Free A Hunter's Passion by Gwen Knight

it for a wayward animal or withered tree. Ryker slowed to a crawl, watching as a silhouette moved about without trepidation.
    Slowing, he tightened his grip on his gun, his finger closing down on the trigger. The intruder’s arrogance was unsettling as they whipped about in front of her house with little care of what awaited them inside.
    Swiveling on his heel, he tugged on Jenna’s sundress, about to draw her down when her eyes flew wide, a panicked gasp flying from her lips.
    “Ryker!” she cried out, her hands clapping over her mouth as horror seized her.
    Whirling around, he barely managed to gather Jenna in his arms before the world exploded in a wash of color and flame. Lifted from their feet, they were hurtled back, sent sprawling into the living room. At the last moment, Ryker managed to twist them around so that he took the brunt of the fall. Pain lanced through his back, his head slamming against the hardwood. Dazed, he pushed up from his back and cursed when he saw what had happened.
    Flames had erupted inside Jenna’s house, abandoning them on the wrong side of an inferno. It spread quickly, the wood siding feeding the blaze. He stared around in wonder, his heart dropping into his stomach when he found every exit engulfed. They were trapped.
    “We need to find a way out of here!” he shouted, eyes raking every inch of her house. Already, the smoke burned his eyes and singed his lungs.
    Somehow, in a matter of moments, the hunter had managed to seal them in, imprisoning them within the blaze. Cursing, he fumbled in his pockets and snatched out his phone, quickly selecting the first name on the list.
    “Ryker.” Mason’s voice came over the line. “Tell me you have good news—”
    “Uh, not entirely,” he managed to get out before his entire body heaved with a great cough. Choking on the smoldering air, he broke from the call long enough to tear his shirt over his head and press it to Jenna’s mouth, filtering out the smoke.
    “What’s going on?” His brother demanded.
    “Ryker!” Jenna’s muffled voice rose.
    He followed her line of sight and threw his body over hers just before a window of glass exploded next to them. Flash fires whipped through the room, stealing their oxygen.
    “Ryker!” Mason shouted. “Talk to me!”
    “Fire,” he ground out, his arms sealing protectively around Jenna’s head. “Other hunter set it. We’re trapped.”
    Words snapped over the line, but Ryker couldn’t hear them any longer, the roaring blaze effectively deafening them to anything else.
    “Jenna!” he shouted, dropping the phone An idea struck him, one that he prayed worked. Hands framing her face, he smoothed back her tangled hair, wiping the soot from her cheeks with his thumbs. “Do you think you can control this?”
    Blinking, she watched him as though he’d lost his mind.
    “Come on, sweetheart, stay with me!” He leaned in close, his lips finding their way to her ear. “We’re surrounded by something you can control. Don’t tell me you can’t, you did last night. You could have burned me alive.”
    A strip of color returned to her face, her eyes skirting toward the blaze.
    “You can do this,” he encouraged, his hands cupping her cheeks.
    Finally, she nodded and sucked in as much air as she could. Gathering herself, her eyes tapered. Concentration lined her brow, sweat running down the side of her face. She was visibly shaking from the strain, a wry twist of her lips doing little to soften her disappointment.
    With a frustrated cry, she crumpled against him, shaking her head. “I can’t,” she panted, wiping her arm against her brow.
    “You can,” he repeated. “Here.” He gathered her hands into his and jerked his chin toward the broken window. “Focus. The fire isn’t as bad at the window. I know you can do this!”
    Coughing around her next breath, she straightened with a nod. He watched once more as her eyes focused with unwavering determination.
    Ryker nearly shouted