Page 44 of Burning Hearts

“Yep.”

Logan rolled back over. “I can throw down a rope.”

“Great,” Vince called up from the dark of the hole.

Orion had come around to Logan’s side. They had no trees to tie off the rope. “We’ll have to pull him up.” He measured out a third of the rope and tossed the end in the hole. “Vince, tie this around your chest, right under your arms.”

“Got it!”

Skye was looking at the buckets. JoJo, standing beside her, picked one up.

Orion, Jade, Cadee, and Tori got in line behind Logan. “Everyone ready?” After they’d all confirmed, he said, “Vince?”

“Ready!”

Logan said, “Pull!”

They backed up. Wood snapped. The rope slid across burnt wood, and Logan prayed it wasn’t going to break before they got the big man out. Finally, Vince’s dark hair appeared. He planted his elbows on the edges of the ground-level floor, breathing hard. Blood trickled down the outside of his arm between a tear in the sleeve of his shirt.

“You got hurt?” Logan didn’t let go of the rope. He kept pulling. “Thought you said you were okay.”

“You’re the one who got shot.”

“It was a graze. You’re the one who cleaned it for me.” He’d been bracing with his off side this whole time, but thinking about the injury made him focus for a second on the raw skin he had covered with a bandage.

“Guess we’re both fine.” Vince flashed gritted teeth and pulled himself the rest of the way out of the hole.

The rope slacked, and Logan ended up sitting on the grass.

Orion clapped him on the shoulder.

Jade brushed off the seat of her Nomex pants. “This team is out of control. It’s anarchy.”

“Come on, boss,” Logan said. “It’s not that bad.”

“Vince and Cadee don’t get along. Orion and Tori think no one has noticed the tension they’ve got going on. JoJo probably found wolf tracks somewhere out here. Skye’s on the phone—” Jade swung her arm out.

Skye lowered the phone from her mouth. “Rio needs to know they had a meth lab up here.”

Logan’s brows rose.

Jade continued like that last comment had never happened. “Vince just goes and jumps in a hole, andyou?—”

“What about me?” Logan didn’t see a reason he needed to get caught up in this sweep.

“You came all the way up here for a woman, and you’re gonna let her walk away? Are you insane? Jamie’s great!”

Logan just stared at her. When there seemed to be a moment of calm in the storm, he said, “You’re doing a great job as jump boss, Jade. Living up to the Ransom name.” When his sister got like this, it was best to just hand her chocolate and back away.

“I don’t want a repeat of last year.” She set her hands on her hips. “When we get back to base, we’re gonna do some team-building exercises.”

Vince shuddered. “And this day was going so well.” He held out his hand and hauled Logan to his feet.

“Vince!” Skye called out. “Rio said he wants pictures of the meth lab!”

* * *

Jamie leaned back in the chair. “This one.”

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