Page 25 of Redwood Blaze
“Long story, but I need you to get the guys away from Blake —who is really Gideon— and stay far from him. He’s dangerous.”
“Will do. But why are you coming this way?”
“To find Callum and save him.” I lift my bag higher on my shoulder.
Cole yells something to someone with a covered mouthpiece. “We’ll see if we can ping his locator and send you some coordinates.”
Cole would already know if a beacon when off.
So Gideon lied about turning on Callum’s beacon. Fuck him!
“Please.”
“What if you run into?—”
“I’ll handle him.”
I’m fucking fine, but he won’t be.
I hang up and in two minutes coordinates are in my phone.
I’m blazing with anger, but I’ll use it as fuel. I’ll use my skills to find Callum and then I’ll find Gideon and make him wish he’d never stepped foot in Black Timber Peak.
Now to call Blake or the police to check on him…
TWELVE
RUSTY
I open an eye just a crack.I don’t want the person who hit me to know that I’m waking up. My head pounds like a herd of moose are galloping through it. I don’t hear anything.
I cough on a deep inhale.
Shit. I’m in the fire.
The smoke is rising, so the ground is the safest place to be, but I can hear the crackle of trees close.
Too close.
I go to move and my stomach wrenches with how my world spins. If I can’t get to my feet and start walking…
I’m done.
I inhale slowly through my nose. It has more filters than my mouth. I get enough oxygen to just settle my system.
It’s time to try again.
I hear footsteps in the distance. My heart picks up pace. I swallow.
The time to try is now.
I roll to my knees, then back on my haunches, and then I’m upright, but quickly going back down. But I don’t fall.
“I’ve got you.” Her voice is muffled by her face mask but it’s still like hearing my favorite song, hearing a long-lost friend’s voice, and hearing what love feels like in words. “Callum, he stole your warbag, so you don’t have your oxygen. We’re going to have to share.”
She rips it off and I try to act like I don’t need it, but the truth is, ten… hell, five more minutes… and I would’ve been oxygen deprived. I inhale slowly and deeply, the oxygen settling into my lungs and clearing my head just for a moment.
I can’t help myself. “I love you, Millie.”
