Against The Fire
You can't fight what you can't see. And Gabriel Raines can't be sure just who's setting the fires in his new real-estate development.When two fires hit back-to-back, he knows it's personal, but any number of competitors or ex-employees could be the arsonist. The police suspect Angel Ramirez, a local teen who's been in trouble before. But Mattie Baker, a volunteer at the Family Abuse center, just can't believe the kid she's been working with would go back to his delinquent ways.Determined to convince Gabe that she's right, Mattie must get close to him and find out who's putting their neighborhood in jeopardy. And just as the arsonist's flames continue to burn, they find a heat developing between them. It might just turn into a full-fledged fireif they can survive long enough.
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Praise for Kat Martin
âKat Martin is one of the best authors around! She has an incredible gift for writing.â
âLiterary Times
â[Martin] produces irresistible novels that blend the eerie and unexplainable with her own uniquely sensual and exciting style.â
âRT Book Reviews
âA tidal wave of emotion, bittersweet, poignant romance and a tantalizing primal sexualityâ¦the inimitable trademarks of multitalented author Kat Martin.â
âWinterhaven News
âA real page-turnerâ¦The Summit is a superb story.â
âRomance Reviews Today
âMartin dishes up sizzling passion and true love, then serves it up with savoir faire.â
âLos Angeles Daily News
âWOW! Kat Martinâs talent knows no boundaries.
[Scent of Roses] is to die forâ¦a tremendous story that will keep you up at night.â
âWriters Unlimited
âKat Martin is a consummate storyteller!â
âThe Romance Readerâs Connection
KAT MARTIN
AGAINST THE FIRE
To Carolyn Pomerene, a longtime friend,
for her help with the psychology in this book, as well as her work on Scent of Roses.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Epilogue
Authorâs Note
One
The screech of the siren didnât reach him at first. Exhausted from a hard dayâs work, Gabriel Raines slept soundly. But as the shrill cry drew closer and the flashing red lights lit the walls inside his bedroom, something registered in the depths of his mind and he stirred.
Gabe blinked awake, eyes instantly alert as had become his habit during his years as a marine. Heâd been out of the corps for years but some things just didnât change.
The wail of the siren grew louder on the street below the window of his downtown Dallas condominium, then the fire truck shot past and the sounds began to dim as the vehicle drove farther away. With a weary sigh, Gabe turned to look at the red neon numbers on his alarm clock. Three-thirty.
Running a hand over his face, he lay back against the pillow, hoping like hell heâd be able to get back to sleep.
He might have if his cell phone hadnât started ringing.
The sirenâs wail had stopped. The fire truck had reached its destination, which meant the fire was nearby, and the sound of a second engine was beginning to fill the night. Gabe reached toward the nightstand and picked up his cell phone, flipped it open and pressed it against his ear.
âWhoever this is,â he grumbled, âthis had better be important.â
âThereâs a fire at the Dallas Towers.â The voice of his foreman, Sam McBride, floated over the line. âLooks like all our hard work is going up in smoke.â
Adrenaline jolted through him. Gabe swung his long legs to the side of the bed. âAre you sure itâs the Towers?â
âI was on my way home, about a block away when I heard the first fire truck. I saw it turn toward the Towers and decided to see what was going on.â
Already off the mattress, Gabe pressed the phone more tightly against his ear. âYou see what part of the structure is involved?â
âI could see flames in the lobby.â
âSon of a bitch.â They were almost finished with the major renovation they were doing on the Towerâs soaring marble lobby. Almost.
He took a breath to steady himself as he walked toward his closet. âIf you were just heading home, you must have had a pretty hot date.â
âI didnât spend the night if that tells you anything.â
Like Gabe, Sam was a bachelor and both of them lived downtown. An area that formerly consisted of run-down buildings was being revitalized, turned into a chic little district of shops and boutiques. Gabe had built the condos Sam lived in, as well as the Las Posas development that housed his own unit.
âIâm getting dressed. Iâll be there in fifteen minutes.â
Gabe closed the phone. He should have known things were going too well. In his experience, every time life went a little too smoothly, bad news lurked around the corner.
Naked, he crossed to the oak dresser against the far wall, jerked open his underwear drawer and pulled out briefs and a pair of socks. Dragging on a pair of jeans and a Dallas Cowboys T-shirt, he ignored the row of Western boots sitting on the closet floor and shoved his size-thirteen feet into the heavy leather boots he wore when he was working.
Gabe left the condo and a few minutes later, he was pulling his big white GMC extended cab pickup over to the curb just a little ways down the block from the Towers. Smoke and flame billowed out through the open glass doors leading into the lobby, but the fire boys were at work inside and had three powerful jets of water hitting the building from different angles. With any luck, the blaze would be brought under control before it burned into the offices on the floors above.
