Crash and Burn (Wildfire Hearts Book 1) Read online

  Crash & Burn

  Savannah Kade

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents are either a product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Published by Griffyn Ink

  www.griffynink.com

  Copyright © 2021 Griffyn Ink

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

  For ordering information or special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Griffyn Ink at [email protected].

  Contents

  Join Savannah

  Also by Savannah Kade

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Chapter 65

  Chapter 66

  Afterword

  About the Author

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  Novels by Savannah Kade:

  The WILDER Books:

  Our Song

  Heartstrings

  Love Notes

  Music & Lyrics

  The Wilder Complete Book Set

  That Night in Nashville

  Georgia Grace

  The TOUCH OF MAGICK Series:

  WishCraft

  DreamWalker

  LoveSpelled

  SoulFire

  ShadowKiss

  The Touch of Magick Series: Complete Set

  The AGAINST ALL ODDS Series:

  Steal My Heart

  Call Me Yours

  Ask Me to Stay

  Promise Me Always

  Against All Odds Complete Set

  The BREATHLESS Series:

  Gifted

  Perfect

  Ruined

  Rebel

  Lucky

  Charmed

  Saved

  Dreamer

  The DARK FALLS Series

  Dark Falls - Lori Ryan

  Dark Secrets - Savannah Kade

  Dark Legacy - Trish McCallan

  Dark Nightmares - Becca Jameson

  Dark Terror - Sandra Owens

  Dark Burning - Lori Ryan

  Dark Echoes - Savannah Kade

  Dark Memories - Sandra Owens

  Dark Rage - Becca Jameson

  Dark Tidings - Trish McCallan

  Dark Obsession - Lisa-Marie Cabrelli

  Dark Passion - Lori Ryan

  Chapter One

  Maggie Willis bolted upright in her bed, the sounds of the old springs squeaking obscured whatever might have woken her.

  Her heart raced from a bad dream … or that’s what she told herself as she pressed her palm flat to her chest and strained to hear over the pounding of her own blood.

  It’s just the old house. Old houses creaked.

  She was in a new place—new town, new job, new life—and that’s all it was. All the new combined with the old—old bed, old house, old fears—was making her jumpy.

  She strained again to listen for more strange noises but now, of course, everything was quiet except the wind. And no one could blame the wind for blowing.

  I should have gotten a cat, Maggie told herself as she punched at the pillow again. Then any odd sounds could have easily been written off. Because, seriously? Who would even bother with this old place? It had cabbage rose wallpaper and hand cut wood floors that would have been beautiful had they not been gouged and scratched by her great aunt Abbie’s tenants over the years. The place needed enough repair that, if anyone did break in, Maggie should threaten them with a hammer and put them to work.

  Aunt Abbie’s house had often felt sinister to Maggie. As a kid, when she’d first come to visit, the creaks had sounded like the house was attempting to talk. Though the house seemed large and borderline-haunted, Aunt Abbie herself had always been warm, giving, and loving. And Maggie, the oldest of her sister’s grandchildren, had been Abbie’s favorite. Thus, the old place was hers now.

  The reading of Aunt Abbie’s will, had made hope bloom in her chest. This old house and Abbie’s legacy had seemed like the perfect escape from all the sides closing in on her in Los Angeles. Now, not so much.

  Laying her head back down, exhausted and knowing that she would wake up again at the slightest sound, Maggie tried to ignore the noises. But once her ear hit the pillow, everything was magnified.

  She heard a door creaking open downstairs, and she sat up again, stunned.

  Was someone really in the house?

  Aunt Abbie had always told her that her pillow would magnify small sounds into something they weren’t. But …

  Her chest heaved with cold fear as she debated heading down to search—what weapon did she even have?—Maggie listened again.

  Nothing.

  But as her ear hit the pillow she couldn’t tell if what she heard was footsteps or just the amplified rush of her own pulse.

  Chapter Two

  Pushing the stroller, Maggie wheeled Hannah into the fire station and hoped the guys weren’t out on a call. Everything was going wrong today so it would just figure if she walked all the way down here and they weren’t even in. If there was a fire, they could be gone for hours.

  At least she and Hannah had a good walk, and she consoled herself that she’d be done babysitting soon. Still, hanging out her shingle and trying to start up a solo legal practice in a small town was turning out to be no easy feat. She didn’t have time to wait around.

  As she peered in through the bay doors, she didn’t see anyone. That wasn’t a good sign. Still she rolled the stroller past the shiny red engine.

  As she reached for the door that led into the station offices, it swung wide and Hannah squealed.

  “HannahBean!” Sebastian grinned at Rex’s toddler daughter as he leaned down to pick her up, his blond surfer hair trying t
o flop into his eyes. “How’s my favorite redhead?”

  The little girl’s arms went up and the tall, broad-shouldered firefighter handily unclicked her from the seat and scooped her up, eliciting another squeal. Maggie sighed. Though he seemed to stiffen just a little as she settled in his arm, Maggie thought Sebastian was much better with Hannah than her own father was. Then again, she cut Rex a break, Sebastian didn’t have the toddler full time and out of the blue.

  Without thinking, Maggie flipped her own auburn hair over her shoulder with a cheeky grin. “She’s your favorite redhead, huh?”

  He grinned, and shrugged, hard to do with the toddler in his arms. “I’m open to suggestions.”

  Her heart skipped a thump. She shouldn’t have fished, but she couldn’t deny the zing that shot through her.

  Just before a truly awkward silence could settle in, he gave her a wide smile but asked a little more formally, “What can we do for you?”

  “I have something to show Rex.” Her chest clenched just thinking about it. The box she’d found gave her very bad vibes—enough that she wanted to get some other eyes on it and … Well, there was nothing she could put her finger on, but what Maggie really wanted was someone to tell her that she was right or that she was being ridiculous.

  “Rex is in a training class … we all are.”

  Random afternoon trainings were normal, Maggie knew. She was both a firefighter’s girlfriend and a volunteer. She worked at the station eight hours a week, usually with A-team. But since she’d started watching Hannah while Rex was at work, she’d had to move to another shift. “So why aren’t you in training?”

  “I’m already Search and Rescue trained.” He shrugged as though it was no big deal and she wondered how many other certifications he casually held. “It’s probably another twenty minutes before they finish. Do you want to wait?”

  That was always the question with a firefighter. She could wait and he’d be done in twenty minutes. Or she could wait and he’d come out and the bell would ring just as she started to ask her question. Off he would run, and she couldn’t even be mad about it.

  She thought for a moment. “Do you have to go back in?”

  Sebastian shook his head, the motion calling out that his hair was just a little long for the firehouse rules. Apparently, no one had called him on it yet. “What do you need?”

  Maggie wheeled the stroller toward the open family room where the firefighters hung out if they weren’t sleeping, training, or at a fire. Right now, it was empty though she could hear the soft murmur of class just beyond the wall. Sebastian followed, setting Hannah down to let her play.

  “It’s this.” Maggie pulled the gift bag from the back pocket of the stroller and set it on the table.

  “An early Christmas present?”

  “Ha. No. This was the only bag I had.” Sighing, she reached in and pulled out the carved wooden box. It looked Haitian or Caribbean to her, but what did she know?

  Sebastian looked at it but didn’t seem put off by it. Maybe he would tell her she was being an idiot and shouldn’t worry about it. So she plowed ahead.

  “See the scratches? That’s because I pulled it up from where it was wedged under a floorboard. The board squeaked, I went to fix it, I found this.” She motioned harshly with her hand.

  “Okay? That’s weird, but it’s yours now. You own the house, right?”

  Maggie nodded. Practically everyone in town knew by now that she’d inherited Abbie’s home. “I don’t think this belonged to my aunt.”

  “I thought she was your grandmother,” Sebastian sidetracked then shrugged. “If it was in the house, then it’s yours.”

  She sighed. “It’s not the box itself that concerns me. Look what’s in it.” Then she watched as he lifted the lid and saw the tangled mess of jewelry.

  “I’m confused.”

  “Who does this?” she asked, trying to pinpoint why the mass of gold and silver made her so uneasy. “Look at it … the one bracelet is turning green, so it’s probably ten carat gold.” He was still frowning at her, and she kept chattering, hoping to make some kind of sense. “That necklace? I think that’s a real diamond … probably half to three quarters of a carat, so it’s worth some money.”

  He reached for it, but she gently shoved his hand away, still not sure why she didn’t want to touch it, but she didn’t.

  “What’s this long bracelet here?” Sebastian had caught on and only pushed the other jewelry aside with his pinky … as though he was preserving evidence.

  “That’s an ankle bracelet.” She watched as he turned just a little pink. It was cute that he seemed embarrassed about the error. “And it looks like real sapphires to me … also valuable.”

  “You can sell it if you don’t want it.” He clearly still didn’t understand.

  “That—” she pointed to another piece, hearing the sounds of the training meeting behind them breaking up, “—looks like a gumball machine prize.”

  The necklace was half of a ‘best friends’ heart, the gold tone rubbing off.

  “So, you think it’s not all one person’s jewelry?” he asked as, behind him, the other firefighters poured out of the training room. They turned on the TV, swung Hannah around, or came over to the table to see what she had.

  “Hey babe!” Rex offered her a workplace-appropriate peck on the cheek. “Did you bring your jewelry in?”

  Maggie had tried to tell him about the box for two days … but he simply hadn’t had time to listen. He was up to his eyeballs with his job and his daughter. A month ago, Hannah’s mother had announced that she needed rehab and dropped the girl off. Rex hadn’t heard from her since and it was appearing the change in custody was permanent.

  Though it wasn’t Rex’s fault, Maggie was frustrated. Hannah needed her dad, but Maggie found herself doing a lot of the parenting and she barely had a boyfriend. She forced a smile and an explanation.

  “I found it under a floorboard in one of the old tenant rooms.” She still hadn’t told him she thought she’d heard something in the house the other night.

  Now a good number of the firefighters were crowded around. Though several reached out, Sebastian motioned for them to not touch.

  “It is weird,” Kalan commented from over her shoulder, and Maggie turned to smile at the tall, black man. She was glad someone else thought so.

  She repeated her words from earlier. “This jewelry probably doesn’t all belong to one person.” Finally, she managed to state what bothered her. “Who collects and hides jewelry that doesn’t belong to them?”

  Though he was laughing, thinking he made a joke, Kalan’s words froze her blood.

  “Serial killers. That’s who.”

  Chapter Three

  Maggie wheeled Hannah’s stroller into the open bay of the fire station for the second time in twenty-four hours. This time the place buzzed with a shift change. Men were already cleaning the engines while others were throwing their bags over their shoulder and heading out the door.

  She looked for Rex in the crowd as A-shift left and B-shift came on.

  “Hey, Maggie!” Sebastian headed toward her.

  She smiled back at him until he asked, “Are you okay? You look tired.”

  “Jesus, man!” Rex butted in. “Never tell a woman she looks tired!”

  Maggie wanted to laugh, but she couldn't. Rex offered a quick kiss and a quicker thanks. “Thank you for taking Hannah, babe.”

  “Of course,” she told him, resenting the words even as they rolled off her lips. He’d told her he was going to find a sitter, but it was a small town, and he hadn't found anyone yet—not for the twenty-four hour shifts he worked.

  She’d been up several times during the night with Hannah and she now had eight hours of volunteer work at the station. She was exhausted but she’d readily signed up for the position before Hannah had come into the picture.

  Rex took the stroller from her and commented, “I don’t know how I’m going to keep up with her after wor
king a shift.”

  Maggie’s irritation flared. “I just had her for a full day and I have a shift to work now, too.”

  “But you only have eight hours.” He smiled as though he wasn’t devaluing her extremely generous donation to his family. That’s what it was: she was watching his daughter for free.

  Tamping down her feelings, Maggie handed over the diaper bag, and told him what Hannah had eaten and when she'd slept. Then she watched as he wheeled his happy daughter out the door. When she turned back to head into the station house, Sebastian was still standing there waiting. She could tell he was a bit upset.

  “I'm sorry I said you looked tired.”

  This time she did laugh. She shouldn’t have, he looked sheepish and fully regretful, but she’d seen the mirror this morning. “I'm not offended by the truth, and I’m exhausted. Hannah didn't sleep last night and now I've got an eight-hour shift to work.”

  He looked like he wanted to say something else, but Sebastian motioned over his shoulder toward the house and B-team. “I hope they go easy on you … I miss having you on A.” Then he turned away as though the conversation were over and he was starting to leave.