I sigh loudly. “Wild, you know me, sometimes I gotta follow my gut. I didn’t ask the other guys to follow me, they just did, and we ended up saving every fucking person in that building, including a woman who was stabbed by her asshole boyfriend.”
“I know that, and maybe we had our own rules up here, but you play by Grady Malone’s down there Ember.” His tone is serious.
“I will,” I growl.
“Then we cool, no more calls from the principal?”
“We’re cool. How’re the guys?”
“They’re assholes, but otherwise good. Pres is back on duty.”
“That’s good to hear. I can’t believe I’m admitting this, but I actually miss you fuckers.”
“Oh yeah, wanna say that again so I can record it?” He laughs.
“I do. These guys are cool. I made a couple of friends, but they aren’t you guys.”
“We’re pretty much one of a kind,” he retorts. “But, if you’re gonna be happy there, you have to get them to see the real you, Emb, none of that macho bullshit.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
“I am always right,” he responds.
“Thanks for the call, bro. Gotta mend some bridges, I guess.”
“You do that. Talk the next time you get into trouble.”
We end the call, and I feel slightly pissed off that Grady called my old colleague to check up on me. He must think I’m unstable or some shit.
I walk into the station,and I wonder if I should speak to him when I am this angry. He is my boss, after all. He’s sitting at his desk drinking coffee in a mug labelled “Hubby.” How fucking cheesy is that?
“Malone, can I have a word?” I ask, not bothering to knock but stepping into his office.
“Since you’re already here, do I have a choice?”
I shake my head and take a seat in one of the chairs opposite him.
“Go on.” He frowns.
“What you did wasn’t cool, and you know it. You got a problem with me, you say it to my face, you don’t go calling my old boss to get intel.”
“I have several problems with you, Ember, and your attitude is just one of them, the fact that you think you can question me is the other, but when I have a wildcard on my hands, I will call whoever the fuck I want. I’ll call your momma if I want to.”
“Oh, so I’m a wildcard? I don’t follow one order, which saved a woman’s life by the way, and now I am the one to watch?”
“Pretty much.” He takes another sip of his coffee.
“Is this about Shelby, Malone? ‘Cause this better not be about Shelby.”
He pins me with a stare. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“My personal life, who I date, has nothing to do with you, so you better back the fuck off.”
“You’re dating, Shelby?”
I stand. “I should not have gone it alone. I won’t break the code the next time.”
With that, I walk out of his office, not bothering to answer his question.
