Page 7 of Sequoia Flames (Black Timber Peak Hotshots #6)

SEVEN

VERITY

Thank God it’s not cold tonight. The daytime heat is still hanging on more than usual for this or really any time of year on the mountain.

“I’m assuming that we’re not doing a campfire, right?”

Lassiter shoots me a raised brow and a smirk. “One fire isn’t enough for you?”

Rolling my eyes, I sit on a rock outside of the tent. “Oh ha-ha. You’re a funny guy.”

Twisting my fingers in my lap, I turn to stare back down the mountain. I can’t see anything thanks to the dark but we hiked a helluva long, convoluted way. We’re also camping in the open and he dug a fire break as soon as we set up camp.

“We’re gonna be fine, Firefly. Trust me.”

Staring at my fingers, I will my mind to settle. I can’t stop seeing the fire in my head and although I’m tired, I’m so damn fidgety there’s no way that I’m gonna get any kind of rest. Not until we’re out of here.

Sighing, I glance up at him from underneath my lashes.

Lord, he looks good. Our portable lamps are set up around us and the shadows dance on his high cheekbones and flare in his light eyes.

His mouth is set and he looks like a freaking god in this light.

Like the God of War with light dancing around him and fire on his heels.

“I don’t really know you.”

“You know this is my job, Verity. Trust me. I will get you out of here and you will make it back home. It’s my mission in life right now.”

“What did you mean when you said you thought about murdering somebody when we were hiking up here?”

He growls and his big hands clench into fists at his side before he takes a deep breath and rests his open palms on his legs. His very strong, muscular legs. That flex when he stretches his legs out further and sits back against another rock.

“My ex girlfriend. I… I wasn’t in a good place when I came back from overseas.”

My heart turns over at the tight, angry look on his face. And the sad look in his eyes when he looks up at the stars over top of us. “Military?”

He nods but doesn’t say anything. Just keeps staring up at the twinkling stars over our heads.

Thousands of dancing lights that I often wonder if they have other people on them.

If somewhere out there there’s another girl, or whatever a female is up there, and she’s watching the stars and wondering if there’s something else out there too.

The inky night doesn’t give up her secrets though.

It’s still and silent around us, the air so hot and heavy that it’s like sitting in soup.

Sweat pours off your body even if you’re not moving.

It’s miserable and yet I’m not sure if I’ve ever been as at peace as I am right now, with this man that I’m fascinated by.

“Thank you for your service,” I whisper, my heart stuttering when he laughs. It’s not a happy sound. Bitterness pours off of him. Soaking the humid air around us, seeping in like poison.

“Don’t say that to me.” He holds up his hand when I open my mouth and his sad eyes turn to me, deep and fathomless with pain. “I know that you’re not being deliberately cruel but just… don’t.”

Nodding my head, I watch him, waiting patiently. My heart is thudding in my chest like a a trapped bird.

Finally, he sighs and looks back up at the clear night sky. “I was in Afghanistan for several tours. That last one was the one that almost killed me.”

I wait and watch him swallow, hard. “We were out on patrol and we came across this little village. They seemed so nice. We had to take a break because one of the vehicles was acting up. One of the guys was a mechanic and he was working on it with some of the other guys. I went off in the village and was keeping an eye on these kids that were playing some game by a big open area on the edge of town.” He takes a deep breath and a sick feeling creeps over me.

I don’t think I want to hear what else he’s about to say.

But I sit there and wait, my breath shallow and my whole body stiff and anxious.

A slow smile creeps over his taut face. “They were having so much fun. Kicking a ball around and laughing…” He gulps a swallow and closes his eyes.

“It was so weird. I didn’t hear a damn thing. All of a sudden one of the kids screams and hits the dirt and then I see puffs around them.”

My eyes widen. “What was it?”

His eyes slew to me and they’re full of so much pain that it hurts to look at him.

“He was shot. He was only… I don’t know maybe eight or so.

I froze. All I could see was the blank stare in his eyes and the surprise.

” He closes his eyes again and tears blur my eyes, burning so much that I close them.

Opening them when his hoarse voice starts talking again.

“By the time I stopped staring like an idiot the whole town was overrun with soldiers and they were shooting everyone they found. Kids were running and screaming. There was so much blood.”

“I ducked behind a vehicle and grabbed my gun and started shooting back. I got a few of them and then got our Humvee going, taking off to find my men.”

His hands clench on his thighs and I fight to keep from wiping the tears off my cheeks. I don’t want to interrupt him. I think he needs to talk.

“I got to where the guys were working on the other vehicle and…” He drags in a deep breath. “They were already dead. They… oh God, what they did to them. I took off and made it back to base. Had to get help to bring them home. Had to see if we could help any of them.”

“Did anybody make it?”

He shakes his head. “I went back with them. I wanted to make sure. Needed to make sure that they came home.” He stands up and paces back and forth, his movements stiff and disjointed.

“They burned them. Burned the whole damn place except for some of the women. What happened to them was… well, it was the most sadistic thing I ever saw.”

I hold up my hand when he opens his mouth again. “You don’t need to tell me more than that.”

“I helped carry out our people and I helped bury all the villagers. They killed them all. Even the kids. It was our fault.”

Shaking my head, I stand up, my legs barely holding me. I step to him and touch his arm gently, staring up into his dark features. “That was absolutely not your fault.”

“It was.” His blank eyes stare down at my hand holding his arm gently. “They destroyed that village because we stopped there. They assumed that they were working with the Americans so they killed all of them.”

Stomach sinking, I fight the nausea crawling up my throat. I clear it, groaning softly. “You can’t take responsibility for what some crazy people did in the name of their country. That’s their truth. That’s on them. Not you.”

He just sighs and his fingers come up to play with my fingers absently.

“I wish that was true. But I came home and I had PTSD. My fiancé got sick of listening to me scream when I was asleep and she walked out. Said she couldn’t take the stress of living with a guy who was so messed up that he acted like a girl having a nightmare”

Fury rips through me. “What a cu?—… ”

“I’d like to say she wasn’t but yeah, she was.” He chuckles softly.

“I think we should get both of them up here and toss them off a lost cliff where nobody else can find them.”

He grins and shoots me a look that makes my belly clench. “You’re something else, Firefly. Thanks for listening to me.”

“You don’t need to thank me for being human, Lassiter.”

His pale blue eyes stare at my face and I back away, clearing my throat. “We should try and get some sleep. It’s gonna be an early morning.”

“I need to keep watch. You go ahead and go to bed.”

“You need sleep too,” I argue.

“I’ll come in in a little bit. But I just need a minute or two.” He nods his dark head to the tent. “Go to bed, Verity. Get some sleep.”

“Alright. Goodnight, Lassiter.”

“Goodnight, Verity.”