Page 28 of Firestorm

For a long moment, Sarah wasn’t sure she could trust herself to open her eyes again.

“We’re safe,” James told her in a relieved tone. She opened her eyes and peered first at him and then at the front of the plane. Its nose was touching the trees.

Sarah laughed and faced James. “I can’t believe it. Almost as if. . .”

She didn’t finish, but he understood. He nodded. “Like we had help from above? Remind me to tell you a story sometime.”

She stood beside Blake and James as they filed from the plane. Once everyone was safely on the ground, the members of the Strike Force she’d met before welcomed them.

James introduced Blake to the core team. “And this is Victor Douglas, our commander.”

Blake shook the hand of the former president. “Nice to meet you.”

“We’re glad you all made it safely. Why don’t we get you all settled into a cabin? There aren’t enough for everyone to have their own. We’ve put you and your sister together,” he told Blake.

“Thank you, Mr. President.” Blake voice was so weak Sarah almost didn’t recognize it as her brother’s. He appeared ready to drop.

“Please, it’s Victor.” He turned to the woman at his side. She’d been introduced as Kinsley Allison, but Sarah had seen her someplace before. “Kinsley, why don’t you show Sarah and Blake to their cabin. We’ll set up a meeting in a few hours to go over everything with our new members. There’s a lot to discuss.”

The woman smiled warmly. “I’d be happy to. Why don’t you come with me?”

Sarah linked her arm through Blake’s. With a final look James’ way, they followed Kinsley down the narrow path to the camp.

“I heard you all had a rough trip here,” Kinsley said over her shoulder. “We’re all glad you made it here safely.”

“Thanks.” Sarah liked the woman, but it bugged her that she didn’t recall how she knew her. “You look familiar,” she said.

They entered the camp. Kinsley stopped and faced her. “I used to be Victor—President Douglas’ secret service agent.” She told them how she and Victor had been captured but survived, thanks to the brave members of Strike Force who rescued them.

Sarah realized that was why Kinsley appeared so familiar. She’d seen the former secret service agent in the background of some photos taken with the president.

Kinsley started walking again. “I realize all of this will feel foreign to you both for a while, but you’ll get used to it.” She halted in front of a cabin. “I’m not sure it that’s a good thing.” Kinsley opened the door to the cabin. “This is yours. There’s a fireplace for warmth. We stacked extra wood inside. There’s more around back if you need it. We’re working on connecting all the cabins to the solar panel system. Once that happens, you’ll have lights and such. For now, there are some lanterns inside and a couple of flashlights.”

They stepped inside the cabin. Two twin beds lined one wall opposite a rock fireplace. A couple of chairs clustered in front of the fireplace. Someone had started a fire for which Sarah was grateful. A table sat inside a small kitchen.

“Bathroom and shower are through there. All the cabins have water now, but we are being conservative with it until we can figure out a new solution for our water system.” Kinsley started for the door. “The kitchen in the main lodge has a more useful kitchen. That’s where we’ll prepare the meals for the team, and we’ll meet there in a few hours. You can eat then. For now, settle in and rest.” Kinsley opened the door and stepped outside. “I’ll see you both in a bit.” She closed the door.

Sarah warmed her hands in front of the fire. She turned to Blake. He looked ready to drop. “Go take a nap.”

“Maybe later.” He slipped into one of the chairs. “I’m still trying to process everything that’s happened.”

Sarah sat beside him. “It’s overwhelming to say the least. Pamphili’s men will stop at nothing.”

He grunted and stared into the fire. She realized he probably hadn’t had a good night’s sleep long before being taken captive.

“You need sleep, Blake. I’m going to see if there’s anything I can do to help set things up. I’ll come find you when it’s time for the meeting.”

He smiled as she hugged him. “Thanks, sis.” As she started past him, he clasped her hand holding her there.

She looked at him curiously. “What is it?”

“Thank you for being brave enough to risk your life to reach James. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been for you to do alone.”

She squeezed his hand. “I would do anything for you, bro. Get some rest.” Sarah pulled her hand free and moved to the door. With a final look at the man who meant the world to her, Sarah stepped outside and quietly closed the door.

Though twilight was descending on the camp, a lot of activity was taking place. People were doing whatever they could to make the camp livable.

Sarah reached the shed where James’ team had set up and went inside. Several people were there working. James glanced up from his laptop and motioned her over.

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