Firestorm

Chapter Nine

“Mallory! Hey!”

Mallory turned in the middle of the yard, a rush of pleasure loosening the fist of tension lodged in her chest. As her breath flowed a little easier, the tightness she’d been trying to ignore all day disappeared. “Sarah!”

Sarah grinned and hurried toward her, her blond curls escaping from under a navy blue knit cap. Even in her cargo pants and matching navy cable-knit sweater, Sarah looked thinner than usual. Mallory had just enough time to wonder about Sarah’s state before Sarah threw her arms around her and squeezed every thought from her head.

“God, I missed you,” Sarah exclaimed, kissing Mallory soundly on the mouth.

“Whoa, I’ll say.” Mallory laughed, a weight she hadn’t realized she’d been carrying lifting off her shoulders. Sarah was a good friend—probably her best friend if she’d kept track that way, and a colleague she could rely on. Mallory hadn’t realized just how much she’d longed for a friendly face, someone she trusted not to push her to go places she didn’t want to go or to think about things she didn’t want to remember. Unlike Jac, whose very presence seemed to propel her into the red zone. “What are you doing here? I didn’t expect you until the middle of the month.”

“Last-minute change of plans.” Sarah wrapped her arms around Mallory’s waist and gave her a tight hug.

“What kind of change in plans?” Mallory looped her arm over Sarah’s shoulders. Sarah was deceptively delicate-looking, with finely etched features, a tiny waist, and luminous blue eyes. In fact she was anything but fragile—all lean strength and supple grace. Sarah never had a problem jumping into the roughest terrain or packing out her equipment. She could work a lot of the guys into the ground on a long call out. Her endurance was legendary. And right now, she felt good in Mallory’s arms, warm and comforting.

“Got a minute to catch up?” Sarah asked.

“I was on my way to see Sully, but I’ve got time. Have you eaten?”

“Not yet. I’ve really missed Charlie’s cooking.”

“Come on, then.”

They loaded their trays, and Mallory picked a table well away from the few guys talking over cups of coffee. Sarah sat down and Mallory said, “So?”

“I decided Mark didn’t deserve me.” Despite her nonchalant tone, Sarah’s eyes looked unhappy.

“Oh, hey. That’s hard. I’m sorry.”

“No you’re not,” Sarah said, her smile stronger. “You always thought he was a world-class a-hole.”

Mallory shrugged, grinning slightly. “I never thought he treated you the way you should be treated, and he sure as hell didn’t know what a good thing he had in you. So what happened between you and mister anatomical part in question?”

“Remember how I used to brag about how supportive Mark was of me smokejumping? That he never complained about me being away for long stretches?”

“Yeah, I used to think that was out of character for him.” Mallory forced herself not to gobble the chili. Charlie had outdone himself. “Mark always struck me as being high maintenance. I thought he would have needed too much attention to go without you for long.”

“Well, he managed so well because he had a seasonal substitute. Some college girl who was keeping his bed warm between semesters.”

“Oh, that really sucks.” Mallory reached across the table and took Sarah’s hand. “I’m really sorry. Really. I might not like the guy, but I know you did.”

“Thanks.” Sarah sighed and pushed her half-eaten bowl of chili away. “I kind of knew it was coming for a long time, but I just didn’t want to admit it. The upside of the whole mess was I discovered his sideline just when I was making plans to leave for the season. It seemed ridiculous to ask him to move out when I was leaving in two weeks. He might as well stay and pay rent on the place until he finds somewhere else to live.” Sarah grimaced. “I didn’t much feel like seeing any of our friends or listening to my sister say I told you so. I just packed up the car and started driving.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re here. You don’t have to work until you’re scheduled—”

“No, I want to. Please, put me to use.”

“You sure?” Mallory pointed to Sarah’s chili. “You better eat that, then, because we’ve got another five or six hours ahead of us this afternoon.”

Sarah nodded and dug in. “Believe me, long days of hard work are exactly what I need. I’ll sleep at night, and I won’t have time to think about him or what an idiot I was.”

“Okay then. I can always use another training instructor. And you’re not an idiot for being trusting.”

“Maybe not, but I think maybe I stayed with him longer than I should have because it was convenient. Or maybe just easier. And he’s not hard on the eyes.” Sarah chewed her lip, her cheeks turning pink. “I feel a little shallow about that.”

Mallory laughed. “Why? Because you’ve got a good, healthy libido and he fired you up?”

“Well, a little bit of heat might be a good excuse for a casual thing, but two years?” Sarah shrugged. “It’s over and done, right. So, what’s on for this afternoon?”

“I thought I’d see how they do off the tower. Most of them have no jump experience, and it may not be what they bargained for.”

“It’ll be dark in a few hours. We’re gonna jump with lights?”

Mallory grinned. They didn’t fight fires from nine to five. They jumped whenever the plane could get them to the front, night or day, rain or snow. “I thought we might as well see what they’re made of.”

Sarah laughed. “I’m in. Oh—my place isn’t going to be ready for a couple weeks, so I was planning on bunking here.”

“Well, that’s no big—” Mallory thought about the sleeping arrangements in the barracks. Sarah’s bunk was the only one secluded enough to offer some privacy. “Damn. We’re not set up yet for more than one woman in there.”

“Why do we—oh, right. The rookie.” Sarah frowned. “Well, it’s my fault for showing up early. I’ll just have to—”

“Hey, that’s your bunk and you have seniority. You’re not giving it up for a rookie.” Mallory sipped her coffee, sorting through options. “Besides, the reason we’re not prepared for her is because she showed up off the books this morning.”

“You didn’t know she was coming?”

Mallory hesitated, her aggravation of the early morning having smoothed out some since she’d gotten to know Jac a little bit. Jac’s circumstances were a lot more complicated than Mallory had first thought—maybe Jac’s father had pulled strings, but she doubted that was Jac’s doing. Cashing in on her father’s influence just didn’t seem like Jac’s style. But then what did she know of Jac, really? All the same, she wasn’t going to go off with half the facts. “No. She didn’t come through usual channels.”

“I’m not following.”

“Someone at regional posted her here.”

“Huh.” Sarah raised her brows. “And what aren’t you telling me?”

“I don’t know all the details,” Mallory said.

“She’s got some pull somewhere, it sounds like.” Sarah’s eyes widened. “Oh! Russo. She told me her name was Russo. Her father…not…?”

Mallory nodded. “Yes.”

“Wow. Who would’ve thought we’d end up with his daughter here.” Sarah shook her head. “You know, when I first saw her I thought she looked familiar, but with her hair wet and—”

“I’m sorry?”

“In the shower. I ran into her in the locker room—in the shower, to be precise.”

An image of Jac naked, water streaming down her face and over her chest sent a bolt of lightning down Mallory’s spine. She felt her face color and caught herself before she twitched in her chair. “Oh?”

“Uh-huh. She seems nice.”

“I guess.” Mallory had a hard time thinking of Jac as nice. There were a lot of words she would use to describe her, but that was not the first one that came to her mind. Intense. Mysterious. Interesting. Gorgeous and sexy.

“You don’t like her?”

Mallory blinked. “No. I mean, no, I like her fine. Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know, I just got a really strange vibe—is something wrong?”

Mallory shook her head again. Nothing was wrong, only her. “Nope. Everything’s fine.”

“I wonder if the guys know who she is. That can’t be pleasant for her.”

“What do you mean?” Mallory’s shoulders stiffened.

“Well she’s kind of notorious, you know, what with the girlfriend thing and all—”

“You know about that?”

“Are you kidding me? You know I’m a People magazine junkie. They picked up the story after those pictures showed up in the Star.” Sarah made a face. “I’d hate for the people I work with to have seen me naked. That way I mean.”

Mallory’s teeth started to ache they were so tightly clenched. “She was naked?”

“Oh yeah. Her and the girlfriend. The Star photo was grainy, but clear enough to see they were in flagrante delicto.”

Mallory lost what was left of her appetite. When Jac had told her about revealing pictures, she’d imagined a heated kiss or a hand in a compromising position. She hadn’t actually considered the photos were taken in the act. Was the girlfriend without pride as well as honor? She knew the seasoned veterans on the team, and trusted them to respect Jac’s privacy. She didn’t know the rookies.

“If you hear any scuttlebutt about her, let me know.” Mallory stood. She needed some air. She needed to walk off her fury before she said something in front of Sarah she’d regret. Jac could look after herself. She wasn’t responsible for Jac, not that way. Her only responsibility was to see that she was safe in the field.

Sarah collected her tray and walked with her. “So what are you going to do with her if I take the bunk in the barracks? Can she share your loft until my place is ready?”

Mallory’s heart lurched. “Oh, I don’t think so. No way. She’s not sleeping with me.”

Sarah’s eyes narrowed. “Who said anything about sleeping with you, huh? I mean, she’d be sleeping in the loft somewhere but—”

“You know what I mean.”

“I think I’m beginning to.” Sarah’s smile widened. “She is really hot.”

“And you’re really straight. Unless something else changed down there in Santa Fe.” Mallory looked over her shoulder, hoping no one was within hearing range.

“Ho ho. You’ve got a crush.”

“Oh my God, I do not. God. She’s a rookie.” Mallory stowed her tray. “I’ve got to get going. I want to talk to Sully, and then I need to check the tower.”

“You’re avoiding.”

Mallory turned her back to escape toward Sully’s office. “No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.” Sarah tagged along, laughing. “You’re avoiding your best friend’s nosy questions.”

“I am not.”

“So, do you think she’s hot?”

“Geez, Sarah. Is this high school now? No.”

Sarah grinned. “So where is she sleeping?’

Mallory imagined Jac’s quiet breathing in the dark, pictured her moving around in the morning, her thick dark hair tousled from sleep. Her mind skittered away and landed on a grainy image of Jac on the smeared and rumpled pages of a newspaper, naked and defenseless and unable to protect herself. The rage in her chest turned to ice.

“In the loft.” No big deal, right? She was way too old for a crush, and even if she wasn’t, she had more sense than to be seduced by a cocky grin and soulful eyes. Dark, intense eyes that saw inside her.

Mallory shivered. The wind had picked up. Ought to make the jumps challenging. She’d have to adjust the tension on the guidelines to counter the shear forces. Plenty to do, plenty to think about. None of those things were Jac.

*

“Hey, you want a spot?” Anderson peered down from the head of the weight bench. “You’ve got a fair amount of weight on there.”

Jac pushed out a breath and shoved the bar up, feeling her deltoids and chest muscles start to quiver. “Yeah, thanks.”

Anderson’s hands appeared next to hers, under the bar, waiting to catch it.

“What’s your count?”

“Ten,” Jac said, lowering the bar to her chest, stopping it just inches above her breasts. She kept her breath moving in and out, oxygenating her muscles, and shoved it up again.

“Eleven.” Anderson looked down at her, his expression calm and steady. “One more, and then let it rest.”

“Fifteen,” Jac grunted.

He grinned, looking amused even upside down. “I wouldn’t push it, not if you want to have anything left for the jumps this afternoon.”

“Blackmail,” Jac muttered and let him guide the bar back onto the hooks. Her breath was coming fast and a little ragged. She’d already done two sets before he showed up, and she still had a hard time blocking Hooker’s voice out of her head.

“I hear you did a solid with Ray out there today,” Anderson said quietly.

Jac sat up and toweled the sweat from her neck. “What do you mean?”

“Just that you got to him first, handled things, and sent him up to the helitack like a pro.”

“Word gets around fast.” Benny. Must have been Benny, because Mallory wouldn’t have said anything.

Anderson grinned. “Nothing else to do while sitting around waiting for a call. Don’t worry, it was all good.”

“If I worried about stuff like that…” Jac shrugged.

Hooker came into view, sauntering in her direction. He still wore the tight green T-shirt and had changed into sweats. He was husky, heavily muscled, and took up a lot of space.

Hooker gave her a grin as if they were best friends. “Got bad news for you, buddy.”

“Life’s full of it,” Jac said as if she couldn’t care less. Hooker was standing so close to the bench if she tried to stand her breasts were going to rub against his chest. His legs were spread, and she had no desire to end up with her crotch snugged up against his. So she sat, which put her eyes at about the level of his belly button. She tilted her head just enough to see his face. He was looking down at her, a look in his eyes that was all too easy to read. If the guy got a hard-on, she was gonna punch him in the nuts.

“I think you’ve missed your chance with the boss lady.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“In case you had any ideas of getting over on her, I think somebody’s got there first. Cute little blonde with big tits. I saw them getting cozy out in the yard before they went off together. Like lip-lock cozy.”

“Not interested in what you saw, heard, or think, Hooker.” Jac pushed up off the bench so fast, Hooker stepped back in surprise. Jac kept her hands at her sides, even though she wanted to slam him in the chest and knock him on his ass. Mallory and Sarah, it sounded like. Made sense. The two of them had worked together for a lot of seasons. If they were lovers, they’d want to be posted together. The two of them together—it shouldn’t matter to her, but it did. She wasn’t about to let Hooker know that. She looked past him to Anderson as if Hooker weren’t there. “Thanks for the spot. See you this afternoon.”

“Sure thing,” Anderson said with his usual even tone.

Hooker laughed and clapped her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, babe. If things get really tough, I can take care of you.”

“The only thing I’ll need you to take care of is my back out in the field,” Jac said.

“Anywhere, any time,” he crooned. “I’m there.”

Jac ignored him and headed to the locker room to grab a quick shower and change. Mallory and Sarah. She could see it, but she didn’t want to.