Gabe heard the tones go off in his brother’s fire station a moment before the tones rang out in his own.
“Gotta go, Gabe.”
“Yeah. Me too.” He shoved the phone into his pocket and strode through the open bay, meeting his buddies at the truck. He didn’t usually drive, but for some reason, he wanted to. He wanted to feel in control ofsomething. “Mind if I drive, Captain?”
The captain glanced over at the probie who usually drove for experience and said, “Sure. Think you can remember where you’re going?”
Everyone snickered, because Gabe had grown up in that neighborhood, and now working in the South End, he could pretty much claim his whole life had been spent in it.
“I think I can find my way around.” He jumped into the driver’s seat, and as soon as everyone was in, he pulled out onto Tremont Street and headed around the corner. The area they were heading to wasn’t the best, but it was far from the worst the city had to offer.
“Might as well get the Narcan out now,” the captain said.
“Did they say anything about a possible OD?” Gabe asked.
“No. But we’re supposed to meet someone at a car, and it seems like more than half of our calls lately have been about overdoses, not fires.”
“I wish they’d come to us. It would be a lot easier.” Only three minutes later, Gabe was pulling in between a gas station and a fast-food place. A car parked behind the restaurant had been identified as the location they had to investigate.
An anxious woman strode up to the truck’s window. All of them except Gabe exited the vehicle while the captain spoke to the woman.
“I tell you, we smelled gas. There’s some kind of gas leak.”
Gabe almost groaned aloud.
“Where?” the captain asked.
“My husband and I are parked right over there.” She pointed at a parked car with a man in the driver’s seat.
“Why is he just sitting in the car?”
The woman made a sound of disgust. “He thinks I’m being ridiculous.”
“It’s not ridiculous to investigate something that might be dangerous,” the captain said.
The woman stuck her hands on her hips. “Thank you. That’s what I was thinking too. Would you mind coming over and telling that to my husband?”
The captain smiled. “I should talk to him anyway, but not necessarily about how right you were.” He waved over the probie, and the two of them went to the car in the distance. Gabe couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but he saw some nodding and pointing. Eventually, they returned to the truck.
Gabe rolled down his window. “What is it?”
The rookie, a guy they called Fritz because his last name was German, said, “We have to poke around a while and make it look like we’re investigating a gas leak.”
Gabe’s brows shot up. “Why wouldn’t you?”
The guy shrugged. “The husband thinks it’s just the gas station smell and that his wife’s not used to it. She doesn’t even drive, never mind pump her own gas.”
The captain added, “He said the odor smells no worse than any other gas station. But we’ll go and sniff around, just to make sure. Sit tight.”
Gabe thought he’d take the opportunity to call Misty. Maybe he could get her to give him some kind of preliminary or tentative answer. Then he glanced at his watch and realized she’d still be at work. Damn. He didn’t want to get her in trouble with her douche bag boss.
He sighed as he thought about who else he could call.Parker.His mother’s words were stuck in his head. He had thought about standing next to the pool while everyone else was in there splashing around and having a good time. That got him off his ass enough to propose.
But there was more she got him thinking about. And that was how he just sort of let life happen to him, instead of deciding what he wanted to happen and making it so. Right now, he wanted Parker’s forgiveness, blessing, or whatever else would get them back into each other’s favor.
“What the hell,” he muttered. A moment later, he dialed Parker.
“I didn’t think I’d hear from you after the other day.” Parker hadn’t even bothered to say hello. Maybe he was anxious to talk too.
