Page 47 of The Heat is On
“You aren’t making it easy.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t know who to trust. And you weren’t exactly blending in. You think you can, but you don’t. You’re…different. You’re stupidly good. Like,inside. It’s probably going to get you killed.”
Rio narrowed his eyes, half expecting Darryl to turn on him, try something.
But the man just kept walking.
Then Skye’s voice was back, hurting his heart with her words.There’s still light inside you, Rio. Nothing can separate you from the love of God.
Maybe. Oh, he hoped so.
Darryl said nothing more, and they walked in silence until they emerged into a large campground. A dirt drive circled the area, filled with RVs, pop-ups, and tents. Despite the burning sky that bathed the area with light, the place was quiet.
Rio grabbed Darryl’s arm. “Let’s find transportation.” He scooted around the campsite, looking in trucks and SUVs for keys, and found an open-shell Jeep with the keys dangling in the ignition. A lonely blue two-man tent sat a few feet away, one pair of boots sitting outside the tent.
Rio grabbed a fleece jacket and T-shirt lying on the picnic table.
Sorry, dude.
Darryl climbed in the passenger side of the Jeep.
Rio slid behind the wheel, took a breath, then fired it up, stuck the gear in reverse, and peeled out.
They kicked up dirt along the road as they headed out of the campground.
Darryl glanced over at him, grinning way too widely for a man who was an accessory to grand theft. “Maybe you are a criminal after all.”
Rio’s mouth closed in a tight line. Maybe.
The fireon the mountain had blown up in the wee morning hours. A black plume of smoke darkened the sky to the north, and Skye heard Tucker on the radio, checking in with Seth, hearing the grim status report. Not only had the winds shifted and the fire jumped the water line to the east, but Riley had gotten hurt.
They were now three firefighters short.
And Tucker was pacing. He’d given her a black T-shirt from his PG pack, along with a pair of dry socks—he was a fanatic about dry feet. She pulled her hair back into a sodden ponytail and crouched before the campfire, listening to him finish his call.
“We’ll be back as soon as we can,” Tucker said. “But first, we gotta do something.” He looked up at Skye.
Really?
She nodded at him, not a little stunned that he’d even heard her words as they’d hiked back to the place where he’d jumped into the water to rescue her.
He’d filled her in on their pursuit of the convicts, the story of how he and Stevie, the US marshal, had followed the group all the way to the cabin. And yes, they’d started a fire as a diversion, trying to overtake March.
Tucker was limping, the result of a fall, or maybe his tussle with March. And he was just as worried about Stevie, who’d disappeared after they’d been swept downstream, as Skye was about Rio.
Interesting.
Tucker signed off with a “Don’t do anything stupid, Seth,” and Skye couldn’t help but wonder if going after a fugitive like March wasn’t exactly that.
According to Seth, a couple US marshals had reached the cabin and were hiking to the river on foot.
Maybe she and Tucker should head back and do their jobs. Especially since Rio had risked his life to get her away from March.
Except…well, her heart told her that Rio was in big trouble.
He was taking Darryl to his wife.
And no doubt, Buttles was waiting there to ambush them.