Page 41 of Burning Secrets

“What’s that?”

“The Refuge. That commune that Tori and Orion stayed in.”

“Right. We helped them evacuate. I thought it was caused by lightning.”

“Maybe. But maybe not. And I’m concerned about these places.” She pointed to orange circles.

“No pushpins in those areas, so no fires there.”

“No. But this is a small village, off-grid.” She pointed to a dot inside the orange circle. “And this is a group of homesteaders, like the Refuge.”

JoJo stared at the map, took another sip of coffee. “What are these red places? Wait—that’s the compound that burned.”

“Yes. We think these might be SOR encampments.”

She counted. “Six.”

“Including the one that burned. And they might not all be inhabited.”

“And these blue circles?” She pointed to one north of the jump base, another deeper in the woods, northeast.

“Not sure.”

Tucker knocked, then stuck his head in the office. “We have a callout on a fire on the north side of Chase. It’s a small community about twenty clicks from here. We’ll jump in to the north, send a team up from the south. Briefing in five.”

She turned back to the map, stepped up to it.

Jamie had already pinpointed it. Small village, maybe five homes, so not even a village. Probably just a census center.

And no ring around it. Maybe just a random lightning strike, then.

She nodded and headed to the briefing room. The rest of her jump team had gathered, along with one of the hotshot crews. She took a seat next to Logan, lifted a fist. He bumped it.

Tucker, clearly taking over for Jade, stepped up to the board and ran through the fire, the plan of attack, and then assigned Skye as fire boss for the day. The fire hadn’t yet reached Chase. Instead, it had started at a small camping area next to an inland lake. Hopefully uninhabited.

She headed to the gear room and kitted up, grabbed her helmet, and then jogged out to their Twin Otter. Hopped in beside Cadee, Tori, and Vince, Logan across from her. Hammer got in and settled beside Tori, now that Orion was nursing a dislocated shoulder. Those two had a thing going, evidenced by their companionship at meals, and she’d even spotted Orion walking Tori back to the women’s barracks.

But fighting to survive together did that to people.Two are better than one.

She leaned her head back.Please keep Crew safe, Lord.

Skye jumped in along with Mark, Neil at the helm.

“Let’s roll,” Skye said and sat behind the pilot’s seat, holding her helmet. She looked over at JoJo, gave her a thin-lipped smile.

What was that about? And then—wait. Skye’s husband knew Crew. And it hit her then that Skye probably knew Crew. Allthat talk after she first met him, from Skye, about giving him a chance…Aw, too many secrets.

And now Skye looked away, as if holding more. Awesome.

The plane taxied, took off, leaving behind the fire base, ascending between the peaks, over the rich boreal forests, the meandering tributaries that fell into the mighty Copper River.

Ahead, the smallest trickle of smoke blotted the sky, dark gray, black at the center—fresh and burning hot—and it looked like it had found fuel other than woodlands.

The plane circled the fire, and JoJo glanced out the window. Yep, below them, in a large clearing, a barn burned. Probably filled with old tires, machinery, even gas tanks. A cabin stood not far away. Looked abandoned. Hopefully.

So, what—lightning strike on the barn? Felt off.

“There’s a drop zone just east of here,” said Mark. “Let’s circle and I’ll drop some ribbons.”

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