Read Flaming Desire - Part 4 (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) for Free Online Page A

followed Matt out of the woods, back toward the new base camp, milling with movement and hundreds of people, I resolved that I would step carefully on this new path I was on.
    I had to protect my heart. I had to acknowledge the reality of the possibility that Matt wanted our “relationship” to go no further than it already had.
    “Matt, Jesse, there you are!”
    I looked up and saw Lucas, Matt’s team captain, gesturing toward us. He carried a list in his hand and a map underneath it, folded into a neat twelve by twelve square. Matt glanced over his shoulder and saw me walking a short distance behind him. He gestured for me to hurry up. I did.
    As I approached Matt and the team captain, I pulled off my hardhat to wipe my brow. I realized that I felt a pretty strong breeze tugging at the tendrils of hair that had worked loose from my braid. Not a good sign.
    “If the wind picks up anymore, the choppers won’t be able to fly,” Lucas said. “We’ve got to try and get ahead of this thing. It’s running over the top of the ridge to the northwest,” he said, pointing. “There’s a narrow valley down there. There’s a campground below it, with numerous campsites. I’ve been told they’ve been cleared, but I want you two to go around that ridge, give me an update, and radio back. Double-check all the campsites. I don’t want to find any bodies when this is over.”
    He handed Matt a brochure that he had tucked beneath the map. Matt glanced at it and handed it to me. Aspen Valley Campground and Resort , the title of the brochure said. I quickly opened it up and saw a drawing of a narrow valley dotted with at least a dozen campsites and a couple of areas where larger groups and buildings were clustered. The last campground appeared to be tucked into a box canyon, near but not at the bottom of the mountain valley. I glanced up at Lucas.
    “We had a build-down a little while ago,” he said, shaking his head. “We’re losing ground on this one, so let’s all take it up a notch, shall we? The fire is bumping the line, so keep an eye out for flaming branches and embers, especially as you head down slope into the valley. It’s narrow. Watch your backs down there.”
    A build-down was a cluster of thunderclouds that look like they might release some rain, but then suddenly evaporated. Bumping the line was a term that wildfire fighters used to describe a fire that literally bumped up against containment lines. When a fire did that, an ember or a ‘blowing and glowing’ piece of twig or branch could easily either blow or roll over the containment line, quickly spreading the fire.
    “You said that the buildings and the campsites have been cleared?” Matt asked.
    Lucas nodded. “That’s what I’ve been told, but I want to make sure. I’m sending the rest of the team along the northwest ridge. You’ll go with them to the top of the notch, then head down into the valley.”
    Again, he gestured toward his map and pointed out the location. Matt looked at it and I gently nudged him so I could also see the location.
    “At the notch, head south along the trail, which will take you into the narrow valley. Then I want you to make your way down, checking each of these campsites as you go. They’re pretty much along the same line. At the end, maybe four to five miles down, you’ll be close to the base of the mountain. You might have some trouble with transmissions, but give me frequent updates if you can. When you’re finished, you can take the trail marked “Old Rugged” which will bring you up and back to the rear end of our crew at their location on the slope, or close to it.”
    Matt nodded and glanced down at me. I nodded as well. The captain gave Matt the map, and I held onto the brochure. Matt tucked the map into one of his side leg pockets and I did the same with the brochure. I glanced up at Lucas. “Equipment?”
    “Handheld tools are in that small tent over there,” Lucas said, gesturing over his