All I had left was a dead phone someone had plugged in to charge, no wallet, borrowed scrubs from the hospital, and a firefighter’s jacket that smelled of their scents.
I pulled the jacket tighter and told myself I was just cold.
Movement outside caught my eye. I crossed to the window and pulled back the thin curtain just enough to see the street below.
The freckled one.Percy.
He was sitting on a bench across the street with a coffee cup in one hand and a paperback in the other. Not even pretending to hide. When he caught me looking, he straightened up and pointed at himself, then made a walking motion with two fingers, circling them around.
Patrol, he mouthed, then pointed down the street and back again.
Right. Patrol. Because firefighters definitely patrolled small-town streets at seven in the morning with paperbacks and lattes.
I raised an eyebrow.
He shrugged, grinned, and waved. Actually waved, as if this was normal.
Maybe it was normal here.
Small towns were different. Neighbors checked on neighbors. People brought casseroles when bad things happened and asked too many questions at the grocery store. Maybe this was just what firefighters did after pulling someone from a burning building. Followed up, made sure the victim didn’t have a breakdown in her cheap inn room.
Or maybe he was keeping watch because he knew danger was still out there.
That thought should have unsettled me more than it did.
Against my better judgment, I waved back.
His grin got bigger. He held up the coffee cup in a salute and went back to his book.
I should have been annoyed. Should have marched downstairs and told him to leave, that I didn’t need a babysitter, that I’d been taking care of myself for six months without three strange men deciding I required supervision.
Instead, I stood at the window watching him read and felt something loosen in my chest.
He wasn’t crowding me. Wasn’t demanding anything or banging on my door insisting I let him in. He was just there, close enough to help if I needed it, far enough to give me space.
And the part of me that had spent months jumping at shadows, checking locks before bed, sleeping with a knife under my pillow? That part of me finally exhaled.
Having him out there felt safe. I didn’t trust it. But I couldn’t deny it either.
When was the last time someone had given me space while still making me feel protected?
My phone buzzed on the nightstand. I’d forgotten they’d charged it. The screen showed a text.
Unknown Number:Coffee’s getting cold. Want me to bring one up? Two sugars, right?
I stared at the message. How the hell did he know how I took my coffee?
Before I could spiral too far down that rabbit hole, sirens split the morning quiet.
I looked out the window in time to see Percy leap off the bench, phone pressed to his ear, his whole body going tense. Another text followed.
Unknown Number:Sorry, there’s a big fire emergency but I’ll be quick. Sol will come here in a bit, okay?
He looked up at my window the same time I lifted my gaze and mouthed two words.
‘Stay here.’
I sighed and gave him a thumbs up.
