Ignite (Legacy) Read Free Page A

deep eyes, two little lines furrowing between his eyebrows. “Remember I’m headed back to Colorado for the weekend in a couple weeks?”
    I nodded.
    “That’s the deadline they gave Bash,” Bishop answered. “They’re making this as impossible as they can, even though he’s footing the bill for everything. The firehouse is up and everything, it’s just missing a crew.”
    “Damn. I knew he was rich, but not that rich.” River took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “Okay, so if we move back, we get to reform the Legacy Crew?”
    “That’s the plan.”
    “And if we don’t?”
    “They fail. There’s no mathematical way to do it without the both of us.”
    River smirked with a sarcastic laugh. “And to think you never wanted me to fight fires.”
    “Still don’t. This isn’t an order, River, it’s a choice.”
    “Are you in?” River asked.
    “I’m going,” Bishop said.
    My breath left in a rush. If Bishop was going—
    “Then I have to go. There’s no way you’re doing this on your own. We keep each other alive. Isn’t that what you always tell me?”
    Pain ripped through me, so intense that I felt the emotion singeing my nerves as though someone had taken a branding iron to my soul.
    “Yeah,” Bishop said quietly. “Are you sure this is what you want to do?” His eyes passed over me again, like I would make any impact on River’s decision. I’d never crossed the line that would give me a say—never given in to the intense chemistry we shared, or the longing I’d always had. It wouldn’t have been fair of me, not with the responsibilities I’d taken on.
    He deserved better.
    River’s grip on my shoulder tightened. “It’s Dad, Bishop. There’s not really a choice. It’s his team and our home. If there’s a chance to bring Legacy back to life, then I’m not sitting it out.”
    This was it. He was leaving Alaska. Leaving me.

    * * *
    “ W here the hell have you been?” Dad yelled out as Adeline and I walked into our home.
    She winced. I gave her a reassuring smile. “I’ll take care of him.”
    “Are you okay?” she asked.
    “Yeah,” I lied. “Why?”
    “You’ve been on the verge of tears since we left River’s house. Did something happen between you two?”
    I tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “No. River and I are fine. It’s never been like that between us.”
    “Well, it should,” she said as she walked off.
    He was my best friend. It wasn’t that I hadn’t ever thought of what it would be like—actually being his. I was a woman after all. I already knew nearly every plane and hollow of his body, the way the corners of his eyes crinkled just a little when he full-out grinned. Hell, he’d even starred in some of my most blush-worthy fantasies. But I lived in reality.
    “Avery!” Dad yelled from the living room.
    A reality with my dad. I steeled my nerves with a deep breath and headed in. “Yes, Dad?”
    “Where the hell have you been?” he repeated his earlier question. “You didn’t bother to come home after work.” He was laid out on the living room couch, wearing yesterday’s clothes and reeking of alcohol. Or maybe that was the nearly empty bottle of Jack on the floor next to him. Dishes littered the coffee table, just within his reach.
    “We stayed with River last night,” I said, stacking the dishes.
    “Well, you should have been here, not whoring around with the Maldonado boy.”
    He didn’t even bother to look at me, just went back to watching Family Feud . Not that he had any clue what family was. In his mind, that word had only extended to my mother, and with her gone…well, we weren’t worth much.
    “We’re just friends, Dad,” I said, taking the dishes back into the kitchen.
    “Like hell. Bring me my meds, would you?” he asked, his tone suddenly sweet at the end.
    I set the dishes in the sink and turned the warm water on to help loosen the dry, stuck-on food. Then I gripped the edge of the counter and lowered