Revenge without penalties.
Setting the wildfire in Desolation had been a fun way to watch Logan boil in hot water, a sweet taste of revenge for what he'd done. But that bitch, the pretty little investigator with the big tits, had gotten in the way. And Logan couldn't resist playing hero again.
Risking his life so he could get in her tight pants.
Lighting her hotel room on fire with a bag of potato chips and a match should have been enough to make her run. But no. She was still here. Ruining everything.
Logan could wait.
The bitch had to die.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
PRAYING IT wasn't the last time she'd see Logan, Maya concentrated on the road as she left the hotshot station, working to retrace her path to David's lab from memory. She could see why people came to Lake Tahoe for a vacation and never left. The beauty was staggering. Not just the lake, but the mountains, the trees.
And especially the hotshots.
Which was why she needed to solve this case and get out of Lake Tahoe, ASAP. She was no match for Logan. Everything he was pulled at her heart and made her want to give in to loving him. It wasn't just the way he touched her, wasn't simply the fact that she'd never come apart like that in anyone's arms but his.
At last David's house came into view and a pretty middle-aged blonde walked out onto the porch. “Hi. I'm Kelly, David's wife. I'm assuming you're Maya and that you need to talk to him again?”
Maya stood awkwardly on the driveway next to the motorcycle, holding her containers of evidence from Logan's garage. “I do.”
She tried to smile, wanted to be friendly, but her thoughts were such a tangled mess of desires and recriminations she failed at both.
“Come on in,” the woman said, holding open the door. “David just went out for a six-pack. He'll be back soon.”
Maya didn't have time to sit around and wait for David to come back from his drink run. She stepped inside and set the bottles on the table.
“Could you give these to your husband?”
Kelly's eyes were startlingly blue and full of kindness. “Sure. I take it you need him to examine them quickly?”
Maya stared at the samples, wishing she didn't have to test them.
“I do,” she finally said, belatedly realizing she was wearing her host's clothes. “David told me to borrow these. I hope that was okay.”
Kelly wore an odd expression as she scanned Maya's clothes, and when Maya finally looked down at the T-shirt and jeans, she saw that they were filthy, covered in a myriad of rips and tears.
“I'm so sorry. I didn't realize …”
“Don't worry about it. It's been a rough day, hasn't it?”
Kelly's eyes saw far more than Maya wanted her to. God, how Maya wanted to sit down and tell this stranger everything. But no amount of pouring out her soul over coffee would fix a goddamned thing.
Saying as little as possible had been her M.O. for a long time. No point in changing things now.
Fortunately, Kelly didn't seem to be the kind of woman who took silences personally. “Why don't you go ahead and grab something else out of my closet?”
Maya shook her head again. “I'm fine. Thanks.”
If she got a chance she'd have the motel charge more “I Love Lake Tahoe” gear to her room.
Kelly filled a glass with purified water, then leveled Maya with a steely glance. “Drink this. I'll be right back.”
It wasn't until Maya gulped down the water that she realized how thirsty she was. Kelly returned with what looked to be a very expensive pair of designer jeans and another cute T-shirt.
“I really don't think I should take those from you,” Maya said. “The way things have been going, they'll probably be shredded in an hour.”
Kelly dropped them on the counter beside Maya. “You need them more than I do.” And then, after a beat, “How's Logan handling the investigation? I'm worried about him.”
Maya's heart ached for the trouble she'd brought to Logan's door with his suspension, for his fears regarding Joseph, for his crew members who were in the hospital. And then there was the bomb someone had planted in his truck. Her knees started shaking again as she thought about just how close they'd both been to dying.
She swallowed hard, tried to find appropriate words. “He's been working with me to try to figure out who set these fires.”
Kelly cocked her head to the side. “Isn't it kind of hard to do that when he's a suspect?”
“I've just released him from suspension. He's heading back onto the mountain as we speak.”
The smile Kelly gave Maya said she knew this was more than an objective professional decision.
“I'm very glad to hear that,” Kelly said. “How about you give me your cell phone number and I'll have David call you with the results.”
Maya shook her head. “My cell phone blew up.”
For the first time, Kelly looked scared. “What do you mean it blew up?”
Maya had said too much. She held up the neatly folded clothes. “Thanks for these.”
Kelly reached into a purse on the counter and held out a wad of twenties. “Here. Buy a new phone at the convenience store in town, then call me with the new number.”
Maya hesitated for a second, even though Kelly was right, then shoved the bills in her pocket.
“Thank you. I'll pay you back soon.”
“No rush, okay?” she said as she walked Maya out to the front porch. “And take care of yourself. I'd like to see you again. Have you over for dinner. Under better circumstances, of course.”
Maya kept her head down as she swung a leg over the bike, not wanting Kelly to see how much she wanted the very same thing.
The fifteen-minute ride into town to buy a cell phone should have been exhilarating, the perfect way to blow off some steam. Instead, her muscles were tight, her thoughts racing because the last time she'd driven into downtown Lake Tahoe on a motorcycle had been with her brother on his birthday at the end of last summer. Tony had wanted to show her his new firehouse and she'd been thrilled for him, thrilled that he was finally getting to live his dream. His new job was just different enough from what her father did in the mountains for it to be something Tony could claim as all his own.
Memories kept coming at her, one after another, of how he'd been on her to move to Tahoe too, to set her up with one of the guys from his station.
Setting the wildfire in Desolation had been a fun way to watch Logan boil in hot water, a sweet taste of revenge for what he'd done. But that bitch, the pretty little investigator with the big tits, had gotten in the way. And Logan couldn't resist playing hero again.
Risking his life so he could get in her tight pants.
Lighting her hotel room on fire with a bag of potato chips and a match should have been enough to make her run. But no. She was still here. Ruining everything.
Logan could wait.
The bitch had to die.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
PRAYING IT wasn't the last time she'd see Logan, Maya concentrated on the road as she left the hotshot station, working to retrace her path to David's lab from memory. She could see why people came to Lake Tahoe for a vacation and never left. The beauty was staggering. Not just the lake, but the mountains, the trees.
And especially the hotshots.
Which was why she needed to solve this case and get out of Lake Tahoe, ASAP. She was no match for Logan. Everything he was pulled at her heart and made her want to give in to loving him. It wasn't just the way he touched her, wasn't simply the fact that she'd never come apart like that in anyone's arms but his.
At last David's house came into view and a pretty middle-aged blonde walked out onto the porch. “Hi. I'm Kelly, David's wife. I'm assuming you're Maya and that you need to talk to him again?”
Maya stood awkwardly on the driveway next to the motorcycle, holding her containers of evidence from Logan's garage. “I do.”
She tried to smile, wanted to be friendly, but her thoughts were such a tangled mess of desires and recriminations she failed at both.
“Come on in,” the woman said, holding open the door. “David just went out for a six-pack. He'll be back soon.”
Maya didn't have time to sit around and wait for David to come back from his drink run. She stepped inside and set the bottles on the table.
“Could you give these to your husband?”
Kelly's eyes were startlingly blue and full of kindness. “Sure. I take it you need him to examine them quickly?”
Maya stared at the samples, wishing she didn't have to test them.
“I do,” she finally said, belatedly realizing she was wearing her host's clothes. “David told me to borrow these. I hope that was okay.”
Kelly wore an odd expression as she scanned Maya's clothes, and when Maya finally looked down at the T-shirt and jeans, she saw that they were filthy, covered in a myriad of rips and tears.
“I'm so sorry. I didn't realize …”
“Don't worry about it. It's been a rough day, hasn't it?”
Kelly's eyes saw far more than Maya wanted her to. God, how Maya wanted to sit down and tell this stranger everything. But no amount of pouring out her soul over coffee would fix a goddamned thing.
Saying as little as possible had been her M.O. for a long time. No point in changing things now.
Fortunately, Kelly didn't seem to be the kind of woman who took silences personally. “Why don't you go ahead and grab something else out of my closet?”
Maya shook her head again. “I'm fine. Thanks.”
If she got a chance she'd have the motel charge more “I Love Lake Tahoe” gear to her room.
Kelly filled a glass with purified water, then leveled Maya with a steely glance. “Drink this. I'll be right back.”
It wasn't until Maya gulped down the water that she realized how thirsty she was. Kelly returned with what looked to be a very expensive pair of designer jeans and another cute T-shirt.
“I really don't think I should take those from you,” Maya said. “The way things have been going, they'll probably be shredded in an hour.”
Kelly dropped them on the counter beside Maya. “You need them more than I do.” And then, after a beat, “How's Logan handling the investigation? I'm worried about him.”
Maya's heart ached for the trouble she'd brought to Logan's door with his suspension, for his fears regarding Joseph, for his crew members who were in the hospital. And then there was the bomb someone had planted in his truck. Her knees started shaking again as she thought about just how close they'd both been to dying.
She swallowed hard, tried to find appropriate words. “He's been working with me to try to figure out who set these fires.”
Kelly cocked her head to the side. “Isn't it kind of hard to do that when he's a suspect?”
“I've just released him from suspension. He's heading back onto the mountain as we speak.”
The smile Kelly gave Maya said she knew this was more than an objective professional decision.
“I'm very glad to hear that,” Kelly said. “How about you give me your cell phone number and I'll have David call you with the results.”
Maya shook her head. “My cell phone blew up.”
For the first time, Kelly looked scared. “What do you mean it blew up?”
Maya had said too much. She held up the neatly folded clothes. “Thanks for these.”
Kelly reached into a purse on the counter and held out a wad of twenties. “Here. Buy a new phone at the convenience store in town, then call me with the new number.”
Maya hesitated for a second, even though Kelly was right, then shoved the bills in her pocket.
“Thank you. I'll pay you back soon.”
“No rush, okay?” she said as she walked Maya out to the front porch. “And take care of yourself. I'd like to see you again. Have you over for dinner. Under better circumstances, of course.”
Maya kept her head down as she swung a leg over the bike, not wanting Kelly to see how much she wanted the very same thing.
The fifteen-minute ride into town to buy a cell phone should have been exhilarating, the perfect way to blow off some steam. Instead, her muscles were tight, her thoughts racing because the last time she'd driven into downtown Lake Tahoe on a motorcycle had been with her brother on his birthday at the end of last summer. Tony had wanted to show her his new firehouse and she'd been thrilled for him, thrilled that he was finally getting to live his dream. His new job was just different enough from what her father did in the mountains for it to be something Tony could claim as all his own.
Memories kept coming at her, one after another, of how he'd been on her to move to Tahoe too, to set her up with one of the guys from his station.
