Chapter 1
AVELINE
The digital clock on the dashboard clicked to 2:17 a.m.
Thick, black smoke choked the street. Sirens screamed, cutting through the night as our Fire Station 17’s truck slammed to a halt.
A three-story apartment building was being eaten alive by flames. People were on the pavement in their pajamas, crying and shouting.
"My baby! My little girl is still on the third floor!" a woman screamed, grabbing a cop's jacket.
My boots hit the asphalt. I adjusted my heavy yellow turnout gear, pulled my oxygen mask over my face, and grabbed my axe.
"Aveline! Wait for the backup line!" Captain Elias Cross barked, his hand reaching out to grab my shoulder. His grey eyes were wide with panic under his helmet.
I looked at the screaming mother, then back at Elias. "She doesn't have time for a backup line, Cap."
I yanked myself free and ran straight into the mouth of the furnace.
Inside, it was a literal hell. The heat hit me like a physical wall, threatening to push me back.
Damn this thermal layer! I cursed.
I dropped to my knees, crawling beneath the toxic smoke.
"Fire department! Is anyone here?!" I shouted into my mask.
A faint, terrified sob came from the end of the hallway on the third floor. I took the stairs two at a time, ignoring the wood groaning beneath my weight. A bedroom door was blocked by a collapsed, burning beam. I raised my axe, swung with all the strength in my five-foot-four frame, and splintered the wood.
A little girl, no older than six, was curled in the corner, clutching a giraffe stuffed toy.
"I've got you," I whispered, scooping her up against my chest.
When I burst through the front doors of the building, the cool night air hit my face. I carried the girl straight to the paramedics. The crowd erupted into cheers.
Elias walked up to me, pulling his helmet off. He looked furious, but his voice was thick with relief. "You're a reckless idiot, Ashford."
"But I got her out," I said, wiping a streak of black ash from my forehead.
He cleared his throat and passed me a bottle of water. We moved to get reports from residents.
Two hours later, I finally walked into my family’s house. I was exhausted, every muscle in my body aching for a cold shower.
But as soon as I opened the heavy front doors, a completely different smell hit me.
The rich, warm scent of an expensive, gourmet dinner drifted from the dining room and immediately, my stomach twisted into a tight knot.
It definitely wasn't hunger.
My Aunt Caroline never cooked a feast for anyone .
Ever since my father went into a coma ten years ago and Caroline took control of the family business, she had treated me like an unwanted ghost in this house.
She kept the tightest grip on the money, always reminding me how much my father’s medical bills were costing.
I stepped into the grand, marble-floored dining room. The crystal chandelier overhead cast a bright, mocking light on the table.
They were all sitting there. Aunt Caroline, looking flawless in her designer dress, her blonde hair styled into a perfect, rigid bob. My younger cousin, Lily, who was bouncing her leg with a look of nervous excitement. And my Uncle Marcus, who was nursing a glass of whiskey.
The atmosphere was strangely cheerful.
"Ah, Aveline! You're finally home!" Aunt Caroline beamed. The smile didn't reach her cold eyes.
I stayed by the doorway, crossing my arms over my soiled jacket. "Thank you, but are we celebrating anything today?" I asked, giving a small uneasy chuckle.
Uncle Marcus immediately looked down at his glass, completely refusing to make eye contact with me.
"Can't a family just celebrate their girl's twenty-first birthday?" Aunt Caroline chuckled, gesturing to a massive plate of food. "Happy Birthday, Aveline."
I watched her set down plates of crispy bacon and creamy garlic mushroom in front of the seat she offered me. I hesitated for a minute.
Over ten years. Ten years under the same roof and Caroline still didn’t know I was allergic to mushrooms. Or maybe she knew and simply didn’t care.
She seemed to see through my hesitation because she sighed.
"What are you waiting for? Sit down, let's eat! It's a good day. You should be all smiles, don't you think?"
I sighed internally, just waiting for exactly what was going on because Caroline was never this nice, ever.
Regardless, I gave myself a serving of the bacon and eggs, taking the toast bread from the corner of the table and lathering butter on it while I stared around at them warily.
It was Caroline who spoke up first.
"The family business is collapsing, Aveline," Caroline said, her voice turning clinical and cold. "The medical bills to keep your father's life support running are draining whatever pennies we have left. We are nearly broke. By next month, the banks will seize this house."
I paused, dropping my fork in shock and confusion.
I mean, I knew the family business was struggling, but was it ever that bad?
I cleared my throat, the scrambled eggs seeming to be of lesser interest to me now.
"Well, we can try cutting costs. I can take on extra shifts at the firehouse, and we could get by off of that and find a way to save for the business. Lily's tuition does not become needed until another four months, so we can delay it until then, too. We can try cutting corners and asking for a loan from the bank, too.”
Caroline groaned like I was putting her through physical pain.
"Don't be ridiculous!" She hissed, cutting me off with a wave of her hand. "Your meager salary as a firefighter is a drop of water in a burning desert. It wouldn't even cover one week of your father's private ICU care."
I stared at them in confusion. "Then what are you suggesting?"
Caroline straightened her posture, looking at me like a queen looking at a peasant. "We have arranged for you to get married to Adrian Garrick, the second son of the Garrick family. He is a very good man.”
My throat went dry.
"What?" I breathed. "Adrian Garrick? As in Garrick Industries?"
My tone peaked with anger and irritation, but she either did not notice or was too deep in her own world to care.
Everyone in Blackstone City knew the Garricks. They were old money royalty. Billionaires who controlled the city's economy.
Something was definitely off about this.
The Garrick family was at the absolute top of the food chain. They could have any supermodel, any oil heiress, any politician’s daughter in the world. Our family was a sinking ship, drowning in debt and scandal.
So why on earth would they want to marry a broke firefighter?
"You don't have a choice, Aveline. Without this marriage, the doctors pull the plug on your father by Monday," Caroline said flatly.
"I refuse," I said immediately. My voice was loud and firm. "I am not marrying a stranger for any reason at all."
Caroline ignored my anger completely. She pulled out a sleek iPad. "We need to schedule your dress fittings immediately. Your hair is a disaster; we'll need a…."
"I'm not doing any of this," I interrupted. "I have a job and I'm..."
Caroline looked up. "Not anymore. The moment you’re married, you’ll resign from the fire department. The Garricks will not have a daughter-in-law rolling around in the dirt."
"What? Hell no!" I shouted, the word tearing from my throat.
The fire department was my everything. I built this life with my own blood and sweat.
"It is already done, sweetie," Caroline said, picking up her wine glass. "Go wash the soot off your face. You look like a street thug."
I stared at her, my heart hammering against my ribs. I stood up, giving them all a plain look.
I didn't say another word. I turned on my heel and stormed up the stairs to my room, slamming the door behind me.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I checked it. It was a text message from my best friend, Zara.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BESTIE!
Meet me at the Inferno Racing Circuit in an hour. I managed to score VIP passes to the F1 Racing Championship! I need to record the whole thing for my vlog
Put on something cute and get over here!
I stared at the screen and smiled.
I hurried in and out of the hot shower, put on a clean jacket and leather pants, threw my phone into my pocket, grabbed my favorite red scarf to keep my neck warm. It was the last gift my dad gave me with a smile.
Satisfied with my look, I headed out into the night.
