Page 56 of Light My Fire

Except she had no radio.

And he knew her—shoot, but heknewher. Already. Knew that at her core, she wasn’t going to let March get away.

And he knew inhiscore that he couldn’t let her do it alone.

This can’t be anything.

But he wanted it to be. Being with Stevie had sparked something inside him. Something alive and yeah, maybe dangerous, but…

He was tired of playing it safe.

Love gives us power, makes us risk everything we have, everything we are.

His own words poured back onto him.

“We’ll be back as soon as we can,” Tucker said. “But first, we gotta do something.” He looked up at Skye, who nodded. “Don’t do anything stupid, Seth.”

He clicked off and pocketed the radio, Jed’s words rebounding in his ears.

Pulling off his boots and socks, he grabbed his dry socks, his secret to keeping healthy on the fire line. He wrestled them onto his wrinkled, chilled feet. Shoved his feet back into the boots. The water had the effect of numbing his knee, and at the moment, he ached everywhere anyway.

He laced up his boots and made to grab his backpack, but Skye had already reached for it, shouldering it on.

“Skye—”

“Stop. Let me do something. I know you think you have to shield me, but I made this team just like everyone else. I can carry a PG pack and keep up with you, boss.”

He gave her a grim smile. “I don’t have to tell you that March is dangerous—”

“Listen. Like I said, there’s more going on than you realize here, and I have to find Rio and warn him about something I heard. He’s in real danger.”

“Yeah, from getting apprehended. Skye, he’s a criminal!”

She glared at him. “Let’s go.”

She turned and ran down the trail.

Okay, he didn’t understand this girl at all. But at least she was running in the right direction.

Admittedly, without the pack, he moved easier. They hiked down the trail Stevie had taken, then across the bridge where he got a good look at the rapids, the place where they’d climbed out. Farther down the river a roar rose behind a cloud of mist. A waterfall.

He hustled across the bridge and down the path.

“Do you know where March was taking you?” Tucker said, moving into a run. Training had taught him that he had a lot more in him than he thought.

“I heard him talking with Archer. He said he had a campsite and a truck we could take.”

She was running ahead of him, hardly breaking a sweat.

“Did anyone ever mention that Archer was a…cop?”

“No.” She glanced over her shoulder. Frowned.

“Was he in on the escape?”

“I don’t know. He was on March like glue, though. So maybe.”

Or maybe Archer knew that if March escaped, his daughter would go after him. And if she did, Archer would want to be there to make sure March didn’t hurt her.

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