Wildfire Griffin (Fire & Rescue Shifters: Wildfire Crew #1)(31)

She was caught in his eyes like a fly in amber. Words fell from her head. The only one that remained was yes.

Yes, to anything he suggested. Yes, to him.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“That’s all I ask.” He handed her the shirt. “Try this on.”

He turned his back, giving her privacy. She shuddered and gasped, the rest of the world coming back like a slap of cold water.

Slowly, she pulled the crew t-shirt over her head. She couldn’t think of an excuse to avoid trying it on. And, if she was honest with herself, she wanted to try it on. Just once.

Just for one more minute, she wanted to pretend. That she could be a hotshot, someone that Rory could respect. Maybe even someone that he could call sexy.

“There.” Rory had turned round again. His mouth curved in a smile so purely happy that she wanted to cry. “See? A perfect fit.”

It didn’t feel like a perfect fit. It felt itchy and uncomfortable, like her own lies. She twitched her shoulders.

“Hang on, the label’s sticking out.” He put one hand on her shoulder, the other curving around the back of her neck. “Hold still.”

She couldn’t have moved if the building had been on fire. The discomfort of the new t-shirt against her skin faded into irrelevance. All she was aware of was the warmth of his breath against her skin, the closeness of his body.

Gently, he tucked the label back in. He smoothed the fabric down, making sure it lay completely flat. “There. Perfect.”

He still hadn’t moved away. Her breath caught. He seemed to have stopped breathing too.

“Perfect,” Rory said again, in the barest whisper.

She didn’t dare turn her head. She took a deep breath, summoning all her courage. “Rory, I have to tell you—“

A loud cough came from behind them.

Edith sprang away from Rory guiltily. He did the same, although he didn’t let go of her shoulder.

“Chief,” Rory said, flushing to the roots of his hair. “I was, uh, helping Edith. With her gear.”

“So I can see,” Buck said, folding his arms. “If you’ve quite finished, I need to talk to her. Alone.”

Rory’s fingers tightened, as though he’d felt her tense up. “It’s okay,” he murmured in her ear. “He’s cranky, but fair. You can trust him.”

With a last parting squeeze, Rory released her. She squelched an urge to clutch at his sleeve and beg him not to go. Something of her dismay must have shown on her face, because he hesitated at the top of the stairs.

“I won’t go far,” he said. “I’ll be right outside.”

“No you won’t.” Buck shooed Rory away as if he was a pigeon. “You will be writing. In my office, where I have thoughtfully left you an incident report form to fill out. With words arranged to form semi-coherent sentences. That I can actually file without having to attach a hand-written note of apology to whoever has to read it!”

He shouted this last bit down the stairs, as Rory beat a hasty retreat. Buck glared after the squad boss for a moment, as though checking to make sure he was really gone, before turning back to her.

“I don’t like having you on A-squad,” Buck said without preamble.

His words hit her like a gut-punch. He hadn’t exactly welcomed her with open arms before, but he had said that she was on the crew. What had happened? Had he somehow figured out her secret? Was he firing her?

Buck’s mouth thinned. “But I don’t have a choice. The other squads are full, so I’ve got nowhere else to put you.”

That didn’t sound like an instant dismissal. He couldn’t know.

Which meant that she had to tell him. Right now.

“S-sir.” Apprehension churned in her stomach. She felt sick with dread. “I, I need to tell you—“

“I’m talking,” Buck cut her off. “You listen. And you better listen good. Rory needs you here, which means I need you here.”

She was reduced to staring at him in confusion again.

“But.” The chief raised a finger, glowering more fiercely than ever. “I will not have any more deaths on my head. While you’re on my crew, I’m responsible for you. And that means that if I get the slightest hint that you are not fit for this job, I will fire you in a hot second. No matter how it messes up my crew or my plans.”

“I don’t understand,” she whispered.

“If you go, so does Rory. Without Rory, all of A-squad collapses.” His cold eyes flayed the flesh from her bones. “And I need A-squad. So you better throw everything you’ve got into persuading me you’re an asset and not a liability. Understand me now?”

She didn’t. Didn’t understand how this could be a man who Rory respected. Didn’t understand how he could have called him fair. Didn’t understand how anyone could be so cruel, so spiteful, as to chain Rory’s fate to hers.

She knew Buck had been angry at Rory for hiring her, but this angry? Furious enough to make Rory pay the price if she failed? To fire them both if—when—she made a mistake?

Buck frowned at her. “I expect crew to answer me, Edith. Not a great start.”

It took all of her willpower to stop her hands from shaping her distress in the air. Her shoulders and arms were rigid as iron.

“Y-yes, chief,” she forced out past numb lips. “I understand.”