The Lieutenant had requested a sit down with me, and as I pulled into the parking lot, there were a lot more cars than I had expected. As I walked into the conference room, my eyes instantly zeroed in on the Captain.

Closing my eyes, I felt my shoulders slump. Of course, he was there. Everyone important was still in town for the fundraiser, and Jet had texted me late last night to explain that it was the Captain’s wife who ended up wearing the drink Jessa had thrown.

It was bad. Really bad.

I walked in and surveyed the room around me. My eyes connected with my team, and I frowned in confusion. Fuckers. I had told the Lieutenant to leave them out of it. It was my mess to clean up. But no, of course not. All three of the clowns were there, sitting down awaiting our fate.

We all made a pact back in the beginning; one falls, we all fall. Didn’t mean I had to be happy about it.

Chief was standing in the far corner, arms crossed over his chest, and eyes closed with his head resting back against the wall. Sitting in my Lieutenants chair was the Deputy Chief.

Jet was sitting next to Ax, his head in his hands, and the moment he heard me walk in the room, his head snapped up with dread in his eyes. Ax looked like he didn’t have a care in the world. He sat on the couch, legs spread, slouched back, and scrolling through his phone. Not only was I accountable for Jessa’s actions last night, but I had my best friends’ careers riding on my shoulders.

For a moment, I thought I was going to lose my job, and if that had been the outcome, I don’t know what I would have done.

I was suspended until further notice.

We’re lucky that’s all it ended up being. But the investigation isn’t complete until we determine how Jessa managed to get into the event, especially considering she was so intoxicated. We were hoping to pull in a lot of money for resources and sponsorships, but Jessa’s blatant fuck up cost not only our team a great deal but the community too.

The tension in the room was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, but somehow we’re all lucky enough to have walked out of there still holding on to our jobs. The worst part was that I didn’t even have it in me to listen to what they were saying as I’d been anxious all morning, waiting to hear from the hospital about my baby.

How the fuck could she think it was okay getting herself that out of control, and how fucking long has she been doing this? Right now, I can’t even allow my thoughts to go there. There’s no way that any of this will turn out alright. I’ve failed to protect my baby already.

This is my fault. She did this because of me.

“Here we go,” I sigh, throwing open the door of my truck and getting out before I start heading inside. The girls are still at my mom’s place. She called me after hearing what happened at work. Small town gossip, got to love that.

My brother had called worried, wondering if I needed him to start heading back home. But Mom declined and offered to keep our girls another night, making life so much easier. They were having a great time with Ashlee, having tea parties, and playing dress-up. They didn’t even think twice when asked if they wanted to stay for another night.

Opening the door, I walk in and start unloading my stuff onto the kitchen counter before I go in search of my woman. The house is so quiet, a vast contrast to the day that I’ve had. Taking in the fact that dinner is not happening right now, I head to the drawer, pulling out a few take out menus before flicking through each one, not really feeling much of anything right now. But Amelia needs to eat, she’s got my baby to feed, and if I can’t take care of one baby the way I need to, then I will make sure this one wants for nothing.

I start heading up the hallway, poking my head into each of the girl’s rooms. I don’t know where Amelia is, so I head to our room. She must be lying down for a while. She’s been so exhausted over the past couple of weeks, and with the stress from last night, I’m guessing she is out cold. I haven’t had a chance to speak to her all day, being in and out of meetings. The thought of her lying in our bed makes me want to curl up beside her and put this day behind me.

I walk past the spare room, and a light snore from inside catches my attention. My head whips around, not having expected to find her in here. The door is open just a sliver, and I push it wider to find the room completely set up as a nursery, but what I see nearly brings me to my knees.

Tags: Sheridan Anne The Men of Fire Romance
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