Free Breathing His Air by Debra Kayn Page A

“Shit.”
    She jumped out of his way. “What’s wrong?”
    “Go tell Gladys we’ve got a fire behind the bar and to call 911,” he said, running down the hall. “Then stay inside.”
    He pushed through the door. The sight before him stopped him instantly. “Jesus … ”
    Flames rolled out the blown windows in Cabin B and licked the roof. He ran to the outside faucet at his cabin next door and quickly turned the water on and stretched out the hose. Heat from the fire formed a curtain around the cabin as he unsuccessfully fought the flames.
    In the distance, the sound of sirens grew louder. He turned his face away and spotted Torque and the others moving bikes out of the way. Knowing the cabin was a total loss, he jogged over and wet down the roof of his cabin. Thankfully, Cabin B was the end of the line of small houses, and he only had to worry about the fire spreading to his place.
    Several minutes later, he shut the water off, dropped the hose, and moved out of the way for the Pitnam fire crew. He planted his hands on his waist and surveyed the damage. They’d be lucky if the studs of the walls remained standing.
    A hand clamped down on his shoulder. He flinched and found Jedman. “Make sure Tori remains inside.”
    “Already done. Bruce is watching her. Ronny’s called everyone together, and they’re meeting at your house at four o’clock.” Jedman ran his hand across the bottom of his nose. “Ronny called in and mentioned three Lagsturns heading to I-5 an hour before you noticed the fire. We figured they had to have doubled back on the overpass.
    “Doesn’t make sense. One of us should’ve seen or heard something,” he said.
    “Hate to say this, but while this was going down, Officer Russ Swanson delayed Slade over on Dike road. Slade totally missed the other riders returning to town.”
    He frowned. “Swanson?”
    The patrol officer for the state of Washington was a royal pain in the ass. Some said he looked the other way and had a hard time toeing the line. Rumors, but Rain wouldn’t put it past the Lagsturns to have enough reach to intimidate the blue shirts.
    “Give me an hour and then get Chief Jordan on the phone.” Rain brushed the front of his shirt off.
    Jedman frowned. “Pitnam’s Chief?”
    “Yeah.” He inhaled sharply through his nose and held his breath, then let it out. Confident the fire wasn’t an accident, he wanted it reported and investigated.
    “Man … ”
    “Do it.” He stalked back to the bar and entered through the rear door.
    He ran his gaze to Tori, sitting at the bar nursing a lemonade. He caught Bruce’s eye and pointed behind him at his office. He slipped his hand underneath the leather of his vest and rubbed his chest. The tightness grew.
    Bruce led Tori to the room. “Here’s Tori, boss.”
    “Thanks.” He tipped his chin to Bruce. “Shut the door on your way out.”
    Giving himself a few seconds to calm down, he moved over and sat on the couch. He watched Tori. She glanced everywhere but at him, and he waited. When he spoke, he wanted all her attention.
    “Did they get the fire out?” She glanced at him, moved over to the far wall, and fingered the framed business certificate.
    He clamped his teeth together. She didn’t deserve to be thrust into his trouble. Dressed in her skimpy shorts and a shirt, she had no idea her world was about to change. His anger grew over the situation, realizing those were now the only damn clothes she owned. He hated that the bad news happened on Bantorus land, and he was responsible.
    He coughed, clearing the remains of smoke from his lungs. “Yeah. It’s out.”
    “That’s good,” she said.
    “Babe?”
    “Hm?” She dropped her hand from the frame, but refused to turn around.
    He could add stubbornness to her list of faults. “Look at me.”
    Her shoulders sagged and she pivoted. “What?”
    “You’re pissed.”
    “Uh, duh.” She lifted her arms and let her hands come down and slap the top of her bare