Page 52 of The Heat is On
“Listen,” Skye said. “Rio saved my life a number of times. And I trust him. Worse…I think I saw the guy he’s running from.”
“You saw Buttles?” Stevie shook her head. “How?”
And that would be a story. So, “I’ll tell you, but…I think Rio is walking into an ambush. I know where they’re going, but we have to get to him before Buttles does.Please.”
Stevie just stood there, considering her.
And Skye was standing there with a fire torch, dripping fire everywhere, not sure what to do. The frustration pushed tears into her eyes, and she reached for the only thing she had. “If you don’t help me, I’ll go alone.”
Stevie glanced at her father, now being loaded into the SUV, Blake and the medic climbing in after him.
Tucker’s jaw hardened. “No, you won’t, Skye.”
And Skye got it—she really did. Stevie—and probably Tucker—didn’t want anything else to happen to someone on the team. And she was hardly equipped to stop someone like Buttles.
But she meant it. She wasn’t going to run away or stand still or let the fear of disaster keep her from doing something. The right thing.
“Yeah, I will. Just like you chose Stevie over the fire line, I need to choose Rio.”
Tucker’s mouth tightened. He looked at Stevie. “It wasn’t a choice.”
Skye’s eyes narrowed. She didn’t have a choice either. Fine. “I’ll go alone then.”
But Stevie had turned to Tucker. “Alone is not best. So, I guess you haven’t gotten rid of me yet, hotshot.”
Her words swooped out Skye’s breath. “Really?”
“Yeah. Although I’m not sure why I should trust Rio—”
“Because he’s FBI.”
Oh. She hadn’t meant to tell them—Rio had been so determined to stay undercover to protect her. But…well, they were just as likely to shoot him, weren’t they? Maybe it was time for her to protecthim.
Stevie just stared at her. “What?”
“Yeah. He’s been protecting Darryl and trying to gain his trust so he’ll testify against Buttles. He’s driving Darryl to his house to see his wife, Alicia before she goes into labor. They live not far from here.”
Stevie nodded. “Okay. But we need weapons and backup and a vehicle. Which means we need to catch that ride to the clinic. We’ll figure it out on the way.”
Skye wanted to weep with relief. She looked at Tucker, who answered with a tight line of disapproval.
Yeah well, if he could follow his heart, she could too.
Eight
Rio wasn’t a fugitive, and he didn’t want to get shot for being mistaken as one.
Even though, technically, hedidsteal a car.
Still, the last thing he needed was to get pulled over and have some trigger-happy deputy decide he needed to be a hero.
Rio unbuttoned his bright orange shirt and shoved it under the seat. He glanced at Darryl, who looked rough in the passenger side of the Jeep. Like he might pass out. Or hurl.
“How far is your house?”
Darryl leaned his head back. “About a mile from here. Just off the highway. Keep driving.”
They’d only traveled a few miles from the campground toward Copper Mountain, the wilderness thickening as they headed south along the highway.