Chapter Text
2013
Despite the chaos in the surrounding area, it was quiet between them. Rather than filling the silence with idle chatter, they would exchange meaningful eye contact every few seconds. Staring at each other intensely until Maya would break the gaze to glance up at the departures board to ensure her flight was on time.
“Are you sure?” Carina asked. “You don’t have to do this,” Carina said quietly, the silence finally too much to bear.
Maya shook her head, “It’s only temporary,” she reminded her. “Soon, you’ll be packing your stuff and moving to Seattle to be with me,” she reasoned.
Carina frowned. It didn’t feel right, nothing about it did. Ever since Maya excitedly announced that she had been accepted into the Fire Academy in Seattle. It… well, it made sense that she would pursue the fire academy given her upbringing, but- that she would leave home to do it? Carina had never considered the likelihood.
Maya leaned forward, kissing her passionately before they broke apart, “I’m not even gonna say it, Carina. You’ll see, it’s gonna be like I never even left.”
“Except you are leaving,” she reminded her. “You’re leaving and you’re not coming back, so of course it will be like you left.”
Maya huffed in annoyance, shaking her head, “You know what I mean. I thought we agreed this was the best decision?”
Carina made a face, “I can’t explain it, amore, it just feels so wrong.”
Maya’s eyebrows lifted in surprise, “Do you think it’s the left phalange?”
“No,” she sighed in amusement. “I think the plan isn’t the point of life, the point of life is holding onto love when you find it and I’m just trying to do that.”
Maya smiled, “I love you madly, Carina,” she said, leaning forward to kiss her again. “The fire academy in Seattle won’t change that, nothing could ever change that,” she whispered, cupping Carina’s face one final time, pressing a firm kiss to her mouth before she turned to head toward security. “You’ll see,” she shouted over her shoulder with a wide grin. Well, as wide as she could manage considering she was walking away from the love of her life to chase a dream. “It’ll be like I never left!”
A dream that she could understand didn’t make much sense to everyone else. Her father had been in the fire department his entire life and his father had, too. So, of course Maya would follow in their foot steps. Of course, they had both been happy to work in Jacksonville, Oregon where they were born and raised, but it just wasn’t good enough for Maya. She wanted more. She wanted the city and Seattle wasn’t New York or Boston, but it was where her mother was from. That made it the dream.
Her father had instilled a competitive attitude and a thirst to win. It made perfect sense that she would leave her career as an elite athlete behind her and pursue greatness in another field. Her ankle might not be able to support another run at the Olympics, but it wouldn’t stop her from achieving her dream to be fire chief of a big city department.
Carina just hadn’t expected it to take her so far away… she figured Eugene at best, Salem at worst.
Okay, 7 hours wasn’t actually that far… but it felt like thousands of miles. Of course, she was still at Oregon State University which would close the gap to four hours, but then there would be medical school... they could manage. Of course they could manage. When your love was written in the stars, when your love was fated, there was nothing that could tear it apart. Maya had said so herself.
They loved each other and nothing could ever change that.
2026: 13 Years Later
The moka pot was brewing and Maya was already dressed, preparing a bite to eat to start her day. The news was chattering in the background as she loaded Greek yogurt with berries and nuts before taking a seat at the large dining room table in a seat angled to take in the view of Elliott Bay. It was that view that sold her on the 4th Avenue apartment she treated herself with when she finally achieved the rank of Chief.
Of course, she missed rolling hoses. She missed the thrill of running into a burning building, but those days were firmly in her past. It had been years since she had even attended a scene, so enmeshed in the other side of the fire fighting business. As Chief, she got a little thrill when she visited a scene to check up on operations. It was such a rarity. She might get a small thrill from being on scene, but she couldn’t stride into Station 19 where she had gotten her start to roll hoses. A Battalion Chief could get away with lending a hand with grunt work, it wasn’t something the Chief should be seen doing.
It would only make the Mayor question why the hell she was commanding such a large salary to do something they could pay others much less to do. She hated that there was an HR voice in her head now.
While she was listening out for key words in the news broadcast, her head was buried in her tablet as she scrolled through weather updates. It was how she started every morning, it was the only way to adequately prepare for her day.
“Chief,” she smiled as she appeared in the kitchen, already fully dressed. “I had a lot of fun last night,” she informed her, closing the gap to press a quick kiss to Maya’s lips. “Your tongue is always a revelation.”
Maya smirked, “Right back at ya, Vanessa,” she said. “We should definitely do it again,” she suggested. “How about tomorrow night?”
Her eyebrows lifted in surprise, “Tomorrow?” she questioned. “Is Valentine’s Day.”
Maya froze momentarily, dramatically hitting her head with her hand as she chuckled, “Oh, of course, I didn’t realize,” she said. She definitely hadn’t, it was her least favorite holiday. A holiday that wasn’t actually a holiday, but people still went crazy over for some reason. Shouldn’t they be celebrating their love every day if they were so crazy about it? “Tonight?” she suggested. She had a charity gala to attend, but she planned to cut out early.
The brunette shook her head, “That’s not going to work for me, Chief Bishop,” she whispered, pulling Maya to her feet so she could cop a feel.
Maya moaned as her hands slyly unbuttoned her uniform shirt, shuddering when her fingers met the bare skin of her stomach.
“I’ll call you,” she smirked, gasping when Maya leaned down to bite her shoulder. “Hey! My husband is definitely going to expect me to put out tonight, so no marks.”
Husband?!
“Husband?” Maya asked in confusion.
She chuckled. “Who did you think I was out with the night we met?”
Maya paused, tracking back through her memories to visualize the man she had been with the night they met. She had thought he was her brother, maybe a gay best friend, but a husband?! “Why-” she was so confused.
“He can’t keep up with my libido,” she said, hand cupping Maya’s crotch through her work pants. “I’m allowed to sleep with as many women as I want, it’s just that you are so good with your tongue, you’re the only one I want.”
They weren’t in a relationship, they had literally been sleeping together casually for a few months. It was very casual because Maya was definitely sleeping with other people when the opportunity presented itself, and they didn’t go on dates. Vanessa had the elevator code and she would arrive at the front door of Maya’s penthouse apartment every other week and Maya would meet her needs. Actually, they met each others’ needs. Maya knew exactly which buttons to press and Vanessa knew how to bring Maya to her knees, which they both enjoyed.
Still.
A husband?
She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Not that she was interested in a relationship with Vanessa, but it did feel kind of weird to know that she was just an outlet for the libido her husband couldn’t manage. And if her libido was so high, why did she only turn up every other week? He couldn’t get his dick up once every two weeks?
That was a poor effort. If he was rich, Vanessa should definitely divorce him and take half his money. Unless she was foolish enough to sign a prenup, then she would have to wait for him to die.
Maya shook her head, pushing all thoughts of Vanessa out the window, mentally stuffing them into a canon that she visualized launching into Elliott Bay. It wasn’t her problem and she wouldn’t have to think about Vanessa now that she’d paid her fortnightly visit. Grabbing her work bag, she swiped her to-go cup from the counter and made a beeline for the elevator. She wasn’t late, but she preferred being early.
She smiled when the neighbor she saw each morning entered the elevator on the first floor below her. “Good morning, Mrs. Oldham.”
Mrs. Oldham smiled in greeting, “Chief Bishop,” she greeted.
“Good morning, Cheddar,” she greeted the small dog who was decked out in a little coat and boots. “I’m glad to see you’re dressed for the weather,” she said before looking up to meet Mrs. Oldham’s eyes. “But, I don’t see any bags,” she commented.
“Bags?” Mrs. Oldham questioned.
“You can’t leave Mr. Oldham and bunk with me without your stuff,” she smirked.
Mrs. Oldham sniggered, looking Maya up and down as she licked her lips. Maya had no idea how old she actually was, but she was definitely an attractive woman in her late 50s, give or take. Would Maya sleep with her given the chance? Yeah, probably, she had never had sex with a woman that much older than her before, but it was just banter. Maya caught the elevator at the same time every morning and it just happened to be on Cheddar’s morning constitutional timeline. While they had initially ridden the elevator in silence, at some point they started chatting and eventually, they settled into a flirty rapport that they pushed a little more each day.
“It’s been a while since I’ve heard screams of ecstasy from your apartment, so I’m not sure you could satisfy my hunger the way Mr. Oldham does.”
Maya scoffed, “I might not be able to cook, but I will order in from anywhere you want,” she shot back, knowing full well that Mrs. Oldham was talking about carnal desires.
That drew a loud guffaw, “Very good,” Mrs. Oldham complimented, licking her lips again when she watched Maya preen at the praise. “When are you going to meet someone for real?” she asked.
Maya couldn’t help but scoff a second time, “I don’t have time for that.”
It was Mrs. Oldham’s turn to scoff, “Be serious.”
Maya shook her head, “My job is demanding and it wouldn’t be fair to put that on someone else. Besides-” she paused for a moment, frowning at the memory her thought brought up.
“Besides,” Mrs. Oldham prompted.
“I had my chance,” Maya told her. “And it didn’t work out because I chose to pursue this career.”
“Instead of what career?” Mrs. Oldham asked curiously as the elevator pinged and the doors slid open. Maya gestured for her to go first, stepping out once Cheddar had cleared the gap.
“Firefighting in Jacksonville, Oregon,” she said with a tight smile.
Mrs. Oldham blinked in confusion, “I’m sorry, what’s the difference between this and that?”
“For starters, the Chief of the Fire Department in Jacksonville, Oregon makes about half of the salary I make-”
“Half?” she questioned. “I bet the cost of living is close to 50% higher here than it is there.”
Maya shook her head, ignoring what was probably a factual statement. “It’s not just the salary.”
“Okay, so what?”
Maya sighed, shivering as they left the building for the cold February air of Seattle. The city hadn’t seen as much snow since the Snowpocalypse of 2019. She was a captain then and it had been the heaviest snow they had seen in 50 years and now just 7 years later, they were getting hit even harder.
“It’s a small town,” Maya complained. “I didn’t want that.”
“Ah,” Mrs. Oldham nodded knowingly. “As long as you’re happy, that’s all that truly matters, dear,” she said, turning away from the wind. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to find a sheltered place for Cheddar to drop her biscuits and she won’t do it with an audience.”
Maya chuckled at that, shaking her head, “Good luck, Cheddar. Don’t freak out if those biscuits roll away, it happens when it’s this cold out. Have a good day, Mrs. Oldham, I look forward to seeing you tomorrow morning, maybe you’ll have come to your senses by then, let me take you right there in the elevator.”
She smiled as Mrs. Oldham’s laughter followed her as she made her way to the parking garage for her truck. Maya had friends, but Mrs. Oldham had a knack of drawing out her secrets with ease. She had no idea what it was about the woman, but it had given her food for thought.
Her phone snapped her out of her thoughts, she sighed before she answered. Her work day hadn’t officially started, but then… as the Chief of Seattle Fire Department, her day never really ended. “Captain, I understand the cause for concern, but if you call your Battalion Chief, she should be able to advise you on-”
She bit her tongue as the captain interrupted her again. He wasn’t being rude, he wasn’t being disrespectful, he was just freaking out over the upcoming storm and what it might mean for coverage. She knew him well, he had been a probie when she had been a Lieutenant. “Captain,” she interrupted, her tone firm. “Call Battalion Chief Borini, she is in charge of Snowmageddon staffing. If your firefighters can’t get to your station, they might be able to get to another station. She’s coordinating everything to ensure even staffing across the department.”
She had no idea what would possess a Captain to call the Chief directly, not when there were Battalion Chiefs in the first instance and Deputies and Assistants in the next. Perhaps it was a compliment to her open door leadership, she did want crews to feel comfortable reaching out, but they needed to exercise some common sense.
By the time she reached HQ, her phone was blowing up again, Station 19 obviously desperate to get through to her. “Captain Sullivan,” she greeted. “What can I do for you?” she asked, tilting her head to listen to his issues. “Oh, that’s not a problem at all. I was actually thinking about bringing that up at the next Battalion Chief meeting. In fact, why don’t you attend and bring a proposal with you?” She was nodding along as he spoke, “Mhm, well, I know you plan to apply for the next open BC position, so why not get ahead of the game and let the rest of the BCs see what they’re going to need to live up to.”
Conversation over, she paused at her assistant’s desk with brows raised as her assistant handed her a stack of sticky notes. “How the hell do I have this many messages, Dixon?” she questioned.
“There was already a stack waiting when I got here,” he informed her with an apologetic look on his face.
“Who answered the phone overnight? A ghost? A cleaner? I have a cellphone they could call?” she shook her head in confusion.
“One came in right after you left last night,” Emmett held up a brightly colored post-it note. “Carina DeLuca.”
“Carina DeLuca,” she mumbled in surprise, taking the sticky note directly from his hands. “That’s- that’s so weird,” she muttered before looking back at Dixon, “We broke up when I came to Seattle,” she said. “Well, we didn’t- we didn’t mean to break up, it just- it’s been 13 years,” she said in disbelief. “Why on earth would she be calling me now?” she said, setting the post-it back on his desk.
Emmett shrugged, casually picking up the phone and starting to dial.
“What are you doing?” she asked. They were in the middle of a conversation, why would he start making a call when she was obviously in crisis?
“Your ex gets in touch after 13 years on Valentine’s Eve and you don’t want to find out what she wants because I definitely want to find out what she wants.”
Valentine’s Eve. Annoying.
“Ah,” Maya pressed the hook to hang up before taking the phone from his hands and placing it in the cradle. “After 13 years? It can’t be anything good,” she informed her, taking the sticky note back, folding it in half, and slipping it in her breast pocket.
“Well, we know you didn’t get her pregnant,” he joked.
Maya narrowed her eyes, “That’s not a very nice thing to say.”
Emmett shrugged. He might have been her assistant, but they were also friends.
“I have a work day to get through and a charity gala to go to later,” she said as though that was the end of the matter.
“Okay, but-”
Maya held her hand up, “There are so many different points in your life where you go left instead of right; they’re not all the road not taken.”
“I think they quite literally are,” Emmett corrected her because yes, he was pedantic.
Maya huffed out a laugh in annoyance, “Fine, but she isn’t.”
“Isn’t she?”
“Okay, yes, Carina was the road not taken,” she gave in with a shrug, heading for her office before he could say anything else on the subject. It didn’t hurt her to be accurate. Emmett was right. Every road you didn’t take was literally the road not taken. It was just that Carina… well, she was more than a road, but she did wonder from time to time about what would have been, could have been, if she had listened to Carina that day 13 years ago.
Still, that was a worry for another day. Now she had a work day to see out before attending a city-wide charity gala as the Chief of Seattle Fire Department. She would rub elbows with hospital heads, government officials, and anyone else the city deemed rich enough to invite in the hopes of extracting donations.
The good thing about being the Chief of Seattle Fire Department was her spacious corner office came with an ensuite. She didn’t need to race home to get ready, she could step into the shower in her ensuite, change into the sleek blue satin suit she had bought for the evening and finish her makeup under the “bright lights” of her vanity. They weren’t ideal for the purposes, but would suffice.
She navigated the crowd with a smile, nodding when she recognized an attendee, pausing to say hello and introduce herself to partners while their spouses introduced them to her. It was the typical setup for a city-wide charity gala. The name of the game was rubbing elbows with a veritable who’s who of Seattle and it bothered Maya. The game. That was the shit she hated.
As far as she was concerned, they could pour the money they spent holding the gala on something useful. She had seen how much they brought in with donations, though and it was obviously worth it. What wasn’t worth it was the interference. It was accepting donations from the wealthy and the wealthy having a say in the way the city operated.
It wasn’t a donation from the bottom of their hearts. Otherwise they wouldn’t need an expensive gala where they networked with other rich people.
Instead, it was a donation in exchange for favorable treatment from the powers that be.
And it made her sick.
Before she took over as Chief, many of these same rich people had paid for favorable treatment from the fire department. Despite the fact that she clamped down on those unofficial agreements the moment she took over, the Mayor still expected her to show face at charity events. He thought it sent an important message that some things can’t be bought… except for him, he could very much be bought.
Clearly.
She did her best to maintain her smile, but even she could feel how tight and fake it was. “And how are those grandkids of yours these days?” she found herself asking Catherine Fox who immediately responded with a grin. “Oh my,” she said with a wistful smile, “Harriet is so wonderful, she’s 10 now, it’s hard to accept sometimes and Matilda is 5 and Theodore is 1. Are you thinking about starting a family?”
Maya’s eyes widened, her head immediately shaking, “Oh no, no ma’am, I would have to find a partner for that,” she laughed lightly.
Catherine hummed, “I doubt you would have much trouble if you were serious.”
Maya’s eyes widened further, “Oh, I- I don’t want-”
Catherine held a hand up, nodding, “Sure, Chief, whatever you say,” she conceded, watching Maya visibly deflate. “You just don’t normally ask about my grandchildren,” she pointed out.
“Ah,” Maya nodded. That was true, she honestly had no idea why she had asked about her grandchildren this time, “I think my social battery is on the fritz,” she offered by way of explanation.
“Well, if you change your mind,” Catherine shrugged her shoulder to her ear, “I happen to know a hospital full of single and attractive doctors and nurses and I’m sure at least a dozen would come running if I mentioned Chief Bishop was looking to date.”
Maya barked out a laugh, “I’ll bear that in mind,” she said with a nod. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” she sighed. “The Mayor has been staring at me for at least 10 minutes and I’m going to have to at least show face so he can make me twerk for whatever rich fish he has on the hook.”
Catherine grinned at that, leaning forward to press a kiss to Maya’s cheek, “With your charm, you’ll have them hook, line, and sinker.”
Catherine was right. Maya was incredibly charming, but she hated having to turn it on. She hated having to play the role she did. She enjoyed her job, she didn’t enjoy all the politics that came with her job. It wasn’t like she didn’t know it was part of the deal. She just hadn’t expected it to be such a pain in the ass… she thought there would be less of it when she put her foot down and made it clear she was not going to be like past Chiefs.
“You want to grab drinks after this?” Maya asked glancing at the delicate watch on her wrist.
“I wish,” Miranda Bailey huffed. “Unfortunately, my husband is working tomorrow night so we will be celebrating Valentine’s Day tonight.”
Oh yeah, Valentine’s Day.
She’d almost forgotten about that. “I hope he has something special planned,” Maya commented.
“Me too,” she said, her tone clipped enough to put a smile on Maya’s face.
“You wouldn’t have to hopefully ask professional acquaintances out for drinks if you made real friends or found someone real.”
Maya rolled her eyes, “Not you too.”
“Who else?” she asked with a smirk on her face.
“Catherine Fox. Mrs. Oldham. My assistant.”
Miranda chuckled. “The power of three, baby,” she smirked.
Maya wrinkled her nose. “You’re right, I’m just gonna go home.”
“Hang on, that isn’t what I said. You’re dressed up, go out and see who you meet!” she urged.
“No way,” Maya said with a shake of her head. “I am not going out alone.”
Miranda sighed, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained, but feel free to remain sucking on the teat of your job.”
Maya’s jaw dropped in surprise.
“What?”
Maya shook her head, “Absolutely nothing, I’m just- I’m gonna head out, it’s still early enough to wind down with a bourbon and SportsCenter.”
“That’s a good idea,” Miranda conceded, “SportsCenter is not an attractive interest.”
~~~
Miranda wasn’t the first professional acquaintance she had suggested drinks to, but like Miranda, they all seemed to have Valentine’s Day related plans. She had no idea when it became such a popular fucking holiday that Valentine’s Eve was a thing, but it pissed her off. She had literally heard Emmett use Valentine’s Eve just that morning as it was an established holiday.
When she finally made it into her penthouse apartment, she made for the bedroom to quickly strip out of her fancy outfit in exchange for a comfortable pair of sweats and a long-sleeved henley shirt.
She grabbed her favorite bottle of bourbon, pouring two fingers, immediately downing it and pouring another, frowning when there was barely any liquid in the glass. How on earth had she run out of her favorite bourbon? Her local liquor store definitely didn’t stock Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve, but she could settle for Four Roses or Wild Turkey if she absolutely had to.
She looked down at herself. These were essentially pajamas, she would never leave the house looking like this, but it was almost 11 and how many people would she run into on her trip to the liquor store? It was a six minute walk and apparently, the entire world was celebrating Valentine’s Eve. Before she could question it, she was pulling on snow boots, zipping up her heaviest coat, and grabbing her gloves and hat from the pockets. If she was quick, she wouldn’t miss the start of SportsCenter.
It wasn’t ideal, but she deserved a nice relaxing drink and she didn’t have to worry about work in the morning, shouldn’t she fully enjoy her Friday evening?
Of course she should.
The liquor store was busier than she expected, but then, maybe people were last-minute shopping on Valentine’s Eve, maybe they were just as caught off guard by the holiday’s popularity as she was. She made her way through the aisles, grabbing a bag of chips and a candy bar before she made her way to the counter to pay. She didn’t want them to judge her for walking in on Valentine’s Eve to buy a bottle of booze. Buying some snacks made it look like she was entertaining company, didn’t it? She grabbed another bag of chips, just in case.
She could hear a customer telling the clerk that he had won $250 on a scratchcard and though she couldn’t hear the clerk’s response, she imagined it wasn’t all that enthusiastic. A friend of hers had spent years of his life checking lottery tickets and scratchers for customers, wondering how they pulled off such big wins. He didn’t realize until later just how much the winners were spending. Any big win was a delayed repayment for all the money they had wasted over the years. It’s why she never bought scratchers.
The now-raised voices did cause some concern in her mind. She stopped in her tracks as she rounded the corner, noting that the line had scattered. Other customers had put as wide a berth between themselves and the counter as possible, some casually heading down an aisle to get even farther away.
“I just want to claim my winnings man,” the customer demanded, growing visibly angry when the clerk told him he knew the scam. “All you have to do is feed it into the machine and you’ll see!” he pushed. He knew how that shit worked.
“No!” the clerk was prepared to stand his ground, which seemed like an insane thing to do at this time on a Friday night in Seattle. Especially when he probably earned minimum wage. Would you really put your life on the line for a minimum wage job? She hoped she wouldn’t be that dumb. “No, I know this scam,” the clerk insisted, flinching when the customer smacked his fist on the corner before slipping a gun from his jacket pocket. “Run the fucking scratcher or I put a bullet in your skull,” he challenged, leaning forward threateningly when the clerk threw his hands up in the air, his hands and head shaking in equal measure.
Maya ignored the alarm bells ringing in her head as she took a step forward. She would feel more confident about this if she was wearing her uniform, then again, her coat did have a large SFD insignia on one breast and Chief Bishop on the other. “Let’s work this out together,” she suggested, eyes focused on the customer, her hand up toward the clerk.
“Now why on earth would you get involved, Karen?” the customer mocked.
Maya couldn’t help but scoff, “I’m just interested in making a deal,” she explained.
“What kind of deal?” he asked suspiciously.
“You said you won 250 bucks and I happen to have $200 in cash on my person. I give you the $200, you give me the lottery ticket, and I make $50 profit when I take it to a liquor store that doesn’t employ the village idiot,” she suggested calmly.
She watched as his eyes narrowed, glancing between her and the clerk behind the counter who still had his hands raised in fear. “You hear that?” he asked the clerk. “You’re the village idiot,” he laughed harshly before turning his attention back to Maya. “You’ve got a deal.”
“Cool,” Maya nodded in relief, realizing that she hadn’t paid for her snacks but the armed customer definitely seemed eager to complete their deal. The further she got him from this liquor store, the safer everyone would be. She tossed a business card at the clerk, “I owe you for two bags of Lays and a Butterfinger,” she told him, “You can see I’m good for it.”
“Let’s go Maya,” the armed customer shouted from the door he’d already propped open, wind howling through the open space as falling snow rushed in. He pointed the gun back in the clerk’s direction, “I hope you remember you had your chance and blew it.”
Well, what the fuck did that mean?
She followed him without comment, frowning when they reached the outdoors. “How do you know my name?” she asked in complete confusion.
The armed customer shrugged, “It was a wild guess,” he said. It was possible he saw Chief Bishop on her coat and knew the Olympian Maya Bishop, it wasn’t hard to put two and two together. Everyone knew the gold medalist had risen to the top of Seattle Fire’s ladder. How else could they possibly explain it?
“My money?” he asked, waving the lottery ticket in her face.
Maya snapped out of her thoughts, nodding as she slipped her wallet from her coat pocket, stuffing $200 into his hand as she took the scratcher. “Pleasure doing business with you,” he grinned.
“Is the gun really necessary?” she asked him.
“It isn’t even loaded, but it worked, didn’t it?” he challenged her.
She nodded, “Sure, but-”
“I don’t need your help, Chief Bishop,” he said pointedly as he read the name off her coat. “I’m perfectly fine as I am.”
“Sure,” she nodded. “Where do you live, I can give you a ride home?” she suggested, even though she had left her truck at home.
He scoffed. “Don’t worry about me,” he told her. “Worry about yourself.”
Maya made a face, “Why would I worry about myself?” she asked, completely baffled. “I have everything I need.”
He laughed loudly at that, directly in her face before he threw his head back to laugh even louder than before, before stopping suddenly and looking her in the eye, “I hope you remember that,” he said seriously.
Well, what the hell did that mean?