have your badge, your transfer, and your ass booted so far you'll land on the moon. Got it?"
Jake nodded, breath shallow, lips parted.
Dean released him with one last shove. Jake staggered back, eyes darting to Kennedy, who'd turned away like she hadn't seen a thing. Brooks lingered for a second, eyes wide and anxious, before slinking out of sight.
Watts's laugh—quiet, almost gleeful—chased Jake down the bay. "Told you. She's poison."
Dean didn't care who was watching.
Because in Jake's face, he saw it. Guilt. Fear.
And that was all the confirmation he needed.
Talia
She heard about it before dinner.
Ryan passed her in the hallway and gave her a careful look. "You okay?" he asked, voice low.
"Why?"
He hesitated. "Captain lit up Jake earlier. Didn't say why, but… guessing it was about you."
Her breath caught.
She closed her locker a little too hard.
She should've been scared. Or furious. Or ashamed.
But what she felt instead was arousal.
It burned through her chest and settled low in her stomach, hot and unwelcome. Because someone had finally stood up for her. Not because she was a rookie. Not because she was cute, new, or convenient.
Because he cared.
Because he would fight for her.
And that terrified her.
If Watts whispered the right poison into the right ears… If Jake gave HR just enough smoke to follow…
It wouldn't matter who'd thrown the first punch. They'd both go up in flames.
She glanced toward the kitchen, saw Kennedy with her banana bread, and a rush of jealousy flared—Kennedy chatting with Ryan, laughing too easily, so at home in her skin. Talia looked away before she could hate herself for wanting what Kennedy had.
Maddox
He sat in his office after shift, lights off, elbows on his knees.
It hadn't just been about the sex. Not for a long time.
