Page 20 of Burning Escape (Chasing Fire: Alaska #3)

TEN

Orion watched Tori sleep, praying over her.

In his mind he could still see Tori hanging over the strange man’s shoulder, her arms dangling down.

Lifeless. Somehow it wasn’t too surprising that it’d been the same man who’d tried to force Tori to dance with him that night Orion had arrived in Alaska.

Orion had yelled and broken into a full-out sprint to take the guy down.

Which might not have been the best idea, since he’d dropped Tori in his rush to get away. Even now Orion’s shoulder throbbed in agony after tackling the kidnapper.

But he’d still gotten away.

At least Tori was safe now.

Where pain had etched lines into her face when she was passed out, a new sense of peace now smoothed her features into a slight smile and steadied her breath.

She still held his hand, though her grip had relaxed and melted into his.

He studied her fingers, slender and small compared to his big paws.

The calluses on her palms were a testament to her determination and strength.

He wanted the chance to get to know Tori even more. To see if there was something to this…thing between them. If he’d read the room right, she’d had a pretty serious “come to Jesus” moment.

It ignited something in him that he could finally pursue and stop trying to douse.

But someone was out to get her.

And he wasn’t about to sit back and let that happen.

The door opened and JoJo walked in. “How’s she doing?” She nudged his bad shoulder.

He sucked in a breath. Couldn’t hold back the wince.

“Ry, are you okay?”

Not really. He breathed out slowly, avoiding her gaze.

“Did you hurt yourself when you took Tori’s kidnapper down? I mean, it was a textbook-perfect tackle, but he was a big guy.”

Yup, and Orion’s already injured shoulder had taken the brunt of it.

Probably how the creep had gotten away so easily. Orion hadn’t been able to hold on.

“Your silence is pretty telling. You better get that looked at.” JoJo stood over him, hands on her hips, very much looking like an older sister.

A very annoying, thinks-she-knows-it-all older sister.

“It’s fine. Just a little sore.” He let go of Tori’s hand, but he couldn’t even shrug with the throbbing pain. So much for nonchalance. “Where’s Raine?”

“She fell asleep in the waiting room. Neither of us were going to leave without knowing how Tori is doing. Now, back to the issue at hand—you’re not leaving here until you see someone. Not to pull rank or anything, rookie, but if you’re injured, we need to know.”

“It’s nothing you need to worry about.” He was strong enough to handle a little pain. After everything his mom had sacrificed in life for him, after everything he’d cost her, he could push through the discomfort. It was his calling to save others. Hard to do that sitting at the base.

“We’re all depending on each other while we’re fighting a fire, so I’ll make sure Jade knows. Might as well bite the bullet and get it looked at now.”

So, older sister know-it-all and tattletale too. Lovely.

A few X-rays and one exam later, and Orion was officially on medical leave complete with a sling and pain killers, the only blessing being that nothing was broken.

Probably if JoJo didn’t know him so well, he could’ve gotten away with it. Now he was out. Useless for the next few weeks.

But at least Tori woke up feeling almost normal the next morning. After Tori was discharged, Raine drove them all back to base camp in Tori’s car. Jade looked over the doctor’s orders and relegated the four of them to kitchen duty since it’d been such a long night for them all.

“Well, this is fun.” Tori’s grumbling while peeling carrots was the only thing Orion had to smile about. It was pretty cute the way she wrinkled her nose when she was annoyed.

“KP duty isn’t so bad. We all have to take turns.” JoJo stood by the commercial stove.

“Remind you of the Refuge?” Orion glanced at Tori.

“If we were at the Refuge, no way they’d let you be in the kitchen.” Tori pointed at him with the end of the carrot and then took a bite. “All because you’re male.”

“Which sounds rather unfair. Glad I didn’t get stuck there.” JoJo gave the big pot of pasta a stir and went back to grating the block of cheddar cheese. “The whole outhouse thing would’ve been a nightmare.”

“Try bathing there. Washing your whole body in a little tub of cold water was no picnic.” Tori added her carrot sticks to the veggie tray.

“But to be fair, it wasn’t all bad. Except for Jeremiah.

That creep needed to leave. But the rest of them, well, it was different to be a part of a group where everyone took care of each other.

They all worked in one big garden, ate their meals together, fished and hunted together.

That part was nice. But I still don’t wanna live there. ”

Raine continued to stir the veggie dip powder into the sour cream, listening but not saying anything. She was a hard one to read. They worked together to finish the cheesy hamburger casserole and get the dishes set.

It was homey and all, but this was not what Orion had signed up for.

Everyone settled around the tables once the casserole was ready. Orion swatted at a dumb fly buzzing around his head as he ate with Logan and Jamie and Tori. The sound of a plane engine interrupted the meal.

“It’s early.” Jamie wiped her mouth and ran for the door.

“What is she talking about?” Ham asked Logan from the next table over.

“Go find out.”

Everyone left their dinner and moved outside. A sparkly new red-and-white Twin Otter plane taxied down the short runway.

Jade’s jaw dropped. “Did you buy us a new airplane?” She stared at Jamie.

“Maybe.” Jamie’s grin didn’t hide a thing. “You couldn’t keep limping along on that rinky-dink plane even if Saxon fixed it up. And…I know a guy.”

The whole crew surrounded the Twin Otter.

“She’s a beauty.” Saxon ran his hand along the sleek body.

“It’ll be good to get back in the air, fighting fires.” Jade looked over at Sanchez, Kane, and Mack. “Not that we don’t like hanging out on the bus with you guys, but I’ve been on the ground too long. I’m ready to jump again.”

Tell me about it.

Orion shouldn’t be a baby, but how was a guy supposed to do what he was meant to do when he was grounded with a dumb injury?

“Who’s that?” Mack nodded toward the entrance of the camp, where a black truck drove up.

The decal on the side of the vehicle said “Sheriff.”

It wasn’t Deputy Mills, who’d taken their statements earlier. This time it was the sheriff himself who walked over. “Nice plane you got.”

“You should come up with us sometime, Deke.” Skye opened up the door in the back of the plane and stuck her head in. “This is amazing. It even smells brand new.”

“That’d be nice and all, but I need to talk to Ms. Mitchell,” the sheriff said.

“We can go in the mess hall. Do you mind if Orion comes too?” Tori asked. “If it’s about the guy from last night, Ry will know more than I will. My memory is really spotty.”

“That’s fine with me.”

They settled at a table with coffee. “Have you found anything yet?” Orion asked.

Sheriff Starr took a sip before answering.

“The guy who tried to abduct you is Wayne Osborne. Got him on camera slipping something into your drink. The rest of his crew doesn’t know much.

One of them said Wayne mentioned being hired to do something illegal, but no one is fessing up if they know more.

All that to say, we’re on the lookout for Osborne, but there’s a good possibility he’s not behind the delivery, just the abduction.

He could’ve been hired to do someone else’s dirty work. ”

“Is he with the militia that tried to shoot us down in the airplane? Since getting caught up in trying to help Logan save Jamie, it’s been one run-in after another with them.” And Orion was getting pretty tired of it. What was it going to take to bring these people in?

“It’s possible. Mostly he spends his days driving his truck, hunting, and drinking with his crew. He’s got a few misdemeanors, but nothing like this until yesterday. My guess is he fled the area and will lay low.”

“What about the flowers? Or the knife?” Tori wrapped both hands around her mug but didn’t drink it.

“No prints to be found. No one saw anything around your apartment. Nothing the local florist knows. The flowers didn’t come from her shop. Which makes me think that the real culprit is a lot smarter than Wayne. He’s no mastermind. Just desperate for money since he’s got a gambling problem.”

“And Razor? Any hint of him around?” Orion tried to keep the accusation out of his tone, but this was getting ridiculous. Copper Mountain was a small town, and they couldn’t find any witnesses? “Have you found anything?”

The sheriff stared him down. “This is a big county with a lot of wilderness to cover. Why do you think people like Razor come here to disappear? We are looking. We’re not going to back down.”

“I appreciate that.” Tori stood. “If there’s nothing else, I’ve got a lot of dishes to wash.”

“I’m sorry I don’t have more, but this isn’t finished yet. Be careful, and whatever you do, I suggest you don’t go anywhere alone.” The sheriff left.

Tori grabbed a half-empty plate and scraped the food into the big trash can. Her hand shook.

“Hey.” Orion took the plate from her, set it on the counter. He wrapped her in his arms. “We’re gonna get this guy. We will.”

She snuggled into his chest. “I know.”

Because he might not be able to fight a fire right now, but he would keep her safe if it was the last thing he did.

* * *

Tori spun the tracker ring on her finger—a brand new one Jade had given her—as the new airplane lifted them higher into the sky. She couldn’t catch a break.

Here she was, living the dream, accomplishing what she’d set out to do, and her life was still a mess. And poor Orion was the one paying the price. Even with all his own stuff, he was looking out for her, like the way he’d calmed her last night after the sheriff had left.