Wild Heat (Hot Shots: Men of Fire #1)(52)
Author: Bella Andre

“On three. One, two, three.”

Even one moment of hesitation would have been deadly as they sprinted across his roof and leapt into the air. Releasing each other’s hands and curling into balls, they hit the water in a perfect bull’s-eye.

The force of hitting the water temporarily knocked the air from his lungs. He smashed his knees into the cement bottom of the pool and the water swallowed his roar of pain. His legs and tailbone hurt like hell. But he was alive.

An instant later he was able to open his eyes and look for Maya in the churning water. She wasn’t moving, she was simply floating facedown in the middle of his pool, her limbs limp.

He prayed that she’d simply been knocked unconscious when she hit the water. What would he do without her?

Logan swam to her side and yanked her unmoving form out of the water. As soon as her head was above the surface, he confirmed her pulse, then hit the heel of his palm between her shoulder blades in a steady motion.

Her sudden coughing was the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard. He held her close in the water, rubbing her back, whispering “It’s all right. We made it. Long, slow breaths.” Her inhalations slowed and he murmured, “That’s it. Just like that.”

She clung to his neck, her legs wrapped around his waist.

“Do you think you broke anything?”

“No,” she rasped out, then coughed hard several times in rapid succession. “We’re not dead, are we?”

“Not yet.”

She pulled back slightly to look at him and he was so happy to see her eyes open and bright with life that he kissed her hard, then soft and slow.

“See,” she said, “what did I tell you? Invincible.”

He hugged her tightly, then said, “We’ve got to figure out who the next target is going to be. Who else could the arsonist want to destroy?” One name immediately popped into his head, and when Maya looked at him, he knew she was thinking the same thing.

“Joseph.”

He nodded. “For some reason, he and I were both set up to look guilty. Now that the arsonist thinks he’s got you and me, I’m afraid he’ll go after Joseph.”

Maya started to swim for the edge of the pool. “We’ve got to get him out of his house, move him somewhere safe.” But when she saw that the shrubs all around his pool were encased in flames, which rose to twice the height of the plants, she stopped midstroke. “Oh God,” she said, “we’re trapped in here.”

They were surrounded by a five-foot wall of flames on all sides. It didn’t help any that the morning was breezy and the flames reached out in all directions. There wasn’t a single safe place to exit.

Logan moved to her side and pulled her close, needing to reassure himself yet again that she was okay. “We’ll have to wait it out in the water.”

Of all the things he thought he’d be doing in a pool with a beautiful woman, he’d never thought it’d be watching the house he’d built burn down.

“This really sucks,” Maya said, putting his thoughts into words. “I wish we could do something to save your house.”

“The arsonist can have my house. But he can’t have the woman I love.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

MAYA WHIPPED her head around and stared at Logan.

He loved her.

She’d been a constant thorn in his side, an utter pain in the butt, and more prickly than a porcupine.

But he loved her anyway.

He put a finger on her lips, then kissed her gently. “Let’s get out of this alive. Then we can talk.”

Neither of them spoke again as they waited for the flames to die down. Fifteen long minutes passed before the fire pushed away from his pool and met up with the fiery ball of what had once been his home.

Logan was so strong, amazingly stoic as he watched his beautiful home burn down. Yet again she understood exactly why he was such a phenomenal leader: No matter how bad things got, he was a lone spot of calm in the midst of the storm.

They swam to the edge of the pool and Logan pulled himself out first, giving her a hand up, lifting her into his arms.

“I’m okay,” she protested. “I can walk.”

“The soil’s too hot. The soles of your shoes could melt into your skin.”

He didn’t put her down until they were at least a hundred yards away from the flames, even though his own feet had to be burning up. She didn’t protest—she was enjoying the strength and comfort of his touch too much. When he finally released her, she had to work like hell to ignore the aches and pains that accompanied standing.

She was alive, none of her bones was broken, and she was with Logan. Which meant she didn’t have a single thing to complain about.

“What’s the fastest way to Joseph’s house on foot?”

“The deer trails behind my house.”

Maya didn’t hesitate. “Let’s go.”

“It’s hilly terrain,” he warned. “We’ll go at a pace you’re comfortable with.”

“You lead and I’ll keep up.”

Thirty minutes later, Maya’s calves burned, her quads felt like jelly, and although the hot summer sun had quickly dried her clothes from the unexpected dip in Logan’s pool, she was soaking wet from head to toe with sweat. She’d thought an hour at the gym four days a week kept her in good shape. She was wrong.

Even though they were jogging up steep, rocky slopes, Logan was barely exerting himself. Considering he wasn’t wearing 150 pounds of equipment, this was probably the equivalent of a stroll in the park for him.

Without her, he could have gone at least twice as fast. But she knew he wouldn’t leave her, so she saved what little was left of her breath.

Finally, the deer trail they’d been following connected with a Forest Service–maintained trail. Logan waited for her to catch up.

“We can slow down now. We’re almost there.”

She managed to get the words “Which way?” out between gasps.

He pointed down the hill and she didn’t waste another second before running toward Joseph’s house. A handful of minutes later, she saw the roof. Logan sprinted past her and was already inside by the time she caught her breath. She wiped the sweat out of her eyes and stepped inside the cabin.

It was much tidier than on her previous visit. Almost eerily so.

Logan walked into Joseph’s bedroom, concern etched into his face. “Where the hell is he?”

“Could he have gone on a trip without telling you?” Maya asked, working to mask her own concern.

“No way. I offered to send him to Hawaii but he refused to leave.”

“Are you sure he didn’t decide go stay with someone until the fire stops spreading?” Lord knew, that would have been the smartest thing to do.