Page 12 of Burning Hearts (Chasing Fire: Alaska #1)

TWELVE

Logan steered the toggles, fighting the wind the whole way down. Flames and heat licked up into the sky, pushing air currents toward him.

He could still hear the echo of Tucker yelling over the radio. But the boss knew that for the sake of saving an innocent, no one was going to sit back. As if they’d do what the deputy said and wait for the police to solve this.

Samuel had called back nearly fifteen minutes after they’d wrapped up on the street, having run out of people to ask what they’d seen. Or people who might know where to find Snatch. They’d been about to try a different tactic when Samuel told him Jamie’s computer was still connected via the secure satellite network their company used for remote workers.

They’d traced it to the side of this mountain.

A cabin.

So close he could feel what it would be like to hold her in his arms the way he used to. Lord, show me the way. He needed her back. For her not to have been…His mind could conjure up all kinds of things, horrible things that might happen to her while she was captive.

And where was Tristan?

A wind current whipped him to the side. The parachute caught the draft and sucked him toward Cadee. He steered out of the way, falling back on instinct and riding the current over the cabin, which was completely engulfed in fire now.

Logan scoured the ground for militia guys. Was this where they had gone after abandoning the compound? Their hideout had been discovered. Was this just another spot to hole up and skirt the law?

He landed on the snow and hit the ground running.

The parachute dropped behind him. Logan gathered it up as fast as he could and stuffed it back in his pack, which he clipped onto his flight suit. Each of the smokejumpers on his team did the same. “Everyone good?”

They all nodded to him.

Jade strode between them. Rookies and seasoned smokejumpers alike—and a couple of stowaway hotshots. All of them had turned up to help him come up here and save Jamie.

They’d raced back to the base camp, but Mark hadn’t been available to act as spotter. JoJo hadn’t been able to come, but Hammer had jumped on the plane when he heard what was happening. Saxon was the one who’d jumped in the copilot seat to replace Mark, starting up the engine before anyone could mention how no one had even known he was a licensed pilot.

Logan stared at his friends on the ground now.

Jade glanced at him. “You good?”

Logan nodded, too choked up to even tell them thank you.

She clapped him on the shoulder. “Let’s find her.”

Hammer came over, his pack in his arms. “I need a rifle, not a bunch of stuff.” He grimaced. “Never mind. Did you see her, or anyone with a weapon we need to be worried about?”

Logan frowned. “What?”

Hammer pointed over his shoulder, down the hill. “On an ATV. One man, one woman.”

Logan raced by him, all the way to the edge of the snowy hill. He stumbled on the ground, his boot sliding on a slick patch of compacted snow. The sun overhead glinted off the white under him, the glare almost blinding.

He reached the edge where the hill dropped off and shielded his eyes with his hand. “Jamie!” He turned back. “I see them!”

The ATV had overturned. She lay on the grass below the snow line, where she’d presumably rolled away from the crashed vehicle.

Whoever the man was, he lay closer to the vehicle.

Logan dropped his gear and started to run. “Jamie!”

He raced down the hill, slipping on snow and sliding down, creating a spray of icy particles behind him. When his boots found traction on the grass, Logan jumped up and scrambled over. He skidded to a stop beside her, at least part of his attention on the man.

Hammer ran up right behind him.

Logan pointed. “Secure him!”

He reached down and touched her cheeks, patting gently. “Jamie, can you hear me?”

“This one’s been beaten,” Hammer called over.

Logan said, “It might be her brother.”

Orion and Tori headed toward them. Logan said, “Jade and Vince are checking out the fire at the house.”

Cadee came down the hill behind them. “Is Jamie okay?”

Jamie sucked in a breath and came up swinging.

“Whoa, whoa.” He grasped her wrists gently. “I’ve got you. Everything is okay.”

She blinked up at him. “Logan.”

“Yeah.” He smiled. “I’m here.”

“You’re here.” She reached up and touched his cheeks, her hands falling to his arms. “Logan.”

He leaned down and kissed her, intending to only offer a brief reassurance, but as soon as his lips touched hers, everything sparked back to life, like a flash of lightning starting a blaze after a long dry summer. The warmth and comfort in the midst of so much dryness…it came rushing in like a wildfire, and with it, a whole lot of promise for the future.

“This guy is unconscious and injured, but he will probably be okay. A lot of this beating was just for show.” Hammer cleared his throat. “Guys?”

Logan pulled back from Jamie. “Huh?”

Tori snorted.

Logan said, “Who would beat a man and make it look worse than it really is?” He looked back at Jamie. “Are you okay?”

She said, “I think I’ll know for sure if I can get up.”

He helped her sit up. “Did they…hurt you?” He wanted to know about as much as he really didn’t. She’d been captive for hours.

She shook her head. “I’m okay, Logan. I didn’t know that was you parachuting down. We hit a patch of ice, I think.”

“We should figure out how to get out of here.” Cadee came over and crouched. She lifted Jamie’s wrist and looked at her watch.

Assessing her heart rate?

The younger woman said, “Any dizziness? Nausea?”

“I’m okay.” Jamie hung on to Logan’s arm, and he helped her stand. She leaned against him.

“I’m glad.” Logan wrapped his arm around her and hugged her to his side. “I just wanna know where the men are who took you.”

She frowned up at him. “They locked me in that room. I don’t know where they are.”

Logan was more than a little worried about the rest of the militia guys. He couldn’t stop thinking about that moment when he’d realized she was being abducted. Hearing Tucker threatening over the radio to fire all of them for taking the plane out again without authorization hadn’t been nearly as bad as Jamie screaming his name.

Logan wasn’t ever going to forget that sound.

The others moved away to see to the male. Logan tugged Jamie around to face him. He slid one arm around her waist and touched her cheek. “I’m glad you’re all right.”

“Ask me again in an hour.” She smiled. “Adrenaline will have worn off by then, and we probably have to walk fifty miles to the nearest road.”

He said, “Saxon—he’s one of our hotshots—found a ranch with a runway three or so miles west of here. Neil is putting down there so we don’t have to walk far to meet them.”

Jamie let out a breath. “That’s good news.”

He smiled, feeling the gentle pull on his lips. “Let’s get you out of here.” He turned and walked with her, keeping her under his arm. Holding her up whether she needed it or not. Thanking God with every step that he’d found her. “Where’s your pack?” He looked around. “The connection on your computer is how Samuel found you.”

Jamie said, “I have no idea. I didn’t get it back. And then the cabin exploded.” She winced. “I hope that guy is okay.”

“What guy?”

They got to the overturned ATV, and Jamie sat on the edge, even though it was the step where the rider put their foot. Jamie said, “The one you hit over the head. He was here. He helped us escape.”

“Are you serious?” He had dropped down in front of the cabin, now a blaze of fiery glory. “Where did he go?”

Hopefully the guy hadn’t perished when the cabin had exploded. Logan wanted to buy the guy a burger at the Midnight Sun Saloon to say thanks for saving Jamie’s life. Assuming all this made any sense at all.

“I have no idea.” She glanced over her shoulder to where Jade and Vince picked their way down the snowy hill. “I really do hope he’s all right.”

“He’s one of them.” Logan folded his arms.

“So was my brother. But things aren’t always what they seem.”

He was worried about that as well.

But she was here, and so was he…

So far this rescue had gone off according to plan. Or would have if he’d had a plan, anyway.

“As long as you’re all right.” He didn’t care who’d saved her. Only that she was safe. He kissed her forehead and went over to Hammer, who was kneeling and holding her brother’s upper body up off the snow. Logan crouched beside them. “Tristan?”

“Yeah.” The guy groaned. “We need to get out of here. They’ll be close.”

“Can you walk?” Hammer asked.

Tristan winced. “Sure.”

Logan held his hand out and helped the guy to his feet. Tristan started to sway, but Logan and Hammer caught him. They held his elbows, keeping Jamie’s brother on his feet.

Tristan said, “They’ll have seen the cabin blow, and they’ll come running. We don’t have much time.”

“Come running from where?” Logan asked, moving to Jamie. “Where are they?”

Vince shot him a look, his dark eyes shadowed, deep-set in pale skin. “How many?”

“Does it matter?” Tristan said. “If we’re gonna go, let’s go.”

Logan looked at Jamie. “Ready to run?”

She held out her hand, and he hauled her to her feet. “I’m ready if you are.”

He wanted to kiss her again, but they really did need to go.

Jade said, “This way.”

She led them down the hill to the west, moving fast. Expecting them all to keep up. As a boss, she was doing great. He didn’t like that she thought the team was fractured. Especially when, for the last few hours, they’d gelled in a way they never would have with team-building exercises.

A gunshot cracked across the open sky.

He heard the rumble of engines, but it was just a din in the distance. “Run!”

Hammer took the weight of Tristan and barreled down the hill. Cadee and Tori ran beside each other. Logan grabbed Jamie’s hand and tugged her along.

Skye came sprinting down the hill, moving between them, going faster than he’d have thought possible on this terrain. As if it was a normal sprint and she was out exercising.

Logan glanced back and saw Orion and Vince holding up the rear. Vince had a gun out, probably a revolver he used on bears he came across in the backcountry.

But at least someone was armed.

They raced down the hill.

Another gunshot broke across the open expanse of land. They all changed direction slightly, continuing down the hill toward the ranch and a runway behind it. Going too fast to spot danger.

His heart pounded. Everyone had their stuff still strapped to them, packs and pouches bouncing around. But there was nowhere to go.

“Come on!” Jade yelled.

He must’ve been lagging behind, too caught up in his own thoughts.

Vince said, “I don’t like this.”

“You’re right,” Hammer called out. “Feels like we’re being herded.”

A rush of cold fear rolled through Logan. “Just get to the plane!”

* * *

Herded?

Jamie didn’t have time to get sucked beneath the undertow of the fear she’d been feeling for hours. All she needed to do was run.

Every ache and pain in her body stretched to life and woke up, making its presence known. She’d tumbled hard from the ATV in a way that meant Tristan hadn’t taken the brunt of the fall. His injuries were far worse than her minimal ones, and if she hadn’t pushed off from letting him take the hit for her, he could’ve been in even worse shape.

They raced to the bottom of the hill.

ATVs crested the top of the hill behind them, spilling over like a great swarm of ants. Four. Two men on each.

She stumbled, her leg muscles screaming. A whimper escaped her lips. They had been lured up here to die, picked off like animals in a hunt. She was someone’s prey, and because Logan cared, an entire crew of smokejumpers was going to be killed along with her.

You shouldn’t have come.

Her brother’s words echoed in her ears. But they were her words—to Logan. At least in her mind. She didn’t want him to die because of her, but after hearing her get kidnapped, he must’ve pulled out all the stops to get up here.

He never would’ve given up.

The fact a man like him cared enough about her to come into a deadly situation after her…She loved that thought as much as she hated that he might die trying to save her.

Someone fired off a round.

Orion stumbled. He dragged himself up, tripping as he kept going.

So many innocent people. They should never have come for her, put their lives on the line not for a community or a family—for her.

She wasn’t worth it.

Logan tugged Jamie across the grass toward where the plane idled on the runway, facing toward them. The ranch house to the left seemed empty. Some abandoned homestead up here in the middle of nowhere? She hoped so.

No one spoke. Everyone just ran for the plane, even though it would have to take off toward the guys behind them. The ones on ATVs shooting at them.

Jamie stumbled. Logan scooped her up, his arms around her waist, and they ran. Her lungs burned. Her legs. Every muscle in her body. Hammer didn’t miss a stride holding up Tristan and keeping pace with everyone else.

The big man called out, “Let’s go! On the plane!”

Almost as soon as he said it, movement over by the abandoned buildings caught her attention. Men spilled out of every door, holding huge rifles. They pointed the weapons at the smokejumpers.

Jamie screamed, “No!”

Tori slammed into the plane, unable to slow down. Orion caught her and helped her in. Jade jumped up behind them. The plane engine roared. Jamie climbed in ahead of Logan.

A gunshot pinged off the side of the plane.

This thing wasn’t bulletproof—someone was going to get killed.

“This is a kill box!” Hammer grunted. “They lured us into a trap!”

From the front, Saxon yelled, “Get in! Everyone get in!”

Jamie scrambled across the floor. Tristan lay in the aisle. From the front seat, Neil yelled, “Everyone get to your seats! Keep your heads down! This is gonna be dicey.”

When the last person got on board, Logan pulled the door shut and secured it. “We’re in!”

The plane rumbled down the asphalt. Glass on the window closest to Jamie popped with the impact of a bullet. The metal embedded itself in the outer layer of the window, the plastic—or whatever it was made out of—starting to splinter. Jamie scrambled to the floor between two rows. Bullets hammered into the metal sides of the plane, and she could hear the hiss of air escaping.

The engines roared.

“Push it!” Saxon yelled. “Or we’ll never get off the ground.”

Neil said, “That’s all she’s got!”

Jamie clapped her hands over her ears. She didn’t even know where Tristan was. Or Logan. Then he moved into view in the aisle.

She lowered her hands.

Saxon yelled, “The windshield took a hit!”

Jamie flinched.

“Everyone hang on!” Saxon’s voice rang down the plane, and the wheels left the ground. They soared up into the air.

Bullets hammered the underside of the plane.

It dipped a few feet, losing altitude. Jamie screamed. Logan shifted closer, fitting himself as near to her as he could in the tiny space between the seats. He reached out and touched her cheeks.

The shooting stopped—or they had too much altitude for the bullets to reach them—and she could let out a breath.

Alarms blared from the cockpit. Saxon and Neil yelled at each other, but the words washed over her. “We’re gonna die,” she gasped.

Logan shifted even closer, probably hurting himself in the tiny space. All his gear was still on. Sweat ran from his hair down the sides of his face.

She had no idea what kind of state she was in. Her breath caught in her throat. “Why did you come for me? This is all my fault.”

“We aren’t gonna die, Jamie,” Logan said. “Do you wanna know how I know?”

All she could do was nod, a jerky movement.

“Because I love you, and God didn’t bring us this far to leave us alone now.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks. You won’t leave us, I know You won’t. She squeezed her eyes shut for a second. The plane dipped again.

Neil called out, “We’re going down!”

She grasped Logan’s elbows. “I love you.”

Logan nodded. He leaned close enough to kiss her, just a brief hard smash of his lips against hers in the midst of this insanity. “Good, because we need to jump.”

She stared at him. “What?”

Logan turned his head. “The plane is going down. We need to jump!”