𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨. Evan Buckley ¹

prologue.

HUNTER CALLAHAN DIDN'T KNOW what she was thinking when she moved to LA. For someone that claimed to hate people, big cities were not ideal. However, deep down, she knew why she had chosen the city but that didn't mean she wouldn't complain about it- because she would, every single chance she got. Her roommate had long since grown tired of the blonde grumbling about bad traffic and busy supermarkets filled to the brim with people she couldn't stand.

The Texan at heart did not fit in with the locals, that much was clear. Her tattoos, cowboy boots, and dusty squarebody truck were not par for Southern California style. In the few months that she had lived in the burning hot city of LA, she had yet to turn into an influencer molded citizen, she was far from attending an eight AM spin class followed by brunch with mimosas.

Her family, with whom she still made an effort to talk to, had called her crazy for even thinking of leaving their hometown but Hunter had yet to listen to any advice given to her thus far in life and she wasn't going to start anytime soon. And maybe she was crazy, leaving the comfort of a familiar town with the people she had known her whole life to live in an overcrowded city. No friends, no family, she was truly alone.

So, it didn't take long for the young woman to find herself broken down on a corner of some no named road. It was hard to admit for the first time in her life, she really had no idea what in the hell she would do. Not many places would hire an ex-USMC scout sniper with one of the highest confirmed kill counts in marine history and no college education— something about a "liability issue" and lack of experience. Hunter couldn't blame them, the resume she had built over the years was overwhelmingly lackluster even in her own opinion.

On chance, Hunter, who was still just biding her time in the city, encountered what would be considered a charmingly friendly nurse at one of her numerous doctor appointments. The Callahan had begrudgingly found herself in the LA General Medical Center nearly every week for her physical therapy. That nurse had single handedly directed Hunter to where she stood today.

With little hesitation, Alexa Wright had offered Hunter the spare room of her two bedroom apartment. Of course, that was only after she recommended that the blonde enter the fire fighter academy- albeit Hunter had to wait until she was physically at one hundred percent.

The Callahan had only completed her training last week, waiting for the moment in which she would finally begin as a probationary firefighter. It seemed that all of the other recruits in her class had their hopes of being placed at a particular firehouse, crossing their fingers that they would be placed somewhere good. Hunter hadn't understood that, maybe it had to do with her lack of familiarity with the city- she wasn't sure. The blonde woman simply wanted to begin her job, her work ethic wouldn't be based on the location of the firehouse.

She had been waiting for that phone call, the very one she was on now, as she listened to the rough voice of the chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department, thanking him quickly before she ended the call. As per the chief, Hunter was to be placed with station 118, it seemed that the house had an unexpected opening, or at least that was what she gathered from the words of the senior man. The chief had unsurprisingly wanted to fill the spot as soon as possible, leading to the aforementioned call between the two. Without hesitation, Hunter had agreed to the placement- not that many firefighters would ever deny orders from the chief.