A weight lifted off my chest.

“She told me Talia and Marsh are planning some kind of revenge,” I told him. Gage snorted.

“No surprise there,” he said. I frowned.

“No, she sounded really worried. You need to be careful.”

“Babe, look at me.” I did, meeting his gaze head on. “Marsh is in jail and he’s not going to be getting out for a long time. Probably years. Neither will the men who were with him. Talia can scream and rage all she wants, but my whole club is in town, and they’re watching for her. If she shows her face, we’ll get her. If she’s smart, she left already. I gave her some money last night. With luck, she’s already used it. Either way, we’ll deal with her.”

“You promise?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said firmly. “Now give me a kiss.”

I did, leaning into him, letting myself enjoy the full body contact. He nipped and sucked at my lips, then his hands were down and around my butt, gripping it as he pulled me into his erection.

We spent a couple minutes making out, until my legs started shifting restlessly from need. It was a good thing, this breaking of the dry spell. Gage started walking me back into the pantry-slash-mudroom, kicking the kitchen door shut behind him, leaving us alone in the tiny room. Then his arms gripped my upper legs firmly, lifting me up until they wrapped around his waist.

“This is a bad idea,” I whispered as he started kissing my neck, working his way down. “That door doesn’t even lock.”

“Who cares?”

He rocked into me, rubbing my most sensitive place, and I decided if he didn’t care, I didn’t, either. It wasn’t like Dad thought I was a virgin, that was for damned sure. Then Gage jerked up my shirt and pulled down my bra to suck in a nipple, and all thought ceased. My handyman was dry humping me against the wall of my pantry and it was outstanding. All I wanted was him inside me, the sooner the better.

“Fuck,” he groaned, pulling away. He set me down, ripping open my shorts and shoving them down around my ankles. Then he turned me around, pushing me forward as my hands hit the wall. I heard the sound of his zipper and the tear of foil. His cock found my opening and he filled me with one thrust, bottoming out almost painfully.

“God, that’s good,” I muttered as his hands tightened around my waist, bracing me for his hammering hips. It was good—really good. Different than what we’d done before, yet exactly what I needed. Desire flooded me, spiraling up fast and hard like a wildfire, and then I flashed over, the orgasm hitting me suddenly and without warning. I spasmed around him, moaning. Gage’s fingers dug into my flesh so deep I knew he’d leave marks, but I didn’t care.

I didn’t care about anything.

He came a second later, grunting with satisfaction. We stayed like that for long seconds, panting, and then he leaned down over my back, rubbing my stomach gently. That’s when his phone rang, and he gave an unsteady laugh.

“Not a bad way to start the day,” he said.

“I’ll second that,” I whispered. It’d all happened so fast that if it weren’t for the shorts around my knees I’d have wondered if I’d imagined it. His phone rang again.

“Should probably answer that,” he said. “Waiting on a call—all our plans are fucked up because of the fires.”

He didn’t move to answer, though. Instead he started kneading my breasts, and I sighed happily. We were in our own little world, and whoever was out there could just stay the hell away.

Maybe we could just live in here.

Then his phone started ringing again. Gage pulled away. I heard a rustle as he zipped up his pants before answering. Pulling up my shorts, I hopped awkwardly as I fastened them, trying not to listen but totally curious at the same time.

“Who is this?” Gage asked. I heard a woman’s voice but couldn’t make out what she was saying. For an instant I felt jealous, then realized how stupid that was. It could be anyone. “I’m hanging up.”

Her voice grew louder, talking fast. It sounded familiar.

“Talia, you need to let it go. It’s over. All of it. Move away and start over before we have to take action. That’s the best you can hope for.”

A screech rose from the small speaker, and he glanced at me and jerked his head toward the door in a silent request for privacy.

I’d never wanted to listen in on a phone call more than that one, but I managed to do the polite thing and go back into the kitchen. The TV was still going, this time displaying a satellite map showing smoke plumes that covered half of Washington, northern Idaho, and reached up into Alberta. It looked like the whole region was on fire. Then Dad wandered in, and I was all too aware that my hair was messy and my shirt was still twisted partially around my body. Heat rose high in my cheeks. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to notice.

“What’s up with all the smoke?” he asked. “Someone burning brush outside?”

“There’s wildfires, Dad,” I reminded him, wondering how he could be so clear sometimes and so fogged at others. “We’ve got an evacuation warning.”

He frowned. “That’s no good. Is there gas in the truck?”

“We don’t have a truck anymore, Daddy,” I said. “We sold it, remember?”

“Oh, I must’ve forgotten,” he said absently. “Well, that’s okay. We can use your mother’s car.”

No, Mom’s car got totaled in the accident.

“Mine’s got gas,” I said instead, glancing toward the pantry. Then I heard the back door slamming shut, and looked out the window to see Gage striding across the yard, his face grim.

What the hell was that all about?

My phone rang. Carrie.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“You heard about Chelan, right?” she asked.

“Yeah. Bad scene.”

“I know. The Hallies Falls volunteer firefighters are headed south of town—there’s a new flare-up and the forest service doesn’t have anyone left to respond. Darren went with them. I just got a call from my aunt. They’ve just moved her to level two, which means it’s time to pack her up and get her out. I’m going to go pick her up and bring her back to our place, but I’m worried about the girls. They’re at school. I hate to pull them out if there’s no reason, but I’m not comfortable leaving town with him gone, too. Not today.”