Page 59 of Wrecked on the Mountain

Instead, the main office is deadly quiet. All except for the familiar noise of the flashing electronics and the soft sound of... moaning?

What the fuck?!

I freeze in the doorway, heartbeat thundering in my ears, while my brain immediately conjures up a dozen nightmare scenarios to explain those soft, breathy sounds echoing from the monitoring station down the hall.

Every protective instinct I've honed through years of military service and mountain rescues flares to life, along with something darker and more possessive.

I storm into the operations room and it's Chase.

His back is to me, head thrown back, eyes closed, making soft sounds of pleasure that make my vision go red around the edges.

Brooke is the only other one on the roster tonight. I knew I should have fucking changed that when I saw it.

Every rational thought I've ever had disappears in a flood of pure, possessive rage. I storm across the room, ready to tear Chase Morrison's fucking head off for touching what's mine.

"What the hell is going on here?!" I roar.

Chase jumps out of his chair like he's been shot, spinning around with wide eyes and startles so big he dumps an entire bag of gummy bears all over himself.

Bright colored candies scatter across the floor like confetti, and Chase stands there covered in his favorite snacks, looking like a kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Jesus Christ, Strike!" he gasps, clutching his chest. "You scared the shit out of me, man!"

I stare at him, brain struggling to process the scene in front of me. "What... what… what the fuck were you doing?!"

"Eating gummy bears," he says, eyebrows shooting up. "What the fuck did you think I was doing?"

"Getting a fucking blowjob from my girlfriend!" I bark out before I can stop myself.

Chase's jaw drops. The room goes dead silent except for the gentle patter of a stray gummy bear still somehow rolling across the floor.

"I was eating GUMMY BEARS, man!" Chase screams back, his voice cracking. "What is wrong with you?!"

I stand there, my chest heaving, as reality crashes down around me.

The empty station. The moaning. The goddamn candy.

I've officially lost my goddamn mind.

The evidence of my insanity lies scattered across the floor in neon colors, each little bear a witness to my complete psychological breakdown.

All because I heard the man having a religious experience with some sugar-coated candy.

"Your... girlfriend?" Chase's expression shifts from outrage to delight. "So you and Doc Shields are official now?"

I want to melt into the floor and disappear forever.

"Shut up and give me one of those."

Chase grins but doesn't say another word. "They're the good ones from Germany. My sister sends them to me. They're fucking amazing."

He extends his hand toward me, offering a small handful of the colorful treats. I shake my head and he bends down to start collecting the scattered candy, still talking a mile a minute.

"I was savoring them, you know? Taking my time. These things are like twenty bucks a bag, so I make them last. Was just getting to the cherry ones when you came bursting in here like the building was on fire."

He was eating candy.

He was eating fucking candy.