Relentless (Colorado Crimes Book 5)

Chapter 1

Noah Garrison set a large crate onto the counter of the kitchen at Fire Station 14 with a thud. He grunted, "What did you guys buy?"

Fireman Lincoln James grinned, "Food."

Noah rolled his eyes. Ever since he retired from professional football, Noah volunteered at the fire station. The men never seemed to want to cook, and cooking was Noah's passion, so he did it for them. But now that the guys knew about Noah's cooking skills, they asked for huge meals and bought insane amounts of food from the grocery store.

Joshua Cohen, another firefighter, came in carrying another huge crate. "Five gallons of milk. Who buys five gallons of milk?"

Lincoln fished through the crates and pulled out an apple, "Do you want good food or not?" He bit into the apple and walked off.

Joshua helped Noah put all the food away. By the time they were finished, the pantry, fridge, and freezer were fully stocked. "Thanks Josh."

"No problem. What are you making for dinner tonight?" Josh asked.

Noah thought for a moment. "Not sure. Maybe I'll make balsamic-glazed steak rolls."

Josh put a hand to his stomach, "I'm hungry already. That sounds delicious." Like Lincoln, he grabbed an apple and walked away.

Noah took out the supplies to make dinner. It was only three o'clock, but he liked to get a head start on things. He finished washing his hands, then grabbed a cutting board from one of the cupboards.

The fire station's kitchen was amazing. Solid granite countertops, with nice black cupboards and black appliances made it sleek and nice. Noah almost liked it better than his own kitchen back home. Of course, it wasn't as lonely here. There was constantly someone to talk to.

Noah rested a towel over his shoulder like the chefs in the TV shows did. It was a habit now, and the guys made fun of him for it, but he didn't really care.

The only female firefighter on the shift walked in. His childhood friend, Lillian Phillips smiled, "Afternoon Noah. What are you cooking up today?" Lillian and Noah had been neighbors when they were in grade school and often played together outside in Lillian's treehouse. The friendship had wavered when they went off to different middle schools, but they managed to stay in touch. They'd recently reconnected, just like Noah and his other buddies from grade school had done. 

Noah focused on cutting up some asparagus as he spoke, "Balsamic-glazed steak rolls."

"Yum yum." Lillian hopped up onto the counter. "That towel looks so out of place on you."

Noah flicked asparagus at her. "Give it a rest, Lil."

Lillian laughed. "I'm just saying. It looks so small on those huge biceps and pecs of yours."

It was known around the station that Noah's biceps and pectorals should be put to work somewhere other than the kitchen. All the firefighters joked with him about it. Noah grinned, "You're just jealous."

Lillian's eyes narrowed, "I'll get you back for that. Watch yourself."

Noah smirked, "I'm absolutely terrified."

Lillian stole a piece of asparagus as she left the kitchen.

~~~~~

Natalie Thomas dropped her empty Diet Coke bottle in the recycling as she walked back to her office. The Thomas and Mitchells PI office was slow today. Maybe it was a good thing?

Natalie owned half of the office and her partner, Raelyn Mitchells-Stewart owned the other half. Raelyn had gotten married two weeks ago and was now spending her honeymoon on a cruise to the Bahamas.