Wild Heat (Hot Shots: Men of Fire #1)(28)
Author: Bella Andre

“I smelled gasoline on his hands.”

“He’s a helicopter pilot. He probably just filled the tank before your flight.”

“Maybe.” Maya noticed that the nurses were hanging on their every word. Either that or drooling over Logan. Probably both. “Let’s go outside, where we can talk privately.” They stepped under the covered entryway. “I’ve been thinking about some of the things Dennis said to me during our flight. Things he told me about you.”

When Logan didn’t respond, she asked, “Don’t you want to know what he said?”

“He didn’t do it.”

“Humor me, okay? Would you say that you and Dennis have a good relationship?”

“Yes.”

“Is your relationship with Dennis strained in any way?”

“No.”

“Would he have any reason to set you up?”

“No.”

All of a sudden, he was king of the one-word answer, and she felt sorry for all of the women he’d ever dated, especially the ones who’d wanted to talk things through.

“Okay, then, why don’t you explain why he told a total stranger all about what a piece of work you were when you moved in with him and Joseph?”

Logan shrugged. “We were teenagers. I probably went out with some girl he liked.”

She thought about it, thought about everything Dennis had said. “I don’t think so. He didn’t say anything about you taking away a girlfriend. It was all about his father, about how you ended up being the golden child. Instead of him. People start fires because they’re angry. Or sad. Or hurt. They light fires because they want people to notice them. They harm people because they’re jealous.”

Maya lost the tenuous hold she had over her patience. “If you want to clear your name and get back out on the mountain, you should be happy that I’m following another lead.”

“You’re right. I need to be on the mountain with my men. But I’m not going to sell out my foster brother. There has to be another way to approach this.”

“I’ve already got one,” she said, knowing he wasn’t going to be much happier with her next move than he was with her investigating his foster brother. “We both know that gasoline doesn’t combust in open air, even if someone lights it on fire. Not without something else added to it. Which means I need you to take me to the site of the explosion and lend me some turnouts so that I can get a sample before the fire devours all of the evidence.”

He looked at her like she was crazy.

Maybe she was. But she wasn’t turning back.

CHAPTER TEN

LOGAN FELT like he was standing at the end of a batting cage, with baseballs hurtling straight toward his head.

He’d stared at Robbie in his hospital bed and known it could have been any of them lying there, wrapped head to toe in bandages, fighting for their lives. Sure, he and Sam and Connor had run faster than the blowup, but in so many ways getting out had been sheer luck.

The last thing Logan wanted was another reason to have to return to the hospital. Between worrying about his men and worrying about Joseph wandering onto the trails behind his house and getting too close to the fire—or lighting a new one—Logan was pulling from reserves.

And now Maya wanted to risk her life to collect evidence. During fire training, he’d been interested in every part of the fire academy, and he was fairly well versed in running an arson investigation.

To get enough solid evidence to test in a lab for flammable hydrocarbon residue, she’d need to stand on top of the explosion site.

No way.

“Using that sniffer you’ve been hauling around is way too dangerous right now. Forget about it.”

“I’m not stupid,” she said, her mouth set into a familiar stubborn line. “I know it’s dangerous, but I need those samples. If you won’t take me, I’ll find another way to get it done.”

She was the most bullheaded woman he’d ever met, which made her perfectly suited to her job.

No matter how much he got in her face, she stuck to her instincts. She followed her gut, just like he did when he was fighting fire. There was no point in arguing with her. She wasn’t going to back down.

“I’ll suit up and get the samples.”

Her mouth opened in shock. “No way. I can’t allow you to do that. You’re my suspect. Not my assistant.”

But Logan wasn’t going to back down either. If she hadn’t figured it out yet, they were well matched.

“I’m your only option, the only guy with the gear who’s willing to risk his life to get you something to take to the crime lab.”

She had to realize he’d never let her go in herself. He couldn’t stand the thought of seeing her wrapped up like a mummy in the hospital.

“I’m good friends with the chemist who runs the local lab. You don’t want to wait out the weekend, do you?”

She sighed, knowing her hands were tied. “You know I can’t wait that long.”

“I’ll get him to open up his lab today.” Provided David wasn’t sailing on the lake with his family for the weekend, of course, but there was no point in mentioning that. Not when he was using his friend as leverage.

They drove to the hotshot station to collect his gear. “You might want to stay in the car,” he warned her in the station parking lot. “Odds are, you’re not real popular with the guys right about now.”

Ignoring his good advice, she jumped out. “Do you honestly think I care?”

Yeah, he did. But saying so would only set her off. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

He watched her square her shoulders and set her expression into an impervious mask as they headed inside. A handful of guys were gulping down a quick meal around the plastic dining table.

Logan grabbed his flame-resistant jacket, pants, boots, and helmet from his locker.

“What the f**k is she doing here?”

Even though Maya had pulled him from duty, he wasn’t going to stand for the guys treating her like she was dirt. She had a job to do and she was doing it. End of story.

To her credit, she didn’t appear the slightest bit bothered by their scrutiny. Logan supposed being hated by firefighters in these situations came with the territory.

“She’s just doing her job, Sean,” he said before turning their focus away from her. “What are conditions like on the mountain right now? How’s everyone holding up?”

Sean, Zack, and Andy momentarily stopped glaring at Maya. “It’s completely kicking our ass,” Zack admitted. “The wind’s acting all squirrelly, and with the dry shrubs, the fire’s moving fast. Really fast.”

Andy cut in. “I heard you went to see Robbie. How’s he holding up? None of us can get out to the hospital. Not while the fire’s spreading so fast.”