Burning Flame: Californian Wildfire Fighters Book Three Read online

  “Funny seeing you again after all these years?” Everly said, her tone as flat as her stare.

  “Hmm.” Cam set the thick, steel wrench aside and determinedly kept his gaze from roaming over Everly’s well-formed ass sticking out from beneath the hood as she worked. What he needed to concentrate on was getting inside the car and driving it the hell out of here, but he couldn’t do that with Everly tinkering around under the hood. There had to be a way to get her to move. And if there wasn’t, then dammit, he’d move her. He wasn’t a man who typically got handsy with women, unless they specifically asked him to. His momma, single and poor as she’d been, had still raised him right. But Cam was on a tight schedule and Everly seemed in no hurry whatsoever to finish up whatever the fuck she was doing with the Aeon’s engine. It occurred to him that she was stalling for time, same as him, and that if this place was a front for the mob and she was after this stolen vehicle too, then most likely she wouldn’t let him take it without a fight.

  He looked around again, wondered how long it would be until the mob showed up to claim their prize. Not long, he guessed, based on the fact the car was sitting out in the open with no attempt to hide it. Best to make his move fast.

  Cam’s gaze darted back to the hood and he found Everly watching him now too, the gleam in her dark eyes calculating, whip smart. He remembered that about her too. He’d always been a sucker for intelligent women.

  In the end, they both made a dash for the drivers’ side door handle at the same time, then wrestled awkwardly to get into the vehicle. So much for avoiding confrontation. Once the door was open, they battled to claim the drivers’ seat. Somehow, Cam managed to beat her into it, but that didn’t stop Everly from sitting down on top of him, right in his goddamned lap.

  Man, good thing the guys couldn’t see him now. Getting turned on by a squirming suspect trying to jack him out of his mission goal. No way would Everly get this car.

  No. Fucking. Way.

  And yeah, maybe she did feel good, her sweet curves rubbing against him in all the right places. Didn’t mean he was giving up this fight anytime soon. Hell, no. He was a SEAL for fuck’s sake. He’d trained to endure the harshest torture, the most brutal conditions. Bumping and grinding against Everly Knight in a stolen, top-secret vehicle was a walk in the park compared to that shit. Nothing on earth would keep him from getting this vehicle under his control and getting it back to the Norse Security Offices as soon as possible. And no one—not God, and certainly not beautiful, bewildering Everly Knight—was going to stop him.

  Cam wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned forward to hiss in her ear. “You trying to drive this car or ride me ‘til I cum, sweetness?”

  She gave an angry snarl. “Get your fucking hands off me and get out of my car!”

  “Your car?” He snorted. “Last time I checked, this vehicle wasn’t registered to you. It’s the property of the United States of America.”

  “Yeah? Well, that means it isn’t yours either.” Everly dug her nails into his forearm, teeth bared, and Cam growled. “I’m not going anywhere,” she said. “And I wouldn’t sleep with you if you were the last man on earth, asshole.”

  “Want to bet?”

  They wrestled some more until it started feeling way too good and Cam’s body reacted in kind. Everly too seemed to be breathing a bit harder than before and her skin looked flushed. Cam rested his forehead against her back and caught her scent—cinnamon and vanilla and a hint of motor oil. She stopped struggling for a moment. He smiled and took advantage, giving Everly one last hard shove and managed to push her out the door before he slammed it shut behind her. The locks slid into place with a satisfying click.

  Cam took a moment to gloat as a stunned Everly wheeled around to face him. He had to admit the air tight seals on the vehicle were excellent. He couldn’t hear a single one of the furious curses she was hurling his way, though her furious expression and obscene finger gestures were easy to interpret. Cam just grinned then focused on studying the electronic control panels lighting up the dashboard.

  Tech was his specialty. He had a Master’s degree in Computer Science from USC that he’d earned while still working with his SEAL team around the world. Time to put those skills and all his late-night research to good use. A new idea occurred as he reached into his jacket pocket for the gadget he’d brought. He’d bet half his budget for this mission that Everly had been trying to hotwire the car to get it out of here before the shop opened again in the morning or before the mob showed up to claim their goods, but that would never work. Part of the Aeon’s brilliant design was in its top-notch security system. No regular keyless entry or ignition system here. Nope. To start this vehicle, you needed a ten-digit passcode.

  Of course, he didn’t have the passcode either, but Cam was betting on the fact he could use the gadget in his pocket to discover it. He plugged the small black codebreaking device he’d developed into a hidden USB port beneath the Aeon’s dash then sat back, giving Everly a little wave and smile. She answered with a double-barreled set of middle fingers and walked over to pick up her wrench again.

  Cam cringed. Would she actually try to use that thing to bust in? Good luck, considering the Aeon had been designed with special bulletproof, shatterproof glass built to withstand enormous pressures and impacts. Then again, she’d always had a lot of spunk. In school, she’d always been in trouble, it seemed like. Always sitting in the principal’s office waiting for a reprimand. Cam had been a model student back then, despite never having enough money and his mom working two jobs to support them.

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