A snap of a twig had him reaching for his weapon.
Unholstering his weapon, he spun on his heels, taking aim at the figure running straight at him. And froze. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Aslen struggled to catch her breath, nearly doubling over as she slowed her pace. Her hands met her knees just before she held up a finger to ask for a minute. “Hang on. You run faster than I do.”
No, no, no, no. Murray closed the distance between them, holstering his weapon a split second before gripping her arm in one hand to turn her right back around and march her out of here. Lean muscle almost cost him his grip. She wasn’t one of those women who worked out seven days a week on the treadmill in hopes of staying skinny. Aslen liked to throw around heavy weights, just like he’d taught her, and right now, she was prepared to argue. He lowered his voice. “You can’t be here. This guy is dangerous. There’s no telling what he might do to get away with what he’s done. Get back to the truck and wait for me.”
“I know exactly how dangerous he is, and there’s no way I’m letting you chase after him in the forest alone.” Ripping her arm free of his touch, she faced off with him with every ounce of determination she owned.
“I have a gun.” Did he really have to explain this? “I’m trained to pursue and confront a suspect, who, might I add, is getting farther away while I explain how bad an idea it is for you to be here.”
She puffed her chest, hands on her hips as she surveyed their surroundings. It would be cute if he wasn’t close to losing himself in all the ways having her here could go wrong. “I have… Okay. I have nothing, but I’m still not letting you do this alone. I radioed into headquarters. Backup is on the way, but it’s going to be at least an hour before they can get here. You promised to protect me. That includes making sure you come back alive, Murray Simpson. So I’m not going to sit in that truck and worry about something happening to you. I’m your backup until your rangers can get here.”
A growl resonated through his chest. There was no winning when she used that damn promise against him, and they were losing precious seconds arguing. The more time he wasted trying to get her to turn back, the more danger that family would be in. “Fine.” Murray crouched, pulling his backup weapon fromthe ankle holster beneath his jeans and handed it to her. “Don’t accidentally shoot me in the back.”
“If I shoot you, it won’t be an accident.” Aslen went through the routine he’d had her develop since that first time he’d taken her to the gun range. She dropped the magazine free and mentally counted the bullets inside before clearing the chamber and shoving the magazine back into place. Then loaded it again. “It’s just a matter of making it look like one, and believe me, I’ve read enough about making it realistic.”
He tried not to smile at that. And failed. Hell, he loved her back talk.
Footsteps registered about two hundred yards off to his right. From what he’d noted in the few seconds he’d eyed the suspect, the arsonist wouldn’t get far in those heavy hiking boots at a run. It was only a matter of staying on his trail and catching up. “Anything happens, you get behind me. Use me as a shield. Understand?”
Aslen nodded, her eyes set in the direction from where the shuffling had come. Color drained from her face. She didn’t like that plan. “Yes.”
“Promise me, Aslen.” He wouldn’t budge on this. He’d barely survived losing his parent, then his brother to this damn park. He wouldn’t survive losing the last person on this earth he’d given a sliver of himself to. “You don’t put yourself in unnecessary danger. You don’t risk your life to save mine. Something happens to me, you run for the truck, and you get the hell out and wait for my team. Are we clear?”
“Yes.” Her voice had a bit more strength behind it that time.
“Stay close.” Scanning the disturbed pine needles at their feet, Murray started jogging to stick with the trail the arsonist had carelessly left behind. He wasn’t a tracker, but it didn’t take a hunter to figure out where their suspect was headed. “He’s going for the reservoir.”
“Murray, the evacuation order was revoked, and today is supposed to reach around 105 degrees.” Her breaths came short and fast in keeping up with him, but Aslen moved exactly as he’d taught her. Weapon framed in both hands, pointed down. Moving fast but staying low and alert. Ready for anything. How had he thought for one moment she wouldn’t be able to take care of herself? He’d trained her to rely on her skills over anyone else. To trust herself. Maybe the real problem was him. That, after everything she’d been through and the losses they sustained, he wanted her to need him. “There will be hikers there.”
Murray picked up the pace. He couldn’t let the arsonist get anywhere near innocent bystanders. Damn it. It would be an hour before the other rangers made it this far out. They didn’t have that kind of time. Aslen seemed to understand the urgency, keeping pace with him.
Sunlight pierced through the canopy overhead and exposed a clearing a hundred yards in front of them. Throwing his arm out, Murray stopped her from charging into it without hesitation, forcing them to pull back. It was the perfect ambush point, one he wasn’t willing to let Aslen walk into. “Get behind me.”
She did as he instructed. “Where did he go?”
“I don’t know.” But Murray had to consider every possibility. If a man was willing to start two fires to inflict as much damage and manipulate anyone involved in the blaze as possible, he wouldn’t have escaped without a plan. Or a way to defend himself. “Keep your eyes open.”
He took a step. Then another. His weight gave away their position, and Murray swallowed back the urge to glue Aslen to his side every step of the way. Raising his arm, he silently ordered her to peel off to the right, behind one of the thicker trees a few yards away. To add some distance between them. He was the greatest threat to the arsonist’s escape. Hopefully, it was enough to draw the bastard’s focus and leave Aslen out of it.
Unless… No. Murray couldn’t think about her becoming a game piece in the son of a bitch’s plan to slip arrest. He ordered her to stay with a flat palm as she took up position behind the tree he’d indicated. And stepped into the clearing.
Insect drones quieted. Bird calls silenced. As though a predator lurked nearby. Murray scanned what he could of the clearing, trees swaying on an invisible current and throwing off his senses. He caught a brief whiff of something chemical and biting, and every cell in his body honed on the odor.
Gasoline.
Understanding hit. The wind shifted, and he sensed Aslen had pulled up short behind him.
Murray turned back the way he’d come. He met her wide gaze as he confirmed she’d caught the scent of an accelerant and lunged with one hand out to reach her. “Aslen—”
In the blink of an eye, the clearing burst into flames.
A wall of fire climbed between him and Aslen until he lost sight of her completely. Heat seared the exposed skin along his face and neck, nothing more than his cotton uniform protecting the rest of him from the blaze.
“Murray!” Her scream raised the hairs on the back of his neck, and his mind instantly went to the worst-case scenario. Just as it had the thousand times he’d imagined what’d happened to his brother in his final moments. That scream would stay with him until the day he died. If he made it out of this alive.
“Get back to the truck!” Dead leaves and pine needles fed into the flames, just as the arsonist had planned. Within seconds, the clearing ringed with fire, caging him in the shrinking center. Murray covered his face in the crook of his elbow to keep his lungs clear of smoke, but it was no use. The debris burned fast. Black smoke closed in on him faster. Murray waved his free hand at her, unsure if she could even see him. “Go!”
