FIRE PEAK

Firelight Ridge ~ Book 2

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Chapter One

Charlie Santa Lucia had gotten into plenty of messes in her life, but this one had to be the most ridiculous. Why had she thought driving a cherry-red BMW convertible down a road to nowhere, deep in the Alaskan wilderness—with a goldfish tank strapped into the passenger seat—would solve her problems? 

Now she was trapped on a one-lane road with no exit, with another car in hot pursuit. How the heck was she going to scramble out of this one? 

It had all made sense at the time. Sort of. 

The BMW belonged to her best friend Molly, and she didn’t even have the title, so couldn’t trade it in for a less eye-catching car. The goldfish belonged to another best friend, Lila. Since she didn’t know how long she was going to be on the run, she couldn’t leave Goldilocks behind. 

She checked the rearview mirror. Yup, that same vehicle was right behind her, about a half mile back. Following steadily, not trying to catch up and not falling back. As if he knew that once she reached Firelight Ridge, there would be nowhere else to go, so he could just take his time. Toy with her, and then pounce. Like a cat waiting for a mouse to hit a wall. 

The car looked official—dark sedan, tinted windows, classic law-enforcement vibe—but hadn’t turned on a siren or lights. It had been waiting for her in Klutna, the tiny village where the road to Firelight Ridge began. It had pulled out behind her and stayed a consistent distance back ever since. 

Testing, she pressed the accelerator and sped up just a tad. The car behind her did the same. She couldn’t see much about the driver in her rearview mirror because the BMW kept jerking and bouncing and swerving. It wasn’t designed to handle the deep muddy ruts and winter-worn potholes of a road that had been buried under several feet of snow all winter. 

Charlie wasn’t used to driving roads like this, either. All she could do was keep a grip on the wheel and mentally apologize to Molly for what she was putting Red through. 

Was poor Goldilocks okay? She seemed to be taking the bumpy ride in stride. Maybe it brought back vestigial memories of storms at sea. 

“Don’t you worry, Goldie. I’m taking you back to Lila. You won’t have to put up with me much longer.” 

She took another peek in the rearview mirror.  

The driver was a man, she could see that much. Dark aviator sunglasses. Dark hair. Could it be…

No. Impossible. 

Had Nick Perini tracked her all the way to Alaska? 

If so, she was screwed. He was the whole reason she’d decided to disappear. Nick was smart. Wily. And hot, curse his sexy Italian ass.  

She hit a pothole and felt the BMW’s undercarriage crunch against gravel. Sorry, Molly!!! I’ll get you a new paint job as soon as I get out of prison!! 

Shuddering, she gripped the steering wheel tighter.  For most people, prison was a theoretical fear. Not for her. Her father—her adored, innocent father—had been in prison for fifteen years, and the injustice—the outrageous, cruel injustice of it—burned in her soul. It had shaped every part of her life. Now, he was sick and she was getting him out, no matter what it took. 

Granted, she’d never imagined that it would take rattling down a lonely forest road on her way to a remote outpost in the Alaskan wilderness…but hey, a girl had to do what a girl had to do. Too bad she couldn’t really enjoy the magnificent spruce forest she was driving through. 

She checked the odometer. The road to Firelight Ridge was sixty-five miles long, with no signposts along the way. One mile to go. What was going to happen when she reached the town? Molly was there, along with their other friend, Lila. Her initial plan had been to lie low with them until the Hobbs Corporation stopped looking for her. 

But if that was Nick Perini back there…she checked the rearview mirror again. Shit. He’d picked up speed, shortened the distance between them. He didn’t want to take a chance on her disappearing once she hit town, no doubt. 

She hit the accelerator again, then bounced across a gaping pothole that rattled her entire skeletal system. She swore, but kept her foot on the pedal. Show your stuff, German engineering.

A rock loomed up ahead. Why was there a boulder in the damn road? Didn’t they want people coming to Firelight Ridge? Wasn’t this the kind of place where  outlaws were welcomed? 

Yup, that was her. Outlaw Charlie Santa Lucia. She hadn’t started life that way, but shit happened, and now here she was. Running from…if not exactly the law, then some very angry corporate executives. 

Up ahead, she spotted the first signs of a town emerging from the forest. A farm appeared, with a greenhouse covered in white plastic and various rusty pieces of equipment scattered about. Then came a warehouse type of structure, sided in bare, weathered wood, without a single window. Maybe she could find a back door and hide in there. 

Stupid idea. Nick would see her drive off the road. 

If it really was Nick behind her, she had to be extra smart and careful, because he wasn’t easily fooled. She’d have to come up with some brilliant plan at the last second. 

But that’s your thing, she told herself. That was when she worked best. When she’d gotten herself into an impossible situation and had no way out, that was when her instinctive survival brain got to work. Better do it fast, then. 

She zoomed across the bridge that marked the edge of town. Beneath it, she heard the roar of the Snow River, swollen with glacial meltwaters. She’d officially arrived in Firelight Ridge. Now what? 

Squinting up ahead, she noticed a small crowd of people gathering in the heart of town. Firelight Ridge had one central road, called Pioneer Boulevard, with a few side roads wandering into the ridges on either side. Most of the businesses were located on Pioneer, and that group of people were clustered at…the gas station? Was it some kind of party? A celebration for a new shipment of fuel? You never knew with Firelight Ridge. 

Whatever the reason, a crowd of people could be advantageous for her. She bounced down the road, scanning the group for anyone she recognized. And then—red hair! Yes! She’d recognize Molly Evans’ mulberry-merlot hair anywhere. And near her, a flash of pristine silvery white. That had to be Lila, whose hair had turned pure white after her eighteenth birthday. Two of her three closest friends were only a hundred yards away. 

The four of them—Molly, Lila, Ani, and Charlie—had survived so much together. Please let this be one more of those times.

She gunned the BMW down the gravel road, nearly spinning out in a muddy spot. Then she screeched to a halt a few yards from the small knot of people gathered around…was that a bulldozer? It seemed to be decorated with flowers. 

Of course! Molly had mentioned a memorial service for Daniel O’Connor, the murdered plow truck driver. She was crashing a funeral. Sorry, everyone! 

Heads turned. She saw Molly recognize her own car—Red. Molly frowned and peered in closer, saying something to Lila, who had stepped to her side. 

Charlie crossed herself quickly and said a muttered prayer for the departed. Once a Catholic schoolgirl, always a Catholic schoolgirl, even though the nuns had kicked her out at the age of twelve. 

One last look at the rearview told her Nick Perini was closing in fast. She jumped out of the car, slung her travel bag over her shoulder, grabbed the fish tank and dashed toward Molly and Lila. 

“I need some help,” she said, breathless. “I’ll explain everything later, but right now I have about two minutes until that man catches up to me.” 

She thrust the tank at Lila; it was her goldfish, after all. 

Lila’s mouth fell open in a gasp, but Molly didn’t hesitate. 

“Sam!” She beckoned to a tall dark-haired man who Charlie realized in a flash was the pilot Molly had fallen for—and the man she’d probably marry someday. She’d never seen her friend look at a man like that. “Charlie needs to disappear. Any suggestions?” 

Charlie checked over her shoulder and swore. “Make that one minute.” 

“It’s okay,” Sam told her. “We got you.” 

She liked the man already. Which was a good thing, because she wanted only the best for her best friend. 

Sam clapped his hands for attention. “Listen up, everyone! This is a friend, and she needs a hand.” 

A big man stepped forward, all muscles and tawny-copper skin. Tattoos snaked along his arms. He looked like he’d been carved from a chunk of sandstone by awestruck acolytes. He beckoned with his chin. “Come with me.” 

Charlie hesitated. He was a total stranger, after all, and not exactly warm-and-fuzzy looking. 

“It’s okay,” Lila whispered. “That’s Bear, he’s my boss, and he’s the sweetest man in the world.” 

The man folded his arms across his chest and scowled at her. “Thought you were in a hurry.” 

Another man joined him. This one was younger, his blond hair shaven along one side of his head. He wore an oil-stained mechanic’s jumpsuit that barely contained his pectorals and so forth. Was this what men in Alaska looked like, or was Firelight Ridge particularly blessed with intimidating mountain men? More importantly, was this a case of “out of the frying pan into the fire”?  

Charlie drew in a breath and remembered that Lila, with her gift of intuition, had never led her wrong. 

In fact, Lila had literally saved her life. 

She should trust her now, and go with the Bear and the Viking. So she did. 

The two of them used their bodies to shield her from outside eyes as they hustled her a few feet across the gravel into a side door that led into a mechanic’s shop. The smell of diesel saturated the place, which she found oddly reassuring. Her father had enjoyed working on his vintage Chevy convertible back in the day. 

“There.” The Viking opened the door to a storage closet filled with cases of motor oil and other supplies. “There’s a nook back there where I do my paperwork. I might play a little Fortnite back there too. And a few other things. No one will find you there, even if they open this door.” 

“Which they won’t, because I’ll be right outside,” Bear added in the deepest voice she’d ever heard on a man. 

“You don’t mind if I give you some bolts to sort while you’re hanging out, right?” Viking grinned at Bear, who just narrowed his eyes in a way that had the younger man backing down immediately. He turned back to Charlie. “I’m Gunnar, by the way.” 

“Charlie. I really appreciate this, Gunnar.” She stepped through the door, feeling her heart rate spike. Closed-in spaces weren’t her favorite. She’d spent too much time visiting her father at the Indiana State Penitentiary. Every time she walked out of that place, it took her at least half an hour to breathe freely again. 

“Hey, Lila’s one of us now. Molly, too. Just not sure she knows it yet.” 

“Anything for Lila,” Bear agreed. 

“Then we have lots in common,” Charlie told them. “I’d do anything for Lila too.” 

“Hope you didn’t bring trouble for her,” Bear rumbled. 

Charlie’s throat tightened. She sure hoped not, either. 

Alone in the little paperwork nook, she curled up in the chair, arms wrapped around her legs, and fretted. What was Nick doing out there? How had he found her? She hadn’t been followed during her drive across Canada, she knew that much. He’d been waiting for her right outside Firelight Ridge. As if he knew that she’d been there just a few weeks ago, and that her best friends were there, and that it would be her next move. 

How well did that man know her? 

It was an unnerving thought, especially for someone like her, who avoided being pinned down at all costs. She moved around the world like a jet-setter with no fixed location. All her funds were in accounts that couldn’t be traced to her. She didn’t form new attachments. If it weren’t for Molly, Ani and Lila, she’d be a piece of seed fluff floating on the wind currents, always wafting here and there, never setting down a single root. 

Well, and her father. 

The thought of him twisted her stomach into a tight knot. This entire operation had turned into a mess, but she had to keep her eyes on the prize. She had to get him out of prison. 

After that, no more risks. She was going to change her ways as soon as this little bump in the road was over. 

But first, she had to get past that back-stabbing, smooth-talking rat fink Nick Perini.