Page 24 of Burning Justice (Chasing Fire: Alaska #6)

Jade slapped Kane’s shoulders. “Go.”

He jumped out of the plane. The line caught, dragging out his chute so that Kane didn’t even have to pull the cord. He had his toggles to steer. The terrain stretched out, white-topped mountains. All that endless sky above, full of the haze of wildfire smoke.

One jump, a few other skills, most of which he knew from being a hotshot. No big deal.

Kane didn’t want to get cocky, but he could probably do this in his sleep.

Sticking on the ground with Maria and being content with that had been the bigger challenge.

Now she’d encouraged him to go out and do what he could.

She was doing what she could—with plenty of highly trained guys to watch her back—and he was going to trust God.

I get it. I need to trust You. I need to let go of a little bit of control and give us both some space.

Kane turned far enough to see Saxon nearly beside him, tracking with him on the way to the landing zone. They’d done this so many times, but not in all this gear. Or with so many other smokejumpers behind them, coming down.

He adjusted course for the air currents and avoided the trees to the west, descending to a clearing about half a mile wide on the side of a hill. About a mile west of the fire. It was moving fast, covering ground, driven by the wind.

It wouldn’t be long before the fire was here.

The clearing was barely big enough to land on, but he and Saxon had come up with the plan to get the team down and convinced Jade they could do it.

As he neared the ground, the air shifted, and he smelled something else. Not wildfire smoke. Not fresh air. Not anything from an animal or any other kind of predator.

“Gasoline.” Kane looked around but saw nothing. The fire was a mile to the east, heading this direction. They were supposed to cut a line in this remote area so it didn’t spread to the westerly spruce.

His boots hit the ground, and he folded, caught himself, and stood to wrap the chute.

Saxon did the same beside him. “Smells like gas!”

Kane looked around. “I caught it too.” He grabbed the radio from his leg pocket. “Boss, it smells like gasoline down here. We might have a problem.”

Fire flared up in the trees to the east, erupting like a small explosion, sending smoke up into the sky. Four hundred yards away at least.

Between him and the flare-up, the other firefighters landed one by one in the clearing. Textbook—just like he’d explained to Jade.

Kane stowed his chute in his pack and dragged off his jumpsuit. He sprinted toward the fire, running at the fastest pace he could manage. Across the clearing to a spot where his boots splashed in the wet ground.

He kept running, needing to get a look at the fire. Not so textbook. He might actually get fired for this.

Scratch that.

He might get failed for this.

“Foster!” His radio blared, the voice female and not happy, to say the least. “Get back here!”

Another fireball exploded in front of him, at least eight feet to the right of the previous one. Now a fire. This one ignited a tree and blew it apart, sending pieces all over—including down the side of this steep hill.

He stopped running and looked down at his feet, standing in half an inch of damp ground.

Gasoline.

Another explosion, this one to the south.

Pop.

Pop.

Two more came in quick succession. He turned on the spot, watching fire ignite the trees around them.

Jade tromped up to him. “You’d better have some kind of explanation for this.”

“Elias.”

She flinched. “That’s what Crispin is here to take care of. This is about fighting fire.”

“He knew we were coming up here.”

She shook her head. “The fire is probably in the roots, and these old trees are so dry they’re snapping. It’s crazy, but it happens.”

Kane grabbed her shoulders and tugged her around.

A tree exploded in front of her.

“We’re surrounded,” Kane said. “Elias brought us up here to kill us.” He let go of her and strode to Hammer, ignoring the look on his team leader’s face. “It’s a trap.”

“Maybe he’ll come to see our grisly end himself.” Hammer drew a gun from his pack, his eyes narrow on the terrain around them.

“Everyone gather up!” Jade called them all over.

Kane tromped to her. “Sorry. I know I disobeyed orders, but the ground is soaked with gasoline, and those were rigged explosions. This is no ordinary fire.”

She stared at him, coldness in her expression. “Then I guess we’d better do what we do and get it to burn itself out.”

“A backfire?” Vince shifted closer to Cadee.

Orion put his arm around Tori. “That could leave us worse off before we starve the fire of vegetation to burn.”

Skye and JoJo shifted closer in. Skye said, “We need to call for a retardant drop. Or water.”

Hammer and Saxon both looked at Kane. Expressions that probably matched his right now. Determination. The knowledge that this would get worse before it got better.

Kane and Jade. Standing together in the middle of the fire. Facing the fact they could get swallowed up by it.

“We pray and we get to work.” Jade lifted her chin. “Skye, get Tucker on the phone. Explain the situation.”

As Kane watched, fire flickered to life all around them. It swept across the edges of the clearing, flame coalescing with flame. Growing. Moving. Soaking up the gasoline. Consuming all living things. It would burn away everything and leave nothing in its wake.

Nothing but ash.

Smoke filled the air.

Someone started to pray out loud. Another smokejumper picked up where they left off, and then another, until everyone in the group had asked for favor and guidance. For a way to beat back the flames.

Kane said, “Amen.”

Skye stepped away and got on the satellite phone with Tucker, asking for a drop.

Tori started to cough, dragging out tools from their supply drop that had landed before they’d jumped.

Orion glanced at her but tore open another pallet. “I’ve got the chain saw.”

“We don’t want sparks,” Jade said. “Hand tools only.”

“Got it.” He grabbed a Pulaski, and they raced to the trees not yet in flames.

The blaze beat them to it, and they scrambled back.

Vince called out, “We might need blankets!” He grabbed a shovel.

He and Cadee ran to a spot on the far side and started shoveling dirt on the fire.

Hammer and JoJo did the same nearby, trying to create an exit path.

A way through the flames so they weren’t pinned down with no way out, choking to death.

“Find a spot already burned that we can hunker down in!” Jade scanned the clearing. “We’re surrounded!”

Skye lowered the phone. “Water drop is on the way.”

“We need retardant,” Kane said. Water wouldn’t put this fire out.

“The plane is busy. We can’t get it.” She strode toward them, a dark look on her face.

“We need to get digging and get everyone out of this clearing.” Saxon looked around, then up in the sky. “Or we’re going to get swallowed.”

“We don’t have time for that.” Jade looked around. “We need to deploy shelters. Dig a trench for your face and get down!”

In moments, the fire would race into the clearing, and every inch of ground under their feet would be on fire.

Elias would win.

All because Kane had brought them here. So how had Elias planned all this ahead of their coming to this spot? Unless he’d been orchestrating fires all along, drawing them out so he could eventually kill them.

He grabbed a shovel and raced to the others, hauling dirt away from one spot. He ignored the smell of gasoline in the air and the way the wind seemed to crackle.

Heat rose in the clearing.

Sweat rolled down his face.

Jade said, “Everyone dig a trench! We’re about to run out of time.” She whipped her fire shelter from her pocket. “You know what to do!”

Tori screamed.