Free Flame (Ruin Outlaws MC #4) by Amy Isan

bring all of it. We'll have to leave it," I say. He nods slightly and grabs a handful of bundled money and slips it into his back pocket.
    Logan squints at the horizon for a moment. "If I remember the landmarks..." he trails off and points out the red cliffs in the distance. He traces his finger across the sky and mutters to himself. "This way."
    "Are you sure?"
    "Trust me."
    We're on a slight incline, and he starts hiking to the top of the slope. He waits for me at the crest and hands me an energy bar and a bottle of water. "You should eat."
    "You should too," I point out. He chuckles a little. "What?"
    "Bossing me around now? I let you get too comfortable," he says. I shake my head with a smile and push him, nearly knocking him over. He catches himself and laughs, which is infectious. I try and stop myself from grinning, but it's hard when he keeps going. It feels ridiculous to be laughing when our vehicle just broke down and all we have are some energy bars and water. But, actually, that only makes it funnier.
    Even out in the desert, maybe stranded for dead, he can make me laugh. I unwrap the energy bar and take a bite. It's gummy, but chewing feels really good.
    He unwraps his and gives me a sideways glance. He nudges me with his elbow, and I try and brush him off. "Stop that," I tease. I can feel his smile. We'll survive.
    I pull out the phone and gesture to it. "Who will you call?"
    "Two of the guys to come pick us up," he says.
    "Have you done this before?"
    He shakes his head and kind of smiles. "That thing has GPS right?"
    "I'm pretty sure," I say, beaming at him.
    "It better," he grins.
    After a few more minutes of walking together, our shoulders brush together and I feel my heart race. He reaches out and grabs my hand, deftly sliding his fingers between mine. My heart melts like butter on a hot pan. I stroke his forearm and pull him near me, and we walk in sync down the dusty trail, if you could call it that anymore. My hand throbs and feels warm. I try to ignore it, but it makes me scared. I should have told him about the cut earlier, but he was so focused.
    . . .
    The heat rises in waves off the red earth like invisible snakes. We've been walking for miles, and for what feels like hours and hours. Our pace has slowed to a crawl, and Logan's taken off his shirt and given it to me. I've wrapped it around my head and finished all the water.
    "Check the phone," he says, his voice cracking with thirst.
    "I just did," I snap back at him. I can barely focus on anything, my vision going blurry from the heat and light. I grumble and fish the phone out of my pocket, and turn it back on. Its battery has slipped down under 30% and we still don't have any service. I shake my head. "Maybe the next hill. These are baby slopes, but... they feel like mountains, don't they?"
    "Yeah," he grunts.
    Earlier, Logan sliced open my jeans so I could roll them up and get some relief from the heat. I'm covered in a layer of sweat, but Logan's shirt-hat keeps it from dripping into my eyes. He doesn't have such a luxury. His muscles twitch under his skin, and his shoulders look burnt and red already. I wish I could do something, but if I give up his shirt, I'll probably pass out. My hand feels terrible.
    I wander closer to him and hang off his shoulder. He chuckles. His skin is slick and glistening. Forget about me, he might not even make it at this rate. Our shadows are almost invisible. I glance up to see the sun is almost overhead. Shit.
    "It must be over a hundred degrees," I say.
    "I've had worse," he says. His breathing is so much more relaxed than mine, I'm actually jealous.
    "Worse?"
    "Rode through Death Valley once with a bunch of the guys from my old crew for a drug deal. We ended up having to stay an extra day longer than planned... It was definitely worse." He shields his eyes and looks at the sky. "Although right now, I can't remember how much worse." Logan looks down the trail behind us, and sighs. "I wish we didn't have to