“I just wanted to see him,” Emerson said. “I just…” He shook his head, not willing to expose the wound Randall had left behind. “It’s been a shit day.”
“He can’t be the soft spot you land on after a bad day, Emerson. Go find another man to seek comfort in.”
Anger swept through Emerson. “Are you really trying to protect him? Or is this more about whatyoustand to lose?”
Davis eyed him, his expression an emotionless mask. “What do you think I stand to lose?”
“Him,” Emerson said. “No man would fight this hard if he didn’t have feelings.”
Rage bloomed on Davis’s face. He swiftly closed the gap between them, his fists closed.
Emerson lifted his chin, refusing to back down.
Davis trembled with fury, seemingly struggling himself. Suddenly, his eyes went wide and he searched Emerson’s face, blinking. After a couple of seconds, he took a step back. “You’re the second person today who’s insinuated that I’m jealous. Let me be clear. I’m not. Dash is myfriend.”
Emerson searched Davis’s face, sensing a bit of doubt from the man. Even so, it rang true to some degree, too.
“Dash and I have been through a lot of shit. I don’t know if you’re aware, but we were on the same team at the Guard. I’ve always been the one to pull his ass out of the fire,” Davis said. “I’mthe one he calls because he knows I’ll always be there.”
“Isthatthe problem? There was a fire last night and he didn’t call you.”
Davis didn’t reply, but from the look on his face, Emerson sensed he might’ve hit close to the mark.
“Maybe it is,” Davis finally said after a few seconds. “But don’t confuse that with me wanting him. He’s like a brother, and I protect those I consider family.”
“If that’s truly all it is, then I get the concern,” Emerson said.
“Iamalso worried about our business. I think I have a right to be. Those ripples I mentioned? We employ sixteen people. They’d lose their jobs, their income, their security net. Their families rely on them and that paycheck they get each week. This isn’t me being selfish. It’s an entire company of men Dash has handpicked, trained, put his trust into… and they trust him to keep the fucking lights on. Being with you threatens that.”
Emerson hadn’t considered them in his desire to have Dash in his bed. He’d been too short-sighted to think outside the space of his cabin and the two of them inside it.
“But the worst part is Dash goes to prison when you two are caught. Him and you both. You’d really let that happen to him?”
“Ifwe got caught,” Emerson said.
Davis chuckled, sarcasm rife in the sound.“If… Every man sitting in prison thought the same thing.”
Emerson drew in a ragged breath.
“I’ve never seen anyone throw Dash off as much as you do—and trust me, that manneedssomeone to throw him off balance. He takes life way too seriously. But I also understandwhyhe takes things too seriously. Hehasto. So do you.”
Emerson struggled to breathe. Davis was right.
Maybe his family was right about him, too. He was the irresponsible twin after all.
“I’m sure a hotshot alpha firefighter is used to taking risks. Just be careful who ends up burned here, Walker. Don’t let it be Dash.”
Emerson stared at Davis, hating that the man was right. He couldn’t let Dash be the one burned—even if that meant they never saw one another again.
“Do me a favor.Don’ttell him I was here,” Emerson said before he spun and stalked towards his truck, feeling like retching.
Emerson had always known he’d end up alone, but seeing fate hand him the perfect man—a man he could never truly be with—was an even bigger slap in the fucking face. He tore through town, speeding through city streets, careening through intersections, and nearly sideswiping another vehicle. He didn’t slow. He didn’t stop.
Not until he reached the farthest outer wall to the north.
Emerson screeched to a halt in front of a doorway built into the smooth stone. He used the fire department code to enter the service corridor into the ten-foot-thick barrier and climbed the metal stairs to the very top. Once on the ledge outside, the wind blew hard off the nearby mountains.
He looked out to the wilderness below. The soil was too sloped and rocky to make good farmland, so the ancient forest endured. It was quiet. The two nearest Guard towers were far enough away he wouldn’t have company for a while—not until someone noticed his code use and sent someone to check it out.
