Page 15 of Jump

“Out?” Jase asks, looking between us. “What am I missing?”

Turning to him, I lift my shoulders in a shrug. “Hannah has decided to fly the coop. So now I need to find myself a new roommate.” I pass them both and wink. “Know of any cute, single men looking for a bed and good hospitality?”

“Well, hell.” Jase turns on his heels and follows me inside, where I set Diesel on a tall stainless-steel counter, grab a brush, and start working it through the foxie’s coarse fur. “I might consider paying rent if it meant a home-cooked meal, boss. How much are you asking?”

“Oh, don’t get confused.” Hannah comes to stop against the doorframe. “When she says ‘hospitality’, she means you cook for her. Other than that, she’ll record your shows if you have any—she’s good like that—she won’t wake you on the weekends, and she has a vast collection of fuzzy socks you might deem entertaining for the first year. The rent is a thousand a month, paid a month in advance; you split power and water down the middle, and if you add an extra profile to her Netflix—or worse, watch something using her profile—you’ll find yourself in the cone of shame. Do these terms appeal to you?”

“Hmm…” He glances my way and flashes a handsome smile. “Not really. But I’ll ask around to see if anyone else wants to bite.”

“Mmhm.” I twist back to Diesel and continue brushing. “You’re a coward. Small and weak.”

“I won’t be goaded,” he chuckles. “My sister cooks for me six nights out of seven. I’m not passing that up for just anybody. But don’t worry, I doubt it’ll be hard for you to find a new housemate.”

“I’m sure it’ll be easy,” I roll my eyes. “This town has more apartments than tenants, and my asking price is above market. Plus, those other places don’t have me bitching at their occupants for leaving a mess. Yeah, this is gonna be a breeze.”

“You know who might be interested?!” I peek over my shoulder and find Hannah’s eyes alight with excitement. AKA trouble. “Ruiz! Ugh, please take him in. He’s a pain in my ass and always cranky. He stays up late, wakes early, and if anyone says anything that offends him, he stomps around for days after and makes your life a living hell.”

I tickle under Diesel’s chin, and smile when the small dog hums in response. “Oh, he sounds charming. No thanks.”

“It could be perfect,” she pushes. “He works twenty-four-hour shifts with Axel three days a week, so that’s already heaps of time you won’t have to see him. And when he’s home, he’ll sleep a lot to make up for what he lost on shift. Besides, you can come over to our house and ignore him completely when things are tense. He likes to read, and stays in his room more often than not, so apart from stomping to the coffee machine and brandishing his bad mood if we’re out of creamer, he’s actually totally quiet and unobtrusive.”

“Uh-huh. And as a firefighter, I bet he cooks well, too.” I look to Jase and plead with my eyes. “Why don’t you move in, then make your sister cook for us both?”

“She would.” He leans back against the wall and cocks his hip. “If we were together, and a wedding was on the horizon and all that. But since I already dated Han,” he clicks his tongue, “I can’t hop from one friend to the next. It would be cheap and unethical of me. Plus, everyone in town would talk.”

“Please!” I place my fur-covered hands together as though in prayer. “I can tell her we’re in love. Nobody has to know.”

“But I’ll know,” he faux sighs. “And I already get the meals. So, ultimately—and I say this with utmost respect for my boss, who I adore very much, but… this sounds like a you problem, and not something I need to concern myself with.”

“Chicken.” I twist back to Diesel and brush him a little more thoroughly. I feel like I’m being rough, but he vibrates under my touch and leans into my hand.

I guess he likes it.

“I’ll put an ad in the paper or something and see what kind of interest pops up,” I grumble. “Worst-case scenario, I give up the apartment and sleep here with the dogs.” I lean in and drop a kiss to the top of Diesel’s forehead.

“You’re not sleeping with the dogs,” Hannah sighs. “Unless we’re talking about your secret one-night stand, in which case…” She flashes a wolfish grin, “Woof woof.”

“A one-night stand?!” Jase exclaims. “Excuse me, what? With who?”

“She won’t say,” Hannah drawls. “But I’m working on it.”

Matteo Ruiz

PURGATORY

“Alright.” Chief Rosa stops in front of his truck and holds the radio nestled against his chest. He’s new to the position as chief and not used to staying outside when the rest of us head into a lit building. “We’re here, Lieutenant Ruiz. Two stories, fully involved fire. The home is reported as empty. Everyone is out. You’re still new here, so: what are you gonna do? Talk it out for me.”

“We’re gonna search it anyway. Feeney.” I spin and find Axel two feet to my left, awaiting instructions. “And Sloane. Primary. I want you on the first floor and in the basement. Rizz and I will go up to the second. Patrick,” I turn and look for Ivy, the only female on my squad, and point toward the truck. “I want you on aerial.”

“Again?” she balks. “Lieutenant, I haven’t stepped foot inside a building in weeks. What the hell?”

“We play to our strengths.” I clap Axel on the shoulder and start him toward the home. It won’t be saved, but if there’s someone inside, maybe they will be. “Let’s go. Eyes open, slow your breath.”

I come to a stop at the door and wait a single beat for Feeney to kick it in, while behind us, Rizz and Sloane follow close. Flames roar ahead of us, angry that we dare encroach, and lick toward the fresh air our entrance provides.

“I want aerial up on the second,” I call into my radio. Ducking low, I lead my team through the door and inside the house that’ll be nothing more than a pile of bricks by morning. “Axel and Sloane, head left.”

I have to shout to be heard over the roar of the flames, but I supervise every one of my men. Watch their backs. Make damn sure I don’t send them to their deaths.

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