Wildfire Hurricane (A Ryder Boys Novel Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

She stalked toward him.
    Dash tried to hold his ground. He hadn’t dared approach her, but Simone’s inescapable magnetism drew him down the stairs. The axe created a boundary between them, and his knuckles popped as he tightened his grip. A standoff formed in the center of the circle, but Dash recalled the strategy he’d used against her countless times. He kept his voice low so their spectators couldn’t hear. “I’d rather fuck you, darlin’. Do you think it’d still be as hot as our last time?”
    Throw her an unexpected pass and see if she fumbled it or came down with a completed catch.
    “It wasn’t supposed to be our last time.”
    Ouch. But her recovery impressed him and his dick swelled. Goddamn it, why do I still love fighting with her?
    Another stalemate. She jammed her hands on her hips. He nearly snapped the axe handle in two.
    The radio crackled and sent everyone scrambling for cover. “Wilhelm HC to command, over.”
    Flynn crawled from under his overturned chair and grabbed the microphone. “Command here, over.”
    “We spotted smoke coming from the point of origin. We’re going to investigate, over.”
    Simone strode over to Flynn’s desk and snatched the mic from his hand. “Keep us posted, over.” She glared at Dash. “Smoke?”
    “Probably a flare up. Pretty common even after containment. My guys can handle it.”
    “Your guys?” She paced in front of him like an attorney cross-examining a suspect. Did she pick that up from Mal?
    “My crew.”
    “ You’re the hotshot crew superintendent?”
    “You’re goddamn right I am. And you’re stuck with me.”
     
    ***
     
    “And I’m your boss.” Simone smiled as she snatched the baton and left him standing in her dust. She’d never needed a team. She could win this thing all by herself. Just like always.
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    She stumbled short of the finish line and spun. His eyes sparkled as the too easy acceptance rang in her ears. “Good. Take me to the flare up.”
    “No.” He hefted the axe to his shoulder and turned toward the stairs. “I need a shower.”
    “Ooo…” A low moan escaped Cassie, and Flynn snickered while the forecaster visibly shivered, biting her lip as her cheeks flushed.
    What the hell is that? “Superintendent.” Simone refused to chase after him. He’d follow her orders. “I’m the head of this department, and you answer to me. Take me to the burn area.”
    Dash stopped in his tracks, his knuckles whitening on the axe handle.
    Flynn covered his mouth with his fist and faked a cough. “Standoff.”
    He nodded toward the door without looking at Simone. “Let’s go.”
    She scrambled up the stairs, following his heavy footsteps. Damn it, how’d I end up chasing him?
    Fading rays of sunlight reached over the mountains, turning the smoky clouds a brilliant burnt orange in the darkening blue sky. Dash tossed the axe in the back of his truck, climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine all in the same move. The man still drove a Ford. Not the same beat-up hunk of junk his brothers had passed down to him, but a man’s vehicle, no doubt about that.
    Simone jumped in her car as he peeled out of the parking lot, following him through quaint downtown, an average neighborhood, then up winding gravel roads into the mountains. Large looming houses surrounded by towering trees and locked gates populated the area, growing more sparse as they ascended. Without warning, the forest thinned and what remained stood black and smoking. Dash drove across the charred ground, swerving around fallen trees. He stopped next to the crew’s fire truck and got out. Simone joined him, cementing her place as the woman in charge.
    He acknowledged her presence without prodding. “Ray, Brett, this is Simone Leveque, the new EMS manager.”
    She shook their soot-covered hands and refrained from wiping the grime on her pants. “Good to meet you, gentlemen.”
    “Go home, guys. I’ll take over from here.”
    I? All