Page 27 of Caught Bear Handed (Sawtooth Security #3)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Beau

My head was swimming and my bear was clawing at my insides, looking for any way out. It wasn’t like him to panic, and my head hurt too much to process what that really meant.

Kayla stared at me, her expression a mix of shock and confusion, as I did my best to stay steady. Gigi was on alert, her full attention on the door. I was glad my girl was on it because I didn’t trust my senses right now.

More like I didn’t want to trust my senses. There was no good explanation for that smell. I was glad Gigi also picked up on it and concerned Kayla wasn’t. Unless that factored into her expression.

Gigi’s bark storm intensified as I put my hand on the doorknob.

“Good girl,” I said softly, but there was no soothing her.

I stepped out onto the small porch and was greeted by my absolute worst nightmare.

“Oh, shit.” Kayla was right behind me. “How did that get so bad so fast?”

Ribbons of fire had the hillside in a chokehold. If it wasn’t so destructive, so unpredictable, it could be considered beautiful.

“This is no accident. The pattern tells me it was intentionally set. See the way it curls back on itself? If the wind catches any of this, the entire hillside will be engulfed in minutes.”

“Should I try to radio again? I’m not sure who I talked to,” Kayla confessed. “I’ve never felt so helpless.”

“No,” I growled, and that sentiment might have been enough to get my bear to finally make an appearance. “We’re far from helpless. We have Gigi to thank for alerting us. Every second counts. We get out of here while we can.”

“Beau, you’re hurt.”

“If we stay here, we’ll die.” I hated being such a fatalist, and she was absolutely right to have concerns. “My bear might not have made an appearance yet, but he can lead the way.”

“I’ll grab our stuff.”

I put my hand on her arm. “We don’t have time for anything but Gigi’s leash. Everything else will weigh us down and slow our movements. We need to be able to pivot at a moment’s notice.”

Kayla swallowed hard and went back to the cabin, reappearing moments later with Gigi’s leash, and hooked it to her collar. Then she held up the bag that held our useless devices. “They can’t jam us forever.”

“I might get that tattooed on me when this is over.” I chuckled grimly, then closed my eyes for a moment so I could concentrate on the wind.

We needed to work with it, before the fire took it under its control.

If the flames could gain enough power, they could create their own weather.

If the fire got to that point, we were in big trouble.

Taking the leash from Kayla, I put my other hand on her shoulder and guided her down the hill. The way the fire had been set, there wasn’t a straight path. And while I had a good idea of where we were headed, we didn’t often work this far north unless the teams up here needed backup.

It doesn’t matter where you wind up as long as you get Kayla and Gigi to safety , my bear reminded me. Figure out the details later.

In some spots, those lines of flames were so close it was impossible to pass without feeling the heat on our skin. Gigi yelped, and I scooped her into my arms.

“I’ve got you, girl.” I hoped she hadn’t been hurt, but stopping to check was a luxury we didn’t have right now. At any moment, these fires could merge, turning this escape route into a house of mirrors.

More like a house of horrors.

“The smoke is making it hard to breathe,” Kayla said, drawing a ragged breath.

“Put your shirt over your nose and mouth,” I instructed. I was used to having all my gear and being able to do something to stop the progression. I hated this feeling of helplessness, like I could only react instead of respond. “There’s a river ahead. That’s got to bring us to safety.”

Problem was, if I was remembering correctly, it wasn’t just like wading into calm waters. There was a pretty significant drop off.

It didn’t help that thinking hurt right now. Smoke was stinging my eyes, I was carrying my dog, and my mate was struggling to breathe.

But we’d keep going, because we had to.

“Is that another building?” Kayla’s question ended in a coughing fit. We were running out of time.

It was hard to tell through the haze of the smoke and the glow of the flames, but there was the dark outline of…something. Which meant we weren’t where I thought I was.

“Looks like it.” I coughed. “Wish we could use it for shelter.”

“Maybe there’s more,” Kayla suggested. “Or it means we’re near the road. Or people.”

“Good thinking.”

The structure was dark and possibly abandoned, an old adventure park I’d never heard of. We were nowhere near where I thought we were.

Fuck.

The signs for River Adventures were still up, but stopping to read them felt like a waste of precious time. There wasn’t anything here that could help us. There might be a fire extinguisher inside the building, but it wasn’t close to enough.

“Wait, that says zip line, right?”

“Yeah.” Kayla wrapped her arms around herself. “Do you think it’s still working?”

“We’ll make it work,” I growled.

For now, the flames were behind us, but they wouldn’t stay that way for long. Since it was called River Adventures, moon willing, that meant the advertised zip line went over the river.

If we could get to the other side of the water, chances were, we’d be safe. I kept repeating that last word in my head as we followed the direction of the zip line signs. There was no telling what had been left behind.

“Looks like the line is still intact,” Kayla said as we reached the platform. “But there aren’t any harnesses.”

There was an old wooden structure with doors close to the platform. In the dark, details were hard to come by.

“Fuck,” I said under my breath when I found the rusted old padlock. Setting Gigi down, I took a step back and kicked it. The wood splintered and Gigi barked as the lock bounced off the concrete below us.

There were harnesses, but they’d been well used, and time hadn’t been kind to them. Straps were frayed, some were in tatters.

“Looks like critters got in here.” Kayla frowned. “Are the harnesses safe?”

I glanced behind us. The sky had a sickening orange glow. I tugged on the straps, growing increasingly frustrated as the material disintegrated in my grip.

“We’ve got two I think will work,” I said as I brought them over to the line.

Kayla raised a brow. “You think?”

“I’ve got bear strength no matter what form I’m in. I couldn’t pull them apart.”

“Okay.” Kayla didn’t sound as confident in my assessment.

“Let me get you strapped up.” I handed her the harness and waited for her to step into it. I made sure the fasteners were secure and hooked the carabiner in.

“Shit.”

“That is not what I want to hear you say right now, Beau.”

“It ripped. Take it off, let’s try the other one.” I practically tore it away from her body.

“How is this one going to be better?” she asked.

It was a good question. “This one’s in better condition.”

I handed it to her, but she didn’t take it right away.

“What are you gonna do?” she asked.

“Hold on real tight.” I picked up Gigi. “I’m gonna tie her leash around your waist and hook it to your jeans, and then I’m gonna fasten the harness around you both.”

“You’re trusting me to take Gigi?” she asked, like she didn’t trust herself.

“I know you won’t do her wrong.” I stole a moment to press my lips against Kayla’s. “I can’t grip the handle and hold her with no harness.”

“I’ll get her there safe,” she promised.

My heart thundered in my chest. Nothing about this move was guaranteed, and it could be even riskier to give them this false sense of security.

“Hang onto the bar with one hand,” I instructed. “We’re gonna take a couple steps and I’m gonna push you to get you going.”

She let out a long exhale. “Okay.”

“One, two, three.” Our steps were awkward, clumsy, and the cable groaned under their weight. Pushing them away was the scariest thing I’d ever done.

Kayla screamed, and her body swung around.

My heart dropped into my stomach. I was terrified that the cable was too deteriorated to hold them.

She screamed again as the cable dropped, but I’d ridden enough of these to know that was normal.

When I heard that familiar whirring sound, I finally let myself exhale.

There was no telling what was ahead. I prayed to any deity willing to listen that they made it to the other side safely.

With my hands on the rusty handle, I waited. I weighed more than Kayla and I’d move faster. A collision could be fatal.

Doubting everything, I took a running jump into the abyss. The wind whistled in my ears, drowning out everything else. I told myself not being able to hear Kayla and Gigi was a good thing, as I sailed over the river. My arms burned, and my body felt like it was a rag doll.

Things were going smoothly. I hoped Kayla had already landed. She might not be able to unclip the carabiners on her own, but the only thing that mattered was that she made it to solid ground. We could figure everything else out.

The pulley shrieked, and a violent jolt felt like I’d slammed into a brick wall. The handles stopped but my body kept going, and my left hand slipped off the handle, leaving me swinging moon knew how many feet above a river. My body swung as I reached for the handle, but it was just out of reach.

Pins and needles went down my right arm.

Under normal circumstances, I’d be totally capable of pulling myself up with one arm.

But nothing about this day had been normal.

We’d been in a car accident, Sawtooth Forest was on fire, and there was no telling if I’d sent my mate and my dog to a certain death.

The palm that gripped the handle was soaked with sweat, and my grip felt less certain. I flailed, channeling all my strength to get my other hand back on the handle. Each move made my right hand slide. The jagged edges sliced my skin. Something wet fell on my face.

I had no idea how high up I was, or how deep the water ran below me. It could’ve been quicker and safer to jump, or it could be the last thing I ever did.

Finally I managed to get my hand back on the handle. Now to get moving again. It had to be fixable, or else Kayla would be in the same spot.

Or… No. I wouldn’t think about the worst-case scenario.

It took everything I had to swing my body forward with enough force to get moving again. Thank the moon and every freaking star in the sky that I didn’t fall into the river.

All I wanted was for this to be over. To have my feet on solid ground again.

I heard Gigi barking before I saw land. She was alive. She was safe. I’d tell myself that until I was proven otherwise. It took everything I had not to leap off this damn zip line.

Crashing onto the solid earth, I pushed myself up, ignoring my screaming muscles. Gigi’s barks intensified. She bumped against me, but it wasn’t like her regular disco dance greeting.

“I’m glad to see you too.” I reached for her head to pat her, but she wouldn’t let me. Not like her at all. “Where’s Kayla, girl?”

Gigi grabbed my shirt, pulling the fabric with a growl.

“What are you trying to tell me?”

I rose to my feet, scanning the unfamiliar land for Kayla. Gigi took off running and I followed until we were stopped by two familiar wolves guarding the men who had Kayla.