Free Wildfire by Mina Khan Page A

Alexander.”
    She jumped up. He still towered over her as he pumped her
hand.
    Hernandez was younger than Lynn expected, maybe in his
forties, with wings of silver at his temples that added a distinguished look.
His dark gaze studied her with intense speculation. “Ready to go?”
    She nodded. He stepped briskly ahead, leading the way, but
stopped at the receptionist’s desk. “Keep this boat afloat while I’m out to
lunch, okay?” he said. “I’m counting on you, Abby.” He gave her a jaunty salute
and continued forward.
    Lynn offered Abby a wave and rushed after Hernandez. He barged
through a second set of doors, before he stopped and sniffed the crisp, autumn
air. “Perfect day for a walk. You don’t mind if we walk to lunch, right?” He
marched down the sidewalk not waiting for an answer.
    Lynn hurried, doing her best to keep up and not trip in her
heels. She should have worn sneakers.
    “So, who are you? What’s your background?”
    She filled him in about her journalism degree and her
previous public relations experience. “I’m between jobs at the moment.”
    He clucked sympathetically, without slowing his pace.
    Lynn thanked the powers that be for the Don’t Walk sign at
the corner. She caught her breath as they waited for the light to change at
Chadbourne and Beauregard. Her feet ached in the high heels and she could feel
blisters forming. So much for the power outfit. “Where are we headed?”
    Hernandez pointed across the street at Fuentes Downtown
Café. “All the movers and shakers eat there.”
    She eyed several men and women coming in and out the doors,
standing around shaking hands or talking on cell phones. In between the power
suits, she glimpsed a scruffy man sitting hunched over on a bench right in
front of the restaurant.
    The man raised his head from the folds of an oversized,
dusty black coat. Her gaze collided with glittering gray eyes set in a dirty
face obscured by straggly salt-and-pepper hair and a beard.
    Traffic ceased flowing, people turned to statues, the dragon
within her tensed. Lynn drew in slow, labored breaths. Her racing heart petered
to a sluggish rhythm, the blood in her veins congealed. She stood rooted to the
spot and held the man’s stare.
    He sent her a mock salute.
    Cold fear wormed inside her. She fisted her hands at her
sides. The tips of her fingers burned to grow dragon claws.
    The man's slim shoulders shook as if he were laughing at
her. He leaned back and folded his arms.
    Lynn blinked as a portly man emerged from the restaurant and
blocked her view. Breathing easier, she angled her head this way and that to
see around him.
    The light changed and Hernandez rushed forward. Lynn pulled
her attention away long enough to cross with him. As soon as they stepped onto
the curb, Lynn tried to relocate the vagrant, but he’d disappeared.
    She found herself surrounded by people. Several of them
shook hands with the editor and said hello. Lynn pushed through the crowd and
looked up and down Chadbourne. Adrenaline zipped through her as she caught the
tail-end of a fluttering black coat turning the corner. She glanced back at Hernandez,
then at the corner again.
    Should she chase the homeless guy? She still had to get
information from the newspaper man. Besides, what would she do even if she did
catch the stranger? Ignoring the nervous knot in her gut, Lynn turned. Now Hernandez
had disappeared.
    Hoping he’d entered Fuentes, she plunged through the door.
    He stood in the lobby, laughing and talking to a group of
people. Lynn breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn’t noticed her odd behavior.
The restaurant owner led them to a booth at the back and left them with some
chips and salsa.
    After they settled in, Hernandez locked gazes with her.
“You’re a good writer, Alexander.”
    “Thanks.” She slipped her shoes off under the table and
almost groaned in relief. “You mentioned something about a deal?”
    He drummed his fingers on the glass tabletop and jogged