Wild Heat (Hot Shots: Men of Fire #1)(55)
Author: Bella Andre

“Maya’s in your cabin, Joseph. She’s waiting for us. I left her all alone. She could be in trouble.”

For all he knew, Jenny had been waiting in the wings to see if they’d made it out of his house alive.

Joseph picked up the pace. “Let’s go get your girl.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

MAYA QUICKLY assessed her surroundings, looking for something she could use in self-defense, and decided the fireplace poker was her best bet.

“Actually,” she said in a perfectly calm voice as she slowly made her way toward the fireplace, “I’m glad you’re here. I’ve been wanting to talk with you.”

Jenny frowned. “With me? About what?”

Maya forced herself to sit down on the arm of the couch beside the stone fireplace. “I’m worried about Dennis. About some of the things he’s told me.” If she could convince Jenny that she thought Dennis was the guilty one, maybe she could escape.

“What kind of things?”

Maya waved one hand in the air. “You know, about his relationship with his dad and Logan. And the competition between them.”

Jenny smiled viciously. “Dennis hates Logan.”

“Really? Why?”

“He’s jealous. After all, Logan’s so much better-looking. So much better at everything. Everybody loves him.”

Maya’s heart thudded as Jenny moved toward her. The poker was almost within reach. She’d never hurt anyone before, but she’d do whatever she needed to do to make sure this terrible woman sat behind bars for the rest of her worthless life.

Jenny got a dreamy look on her face. “I love him too, you know.”

“Of course you love Dennis,” Maya said, purposefully misunderstanding Jenny’s intent. “He seems like a great guy. And very devoted to you.”

“Not Dennis, you idiot. I’m talking about Logan. I love Logan. We were meant to be together.”

Maya edged closer to the fireplace. “Does Logan know you feel this way about him?”

“We would have been together if it weren’t for you. I was there. I saw you six months ago.”

“Where did you see us?”

“When you and Logan started your f**k-fest. I walked in and heard you talking.”

“The bar was empty,” Maya stated, but now that she thought about it, she’d been so upset about everything that she supposed she could have gone past a crowd of people and been blind to every last one of them.

“I forgot my wallet after the lunch shift and when I came back I walked in on you. Not that either of you noticed. You were too busy sucking face. And after that he didn’t want anything to do with other girls anymore. He was under your goddamned spell. What did you do to him?”

“I didn’t do anything,” Maya said honestly. He’d rocked her world and she’d left him stone cold.

“Like hell you didn’t,” Jenny spat. “He hasn’t touched another woman since you left.”

He hadn’t touched another woman.

Had their stolen kisses meant as much to him as they had to her? Maya was deeply moved by Logan’s behavior, even as she continued to face Jenny.

Jenny’s rant continued, unrelenting in its fury. “He stopped coming into the bar. I hardly saw him anymore. He was supposed to be mine.”

Maya swallowed. “I’m sorry.” She forced the words out between her lips, hoping they sounded somewhat sincere.

“No you’re not. You’re f**king him again, aren’t you?”

Maya jumped to her feet. “No.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

Maya followed Jenny’s eyes to the corner of the folded photo sticking out of her pocket. Just as Jenny grabbed it, Maya’s cell phone fell to the ground, and Jenny stomped it hard with her boots.

Maya stared at the busted phone and tried not to focus on how much trouble she was in. Hopefully Chief Stevens had heard her whisper and was on his way.

Jenny shook the photo in Maya’s face. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you? And he probably said he loves you, hasn’t he?”

Maya hesitated a moment too long and Jenny crumpled up the photo and threw it on the floor.

“He did. I can tell. He thinks you’re his soul mate. He wants you to have his babies.”

Maya shook her head back and forth, saying “No” again as she inched toward the poker. She nearly had her hand around it when Jenny pulled a handgun from her pocket. Maya went completely still.

“Whatever,” the crazy woman said in a dull tone as she waved the gun in Maya’s face. “Everything will be better once you’re gone. Once all of you are dead. You should have died yesterday, in the truck. Then I wouldn’t have to do this.”

“You still don’t have to do it, Jenny,” Maya said. “I can help you. I can tell my boss the fire was an accident. I can tell the Forest Service it’s impossible to determine how it started. I’ll give you money, enough to get you out of the country and make sure you never need to work again.”

“You could do all that for me?”

Hope flared in Maya’s chest. “Give me five minutes on the phone. That’s all I need.”

Jenny chewed on her lower lip. “Um, no thanks. I think it’ll be more fun to kill you instead.”

Maya shivered at the delight in the woman’s voice. At this point, a mental institution was a far likelier future home for Jenny than a prison.

“But before I do, I need you to help me with something,” Jenny said. “Out on the back deck. I’ve got two dozen containers of gasoline waiting.” She shoved the butt of the gun into Maya’s spine. “Go.”

Maya slipped her hand in her pocket, grabbed the ballpoint pen, and spun around, lashing her weapon at Jenny’s eyes. The tip of the point struck Jenny in the neck, just below her ear.

Jenny screamed, “You’re going to pay for that, you little bitch,” and as Maya lunged for the fireplace poker, Jenny threw herself on Maya’s back, scratching at her hair.

Tears of pain filled Maya’s eyes as Jenny ripped a thick wad of hair from her scalp and dug her gun in deep between Maya’s ribs.

“Maybe I should just kill you now,” Jenny hissed.

No. Maya had promised Logan she’d be here waiting for him when he returned. He’d be back soon with Joseph in tow and together they’d find a way to thwart Jenny.

She needed to hold out—and stay alive—until then.

“I’m sorry,” she ground out. “I’ll do whatever you want. Tell me what you want me to do.”

Jenny lay across Maya for a long moment, long enough for Maya to wonder if the last thing she was going to hear was the gun’s release. But then Jenny shifted her weight off to the side. Pushing Maya into a standing position with her gun, Jenny shoved her out the door.