Page 26 of Her Silver Fox Firefighters
“She’s different,” Beck says.
“I agree, so we might as well do it right this time.”
Upon returning to the living room, I notice that Luke is close to falling asleep. The way he operates the PlayStation remote is almost mechanical, as if only a part of his brain is still awake enough to send the game movement signals to his hands while every other part has gone into its regularly scheduled programming.
“Dude, come on. Time for bed,” I tell my kid.
He gives me a wistful look, then glances over at Olivia as if waiting for her to save him. “But we still have this level to beat.”
“We can save this game and resume it another time,” she says. “Sleep is important.”
Luke nods once, then gives me a dramatic sigh and goes upstairs. I can hear him clattering around in the bathroom as he gets ready for bed. Olivia, on the other hand, sits quietly on the sofa, game controller still in her hands, nervously waiting for one of us to talk about the elephant in the room.
“So what was the injury toll from yesterday’s fire?” she finally asks.
Dax takes a seat to her right. I’m on the left, while Beck settles in the armchair next to us after serving the wine.
“Three factory workers died,” I say. “Ten others are in the ICU unit with severe burns. It was bad, worse than the first one.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“We’re starting to think that the first one was more of a test run,” Dax says.
“A test run?” she replies, her brow furrowed with concern. “That was last week, wasn’t it? It was my first day at the diner, if I remember correctly.”
“Yes,” I confirm. “Thankfully, no one was hurt, but we found the same kind of accelerant, the same pouring pattern as the first fire, and the fire escape doors were jammed. It’s definitely the same arsonist.”
“So a warehouse and a glass factory,” Olivia says. “Maybe Jocelyn was right. Maybe you should start interrogating everybody who was on the scene yesterday. If it’s escalating this fast and people are dying…”
“Jocelyn can be pretty passionate about her job,” Dax replies. “It doesn’t mean she’s always thinking clearly. The law has to be followed down to the letter, especially where arson is concerned. If we want charges to stick, we have to do it right.”
She nods slowly in understanding. “You did say arson is notoriously hard to prove.”
“It is, which is why it’s important, if not imperative, to not give the defense lawyers any reason to have evidence or testimony dismissed on account of an overzealous ADA.”
“We used to be in a relationship,” Beck blurts out, laying the cards on the table.
We all stare at him. I’m irritated. Dax is speechless. Olivia slowly lowers her gaze. “Yes, I figured that out,” she says.
“Way to ease that into the conversation, Beck,” I quip.
“There was no point in beating around the bush,” he replies with a casual but slightly sullen shrug. “She’s been out of our lives for a while now. Yesterday’s outburst proves that she may be problematic, unless we address it.”
“Problematic to who?” Olivia asks, giving him a curious glance.
Beck leans forward, his gaze darkening as he looks deep into her eyes. “To us, Olivia. Whatever this thing is between us, you can’t deny that it’s different from anything else you’ve experienced.”
“You’re right about that,” she admits.
I love the pink blush of her cheeks as she says those words. My cock jumps. My pants feel tighter, and I only have her to blame. I reach out and tuck a lock of blonde hair behind her ear, my fingertips brushing over her earlobe. It prompts her full lips to part slightly.
“We tried to have a relationship with Jocelyn,” Beck says. “It didn’t work out.”
“Why not?”
“She was too focused on the physical aspects and neglected everything else that actually makes a relationship work,” he says.
“It’s over, Olivia,” Dax adds. “It’s been over for a long time.”
