Into the Flames (Jupiter Point Book 3)

by Jennifer Bernard

  “Get those shelters out,” he shouted over the rumble of the approaching firestorm. Josh Marshall, his best friend on the crew, stood staring at the monstrous blaze as if he were hypnotized. Sean had never seen the team jokester speechless before. He reached for Josh’s pack, unzipped the carrying case that held his shelter, and gave him a shove. “Go, Marsh. Now.”

  At the sound of his nickname, Josh snapped out of his trance. He shook out the thin aluminum shelter, stepped into it, then dropped to the ground.

  His voice hoarse, Sean yelled to the other firefighters, “Stay as close together as you can. Get your face down on the ground. Pin your shelters with your elbows and knees and whatever it takes.”

  Within seconds, all the hotshots had disappeared inside their silvery tents—except for one.

  Finn Abrams—the rookie—backed away, his eyes wild with terror. “No way in hell,” he yelled at Sean. “I’m not gonna sit here and get burned up!” He turned and bolted for the ravine, which was already smoking from the first licks of flames.

  “Finn! Get back here!” Sean started after him. He’d heard of this happening. Firefighters panicking when faced with the prospect of trusting your life to a thin piece of fabric. He’d tackle him to the ground if he had to. Pin him and force that shelter into place.

  But Finn kept going as if a demon was on his heels. And maybe there was—Sean felt it nipping at his back with hot bites of sparks.

  Something snagged his leg as he passed a shelter. Josh was half in, half out of his tent, arm stretched to grab him. “Get the fuck in your shelter.”

  “But Finn—”

  “He’s gone!”

  A blast of hot air blistered the back of Sean’s neck. He took one last look at Finn, who was still running, stumbling toward the edge of the ravine, and gave a quick prayer that he’d make it somewhere—anywhere—before the fire hit.

  He stepped into his shelter and dropped down. He pressed his face against the earth where the air would be the coolest and pulled the material over his head. To fend off the wind generated by the fire, he used his feet and elbows to pin the fabric to the ground.

  He was still shifting around when the most intense sound he’d ever heard swept over him. It sounded like the flapping of ten million batwings pummeling the fabric that encased him. Wind shrieked and roared. Sean closed his eyes against the heat, which felt as if it could melt his eyeballs.

  “Holy fuck!” Josh shouted from his shelter.

  Amazing that they could hear each other over the din of the forest fire. They were trained to pack their shelters close together to reduce exposure to the heat. Being able to communicate with each other was an extra benefit.

  “I gotta get out! I don’t want to die in here!”

  Sean couldn’t tell who said that, but he read the panic loud and clear.

  “Nobody moves!” Sean shouted. “You leave that tent, you will die!”

  Not that he didn’t understand the urge to move. To lie here like this—unable to do anything, trapped inside a claustrophobic cocoon while a fire raged on the other side of it—was excruciating. He understood why Finn had run, because every muscle in his body tensed with the need to do the same thing. Go. Run. Do. Action. That’s what he wanted. That’s what he always wanted. But right now, the only possible action was—none.

  Well, not exactly none. He could still help his crew.

  “When we get out of this, I’m treating everyone to barbecue!” he yelled. “Extra crispy.”

  Josh, good man, picked up on his lead. “When we get out of this, I’m asking Emma Watson for a date.”

  “The Harry Potter chick?”

  “Yeah. She’s hotter than this fire, man.”

  “When we get out of this, I’m gonna quit this shit and be a CPA!” Rollo yelled. “Damn, something just landed on me.”

  Sean felt it too. Chunks of flaming debris rained onto his body. He shifted his body to knock the embers off. “Get that shit off if you can but keep your edges tight, guys.”

  A whoosh of sound stopped him cold. “What was that?”

  “Tree exploded!” Rollo shouted. “This is fucking insane!”

  “Just hang tight!”

  Sean listened in awe to the tornado of noise outside. If the fire weren’t trying to kill him, it would be spectacular. So much sound, so much heat. Was this the closest thing a person could experience to being inside a ball of gas? Inside the sun?

  His mind drifted as the moments ticked on. He thought of the Yarnell burnover, in which all except one crew member had died. If he died now, he’d be one more Marcus family fuckup. The troubled kid who never got it together. The angry rebel who left Jupiter Point in disgrace. He would never get a chance to clear his name. Never get a chance to prove himself.

  When we get out of this, I’m going back—

  But Hughie forestalled him.

  “When we get out of this,” he yelled, panic edging his voice. “I’m gonna propose to Cindy.”

  “Good,” Josh called back. “Because if you didn’t, I was going to.”

  “Yeah right, you might as well propose to your tent.”

  For some reason, that inspired Josh to sing. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…”

  “To get through this thing called fire.” Rollo finished off the line. The firefighters laughed, and Sean’s heart clenched with pride. Hotshots were tough. Who else would quote Prince while the world was burning down around them?

  When we get out of this, I’m going back to—

  “How long can this last?” someone yelled.

  Sean honestly had no idea. In the Little Venus fire, the burnover had lasted fifteen minutes. That didn’t sound like a long time, but right now, he had no concept of time whatsoever.

  “I think I can reach my phone. Anyone dare me to take a selfie?” Josh again. “I want proof for when we get out of this.”

  When we get out…

  “Know what I’m going to do?” Sean said out loud this time. He startled at the realization that he could hear his own voice now. The roar had faded. The heat had lessened, too. It no longer felt like a convection oven on high. Was it safe to look outside? Would a blast of heat suck the air from his lungs?

  After waiting for what felt like another eternity, he stuck his head out of the opening.

  It looked like night out there. Was it night? Or was it simply the thickness of smoke blocking the daylight? The only illumination came from the flames that still flickered in the charred, smoking wasteland. Tree stumps still burned and sparked, hot sap running down their trunks. Chunks of debris smoldered everywhere. Smoke lay thick on the ground, in the air, drifting, swirling.

  But the fire had moved on. And it wouldn’t be back—there wasn’t enough fuel left.

  Using his elbows, Sean pulled himself out of the little shelter. He scanned the other tents and saw that everyone had stayed inside. Thank you, Lord. Please let Finn be okay too, wherever he is.

  “Everyone alright?” he called, his voice hoarse. “You can come out now.” One by one, his crewmates poked their heads from their shelters. Streaked black with soot, red-eyed, some tear-streaked.

  “What a bunch of beauties, you are,” he said. “They should make a calendar out of us.”

  From the shelter next to him, Josh let out a raspy laugh. “Damn, Magneto. Are we even alive? Or is this hell?”

  “Good question.” The decimated woodland could certainly pass for hell. Sean turned onto his back and let his head rest on his folded arms. The earth beneath him was warm to the touch. Overhead, twisting masses of gray and black smoke roiled, as if the sky didn’t even exist anymore.

  Sean vowed never to take the sky for granted again. Assuming he ever saw it again, of course. They still had a long trek to get out of here.

  As he watched, the clouds of smoke shifted to make a hole. Through it, he saw a patch of pristine early evening sky, so perfect it snatched his breath away. And there,My Book right there in the middle, he saw a star twink
ling.

  No, not a star, he realized. It was too bright to be a star. It was a planet. He recognized it from all the nights he’d spent camping on the fire lines, and from the stargazing app on his phone.

  That was Jupiter. The biggest, boldest planet in the sky.

  “When we get out of this,” he said, mostly to himself, but also as a kind of public vow, “I’m going back to Jupiter Point.”

  Set the Night on Fire

  Burn So Bright: Josh & Suzanne

  Three of the new Jupiter Point Hotshots—Sean Marcus, Josh Marshall, and Rollo Wareham—were pushing aside the balloons and striding into the kids’ area. In jeans and flannel shirts, they looked like wild men compared to the rest of the guests. Rugged good looks didn’t begin to describe it. Their physical fitness level was insane. They all looked like they could have run up the mountain to the observatory without breaking a sweat. For all she knew, they had.

  “Oops, I forgot to tell them this was a formal party,” Evie whispered. “Sorry, Suzanne.” She raised the camera and took a few more shots. “Make that sorry not sorry. Good Lord, they’re photogenic. Every last one of them.”

  Suzanne heaved a sigh, pretending to be annoyed. Better to look annoyed than fascinated, which was her usual response to the sight of Josh Marshall. Had he even combed his hair? Did he ever comb his hair? It always tumbled around his face as if he’d spent the day at the ocean. Or just gotten out of bed. Which, given the amount of flirting he did, was pretty likely. And did he always have to have that teasing sparkle in his eyes and that “I love trouble” grin?

  Would he ever bother to grow up?

  “It’s okay. I’ll handle it.” She took a fortifying sip of champagne, then beelined toward the hotshots, ignoring Evie’s and Brianna’s attempts to stop her. This was her event, damn it, and Josh Marshall had no business cruising in here as if it was some kind of block party.

  She ducked past the balloons at the edge of the play area. One of them swung back and bumped her in the nose. She brushed it aside and blinked her eyes back into focus. Josh—of course it would be Josh—had caught the entire embarrassing moment. A wide grin took over his face. That smile would make the panties melt off any girl, Suzanne most definitely included.

  Except she refused to fall for that carefree vibe of his. It was so not her thing, at least not anymore. Carefree was for kids.

  “What are you guys doing back here?” she asked as she reached them.

  “Checking out this rockin’ party you have going on.” Josh tucked his thumbs in his front pockets and cocked his head at her. “I’m all for outdoor education.” And he winked.

  Winked.

  As if outdoor education was something naughty. And of course now all sorts of images were hightailing it through her brain. Josh at the beach, in nothing but board shorts. Josh jogging shirtless up a mountain trail. Josh chopping wood, muscles flexing as he wielded the axe—and guess what? No shirt.

  Burn So Bright

  About the Author

  Jennifer Bernard is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance. Her books have been called “an irresistible reading experience” full of “quick wit and sizzling love scenes.” A graduate of Harvard and former news promo producer, she left big city life in Los Angeles for true love in Alaska, where she now lives with her husband and stepdaughters. She still hasn’t adjusted to the cold, so most often she can be found cuddling with her laptop and a cup of tea. No stranger to book success, she also writes erotic novellas under a naughty secret name that she’s happy to share with the curious. You can learn more about Jennifer and her books at JenniferBernard.net.

  Connect with Jennifer online:

  @Jen_Bernard

  JenniferBernardBooks

  JenniferBernard.net

  Jen@JenniferBernard.net

  Also by Jennifer Bernard

  Jupiter Point

  Set the Night on Fire ~ Book 1

  Burn So Bright ~ Book 2

  Seeing Stars

  (Prequel and Hope Falls Kindle World Novella)

  The Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriel

  The Fireman Who Loved Me

  Hot for Fireman

  Sex and the Single Fireman

  How to Tame a Wild Fireman

  Four Weddings and a Fireman

  The Night Belongs to Fireman

  Novellas

  One Fine Fireman

  Desperately Seeking Fireman

  It’s a Wonderful Fireman

  Love Between the Bases

  All of Me

  Caught By You

  Getting Wound Up (crossover with Sapphire Falls)

  Drive You Wild

  Crushing It