Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 39414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 197(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 197(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
“Supplies,” I say. “And eyes.”
She turns her head, brows lifting. “Eyes?”
I glance down at her. “You want to pretend you didn’t just have boot prints circling my cabin?”
Her mouth tightens. “I want to pretend you’re not treating me like an emergency.”
I lean in close enough that she feels my breath against her ear. “You are an emergency.”
Ellie’s inhale catches. She looks like she wants to argue, but the words don’t come out clean. She settles for glaring at the concrete.
I guide her toward the storage room. Halfway there, Levi spots us.
Levi is a firefighter in the way a storm is weather. Loud, relentless, and always in everyone’s business. He’s sitting on the bench in the common area, boot off, tugging at a sock like it personally offended him. Sadie sits across from him, elbows on the table, sipping coffee and watching him with the kind of patience that says she’s either deeply in love or planning his murder.
Levi’s gaze flicks up.
He sees Ellie in my flannel.
He sees my hand on her back.
His face lights up with the joy of a man who lives for chaos.
“Well, holy hell,” he says, loud enough that every head in the bay turns. “Cooper’s finally got himself a bride.”
Ellie’s shoulders go rigid. She mutters, “Oh my God.”
I stop and stare at Levi until the room chills a few degrees.
Levi grins wider. “Don’t look at me like that. You brought her here. You wanted attention.”
“I wanted supplies,” I say flatly.
Levi’s eyes flick over Ellie, then back to me. “Supplies. Sure. And the ring is… where? Or are you doing the old-school ‘move her in first’ thing?”
Ellie whips her head toward me like she can’t believe this is happening.
I keep my voice calm. “Levi.”
He holds his hands up. “I’m just saying, if we’re doing a wedding, I’m in charge of the bachelor party.”
Sadie makes a soft sound, half laugh, half warning. “Levi.”
He ignores her, eyes bright. “I got twenty bucks that she stabs him before he makes it to the altar.”
Ellie blinks. “Excuse me?”
Levi points at her like she’s his new favorite person. “I like her. She’s got that look.”
“What look?” Ellie asks, offended.
“The one that says you’re two seconds away from committing a felony,” he says, delighted.
Ellie’s mouth opens. She glances at me, then back at Levi. “I am not.”
Levi nods solemnly. “That’s what they all say right before they do.”
Sadie sets her coffee down with a controlled thunk and turns her gaze on Ellie. Her expression softens in a way Levi’s never managed to earn. Sadie doesn’t do shallow. Sadie sees straight through people like she has X-ray vision and a petty streak.
“Hi,” she says, calm. “You okay?”
Ellie’s smile snaps into place—bright, polite, practiced. “I’m fine.”
Sadie’s eyes narrow slightly. “No, you’re not.”
Ellie’s smile wavers.
Sadie tilts her head, voice lowering like she’s speaking only to Ellie now even though we’re all standing here. “Tell me who he is.”
Ellie’s hand tightens around her phone. Her gaze darts to me like she doesn’t want to answer in front of anyone. Like she’s afraid if she says the name out loud, it becomes real.
I step closer, shoulder angling subtly between her and the room. A shield. A message.
Levi watches, grin fading just a fraction. Because he knows what it looks like when I get serious.
Ellie doesn’t speak.
Sadie’s gaze flicks to me. “Wyatt.”
“She’s safe,” I grind out.
Sadie’s brows lift. “That wasn’t my question.”
“It’s my answer,” I say.
Levi whistles low. “Oh, we’re serious serious.”
Ellie exhales sharply. “We’re not—”
“Ellie,” I cut in, quiet. Not a shout. An order.
Her mouth snaps shut. Her cheeks flush. She looks up at me with eyes that say she hates being handled.
Good. She can hate it while she stays alive.
A door at the back of the station opens.
Captain Saxon Cole steps out.
Saxon doesn’t have to raise his voice to command a room. He’s the kind of man whose presence does it for him—broad shoulders, calm eyes, and a face carved out of discipline. He’s wearing a station tee, sleeves rolled, forearms inked, and he walks like he’s never been uncertain a day in his life.
His gaze lands on Ellie.
Then on my hand still hovering at her back.
Then on my face.
He doesn’t smile.
He doesn’t frown.
He just gives me a look that says he already knows everything I don’t want to say.
“Cooper,” he says.
“Captain,” I answer.
Levi straightens like he wasn’t just running his mouth. “Cap. We got a situation.”
Saxon’s gaze shifts to Levi. “Do we.”
Levi gestures between me and Ellie like he’s presenting a crime scene. “Bride situation.”
Ellie’s head snaps toward Levi. “I am not—”
Saxon’s eyes go to Ellie, calm and assessing. “Ellie James.”
She stiffens. “Captain Cole.”
Saxon nods once. “You look like you haven’t slept.”
Ellie’s chin lifts. “I’m fine.”
Sadie mutters, “She’s not.”
Saxon doesn’t react to the commentary. His gaze flicks to me again. “My office.”
I nod once. “Supplies first.”
Saxon’s brows lift a fraction. “Supplies.”