by Zoe Chant
Never taking her eyes off the screen, Diana reached for her daughter. She bounced her on her shoulder, patting her back until she calmed.
“Look, baby,” Diana whispered, holding Beth up so she could see the man too. “Look. That’s your daddy.”
Wildfire Pegasus
Fire & Rescue Shifters: Wildfire Crew 4
Chapter 1
This is a terrible idea. It’s going to go wrong. He’ll hate you.
Diana knew better than to try to silence that nagging inner voice. She kept her eyes on the twisting mountain road, steering her car through each bend as smoothly as possible despite the pounding of her heart.
He’ll be angry. He’ll shout. He’ll call the cops and have you escorted away in handcuffs and they’ll throw you in jail and—
“I haven’t done anything illegal, Gertrude,” Diana said out loud. “I’m not going to get arrested.”
Naming her anxiety disorder and treating it like a separate person helped her to control her runaway worries. Even if it did make her sound like a loon to be talking to thin air. She just had to be careful not to slip up and do it in public.
You’re going to forget, Gertrude promptly piped up. You’ll talk to yourself in front of him, and he’ll decide that you’re utterly mad and want nothing to do with you. Or he’ll have you committed. Or he’ll call child services and they’ll come and declare you unfit and take her away.
Diana drew in a long, deep breath and let it out slowly, counting to five. She slowed down, making sure that the road was clear before risking a glance over her shoulder. The baby mirror she’d rigged over the back seat showed Beth was still lost in sleep, one chubby little fist clutching her comfort blanket.
As always, her daughter’s baby-round cheeks and rosebud mouth made Diana’s heart expand, even as her chest tightened in worry. She took a firmer grip on the steering wheel despite her sweating palms.
“I have to do this for Beth,” she told both herself and Gertrude. “She deserves to have a chance to know her father.”
He could be terrible. A bully. A sexist pig. You hardly know anything about him.
“That’s true,” Diana acknowledged. “But I know that he was kind to me. I know that he made me laugh, at a point when I thought I would never laugh again. I know that he’s quick-witted and sweet and funny. Beth deserves to have someone like that in her life.”
What if that was all an act, though? Gertrude fretted. What if he was just lying to get into your pants? What if he’s a drug addict?
Diana had to laugh at herself for coming up with that one. “He’s a wilderness firefighter. I don’t think people addicted to crack cocaine can work nineteen-hour days cutting line.”
Steroid abuse, Gertrude suggested. He’ll have mood swings and rages. He must spend all his money on illicit injections. No one looks that good naturally. Remember his body?
Oh, how she remembered his body. It had only been one night, and they’d both been drunk to the point of irresponsibility, but she could still visualize every inch of his perfect physique. She could still feel the hard planes of his chest under her palms, the bold confidence of his mouth on hers, the thick length of his—
Diana gave herself a mental shake. That was all in the past. She was a mother now. She couldn’t even contemplate a relationship, not with Beth needing all her attention.
This wasn’t about her. This was all for Beth.
Gertrude subsided to a background murmur of dire predictions of disaster and heartbreak. Diana let the intrusive thoughts roll past, acknowledging but not engaging the way that her therapist had taught her to do.
She focused on the road instead, which had degenerated to a dirt track. Her little car jolted over ridges and furrows left by much larger vehicles. Diana guessed that no one must come up this way much apart from the hotshot crew members themselves. She did her best to soften the ride, hoping that Beth wouldn’t wake up. The chance of this meeting going well wouldn’t be improved by handing a shocked hotshot a screaming, red-faced baby.
She needed everything to go perfectly. She owed it to Beth.
She ran through her pre-prepared speech as she drove. She’d spent days agonizing over every word, writing it out again and again until it was burned into her brain. Maybe she should have just sent it to him as a letter…but no letter, no picture could convey the sheer breathtaking wonder of Beth. He couldn’t fall in love with cold, hard facts. She had to show her to him, in person. It was the best chance that he would see his surprise daughter as the living, breathing miracle she was, rather than as a mistake.
Even if that meant driving from California to Montana, wrestling diapers in dingy gas stations and spending hours disinfecting every surface in cheap motels. Road trips were considerably less fun when you had a ten-month-old baby that had fully mastered the art of crawling. Diana was grateful that Beth always dropped off to sleep in the car, but it did mean that Beth was wide awake and raring to explore all night.
What if you’re making poor decisions due to sleep deprivation? Gertrude whispered.
If that was the case, then Diana probably hadn’t made a good decision all year. No matter how she tried to let the worry slip by, it clung stubbornly, like a burr in her mind.
She wound down the window a crack, hoping the breeze would help to clear her head. The habitual tight knot in her chest eased a little as she breathed in the gloriously clean mountain air. The sunlight filtering through the tree canopy was still summer-warm and golden, but hints of red in the foliage showed that fall was just around the corner. It was a long way from her own crowded, run-down, smoggy corner of L.A.
Diana’s heart thumped as she spotted a hand-lettered sign proclaiming THUNDER MOUNTAIN HOTSHOTS - CREW BASE. It pointed down an even narrower track, leading higher up the mountain. Diana had to slow to a crawl, her lightweight tires struggling on the rough terrain.
Just as Diana was starting to wonder if her little car could cope with the steep gradient, the track gave out into a wide clearing. A group of wooden buildings clustered at the far end. Most of them were small, rough log cabins, set back near the tree line, but there were a couple of larger structures set around a wide, flat parking area.
Which was completely empty.
The entire base had a still, shuttered feeling. Every door was closed, every window dark.
Diana couldn’t help feeling like she was trespassing as she parked her car and got out. Leaving Beth still asleep in her car seat, she took a few hesitant steps toward the largest building.
“Hello?” The word came out as a squeak. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Um, hello? Is anyone around?”
Her voice sounded too loud in the silent base. A bird made a call of alarm from the forest off to her left, making her jump. She held her breath, listening, but only heard the gentle whisper of wind through leaves. No sound of chainsaws or men working; not even a hint of distant traffic.
The Thunder Mountain Hotshots weren’t at their base.
She’d read on the crew’s website that the end of September was the close of fire season. She’d assumed that they’d have to have been here, storing all their gear and shutting everything down for the winter. But the hotshot crew must have been called out again on one final, late assignment.
Her stomach plummeted, even as guilty relief flooded through her. It had taken her literally days to psych herself up for this confrontation and now…now she’d have to find the nerve to do it all over again.
She wasn’t sure she’d be able to. Not even for Beth. Just the thought of putting herself through all this again had her pulse spiking.
“Hello?” she called again, in futile hope. “Is anybody here?”
“You looking for someone?”
She nearly wet herself—thanks, post-pregnancy pelvic floor—at the unexpected male voice. Heart in her mouth, she spun round. A burly, bearded man lounged near her car, watching her with his head cocked to one side.
“Wh-where did you come from?” sh
e stammered.
He jerked his head casually in the direction of the forest. “Saw you drive in. You lost?”
It was ridiculous—he was being perfectly polite, even if he did look a bit unkempt—but a hammer-blow of adrenaline hit her as she realized he was standing between her and Beth.
“Hey, don’t look like that, Little Red Riding Hood. I don’t bite.” The man grinned, exposing startlingly white teeth. “Except in special circumstances.”
“Um.” As unobtrusively as she could, Diana edged around him, putting her back to the vehicle. The man didn’t move, although his grin widened, as though he was enjoying her obvious discomfort. “Are you one of the hotshots here?”
“Might be.” The man shoved his hands into his pockets, still smiling. “Depends who’s asking. You looking for one?”
“Y-yes.” Diana tried to ignore the way that all her instincts were screaming at her. “I, um, I need to talk to Callum Tiernach-West. Do you know him?”
The man’s eyes narrowed. His smile dropped away, revealing intent, predatory focus. “Oh yes. I know him. Question is, how do you know him, Little Red?”
There was no way she was going to blurt out to a complete stranger that she’d had a secret baby with a sexy firefighter. Especially not to someone as creepy as this guy.
“Oh, it’s not important.” Nerves got the better of her. She could hear her voice going high and thin, words pouring out in a panicked torrent. “I can see he’s not here right now. No big deal, honest. I’ll come back another time. Really sorry to bother you. I’ll just be going now.”
She fumbled for the car door as she babbled. She got it open—and shrieked as a rough hand closed round her wrist.
“I don’t think so, Little Red.” Somehow the man had closed the distance between them in an eye-blink, so fast she hadn’t even been aware of him moving. His rank, wet-dog smell choked her. “I think you should come with me.”
Oh God, he’s not a hotshot! A dozen horrific possibilities whirled through Diana’s mind. She kept her eyes fixed on his, not daring even the slightest flicker of a glance in Beth’s direction. It didn’t matter what happened to her, not as long as her baby was safe.
The man’s nostrils flared. He sniffed the air like an animal. To Diana’s horror, he turned his head, his eyes fixing on Beth.
“Holy shit,” the man breathed. “He’s got a kid.”
“No, no, please!” Diana dug in her heels, trying to hold the man back. It was no use. He dragged her effortlessly in his wake as he peered through the car window. “She’s not his, I swear! I’ll go with you, do whatever you want, just leave her alone!”
“Calm down, Little Red. I’m not going to eat her.” Despite his words, the man was staring at Beth as if she was a dozen glazed donuts. He let out a short, ugly laugh of triumph. “Nobody will get hurt…as long as your boyfriend does exactly what we want. Oh, man. I’ll be the golden boy for this. Even that bitch Lupa will have to kiss my ass.”
He was so caught up in gloating, his grip on her wrist slackened. With the strength of desperation, Diana broke free. He turned, snarling, but she was already pivoting. It had been years since she’d last played soccer, but her body still knew exactly what to do.
Her foot connected with the man’s crotch with enough force to drive a ball across an entire pitch.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! She blessed her old college coach for all those hours of practice as the man crumpled. She scrambled into her car, slamming the door shut and locking it. By the time the man rolled to his feet, she was already roaring away.
She caught a last glimpse of him in the rear-view mirror as she sped out of the parking lot. He was still down on his hands and knees, crouched in the dirt. His features were so distorted in rage that he barely seemed human. He threw back his head, letting out a feral howl.
Still, he was on foot. Even if he had a car or motorbike hidden somewhere nearby, it would take him time to get to it and come after her. She held the accelerator down, taking the bends in the road as fast as she dared, and prayed that she had enough of a head start.
A sleepy, grumpy wail rose from the backseat. The breakneck, bumpy ride had woken Beth up. She sounded more indignant than upset, but her cries still stabbed through Diana.
“It’s okay, baby, it’s okay.” She spoke as soothingly as she could, despite the rapid pounding of her heart and the constant oh my God oh my God oh my God running through her head. “Mommy’s here. Everything’s going to be—”
A wall of flame cut her off.
Chapter 2
“Six months until we have to see anything else that’s on fire,” Blaise said with intense satisfaction. “Bliss.”
Rory chuckled from the front passenger seat. “You said that last year too. And by Christmas, you were complaining how bored you were, and counting down the days until fire season started again.”
Blaise took one hand off the steering wheel to flip off their hotshot squad boss. “Not this time. After the season we’ve had, I for one am looking forward to peace and quiet and a total lack of demons and hellhounds.”
Fenrir, riding in the back of the vehicle, stuck his pointed muzzle over the last row of seats to shoot Blaise a wounded, puppy-eyed look.
“Not all hellhounds,” Rory’s mate Edith said, reaching over to scratch behind Fenrir’s ears.
“Present company excepted, of course.” Wystan rolled his neck, stretching cramped muscles with a wince. “It has been rather a summer, hasn’t it?”
“Are you going for the gold medal in English understatement, Wys?” Joe said. The sea dragon shifter was lounging across the middle seats with one arm around his mate Seren, shamelessly taking up far more than his fair share of space in the crowded crew vehicle. “You do remember that I was nearly eaten by a giant snake monster, right?”
“To be fair, that was mostly your fault,” Seren murmured to him.
“Even without all the supernatural events, it’s been quite a ride,” Rory said. “We’ve logged a record number of hours this season. We all deserve a break. What are everyone’s plans for off-season?”
“Hot showers,” Blaise said promptly. “All the hot showers. I may just become aquatic.”
“Hey, if it’s water you want, you should come hang out with me and Seren,” Joe said. “We’ve got all the water you could want in Atlantis.”
“I said hot showers.” Blaise kept her attention on the road as she spoke, though she could no doubt have navigated the twisting roads leading up Thunder Mountain with her eyes shut. “Anyway, I already promised my parents I’d spend off-season with them in Brighton. I’m going to help my mom out at the pub. It’ll be nice to see all the old faces again. You’re coming too, aren’t you Rory?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Rory grinned, his golden eyes brightening. “Danny and Morwenna are coming over with baby Charlie, so the whole family will be back together for the holiday season. I’m just grateful Edith agreed it was okay for us to spend all winter in England.”
“It’s more than okay,” Edith said, still petting Fenrir. “I like your family a lot. I’m looking forward to spending more time with them. Especially your sisters. I promised Skye I’d help her with her application for fire academy.”
Rory’s forehead wrinkled. “And suddenly, I’m wondering if we should go to Atlantis instead.”
“Ross would hunt you down and drag you back by your tail-feathers,” Blaise told him. “What about you, Wys? Are you and Candice coming home too?”
Wystan smiled. “Yes, but not in the way you mean. Thunder Mountain is my home now, not England. Candice and her friends have been doing marvels with the ranch while I’ve been away for fire season, but there’s still a great deal to be fixed and restored. Besides which, someone needs to stay in Montana, just in case our supernatural friends make an unexpected move.”
“You think that’s likely?” Rory asked. “I thought your research showed that the Thunderbird never showed up outside of fire season. D
oesn’t that mean that the demons must be hibernating or something?”
“They do indeed seem to go dormant over the winter,” Wystan replied. He cocked a significant eyebrow at Joe. “But as we’ve learned, the demons aren’t working alone. They might not be able to emerge when the weather cools down, but that Lupa woman and her hellhound pack could still be very much active.”
*Bad Bitch,* Fenrir growled. *Don’t trust her. Must guard the den until pack returns.*
“Oh, you’re staying too?” Edith said, looking a little disappointed. “I thought maybe you’d come with me and Rory.”
“Fenrir has kindly agreed to help me keep an eye on things,” Wystan said. “But don’t worry, you won’t be parted for the entire winter. We’re all going to fly over to England for Christmas.”
“So will we,” Seren put in. “The Pearl Empress has already decreed that Winter Court shall be held on land this year. We too shall be in Brighton.”
Joe sat bolt upright, banging his head against the ceiling of the truck. “Wait. Wait. You know what this means?”
Edith eyed him side-long. “No. What?”
Joe flung his arms wide, as best he could in the packed space. “Epic party!”
“For once, Joe actually has a good idea,” Blaise said. “Well, since we’ll all be back—”
“Not all.”
It was the first time Callum had spoken during the six-hour journey, and he regretted it immediately. The rest of the squad turned to stare at him, looking as startled as if the chainsaws loaded in the back had started whistling the Star-Spangled Banner.
“What do you mean, Callum?” Rory said, his brow creasing. “You’re coming back home for Christmas at least, aren’t you?”
Their attention pinned him in place like a spotlight, no matter how much he wanted to slink back into the shadows. Discomfort made it harder to shut out the rest of the world. The back of his mind was a constant strobe-flicker of the life-forms streaking past as the vehicle as it barreled along—rabbit, rabbit, sparrow squirrel lizard jay jay sparrow jay mouse rabbit mousemousesparrowsparrowsnakemousemousejay—