Page 78 of Burn Protocol

When her eyes finally flutter open, a tear rolls down her face, tracing a path on her slick skin. Not one of pain or sadness, but one of relief. Her lips find my temple in a soft kiss that says more than any words can, before she leans back into the pillow, happily floating in the aftermath. For the first time in days the silence between us isn’t painful and empty, but laced with the promise of our second chance.

My muscles ache as I walk into the station. I’ve never been late to a shift before. And I’m not just a little late either—thirty freaking minutes. Maya is hot on my heels, even though we each drove our own car here.

We quickly discussed whether she should come in later, but neither of us wanted to go down that route again. She is no secret. She is my choice—and now officially my partner. Not that we will be stupid about it. No. We have a plan.

We talked about it the whole night. I will speak to Salisar, and she will come clean in her article since she is no longer objective. She can mitigate how it reflects on her credibility by disclaiming our relationship. It would out us both, so we agreed that we will tell those who need to know first. Like the Chief and my crew.

Tommy’s eyes narrow as I rush in. He opens his mouth to speak but I raise my hand. I have no time. I take long strides past his desk while he glares at me furiously, but as I push through the door I hear his voice, chipper as always.

“Maya, how are you today?”

I roll my eyes. He is such a suck-up. But Maya has no time for it today either, and she is not afraid to tell him. I grin as I feel her right behind me, nearly jogging now to keep up. I glance over my shoulder apologetically. There’s no time to slow down. But she just winks and I feel my stomach flutter. The warmth spreads to my cheeks. I really am the luckiest woman in the world. She chose me—twice.

We cross the bay and I can already hear Díaz’s laughter. But before we can walk up the steel stairs, a wolf whistle echoes through the hall. I freeze on the spot and whip my head back toward the sound. Moreno from the ladder crew flashes me a disgusting grin.

“Thirty minutes late, huh, Gonzales? Did you score with your little lady here last night?”

The way he lets his gaze roam over Maya makes my blood boil. But the way she folds into herself really sets me off. I move toward him, but a hand clamps down on my shoulder and holds me back just in time. I try to shrug it off, but it stays firmly in place.

“Back off, Moreno. You are way out of line.”

Rivera steps in front of me now, his posture rigid and his free hand clenched into a fist. He normally isn’t an aggressive person—this behavior isn’t like him at all—but the way he defends me gives me pause. I glance back at Maya, who is staring at us with those big innocent eyes. This time I don’t hesitate and pull her closer, my eyes scanning her face. When her gaze meets mine, I see her swallow and slightly straighten her spine. Good girl.

“Oh for fuck’s sake, Rivera, look at them. Everyone knows they like to get steamy in the shower.”

“Excuse you?” I snap, twisting my head back toward him.

The heated tone of our conversation garners attention and both our crews gather around. My molars are grinding so hard into each other that I might actually break one.

“What? You trying to tell me you are not tapping that?” Moreno gestures at Maya.

“You will do yourself a favor and not speak about anybody in that manner,” I snarl back through gritted teeth. “Especially not if it involves a guest.”

“What the hell is going on here?”

Torres puffs out his chest as he comes up from the back. His eyes dark and calculating. They jump from Maya, to me, to Moreno. His lips turn into a tight line and his nostrils flare.

“What is it with you and assaulting my crew?”

His voice is laced with venom. Before I respond, though, Rivera closes the distance between him and Torres, towering over him. Their chests nearly touch as he looks down.

“You filthy little rat. Asking what is going on as if this is not exactly what you were gunning for the whole time.” I’ve never heard his voice this low, this threatening.

“What I was gunning for?” Torres lifts his chin and raises an eyebrow.

“Yes, exactly what I said. With your gossip and your stories. You are nothing but a disgrace to the station. A rat that is too scared to talk to his co-workers, so he goes running to the chief instead.”

“For crying out loud, that wasn’t me.”

Torres lets his gaze fall onto Maya and then onto me. There is something else in his eyes now. Not sorrow or regret, but an understanding. An offering. Rivera puffs out his chest again, but before he can make a mistake that all of us will pay for, I call him off.

“Enough, Eduardo.”

He turns slowly as he hears me refer to him by his first name. His eyes soften before he nods and takes two steps back, next to me and Maya.

“Speak,” he growls.

“I never spoke to Salisar. Even though the… well, the situation is kind of clear to everyone with eyes.” Torres shakes his head, but doesn’t smile. There is no amusement in his voice. “Gonzales, you must know that none of us are like that. We are all firefighters here. Yeah, our crews might get competitive, but we are all part of the same family, are we not?”