Page 40 of Up In Smoke
I need a distraction. Apparently, rushing into a raging blaze isn’t good enough for me. I have no idea whatwouldbe good enough, though. At this point, I’m open to trying anything.
“Everything okay, Lieutenant?” Lochlan asks as he jogs up to me. “You’re not hurt, are you?”
I love that for someone who looks a little like a Celtic barbarian misplaced in time, he has one of the biggest hearts I’ve ever known. “I’m fine, Bell,” I assure him. Even though I’ve been getting better at using the teams’ first names in social settings,it still feels right to use their surnames while on call. And I’m definitely not calling him ‘Beast’ while we’re out on a job.
He crooks an eyebrow at me. “You sure? You look like you saw a ghost.”
Isn’t that the truth?
I avoid looking at the house fire and nod at him as I screw the lid back on my empty water bottle, tossing it in the can on the truck so I can recycle it when we get back to the house. “Strange head space,” I admit truthfully enough. “Is the rest of the fire out?”
“Yep, looks so,” he says proudly, puffing his chest out. “It seems like the damage might not be so bad, after all. We’ll know more once the investigators get here.”
“Good, that’s good,” I say sincerely. “Let’s go give a hand with the clean-up. Otherwise, Kwon will accuse us of slacking.”
“Oh, you know she already is,” Lachlan says with a snort.
We head back over to the smoldering house, and I leave my ghosts in the past where they belong. It’s strange. Most of the time my memories don’t affect me at all. I wouldn’t have chosen this career if they did. But sometimes they catch me completely off guard, and when that happens there’s a good chance they’re going to haunt me all day.
I’m not looking forward to that.
I don’t like hoping for busy shifts, because that would mean putting energy out into the world that wished people harm. But I would rather keep occupied if possible. Maybe I could set up a ladder exercise at the back of the station. We haven’t run one in a while, and the team’s bitching about it will certainly entertain me.
Enough to not dwell on the sounds of a video game I haven’t played in a lifetime.
We stick around the remnants of the house fire for another hour or so until we’re satisfied nothing is going to spark back tolife and the investigators have already started poking about. The working theory seems to be a faulty plug socket in the kitchen. If we can prove that, the family’s insurance should cover most if not all of the costs. I hope that’s the case.
Speaking of insurance covering essential costs, I’m surprised when we arrive back at the station to find Captain Padilla waiting for us, sharing a cup of coffee with Mrs. Bloom. The sight of them makes me nervous, as the last time they were together as far as I know was at my top-secret wedding. We didn’t specifically tell them not to mention it to anyone, but I hope they’re aware no one else was invited for a reason. If they start chatting about it now, I’m going to have to do some very awkward explaining to the rest of the team.
“The heroes return!” Padilla calls out with a cheerful wave as we disembark from the rigs. “How was the call? Good, I hope. Otherwise, I’ve just put my foot in it.” She frowns, like it only just occurred to her that we could be coming back from a tragedy.
Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.
“Nah, it was fine, Captain,” Julian says, walking over to shake her hand. “Our paramedics are transporting the family to San Clemente General for a checkup, but the only real damage was structural. This is a nice surprise. To what do we owe the pleasure?”
“A girl can’t just stop by for cake?” Padilla asks, mimicking offence as she clutches her chest. I assume the slices of red velvet they’re indulging in has been freshly baked from our neighbor. I also really hope there’s lots left over for the rest of us. Without time for breakfast earlier, we’re all starving.
“You know you’re welcome any time, Lucy,” Valentine says with a grin as he leans down to squeeze her shoulders. I love how they have a sibling-like relationship, always giving each other crap but deep down, they’re incredibly supportive.
“And what about me?” Mrs. Bloom asks mischievously.
“We couldn’t keep you out of here even if we tried,” Valentine tells her with a wink.
“And we did try,” Sawyer cries playfully. “But Miss Margot Fontayn is too good at lock picking!”
The Shih Tzu in question raises her head, eyes blinking beneath the teal and gold sparkly clip she’s wearing in her long hair today.
Mrs. Bloom hums and crooks an eyebrow. “There’s more cake in the kitchen, you scallywags.”
“Already found it!” Lili shouts with her mouth full.
Not everyone’s running for food, however. Lochlan’s looking around with a frown. “Hey, have you guys seen Rocky? He normally comes to greet us when we get back from a call.”
“Oh, that would be my fault,” Padilla says, brushing crumbs off her hands before putting two fingers in her mouth. She lets rip an almighty whistle that they probably hear over in San Clemente, let alone the rest of the house. But it does the job, because within seconds, we hear the scrambling of paws on linoleum.
Two sets of paws, actually.
Lochlan’s Dalmatian, Rocky, comes tearing into view. But he’s being chased by a German Shepherd who looks to be having just as much fun as him. The two dogs barrel into the dining area and start hoping around each other, barking excitedly.