Amanda's Wolves(80)

“You listen to me, Mike. I’m paying you a hefty amount for a reason, and in order to continue this little relationship, I need to make money. And to make money, I need to finish this job as planned. And that means I need more time. So, you get your ass here and look at these pictures and tell me who these goddamn wolves are so I can take action to ensure they don’t mess with me any further.”

“Take action? What the hell are you planning to do, Roger? Start killing people?”

“I’ll do whatever it takes. But first I need to know who I’m dealing with.” Roger’s blood boiled. “I need you to identify the players and let me handle the rest.”

Mike blew out a breath. “Fine, but let it be noted that I told you to cut your losses and shut down.”

“Fine. I heard your message loud and clear. Let it also be noted that I said fuck no.” Roger ended the call and tossed the phone on his desk. Son of a bitch.





Chapter Twenty-Four


Sawyer concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. He and the rest of the team had climbed through some very rugged terrain to reach the spot where they worked. It had been several hours already. He was hot. He was tired. And he was constantly thirsty. No matter how often he stopped to take a drink, his mouth felt dry moments later.

The smoke was thick ahead of them. He was grateful he could no longer see flames licking the tops of the trees, but their job was far from over. One small patch of smoldering embers could cause the forest fire to reignite in an instant if they didn’t ensure every flame was out.

Sawyer stopped next to a thick pine tree, took a deep breath, and lifted his chainsaw. The goal was to clear the trees along the edge of the stream running next to them to prevent the fire from jumping the water.

Before he pulled the lever to start up his chain saw, a wave of black smoke crossed his line of vision. He took two quick steps back, adjusting his gear while he glanced around. Fear crawled up his spine. Had they misjudged and gotten too close to an actively burning section of the forest?

Nothing out of the ordinary caught his eye. He blinked several times. The smoke was thick in the distance, but the area around the tree he was working on was relatively clear.

As he shook the weird image from his head, he stepped back up to the tree. Instantly, he was blinded again, this time completely, as if he’d stepped directly into an enclosed room filled with smoke.

He gasped and blinked. The thick darkness eased from his direct line of sight, but only a few feet this time. Sawyer lowered the chainsaw as he realized the gather of smoke in front of him wasn’t from the fire. It was a spirit. It hovered in its shimmering form, barely noticeable in the middle of an active fire.

But Sawyer knew.

It danced back and forth in front of him, antsy. Aggravated.

What the fuck did it want? It wasn’t as if now was a good time for him to go for a hike. He could hardly walk away from his team and follow some bear-shaped coalescence of smoke. He had work to do.

In fact, he shook his head at the spirit and lifted his chainsaw once again, ignoring the insistent figure while he started the noisy engine and set the chain to the tree trunk. The spirit remained. He caught sight of it in his peripheral vision several times, but luckily it didn’t put him in a dangerous position. If it decided to press in front of him again, he could make a fatal mistake while blinded by the smoke.

By the time the pine fell exactly in the spot he’d intended, the spirit was thankfully gone. Its presence had left a mark on Sawyer, however. He tried to shake the unease, but it remained with him as he made his way to the right with his team.

Another glance at the skyline told him they were making strides in the right direction. The wildland firefighters some distance to the north were obviously doing their jobs. A few more air drops, and they’d be out of danger.

But that was hours away. He had work to do. And he hoped to be left in peace while he got it done. Another episode like that would drive him batty.

»»•««

It was after four in the morning when Sawyer crept back into the condo and slipped into the bedroom. He was physically exhausted. Mentally, he had never been more alert. It always took him a while to slow his brain after a call.

Amanda sat up, pulling the sheet with her to cover her breasts. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” He pointed at the bathroom. “I’ve had a shower, but I still smell like smoke. Let me wash again, and I’ll be back.”

“Okay.” Her voice was a soothing balm that instantly slowed his heart rate. It was worth working his ass off as hard as he did if he got to come home to her.

Before he could leave the room, Logan lifted up and climbed out of bed to follow him to the bathroom. At least the man wore a pair of loose shorts. Not that it mattered much since the first thing Sawyer did was strip his clothes and drop them in the hamper.