Page 11 of Steel

“But sir, I don’t think that?—”

“This was your idea. Wasn’t it?” His eyes were twinkling. Damn the man.

“Yes, sir. It was. However—” He cut me off again with a wave of his hand.

“The idea is a good one, damn good in fact. However, I’m a businessman. If you want this to work, I need to see more of the very same grit you showed me both this morning and in refusing to allow me to kick the idea down the road. That shows traits of a true leader and that’s exactly what this corporation has been lacking. A leadership quality that would serve me well on the executive floor.”

He studied me as if I was going to have a meltdown. “I’ll need to make some arrangements.”

“Absolutely, including housing. Have your assistant see if she can find a rental house. Given your son’s penchant for flames, maybe meeting a couple firefighters will be good for him. By all means take him with you. I’ll need your final answer or your resignation letter on my desk in the morning.”

As he grabbed his jacket, heading for the door, I couldn’t move my feet. Had he just offered me a promotion if I dropped everything in my life and headed to Montana? I believe he had.

Exciting.

Amazing.

Terrifying.

CHAPTER 3

Steel

One week later…

Whoosh.

Slam.

“Fuck!” Axe hissed.

The eight of us stood near the knoll, watching in shock as firebrands littered the tangerine sky, falling as if in military formation toward fresh terrain. The large burning chunks of wood would splatter the dense foliage within seconds, a reburn likely.

We’d worked for three fucking days to put out the fire. Three days. We’d made headway at first, rain dampening the dry timber with enough moisture we’d been able to take control of the raging fire. But not for long.

With the changing weather pattern, the wind had become our nightmare.

I yanked off my mask, scanning the perimeter of the mountain. Half our team had already begun the long descent, the rest of us left behind to clean up the mess.

As soon as the burning chunks hit the canopy of trees, a wall of flames quickly developed.

Being the senior man on scene, it was my responsibility to get everyone out alive. That meant barking orders while calling for help. I yanked out the satellite phone from my pocket, making the call. “Steel to base. We have a situation in zone fifteen. A sudden reburn. One half of the team is cut off. I repeat, one half of the team cut off. Attempting to eradicate.”

The silence on the other end of the communication lines was unnerving as fuck. I turned to face my brother, studying Axe, whose face was hidden behind the opaque mask. But even with the smoke, I could still make out the look in his eyes. Up until recently, my brother had rarely expressed fear. Either on or off the job. He was a smokejumper through and through, a danger junkie like I’d been my entire life.

Two things had altered his way of thinking.

Our brother Will’s tragic death while doing exactly what he loved, and Axe’s wife, a family he cherished above everything else in the world. Including his own life. I envied him, more than he could possibly know or I dared say. I also felt an errant need as supervisor of our team to keep him out of harm’s way no matter the cost to my own personal safety.

The heavy emotions didn’t stop there.

Guilt overlaid everything about my commitment to him.

“Steel. Do what you can to contain the fire. Help is on the way.” Captain Daughtry’s voice was unusually calm, which meant he was more concerned than he wanted to let on.

“Is there an escape route?” I pressed, my attention drawn to the south as a burst of wind brought another heavy shower of brightly lit embers, luminous sparklers lighting up the sky.

“Down the western side of the mountain,” he answered. “And Steel. God speed.”