Page 70 of Reckless
“It’s part of it, yes. You already know this job is dangerous, and that goes with the territory. But I wanted to show you that thereareprecautions, and I don’t do it alone. You’ve seen how dedicated these guys are outside the house. I’m here to tell you, they’re ten times as intense when things go pear shaped. Fighting fires might be risky, but I’ve got the best team on the planet with me. I’ll be all right.”
“Promise?” she asked, and even though the question was a shaky whisper, Alex answered it with clear, complete confidence.
“I promise.”
Zoe nodded, but before she could back the gesture up with anything further, her cell phone let loose with a loud buzz from her back pocket. “Oh, hang on. Let me?—”
Her words screeched to a halt just as her heartbeat catapulted to Mach 2 in her chest.
“Zoe?” Worry colored Alex’s expression, his boots echoing on the linoleum as he closed what little space stood between them. “What’s the matter? Who is it?”
Excitement collided with the hard prickle of fear in her veins, but finally, somewhere amid the ocean of adrenaline coursing through her, she found her voice.
“It’s Sharon Gleeson. She’s the director of the committee that awards the Collingsworth Grant.”
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Amile-wide smile tore over Alex’s face, even though Zoe’s had gone completely blank and just as pale.
“This is awesome,” he said, not even bothering to keep his enthusiasm in check. But come on—what better place for her to get her kick-ass good news than here at the firehouse, where they could all help her celebrate in style?
“Go on, Gorgeous. Answer.” He encouraged her with a wave, guiding her to the end of the hallway in a few hurried steps. The location wasn’t ideal for privacy, but the only other thing down this way was Cap’s office, and he knew better than to slip in there without permission. At least the out-of-the-way corner was better than nothing.
Finally, Zoe nodded, her hands noticeably shaking as she tapped the icon on her phone to take the call. “Zoe Westin.”
Although it damn near killed him, Alex moved a handful of paces to give her a little breathing room. Not that it seemed to matter. Zoe’s face remained totally unreadable, other than the marked seriousness creasing her honey-colored brows and pressing her bow-shaped mouth into a flat line. But this was Zoe, cautious to a fault. Of course she wouldn’t get excited until she hung up. Damn, he couldn’t wait to see the sheer happiness break over her face.
“Right. Yes, I see,” she murmured. The woman on the other end of the phone must be giving up all sorts of details, because that was all Zoe said. She nodded a few times, her blond hair tumbling forward to shield her eyes from Alex’s view.
“Of course. Thank you so much. I really appreciate your letting me know tonight.” Finally, she lowered the phone from her ear, and not a second too soon as far as the adrenaline in Alex’s veins was concerned.
“Well?” He looked at Zoe’s face, the sight of the tears brimming in her eyes sending a pang to his gut even though they were surely the happy kind.
One breached her eyelid, then another. “I, um…I didn’t get the grant.”
What. The. Ever-loving. Fuck?
“Are you kidding me?” Alex blurted, disbelief ricocheting through him only to be followed by a hard spurt of anger. “You worked your ass off for that grant. Nobody deserves that money more than you.”
Zoe shook her head, clearly in a fog, and Alex’s heart nearly imploded. “They had a record number of applications, and she said ours was very impressive. It just wasn’t enough for them to consider Hope House for the final round.”
He moved toward her, thumbing the tears from the apples of both cheeks even as they killed him. “Okay. It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay,” she choked out, collapsing into his touch. “Everything I had was riding on this, Alex. I don’t…I can’t…”
“Youcan,” he interrupted, sticking the words with all his mettle. “Look, this is a setback, but we’ll get around it. We’ll figure something out.”
Her face broadcasted her doubt loud and crystal clear, but she let him pull her close. As soon as he wrapped his arms around her, the tension holding her together unraveled. Every sob tore a hole in his chest, but he rode out the pain of each one, right there with her. Finally, Zoe quieted, and he cupped her face to place a soft kiss on her mouth like a promise.
“We’ll find a way,” he said, and she looked up at him, her lashes still spiky with tears.
“Can you just not let me go right now? Please?” She asked, clutching the sleeves of his T-shirt as she pressed her lips to his. Need deepened the kiss in less than a breath, making Zoe’s chest quake against his as he held her tight, and Alex didn’t even think about denying her. He parted her lips, pouring every shred of feeling he could muster into the kiss, sweeping her tongue and diving in deeper until?—
“Just what in the hell do you think you’re doing to my daughter?”
Dread skidded through Alex’s limbs at the same time Zoe jumped, both of them turning toward the adjacent doorway to face her father.
Holy shit, Alex had never seen the man look so irrevocably furious.
