every nerve in her body screaming to flee, she tossed aside her fusee, hoisted the quivering dog to her hip and darted after Cade.
A thought skittered through her brain, warning her that she should feel pain in her ankle and heat from the flames, but the terror jolting her mind blocked it out. She had to run.
Cade charged ahead of her, stooping to torch the dry grass. A hot wind blasted their backs, and their little fire picked up speed, racing up the steep slope. Her vision blurring, her chest searing, Jordan chased the bright line of flames.
Suddenly Cade tossed aside his spent fusee and turned back. Their eyes met, and for an instant, his vivid blue gaze held hers. She saw his fierce concentration, his focus on the job. Gratitude swept through her, along with the sharp urge to cry. God, this man was brave.
Then a pounding, swooshing sound rose, and Cade’s eyes flicked to the fire behind them. Her nerves jerking in disjointed spasms, Jordan stopped and turned toward the noise. Before she could look, Cade grabbed her arm and yanked her back into motion.
She stumbled, trying desperately to keep her balance while lugging the dog, and somehow pulled herself upright. Then she bolted straight up the mountain with Cade, pursuing the fire they’d set. She hauled scorched air into her lungs, breathing in ragged gasps, her throat and raw chest rasping.
Heat blasted her back, and the fierce roar pounded her skull. She tripped over rocks and uneven ground, over charred and smoking stumps. She pushed herself faster, harder, urgency fueling her steps. Embers flew past, the smoke swirled thicker and her horror grew.
They weren’t going to make it. They couldn’t possibly get away.
But they had to. She clutched the shaking dog, frantic not to drop him. He needed her to go on!
She kept sprinting, her feet pounding, but she could feel her exhaustion mount. She focused on Cade’s strong hand gripping her arm, but still the doubts slithered in. Oh, God. She’d never make it. She was far too weak.
She would fail him, just as she had in the past.
And then a strange calm overtook her, and she felt detached, distant from her body. Smoke blurred her vision, darkening the landscape and cutting out light. The world looked surreal, bathed in a hot gray haze, bizarre.
They bounded down a slight incline, then hurdled a burning log. The fire was everywhere now, roaring and hissing beside them, the heat unbearably intense.
She ran on and on. Sprinting, climbing, leaping. And she was growing confused. She was running with Cade, clutching the dog, urgency hammering her brain, but she couldn’t remember where they were or why they were racing. She only knew that she couldn’t stop.
Suddenly, Cade jerked her hard to the right. She stumbled, nearly dropping the dog, and staggered to a stop. Cade pulled her toward him, and she lurched closer, staring blankly at a mound of boulders.
The air trembled, blurring her vision, and the ground beneath her rumbled and shook. She swiveled back and cringed at the fire raging toward them. Flames twisted and arced through the trees, whirling like gaseous tornadoes. A ball of flame launched itself into the air.
Cade yanked her around and pushed her toward the boulder. She saw a slit between the rocks, barely enough to squeeze through, and understanding flashed. Holding the dog close, she wriggled through the crack into a dim, musty space. Cade immediately crammed himself in behind her.
They were in a small cave, maybe a dozen feet deep and wide and barely high enough to stand in. The packed-dirt floor was littered with stones.
“We need to block the opening,” Cade said, dropping the bags.
Jordan set down the dog, then tripped when he slammed against her. Hysteria plucked at her nerves. She couldn’t help Cade if she kept stumbling over the leash. And Cade needed her help to survive.
Which meant she had to let Dusty go.
Her hands trembling, she unhooked the leash from her belt, then wedged it beneath a large rock. The dog immediately tried to pull free.
“Stay,” she said sharply and stepped away. She could only pray the leash held. She didn’t have time to hold him, and she couldn’t help him if he darted outside.
Her throat thick with dread and panic, she set to work, frantically lugging rocks over to block the entrance. She dashed back and forth, piling the stones quickly, haphazardly, rushing to stop the smoke creeping through the cracks. Outside, the deadly roars and thundering grew.
Behind her, Cade pulled something from his PG bag. Silver flashed in the fading light as he shook it out.
He held out the metallic fabric. “Here. Put this between the rocks.”
“No.” She backed off. He needed that tent. He could survive inside it without her. And she’d hindered him enough.
“Jordan-”
“It’s yours. You use it.”
“The hell I will.” His voice bristled with outrage. “Either stuff it between those rocks or I’ll flatten it over you.”
He’d do it. She could see the obstinate will in his eyes, that single-minded resolve, and knew it was futile to argue. Unless she agreed to share the shelter, he’d sacrifice his own life protecting hers.
And she refused to let him do that.
Resigned, she grabbed the lightweight fabric and smoothed it over the rocks. Her heart beat erratically as she scooped up loose stones and stuffed them in the cracks to secure the edges. The light dimmed as she blocked up as many spaces as she could. Cade added several heavier stones so the shelter wouldn’t blow off.
After a moment, he stopped her. “That’s good enough. We need to get back.”
She blinked in the shadowy darkness. Light still filtered through some gaps in the rocks, but she knew they’d run out of time. Outside, the deafening noise mounted, screaming and screeching like colliding trains. Shaking, so scared she thought she might vomit, she covered her ears and cringed.
Cade grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the back of the cave. “Wait,” she cried. “The dog.” She stooped down to jerk the leash loose, and dragged him to the far wall.
Cade urged her down to the ground, then positioned himself beside her, wedging her between him and the musty dirt wall. She hauled Dusty into her lap and held him close. Quivering madly, shuddering with terror, she curled herself into a ball.
She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think as the heat mounted and a throbbing blast pulsed outside. She closed her eyes, and Cade pulled her head to his chest, covering her with his body.
This was it. The moment of truth.
She could only thank God Cade was with her, and pray that they would survive.
Chapter 14
Cade sheltered Jordan with his body as the firestorm raged around them. Heat scorched his back. His pulse rocketed through his veins. The hairs on his nape stood erect and tensed in the rising storm.
The air around them quivered, and a bone-rattling screech shook the cave. The earth trembled, the skies shrieked as the molten gasses collided. Vibrations blurred the hot air.
His lungs seized up and his heart stalled. Sweat popped from his pores, and he gagged down his acrid fear. This was it, the moment when they’d see if the shelter held, if they’d burned enough grass to protect the cave.
To find out if they would survive.
Time hung still. An eternity pulsed in a second. He clutched Jordan and shut his eyes, every nerve focused on the explosions blasting the cave.
And then miraculously, incredibly, the deadly noise shifted away.
He slumped in acute relief, then tipped back his head and exhaled. His heart battered against his chest, and his muscles began to twitch.
And for the first time, he let the reality sink in of just how close that had been. They’d nearly died.
