Page 102 of Fire Peak

Charlie smiled at the girl. “It might take him a little while, but Nick always catches up eventually.”

Hailey managed a smile through her coughing. “I’m glad he caught you, Charlie.”

“Hmmmm…” Charlie cocked her head. “Not sure I would put it quite like that, but I’ll allow it. I’m pretty glad too.”

“Oh, give it up.” Nick caught Charlie in his arms and hugged her tight. “I caught you fair and square and I’m not letting go.”

By now, she didn’t even have to think about it. She hugged him back, so grateful they were all alive, she could cry. “Neither am I. Not a chance.”

Elias limped over from the four-wheeler so he and Hailey could compare bruises and wounds.

And still Charlie and Nick held each other close, whispering in each other’s ears about love and wonder and gratitude.

After all the hugging was done, it was decided that Elias and Hailey should take the four-wheeler, since they both could use some medical attention. “We’ll send someone down to pick up you and the bad guys,” Elias promised them.

“They might be a little busy up there arresting people, or putting out fires. Who knows what’s going on, so be careful.”

The kids’ departure left Nick and Charlie alone with Bulldog and Solomon, and the latter chose that moment to come back to consciousness. He really was a tough nut.

“You could have hurt my kid,” Nick said in a deadly tone of voice. “What the fuck, Solomon?”

The man scrambled for his straw hat, which had come off when Chadwick knocked him to the ground. “I was covering all the bases. I was afraid Bulldog would come after them again. He’s gone off the deep end, it’s scary as hell. I liked him better when he was dead.”

“You didn’t know? You weren’t working with him?”

“Hell no. I didn’t know anything until April sent me a message at The Fang, said she had a trade for me. She bartered me a brand-new trailer to set that fire, I didn’t want to let her down. She’s April.” He plopped the hat back on his head. “I had to keep the kids with me so I could protect them from Bulldog. I gave them gas masks. I didn’t hurt them. They’re okay, aren’t they? They’re good kids. If I wanted to hurt ’em, I could’ve, but I didn’t.”

The man’s pathetic pleading made Charlie roll her eyes. ”You’re so full of shit. Then again, I guess you’re not the worst bad guy in this whole thing.”

Nick’s hard stare swung from Solomon to Bulldog. “Yeah, Bulldog’s got him beat by a mile.”

“You gonna arrest him?” Solomon asked eagerly.

“I. Am. Not. The police,” said Nick, causing Charlie to burst out into laughter. It was such a relief, after all the tension of the past few hours, that she felt tears come to her eyes.

“Then I’ll help you get him to the police,” Solomon said, after a mystified glance in Charlie’s direction. “I got a four-wheeler out back, I hid it in case he followed us.”

“Thanks, we’ll take it. Charlie’s thigh is probably ready for a rest.” It was indeed. She’d been blotting out the pain, but now that they weren’t hurtling down mountains toward pearl-handled pistols, the throbbing was back.

Nick got to his feet, then took Charlie by the hand. It felt so natural, the way their hands found each other. “Keys in the ignition?”

“Wait, what about me?”

“Keep an eye on Bulldog until help shows up. That’ll go a long way to keeping you out of trouble, John Sturgeon.”

His face crumpled. “You gonna tell?”

“Not if you do as I ask.”

“It shouldn’t be long. I called in the cavalry while I was up at the lodge,” Charlie told him. “In the meantime, you can think about your life choices. It’s an uplifting process, take it from me.”

43

“All the bad guys are in custody,” Nick told Charlie as they stood on the Fire Peak Lodge terrace, hand in hand, watching the clouds take on that glorious midnight sunset glow. Hailey was tucked into her bed, under Ani Devi’s tender medical supervision.

As soon as word had gotten out about the lodge evacuation, Ani, Molly and Lila had all rushed up the mountain to help out. Some of that help included listening to Charlie finally explain her Robin Hood era. The group hug afterwards had been epic.

Charlie’s friends really were the best. And now they were his friends too.

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