“Right away. They’re with me now. Where are you?”
“Corner of Abner and Hatchet. There's been an explosion on the west side of Sparks. A meth lab.”
Brock clenched his teeth. That meant things were dire. He wasn't eager to find out what was next. It was his team's day off, so if the chief was calling him it was for good reason. “Is anyone injured?”
“Yeah.”
From B-shift?”
“Yeah.”
“How bad? Who is it?”
“It's not looking good. I need your team here, Moore.”
His chest clenched from the news of an injured B-shift crew member. If they were lucky none of the injuries would be serious. That was when he noticed the Chief had completely avoided his question about who was injured.
“Got it. We'll be there soon.”
He jammed the phone into his pocket and leveled his gaze on Sky. “Time to go.”
She shrugged one shoulder. “No worries. It's your job. I'm at work too. I almost forgot there for a minute.”
Reaching forward, Brock opened the door for Sky to get inside, and they both hurried into the dining area. Toby gave Brock a nod when he noticed Brock carrying the work phone in his hand. Almost as one, the three men at the table pushed their chairs back and stood, ready to leave.
“Meth lab explosion,” Brock said simply.
Joleen was back, holding a plate of onion rings. Her brow furrowed. “You have to go?”
“Sorry,” Jax apologized. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Even fried food can't get in the way of our job,” Toby said. “Lil, I'll leave the car here with you. I'll ride with Jax.”
“All right.”
“We'll make sure she gets home all right,” Joleen said.
Brock turned quickly and headed back towards the front door, followed by his crew. Sky had disappeared off somewhere, and he was partly glad for it. Seeing her would only distract him, and remind him of that kiss that stirred up more longing than he could deal with right now. His body was sure to ache with need for hours at least, probably all night long. Right now his focus needed to be on responding to that meth lab fire, protecting his crew and helping the B-shift crew wherever the Chief saw fit. Knowing one of them could be seriously injured added to the urgency. Brock sped up, eager to get to his truck.
“What did Chief say?” Jax asked as he fell into step beside Brock outside the bar entrance. The gravel crunched under their feet.
“There's at least one injury on B-shift.”
“Dammit.” Jax sucked in a sharp breath.
“I’ll meet you all at the fire house. We need to gear up.”
Jax, Toby and Nash nodded.
They had parked their vehicles near Brock’s, and each one swung up into their trucks without another word. Brock did the same. His head pounded and the blood in his veins ran hot as he pulled out of the parking lot.
He had a bad feeling about this fire, and his gut clenched with dread about who was actually hurt.
4
Sky leaned against the bar, waiting for the two beer pitchers for table nine. Hopefully they would make that the last round for the rowdy party. The night's business hadn't picked up any, and she was eager to go home. Brock's kiss was still lingering on her lips, and although she held onto a shred of hope he might come back into the bar, she knew it wasn't likely. He and his crew could be out all night. Sky herself would be off work in less than an hour.
“What are you sighing about?” Joleen asked, appearing out of nowhere.
“Oh. Nothing.”
“I can just guess.”
Sky smirked. “You'd probably be right.”
Joleen smiled, but there was something sympathetic and sad about it. Sky straightened up and tried to forget about it. She didn't need to be pitied.
John, the bartender, slammed the two frothy pitchers onto the counter. “You’re all set for table nine, Sky.”
“Thanks.” She grabbed one pitcher in each hand and took it to her customers.
When she returned to the bar, Joleen asked, “So. What's up with Lily? She looks kind of lonely over there.”
“She probably is,” Joleen agreed. “My wild and raucous bunch at table three just paid. I'll go sit with her for a few.”
“I just have to run a couple more pitchers to table six. Be there in a second.”
Lily was sitting alone at the table with her shoulders hunched, scrolling through her phone at a disinterested pace.
“Found anything interesting?” Sky asked, leaning against Lily’s table with her hip.
She noticed Joleen had gotten sidetracked by some new patrons who had just been seated in her section. Joleen stood on the other side of the floor, writing down an order while nodding.
“Nope,” Lily replied, swiping her screen off abruptly. She seemed edgy tonight. “What about with you? Anything interesting going on?”
“Not really.”
Lily cocked a perfectly arched eyebrow. “Oh really?”
“Yes,” Sky slowly replied. “Why are you asking like that? Did you hear anything?”