Page 20 of Goddess of Storms

We are headed for the Jeep, when a woman appears out of nowhere. “There’s the girl that was on fire.” She’s holding her phone up.

“Ma’am, are you lost?” Harper asks.

“How are you alive? I witnessed you pulled from a tent and your clothes were on fire.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was in the tent with my boyfriend here,” she says as she interwines her fingers with mine.

“No, I saw it. I’m not crazy!” The strange woman cries.

“We didn’t say you were, ma’am. Are you lost? Can we help you back out of the park?” I ask.

“She was on fire, I took a video of it. Why won’t you just admit it?”

“You have me confused with someone else. I’m sorry. We have to get back to town. Do you need a ride?”

She ignores my questions, and walks off in the other direction.

“That was weird,” Nile comments.

“She’s the same one that came to the camp last night. I wondered if she would pop up again,” Phoenix states.

“I hated lying to her, but what else could we do? It’s bad enough that she uploaded the video, but to come back here. Wow, she’s got some balls on her,” Harper says.

“Let’s forget her, we have a lot to figure out,” I tell her.

“So, what did Nicks say?” Harper asks.

“He laughed at first, he was like ‘She’s never been sick a day in her whole career here. I find that hard to believe.’ So, I told him you were throwing up and had a fever with chills.”

“Nicks isn’t wrong, I haven’t. So, we radio in when we get to the Jeeps and I’ll pretend to throw up in the background. Think that will convince him?” Harper smirks.

“With as much as he freaks out when someone is coughing, I think that is a solid yes,” I reply.

“If he does, you can take me and the guys back to my house to lay low. As much as I’d hate to be away from you, I think it’s best you finish out the day at the office and see if there is any flaming girl talk.”

“You’re right as always, my love.” I smile.

Nile chirps in, “I think a nap is in order. I don’t know why anyone in their right mind would enjoy sleeping on the ground.” He wraps an arm around Harper’s waist and gives me a smug look.

“You’re welcome to use either of my guest rooms, you will have to work to make it back to my bed,” Harper states, removing his hand from her hips.

Phoenix and I both fail at covering our laughs, earning us each a dirty expression from Nile.

“Yeah, bro. Never assume anything!” Phoenix says.

“Okay so, I’ll go to the office and on my way back to your place, I can pick up dinner. Any suggestions?”

“Fish,” Nile says.

“Thai,” comes from Phoenix.

“Pasta,” from Harper.

“You three couldn’t say pizza at the same time? Pasta is it. What the lady wants is what she gets,” I state.

Groans come from both of them.

“Just text me what you want and I call it in before I leave the office. That is unless Reid tries to get her claws into me.”

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