He grins. “Now that’s what I’m talking about. You’re a whole different guy than the one who showed up at the station last week.”
“Obviously I feel more comfortable with the job now.”
“And with me.” He says, looking over confidently. “I’m pretty much your favorite person, right?”
Yes.
I shift in my seat, uncomfortable that he knows that. “I wouldn’t gothatfar. I don’t dislike you as much as most people.”
“Exactly. That’s what I’m saying. You hate everyone, but you like me.”
“I don’thateeveryone,” I murmur. “I just don’t trust people. They can be so disloyal. Why bother trying to get to know them? They’ll eventually let you down.”
I expect Liam to argue, but he doesn’t. Instead he sighs. “Yeah, shifters and humans can be really disappointing sometimes.”
I adjust the heater vent because I’m getting too warm. “I’m surprised you’d say that.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. You usually have a positive attitude about everything and everyone.” I stare out the window at the snow-covered trees that line Main Street. “You have no reason to be jaded. Everyone likes you. Your life seems pretty perfect.”
He glances at me like I’m an idiot. “Nobody’s life is perfect, including mine. I have problems.”
I laugh. “Like what? You’ve got the job you want and the girl you want. Your family adores you. You live in a place you love and you have a million friends.”
“I don’t have a million friends.” He smirks. “I have maybe a couple hundred at most.”
“The number of people who care aboutmein this world wouldn’t even take up one hand,” I mumble. “I don’t see what you’d have to complain about.”
As I finish speaking, a radio call comes through from dispatch.
“All units, structure fire reported at 74 Cedar Lane. Blue Pine Apartments. Multiple callers reporting smoke and visible flames on the second floor. Fire and EMS en route.”
I’m startled when I hear the address of the fire. The blood drains from my face and I turn to Liam. “Did she say Blue Pine Apartments?”
“She did.” His voice is grim as he flips on the lights and siren and he accelerates.
“Shit,” I say hoarsely, praying we heard dispatch wrong.
I stare through the windshield without seeing the road. All I can think about is the fact that everything I own is in that apartment. I don’t have much, but it’s still mine. I just got here. I just started clawing together the faintest outline of a life. Is my luckalreadyturning bad?
We turn onto Cedar Lane, and my stomach drops. I see thick, dark smoke billowing from the second floor windows on the east side of the old Victorian. A few windows are shattered, and orange flame licks outward, blackening the white trim. The big pines closest to the building have caught, flames spreading fast through the branches. Even inside the SUV, the acrid, chemical scent of old insulation and burning wood can be smelled.
People are gathered on the sidewalk. Some are huddled together, a few are on their phones, one woman is sitting on the curb with her face in her hands. A man is pacing near the street, shouting at no one in particular about his belongings still inside.
Liam pulls to the curb and we’re out of the SUV fast. My instinct is like that of any other person who sees their home on fire. I want to run and save my things. It’s only natural that those thoughts flit through my brain. But fortunately, my training takes over before my emotions can. What I need to do is secure the scene. Account for residents. Keep people back from the structure.
“I need everyone to move across the street,” I call out, using my command voice as I approach the group on the sidewalk. “Away from the building. Let’s go.” A few of them stare at me blankly, so I guide them with my hands, firm but calm. “Come on, folks. I know you’re upset, but I need you away from the structure and these trees.”
Liam is moving through the group, asking names and apartment numbers. “Who’s still inside?” he demands. “Does anyone know if all the tenants are out?”
An older man holding a cat carrier speaks up. “I haven’t seen Ellie come out yet. She was in her office when I came down the stairs.”
“I saw her heading to the second floor with a fire extinguisher,” a young woman says, eyes wide. “I tried to stop her but she wouldn’t listen.”
That gets my attention, but I stay focused on moving people away from the building. Sirens are closing in from the south as fire and EMS approach.
“Anyone else besides Ellie unaccounted for?” Liam asks.
