Page 33 of Burning Escape

“Took Vince and Cadee a day to get to a phone and call in, and Neil should be released from the hospital today, but everyone is good or they’re healing. What happened out there?”

“Long story. The gist of it is, a small off-grid community took us in. We didn’t have a way to contact anyone. And then there was a drone attack on a homestead.”

The woman behind the counter raised her eyebrows.

Oooh. This might not be the best place to talk. They didn’t need to incite panic in the general population. “So, anyone free who can come get us in Copper Mountain?”

“Sure. I’ll send one of the smokejumpers, but right now they’re out in the middle of something, so it will probably be a few hours.”

“Sounds good. I don’t know how long the doctor will take anyway, and we’ll need to make sure these two women with us are settled. So we’re not going anywhere.”

“As soon as you’re back, I want a full report.”

“Will do.” Orion hung up as Kitri was called back by a woman in scrubs. He went over to the deputy.

“You saw this drone, by any chance?” Deputy Mills stuck his thumbs in his pockets.

“No. We came and saw Kitri passed out on her porch. The chickens outside the coop were dead. The other animals I saw seemed fine. Someone needs to check it out though. There’s a small off-grid community called the Refuge not far from the homestead. They’re peaceful people. I would hate for them to be targeted.”

“The Refuge? I think the sheriff’s heard of them. We’ll look into it. Got a number where we can reach you if we have more questions?”

“I don’t have a phone at the moment, but you can find me at the Midnight Sun jump base.”

Mills wrote down the info and left. Orion let his head fall back against the wall and closed his eyes. With the adrenaline of everything that had happened fading, a bone-deep weariness sank into him.

At least everyone was safe. The weight of having to protect three women and a baby was not a light one. He stretched out his legs, tempted to put his feet up on the coffee table, but he refrained, thinking of all the times his mother had scolded him for having dirty shoes on furniture.

He must’ve dozed off, because the next thing he knew, Tori was rousing him. “Hey, sleepyhead.”

Orion rubbed his eyes. “Hey. Is Josiah?—”

“He’ll be okay, but they need to monitor him overnight, and Joann is going to stay with him. But for the moment, she’s okay, so I’m going to walk over to my apartment and shower. I might burn these clothes when I’m done.” She pulled the collar of her shirt and shuddered. “And I’ll bring some food when I come back. Want anything?”

“Tucker is sending someone to get us. Should be here in a couple hours or so to take us back to base camp.”

“I don’t know that I should leave Joann overnight. I had to show her how to use a flushing toilet. And where’s Kitri?”

“Back with the doc, I assume. Haven’t heard anything.” Orion stood and stretched his arms. His shoulder ached. “I’ll go get food…except I don’t have a wallet on me. It’s at base camp.”

“Why don’t you come with me? I’ll grab my debit card, and you can use that to get us some burgers while I take the hottest shower possible and wash my hair three times.”

“So basically, you’re saying I should take my time?” Orion chuckled.

“Exactly.”

They walked out into the cool evening. The brisk air tousled Tori’s blonde hair.

She glanced at him. “Thank you for everything you did out there. If it weren’t for you, I’d probably still be stuck in that tree in the middle of the bush.”

“You know, for a fake married couple, I think we did all right.”

She chuckled. “Yeah, as fake husbands go, you’re not so bad. Guess we make a pretty good team.” They waited at an intersection for a muddy truck before crossing. She looked at him. “And I’m sorry.”

“Sorry about what?” Orion asked.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about joining the smokejumping team when we met. I just?—”

“It’s okay. I get it. It’s hard to make the team, and you had to focus. And I wasn’t the best team player as we were battling it out for that spot.”

---