WILD HEAT

by Bella Andre

  Joseph didn't tell him to be careful. Not when he already seemed to know that Logan would do whatever it took—and risk everything—to ensure Maya's safety.

  Logan put the jacket on as he ran uphill, not giving the burning cabin another glance. It was just another building, wood and nails, not flesh and blood.

  Maya was all that mattered now.

  “Did I know him?” Intense, unending rage raced through Maya, from head to toe and back again as she launched herself at Jenny, swinging her bound arms around in an arc, knocking the woman into the mountain, screaming “You fucking bitch, he was my brother!”

  She spun around, wanting to hit Jenny harder, faster this time. But before she could make contact, a sharp blade whacked against her skull and knocked her back into a tree trunk. She felt something warm and wet trickle through her hair.

  Jenny threw the bloodstained chainsaw down into the dirt. Taking advantage of Maya's momentary shock, she quickly rolled duct tape around her body. Maya kicked and yelled, but without the use of her hands, she was soon imprisoned against the tree.

  “I was planning on killing you,” Jenny said viciously, “but now I'm thinking I should just leave you here to burn. It'll hurt so much more that way, take so much longer for you to die.”

  Somewhere in the back of her mind, Maya registered Jenny's crazy threats. But she needed to know for certain what happened to her brother.

  “Did you light that apartment on fire?”

  Jenny put the roll of duct tape next to the chainsaw and her gun. “Oh, you mean the fire that killed Tony?” She almost looked bored, as if one rookie firefighter mattered so little. She fluffed her sweat-dampened hair. “Um, yeah. But he'd really pissed me off.”

  “How?” The word left Maya's lips like a bullet. Like the one she wanted to put between Jenny's eyebrows.

  “Do you really want to know?” Jenny rolled her eyes. “I mean, he's been dead for months. Don't you think you should get over it already?”

  Maya tried to wrench herself away from the tree, but the duct tape around her chest and legs held her firmly in place.

  “Tell me why.”

  Jenny continued taping her up as she said, “We went out a couple of times. And then he told me I was acting all weird and he thought we should cool it. Piece of shit rookie was lucky to score me in the first place. He hadn't seen weird yet. The things I could have made him do.” Her eyes went slightly unfocused. Glazed. “I knew his shifts. Thought it would be fun to see how he did in a big fire. It was just pure luck that he died. Served the bastard right.”

  “Bitch!”

  Maya's scream reverberated through her entire body and still it wasn't enough. She wanted to rip Jenny limb from limb for taking her brother away without even the slightest bit of remorse.

  Jenny's face contorted in anger and she grabbed the chainsaw from the dirt and forced the blade up under Maya's chin.

  “No, you're the bitch. The shady bitch who stole my man.”

  Maya's eyes teared from the saw's jagged teeth and chain digging into her neck and jaw, but she refused to show any fear. There was no point in playing nice anymore, no reason to keep her mouth shut.

  “You're disgusting. No wonder Logan wouldn't go near you.”

  Jenny jammed the chainsaw harder into Maya's neck. “You're wrong. He would have fallen in love with me, and I'd be carrying his baby instead of Dennis's, if it weren't for you.”

  Maya was amazed she could register one more shock at this point. “You're pregnant?”

  “Aren't you going to congratulate me? Because I'm going to tell everyone Logan's the father.”

  Jenny's sick words lanced Maya's heart like knives. Oh God, even after they were all dead, it wouldn't end. A child would have to live with this insanity every single day.

  “No one will believe you,” she choked out from beneath the pressure of the chainsaw. “They'll all know what filth you are. They'll all know you're lying.”

  Jenny snarled and pulled the chainsaw away from her neck, looking for the start cord, then pulling it hard. Maya gasped in a breath, one that looked like it was going to be her last.

  Her nemesis lifted the grinding chainsaw, aiming right for Maya's heart. “I've changed my mind. I think I'll kill you instead of letting you burn. And I know exactly what I'm going to cut off first. Your precious tits. Logan would be so sad if he knew what I was about to do to your boobies. Tell me, how did it feel when Logan sucked them? When he squeezed them?”

  Maya shot a quick barb at her killer: “Amazing.”

  Jenny's cheeks went red, as if Maya had slapped them. “I wish he could find you like this, see your charred tits on the ground. But if he's not already dead, I'm going to have to take care of him too. I hope you fucked him good and hard this morning, because it was good-bye.”

  Maya pinched her eyes shut as Jenny moved closer. Back when she'd lost her father and brother, she'd wanted to die. But now she wanted to live, if only to see Logan's face one more time, to feel his heart beating steady and strong beneath her cheek.

  A roar sounded to her left and she opened her eyes just in time to see Logan flying through the air, his hands clamping around Jenny's waist as he dragged her to the ground.

  Maya's heart was in her throat as she watched the man she loved knock the roaring chainsaw off the side of the trail and wrestle Jenny into a prone position beneath him.

  “Stop it, Logan. I love you,” Jenny cried.

  He shifted his weight slightly in shock. “Did you start this wildfire to get back at me for not going out with you?”

  Maya watched a tear seep out from beneath Jenny's lashes as she said, “Dennis told me about Joseph's problems. I knew you'd think he lit the fires. And I knew someone would see you putting them out.” Her tears stopped falling and she smiled a sick, twisted smile. “It was so easy to set you up. But I wasn't going to kill you, Logan. I was going to comfort you.” Her smile turned to a scowl. “If she hadn't shown up, that's what I would have done.” She craned her neck up from the dirt to yell, “But you did, you stupid cunt. Because you wanted to fuck him too bad, couldn't wait to drop to your knees and suck his dick, could you? That's when I knew I needed to kill both of you.”

  Logan's low, hard voice interrupted the woman's angry ramblings. “I could kill you for touching her.”

  Spit flew from her mouth and slid down his cheek. “Fuck you, asshole.”

  His hand went around Jenny's throat and even though Maya hated her more than anyone on earth, she couldn't let Logan kill her. Not for her. Or Robbie. Or Tony. Or Connor.

  No matter how much Jenny deserved it, Logan would be haunted by her death for the rest of his life. Maya couldn't let it be one more thing Jenny took from him.

  “Logan, please. Don't. Let go of her.” She wasn't sure if he could hear her, but she kept talking anyway. “I know she deserves to die, but not like this. She'll get what she deserves. I promise. She'll rot in prison for the rest of her life.”

  She held her breath as she waited for him to decide. And then she realized he must have let up his grip, because Jenny started coughing.

  He didn't turn his face away from his unwilling hostage. “Are you all right? Did she hurt you?”

  Maya'd certainly felt better, but she was alive. Thank God.

  “I'm fine.”

  She was about to tell him the duct tape was by his left foot so that he could restrain Jenny, when her shoulders and her hair suddenly felt like they were about to ignite. She looked up into the branches above her head and worked to contain her fear.

  “Logan, this tree is on fire.”

  He shifted his weight to look at her, and Jenny took advantage of his split-second distraction to wriggle away. She ran up the hill, as fast and nimble as a rabbit.

  Logan squatted at her feet, ripping at Maya's duct tape with his teeth and hands.

  Seconds later he'd removed enough tape to set her free. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her out from beneath the tree, just before a loud crack s
ounded and it split in half.

  “The fire will take care of her,” he said, and even as the fire threatened to overtake Maya, she shivered at the picture his words painted.

  He pulled her down the trail; the smoke was so thick she couldn't see farther than her elbow. She tripped and fell to her knees, and the next thing she knew, Logan's arms were around her and he was carrying her through the smoke. She clung to his neck, knowing if she let go and they were separated, she'd be toast. She tried to take a breath, and choked on the thick haze of smoke.

  “We're going to get out of this,” he promised her in a low voice, and she believed him, even though all signs pointed to the opposite outcome.

  Suddenly, another blaze appeared, a fireball rolling up the hill, straight toward them. Maya heard a squeak of fear emerge from her lips as the blaze illuminated their circle of hell. She tried to get closer to Logan, her heart racing.

  “Hold on tight.”

  He dropped down and pressed her into an indentation in the rock, pulling his fire-resistant jacket over his head and fanning it out to cover them both completely. It would buy them fifteen seconds, maybe twenty, in a flame front.

  Her nose was jammed into his breastbone, and even though she could hardly breathe, even though she'd nearly been massacred by a madwoman with a chainsaw, she felt strangely safe.

  Flames rolled over the trail and he said, “Scream,” so she started yelling. It was the only way to keep the fiery gases from scorching her lungs, but she would have screamed anyway, as she felt a sphere of fire roll straight toward them.

  She braced for impact, tried to somehow prepare herself to be burned alive, when the fireball rammed into the rock and exploded. She didn't know how long Logan held her as her entire body shook. Of everything that had happened so far, this was by far the scariest. Jenny's bombs and house fires were crazy, but nature was wholly unpredictable.

  Logan pulled her against him and she'd never been happier to feel his strong arms circle her body. She scrunched his sweat-soaked shirt in her hands, burrowed her face into the hard wall of his chest.

  “Thank you,” she finally said, the words “I love you” still stuck on the tip of her tongue.

  God, why couldn't she just say it already? He was the man she'd been waiting for all her life. And yet, in the circle of his arms, she was more scared than she'd ever been.

  He cupped her jaw in his hand and covered her mouth with his, sweeping his tongue inside to mate with hers. Without words, his kiss told her how afraid he'd been of losing her, how much he loved her.

  “We need to get out of here. Do you think you can walk?” he asked gently.

  She nodded, her throat clogged with a full range of emotions: Fear. Love. Confusion.

  He helped her to her feet and put an arm around her waist, holding her close as they headed downhill. Five minutes later they were finally able to see the blue sky and breathe in fresh air again. She sucked it into her starving lungs as they picked up their pace on the steep downhill grade. Logan never let go, never let her stumble.

  Several minutes later when they were in a much safer spot, he carefully ran his hands over her face, her neck, her shoulders, her wrists.

  “Damn her for touching you,” he said against her lips.

  Maya threaded her hands into his slightly singed hair and kissed him. She'd never get enough of him, would never want to stop kissing him. But this wasn't the time and place for making love.

  He held her tightly to him. “When I heard the chain-saw, I thought …”

  She pressed a kiss into his shoulder. “She didn't hurt me,” she insisted, knowing how helpless he must have felt, running to save her from a madwoman.

  “Why was she after you? What did you ever do to her?”

  “She saw us in the bar. And she was jealous. She wanted you, Logan. Badly.”

  When Jenny had run away, Maya hadn't wanted him to go after her. She hadn't wanted him to risk his life again, to leave her and, possibly, never come back.

  Maya knew that if she gave in to what she wanted— what he clearly wanted too—if she agreed to be with him, this was the same fear she'd face every day, every night he was called away to put out a wildfire. He might end up being the target of an insane arsonist again, and she wouldn't know it until it was too late.

  She put her hand on his arm. “Do you think she'll make it out?”

  “She better not. This time I'll kill her.”

  “No,” Maya said, turning her mouth into Logan's palm. “She isn't worth it.”

  His eyes were dark with fury. “She hurt you. She killed Robbie.”

  “They're just scratches. I'll heal.” But Robbie wouldn't. And neither would Tony. She had to tell him. “She knew my brother. They dated.”

  He pulled her close. “She was obsessed with fire-fighters. I only wish I'd realized she was obsessed with fire too.”

  Maya was glad that Logan's shirt was already wet. It made her tears seem smaller.

  “She says he dumped her when she got too clingy. She set the fire that killed him and said she was happy when he died. That he deserved it.”

  “She's insane, Maya. I'd bring him back for you if I could.”

  No one had ever loved her this much, enough to slay all her dragons and dry all her tears.

  “When she told me she was going to kill me—” Her voice caught. “I realized I'm finally ready to start living again. It's time for me to accept that he's gone.”

  “Stay here, Maya. Stay in Lake Tahoe with me.”

  But she wasn't sure she could. Not when she loved Logan too much to lose him. Even after everything they'd been through together, she wasn't sure she could hack it as a hotshot's wife. She felt like she was wading through black smoke, trying to find her way toward the light, to a place where she would take a deep breath and feel whole again.

  But she wasn't there yet. And wasn't sure that she ever would be.

  So rather than answering him, rather than having to make a decision about her future—about their future— she focused on the fire. On her duties. And his.

  “I need to call my boss and tell him everything that's happened.”

  Logan searched her eyes and she dropped her gaze. She didn't want him to see her fear. Her uncertainty.

  He stroked her arms. “I know you're not ready yet, Maya, but I'm going to tell you again anyway. I love you.”

  She closed her eyes as his lips touched hers. He was so gentle. So wonderful. And still she was afraid.

  “Will you still be in Tahoe when I'm done putting out the fire?”

  She swallowed hard. “I don't know.”

  He didn't pressure her into making a decision or a declaration. She was paralyzed by her fear of losing him, was still convinced that it would be better to give him up now.

  They moved down the trail in silence. She gasped when they got to Joseph's cabin. It was a massive fireball in the middle of a forest.

  “She made me do it,” she confessed in a shaky voice.

  Logan squeezed her hand. “Joseph understands. He'd never blame you for doing what you needed to do to stay alive.”

  She held her stomach with both hands, willing herself not to hurl. “But everything you have is gone. Your memories from his cabin, and your house too.”

  “Joseph's going to move in with me. Or Dennis. So he doesn't need the cabin anymore.” Logan pulled her against him, kissing her hard, stealing the breath from her lungs. “You're here, Maya. I don't need a house. I only need you.”

  Her heart broke into a million pieces at the thought of going back to San Francisco. Alone.

  Suddenly, one of the cabin's windows blew out and he dragged her behind him as he ran. They didn't let up their pace until they saw the fire trucks roaring onto Joseph's driveway.

  Sam MacKenzie jumped out of the lead truck. “You guys all right?”

  Chief Stevens was right behind him. “Maya, thank God.” His face was deeply lined with worry as he hugged her. “I could barely hear you—we ha
d to access our recorded telephone logs to replay what you said. I wish to God we'd gotten here sooner.”

  “I'm fine,” she said weakly. “Thank you for coming.”

  She felt herself weave on her feet and Logan was instantly at her side again, holding her steady. “Can you walk down the driveway?”

  She blinked hard, forced the black spots away from her vision. “Yes. Of course I can,” she insisted, even though it was more pride than truth.

  “We'll go slow,” he said as they started walking.

  But he had a job to do. Which was why she was going to force herself to walk out of his arms even though she never ever wanted to let him go.

  “You have to go now to see if you can salvage anything from Joseph's cabin. I'll be fine.”

  He searched her eyes for a long moment before he said, “Joseph's waiting for you out on the road. He'll get you a ride back to your motel.”

  She nodded, her heart stuck in her throat. He held her hand fast, not letting her go. “Don't worry,” he said, “I'll come back to you. I promise.”

  And then she made herself walk down the driveway, away from the man she loved as he raced straight into the fire.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  JOSEPH WAITED for her at the end of the drive. “Welcome back from hell.”

  Her throat grew tight as she stood before the kind man who'd given Logan so much. “I'm so sorry, Joseph. I should have fought harder. Then maybe you'd still have your house.”

  He put his arms around her, his solid warmth comforting. Logan had been lucky to find a father like this.

  “You did exactly the right thing. All that matters is getting out alive.”

  “But she got away.”

  Joseph's eyebrows raised in surprise. “Don't worry. I'm sure she'll end up paying big-time for what she's done. You'll see.” He helped her into a waiting minivan. “Go back to your motel. Take a shower. Eat something. And get some sleep. We'll all still be here when you wake up.”

  The drive back to her motel was a total blur. The man behind the wheel kept telling her she looked bad, kept saying he wanted to take her to the hospital, but she couldn't stand to have a bunch of strangers poking and prodding her. She needed to be alone, to regain her bearings and process everything that had happened.