Wildfire Griffin (Fire & Rescue Shifters: Wildfire Crew #1)(26)

The man muttered a profanity, rubbing his forehead as if he had a headache. “At least tell me she’s qualified.”

“Chief!” Seth spluttered. “You can’t-!”

“Edith’s got her Red Card, sir,” Blaise said loudly, drowning out Seth’s protest. “And we’ve all seen her work. We can vouch for her.”

The man’s shoulders fell in a sigh. “Then she’s in.”

“Chief!”

“Take a hike, Seth,” the chief snapped without looking round.

From the chorus of groans that went up, he hadn’t meant it metaphorically. The crowd broke up, hotshots pulling on discarded shirts and boots. Seth threw Edith a poisonous glance over his shoulder as he led his squad off in the direction of the woods.

“Am I paying the rest of you to catch fires or flies?” Buck swept the remaining hotshots with an impartial glare. “B-squad, those tools aren’t going to sharpen themselves. A-squad, why is your truck still loaded up? Are you waiting for valet service, perhaps?”

“Let’s go, boys,” Tanner told his squad. “Nice to meet you, Edith.”

Rory hesitated as Blaise and the others headed back to the vehicle. “Ah, chief? A word?”

“No,” the hawk-faced man said flatly. “You do not want me to have words with you right now, Rory. Does this look like a happy, smiling face? Go and get your tools unloaded and out of my reach before I succumb to the urge to beat you over the head with your own Pulaski.”

Rory exchanged a glance with Fenrir. The big dog came forward, shoving his head under Edith’s hand. She wound her fingers into his fur, grateful for his silent presence as Rory trailed reluctantly after the rest of the squad.

The man waited until Rory had disappeared behind the truck before turning back to her. He didn’t offer his hand. “I’m Superintendent Buck Frazer. Crew call me chief to my face, and names I pretend not to know behind my back. You used to hard work?”

Edith nodded mutely.

“No you aren’t,” Buck said, matter-of-fact. “Not like this. But you will be. I’ll be straight with you—this won’t be an easy ride. I’ll push you to your limits, not anyone else’s. Don’t expect to be able to coast on your abilities.”

Her abilities? What abilities? Edith stared at him, wondering if she’d somehow misheard.

Buck glanced around, as though checking for eavesdroppers. His gravelly voice lowered even further. “So…what are you, exactly?”

Her breath froze in her throat. He knew, somehow he knew, he could tell she wasn’t like other people…but in that case, why had he agreed to hire her?

Buck’s ferocious eyebrows bristled at her. “Spit it out, woman. Whatever it is, it can’t be weirder than the rest of them. Though from what I overheard, I have a terrible suspicion that you’re about to tell me you’re a damn rabbit. If that’s the case, I really am going to whack Rory with a blunt instrument.”

Fenrir barked, sharp and urgent. Rory appeared at her side so fast, she hadn’t had time to even begin to formulate a reply. He gripped Buck’s arm, which seemed to Edith like a good way to lose a hand.

“Chief.” Rory’s chest heaved for breath. “We need to talk. In private. Right now.”





Chapter 10





“She’s not a shifter?!”

Rory winced. He could only pray that the thick log walls of the office had muffled the chief’s explosion. The last thing he needed was for Edith—or any of the other normal humans on the crew—to overhear any of this.

“Chief, I can explain,” he started.

“I’m sure you can,” Buck cut him off. “But what you are going to do is shut up.”

Rory had worked for Buck for three years. He recognized that tone of voice. Usually when Buck spoke like that, he was saying things like “fire on the ridge” or “deploy emergency shelters, now.”

Rory shut up.

Buck let out his breath. Deliberately, he placed his large, scarred hands flat on his desk, palm down. Rory had the distinct impression that the chief would much rather be wrapping them around his neck.

“Rory,” the superintendent said, still in that frighteningly calm tone. “When I found out you were a shifter, what did I say?”

Rory hesitated, trying to judge if it was a rhetorical question. From the way Buck’s eyes narrowed, it wasn’t. “That you needed more people like me. Sir.”

“And why do you think I want shifters on my crew?”

“Because our powers enable us to fight fire more effectively than normal humans. Chief, I know Edith isn’t as strong or tough as a shifter. But she really is a damn good firefighter, and the rest of us can work harder to compensate—“

“I don’t need a good firefighter,” Buck cut in. “I have good firefighters lining up to spit-polish my boots at the start of every season. I have so many applications from good firefighters, I could wipe my ass all year with resumes. What I need are shifters.”

“She won’t slow us down. We’ll cut line at the same rate, I promise.”

Buck shook his head. “This isn’t about fighting fire. Damn it, boy. It never was about fighting fire.”