Radclyffe - Firestorm

“God, I missed you,” Sarah exclaimed, kissing Mallory soundly on the mouth.

“Whoa, I’ll say.” Mallory laughed, a weight she hadn’t realized she’d been carrying lifting off her shoulders. Sarah was a good friend—probably her best friend if she’d kept track that way, and a colleague she could rely on. Mallory hadn’t realized just how much she’d longed for a friendly face, someone she trusted not to push her to go places she didn’t want to go or to think about things she didn’t want to remember. Unlike Jac, whose very presence seemed to propel her into the red zone. “What are you doing here? I didn’t expect you until the middle of the month.”

“Last-minute change of plans.” Sarah wrapped her arms around Mallory’s waist and gave her a tight hug.

“What kind of change in plans?” Mallory looped her arm over Sarah’s shoulders. Sarah was deceptively delicate-looking, with finely etched features, a tiny waist, and luminous blue eyes. In fact she was anything but fragile—all lean strength and supple grace. Sarah never had a problem jumping into the roughest terrain or packing out her equipment. She could work a lot of the guys into the ground on a long call out. Her endurance was legendary. And right now, she felt good in Mallory’s arms, warm and comforting.

“Got a minute to catch up?” Sarah asked.

“I was on my way to see Sully, but I’ve got time. Have you eaten?”

“Not yet. I’ve really missed Charlie’s cooking.”

“Come on, then.”

They loaded their trays, and Mallory picked a table well away from the few guys talking over cups of coffee. Sarah sat down and Mallory said, “So?”

“I decided Mark didn’t deserve me.” Despite her nonchalant tone, Sarah’s eyes looked unhappy.

“Oh, hey. That’s hard. I’m sorry.”

“No you’re not,” Sarah said, her smile stronger. “You always thought he was a world-class a-hole.”

Mallory shrugged, grinning slightly. “I never thought he treated you the way you should be treated, and he sure as hell didn’t know what a good thing he had in you. So what happened between you and mister anatomical part in question?”

“Remember how I used to brag about how supportive Mark was of me smokejumping? That he never complained about me being away for long stretches?”

“Yeah, I used to think that was out of character for him.” Mallory forced herself not to gobble the chili. Charlie had outdone himself. “Mark always struck me as being high maintenance. I thought he would have needed too much attention to go without you for long.”

“Well, he managed so well because he had a seasonal substitute. Some college girl who was keeping his bed warm between semesters.”

“Oh, that really sucks.” Mallory reached across the table and took Sarah’s hand. “I’m really sorry. Really. I might not like the guy, but I know you did.”

“Thanks.” Sarah sighed and pushed her half-eaten bowl of chili away. “I kind of knew it was coming for a long time, but I just didn’t want to admit it. The upside of the whole mess was I discovered his sideline just when I was making plans to leave for the season. It seemed ridiculous to ask him to move out when I was leaving in two weeks. He might as well stay and pay rent on the place until he finds somewhere else to live.” Sarah grimaced. “I didn’t much feel like seeing any of our friends or listening to my sister say I told you so. I just packed up the car and started driving.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re here. You don’t have to work until you’re scheduled—”

“No, I want to. Please, put me to use.”

“You sure?” Mallory pointed to Sarah’s chili. “You better eat that, then, because we’ve got another five or six hours ahead of us this afternoon.”

Sarah nodded and dug in. “Believe me, long days of hard work are exactly what I need. I’ll sleep at night, and I won’t have time to think about him or what an idiot I was.”

“Okay then. I can always use another training instructor. And you’re not an idiot for being trusting.”

“Maybe not, but I think maybe I stayed with him longer than I should have because it was convenient. Or maybe just easier. And he’s not hard on the eyes.” Sarah chewed her lip, her cheeks turning pink. “I feel a little shallow about that.”

Mallory laughed. “Why? Because you’ve got a good, healthy libido and he fired you up?”

“Well, a little bit of heat might be a good excuse for a casual thing, but two years?” Sarah shrugged. “It’s over and done, right. So, what’s on for this afternoon?”

“I thought I’d see how they do off the tower. Most of them have no jump experience, and it may not be what they bargained for.”

“It’ll be dark in a few hours. We’re gonna jump with lights?”

Mallory grinned. They didn’t fight fires from nine to five. They jumped whenever the plane could get them to the front, night or day, rain or snow. “I thought we might as well see what they’re made of.”

Sarah laughed. “I’m in. Oh—my place isn’t going to be ready for a couple weeks, so I was planning on bunking here.”

“Well, that’s no big—” Mallory thought about the sleeping arrangements in the barracks. Sarah’s bunk was the only one secluded enough to offer some privacy. “Damn. We’re not set up yet for more than one woman in there.”

“Why do we—oh, right. The rookie.” Sarah frowned. “Well, it’s my fault for showing up early. I’ll just have to—”

“Hey, that’s your bunk and you have seniority. You’re not giving it up for a rookie.” Mallory sipped her coffee, sorting through options. “Besides, the reason we’re not prepared for her is because she showed up off the books this morning.”

“You didn’t know she was coming?”

Mallory hesitated, her aggravation of the early morning having smoothed out some since she’d gotten to know Jac a little bit. Jac’s circumstances were a lot more complicated than Mallory had first thought—maybe Jac’s father had pulled strings, but she doubted that was Jac’s doing. Cashing in on her father’s influence just didn’t seem like Jac’s style. But then what did she know of Jac, really? All the same, she wasn’t going to go off with half the facts. “No. She didn’t come through usual channels.”

“I’m not following.”

“Someone at regional posted her here.”

“Huh.” Sarah raised her brows. “And what aren’t you telling me?”

“I don’t know all the details,” Mallory said.

“She’s got some pull somewhere, it sounds like.” Sarah’s eyes widened. “Oh! Russo. She told me her name was Russo. Her father…not…?”

Mallory nodded. “Yes.”

“Wow. Who would’ve thought we’d end up with his daughter here.” Sarah shook her head. “You know, when I first saw her I thought she looked familiar, but with her hair wet and—”

“I’m sorry?”

“In the shower. I ran into her in the locker room—in the shower, to be precise.”

An image of Jac naked, water streaming down her face and over her chest sent a bolt of lightning down Mallory’s spine. She felt her face color and caught herself before she twitched in her chair. “Oh?”

“Uh-huh. She seems nice.”

“I guess.” Mallory had a hard time thinking of Jac as nice. There were a lot of words she would use to describe her, but that was not the first one that came to her mind. Intense. Mysterious. Interesting. Gorgeous and sexy.

“You don’t like her?”

Mallory blinked. “No. I mean, no, I like her fine. Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know, I just got a really strange vibe—is something wrong?”

Mallory shook her head again. Nothing was wrong, only her. “Nope. Everything’s fine.”