Page 70 of Hot For You

“Hands over your head and get away now or I’ll shoot,” came a voice she knew and her heart leapt.

“No!” Nathan took another step back.

His clothes caught fire.

He shrieked as he went up in flames. The next thing she knew he’d dropped on the floor and was rolling around.

Through the flames she saw a figure rush forward. In the next moment, Cody was in the circle of fire with her.

“Cody!” Relief flooded her but she felt a burst of fear for him. What if he caught fire?

“Get the bag of C-4 and get the hell out of here,” she heard Reese McBride shouting to someone. “There might be more explosives that we can’t see. Cody, hurry!”

Cody grabbed her, chair and all over his shoulder. Carilyn screamed as he leapt back through the flames with her.

She felt a flash of intense heat and then he’d set the chair down. His gaze swept over her and she saw that his clothes were on fire. Hers were not. He dropped on the floor and rolled to put out the flames where his T-shirt had started to burn. He surged back to his feet, grabbed her and the chair again, flinging her over his shoulder, and he rushed for the door. Police officers were clearing out of the cabin, too, and one of them had Nathan.

Cody jogged down the porch steps with her and didn’t stop running. She saw others tearing away from the flames, too. As they ran through the trees, an explosion came from behind them. Cody stumbled forward and she screamed as they both went down.

They hit the ground hard, knocking the breath from her, the chair bruising her flesh and her head landing on a soft patch of ground. Another explosion ripped through the air and Cody flung himself over her to protect her from any falling debris.

After a moment he got to his knees and reached into his pocket. “Are you hurt anywhere?” he asked as he pulled out a pocketknife.

She stared up at the face that she’d thought she’d never see again. A face so dear to her that she couldn’t imagine being away from him ever again. “I don’t think so. I feel okay.”

He sliced through her bonds, then grabbed her again. “We’ve got to get out of here. The whole damned forest might go up.”

“I can run,” she said as he flung her over his shoulder again, this time minus the chair, which he left behind.

He didn’t listen to her, as if he didn’t want to let go of her. His feet pounded on leaves and rocks as he tore through the brush and trees. It felt like he was running forever.

She heard the roar of fire, along with the crackle, hiss, and popping sounds of the fire burning the forest. She could feel the fire rushing down on them.

From her side vision, she saw Nathan cuffed and being dragged along by his arm, through the forest. Despite the dire circumstances, she felt a rush of satisfaction to see Nathan in custody.

She saw that portions of his clothes were burned off and angry blistered patches of skin were showing through the large holes. She felt no sympathy toward him, none at all.

They burst through the trees to where several cars were parked. All but one of the vehicles were marked police cars.

Cody adjusted her in his arms. Someone had jerked open a car door and he thrust her inside the back seat and climbed in after her. Reese was in the driver’s seat and someone else was sitting in the front passenger seat.

Reese started the car, backed up, then turned the car around and shot out onto the road. She saw the police cruisers doing the same thing. When she looked over her shoulder, through the back window she saw that the forest was on fire.

Cody swept her up in his arms and gave her a fierce, hard kiss. “I was so afraid for you,” he said and kissed her again.

“Thank God,” came another familiar male voice from the front passenger seat. She shot a look at him and saw that it was Sam.

“Sam.” She stared at him in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“The iPhone app.” He nodded to Cody. “He got hold of me just as I was getting ready to leave town and we used it to find you.”

“Thank you,” she said, her eyes filling with tears from the smoke, the fact that she’d almost been burned alive, and because of the men who’d saved her. “Thank you all.”

Cody held her tightly to his chest, drawing her into his lap. “I am never letting you go, Carilyn. I love you so damned much.”

Vaguely she was aware of Sam watching and the pain in his expression, but she had to tell Cody how she felt.

“I love you, Cody.” She met his gaze. “You mean everything to me.”

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