Men of Station 23 by Stacey Espino

Author:Stacey Espino
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, (¯`'•.¸//(*_*)\\¸.•'´¯), General Fiction
ISBN: 1619266075
Publisher: Siren Publishing
Published: 2012-05-08T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

When Darius went to open the door he noted the doorjamb was slightly splintered. “Hey, take a look at this,” he said.

Jake bent down and assessed the lock once he swung the door open. “Who’d want to break in here?”

Conall tugged off his helmet, watching curiously. “What’s going on?”

“Lock’s been messed with,” said Darius. They were only a fire station. Although they kept emergency supplies on hand, they didn’t carry narcotics. Daylight flooded the large asphalt driveway around them, and they weren’t located in a particularly seedy part of town. He wasn’t sure what a thief could be after.

Conall shoved Jake aside, gently running a finger along the dented wood, his brow lowered. “He used a crowbar, then a flathead screwdriver to pop the lock. Look, the shape is molded into the wood.”

“Take a look around to see if anything’s missing. I really don’t want to call the guys from the department down here for nothing. We’ve all got enough paperwork from all these garage fires.” Darius trusted Conall’s final analysis. He’d been through the prison system in his youth. If one of them could recognize the signs of breaking and entering, it would be Conall.

The station looked clean and untouched. Darius checked on their defibrillating machines and other expensive equipment, but it appeared everything was in check. What could thieves have wanted? They weren’t a store and didn’t carry cash. Then he thought to check their living room. Maybe the crook was after their electronics. They’d invested a lot of their personal money to make their living quarters comfortable. For the amount of time they spent at the station, it was literally their second home.

Aaron was taking Tammy to the animal shelter to drop off the cat. She’d wanted to keep the poor animal, but protocol said it had to be left at the shelter for a couple weeks in case the owners called to claim it. Even without a collar, the owners could be looking for it, or it could be microchipped.

Conall and Jake followed behind him, probably having the same idea about the electronics. He couldn’t imagine Jake without his Sports Network or Conall without his Discovery Channel.

After they’d all spilled into the large room, Darius did a quick visual sweep. The flat screen was in place, the surround system untouched, and the stereo where they left it. Aaron’s iPad was even lying on the coffee table, an easy score for a would-be thief.

“He must have got scared off,” said Conall, flopping down on the end of the sofa.

“Or there wasn’t a break-in at all.” Jake leaned against the support pillar. “Maybe the door’s been like that for ages and you’re just noticing now, Darius.”

Conall sat up higher. “You’re questioning what I said?”

“What if Frank got locked out once upon a time? It’s not hard to pop a lock.” Jake paced the room.

“I would have noticed the busted doorjamb.”

Jake gave up, finally shrugging before heading to the stairs.

Darius sat on the coffee table once he was gone, facing Conall.

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