Alex (Wild Tinder Series Book 1) Read online

  Alex

  A Wild Tinder Book

  by Marie Fraser

  This publication is part of a series of products and publications. For more information, please visit: http://www.Operation40k.com/.

  To get more information on Operation $40K, please visit: http://www.Operation40k.com/.

  Copyright 2018 Marie Fraser

  All RIGHTS RESERVED. One or more global copyright treaties protect the information in this document. This Special Report is not intended to provide exact details or advice. This report is for informational purposes only. Author reserves the right to make any changes necessary to maintain the integrity of the information held within. This Special Report is not presented as legal or accounting advice. All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the copyright owner.

  NOTICE OF LIABILITY

  In no event, shall the author or the publisher be responsible or liable for any loss of profits or other commercial or personal damages, including but not limited to special incidental, consequential, or any other damages, in connection with or arising out of furnishing, performance or use of this book.

  All Characters, events and locations in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, dead or living, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Cover art: Sabrina Ihadadene

  This book series is inspired by my cousin Eric,

  a Denver firefighter who has actually contracted out as

  temporary help on wildfires. It's him, and many people like him across the country, that we consider heroes.

  Stop an say “hi” to him and the team on

  Engine Co. 23 the next time you are in Denver...

  he's the cute Lieutenant.

  (Sorry ladies, he is married and with 2 adorable kids!)

  Eric also lectures across the nation about nozzles – fire hose nozzles. There is a different one for each job, who knew?

  I think there is a naughty joke in there...or a good plot line!

  (Eric, I still think y'all need to do a

  hot-fireman calendar...just sayin')

  FYI: My cousin is NOT a Werewolf shifter.

  He would be more of a Polar Bear

  with all the skiing he loves to do...

  but you will learn more about that in the

  Bear Guard Series

  that debuts next year.

  Alex Hernandez has been a hotshot firefighter for five years. He spends the majority of his time with his crew and when he’s not fighting fires, he’s trying to convince himself that getting involved with a crew member is a bad idea. As a wolf, he follows his instincts in every situation. But as a man, following his instincts could cost him his job, or worse.

  Ava Schoenguard is barely past her rookie season and much to the amazement of just about everyone she’s survived. Not just that, she’s thriving as a hotshot. She’s smart, capable and after a solid six months under her belt, she’s back for another round of relentless work.

  Ava is like every other woman, with needs and wants that don’t necessarily coincide with her current lifestyle. She knows the rules of fighting fires with her crew and rule number one, even if it’s unspoken, is that you don’t get involved romantically with anyone on your crew. If only she could get her head and her heart on the same page.

  Can Ava and Alex have anything beyond the fire line or will they have to give up the jobs they love for any sort of personal life? When Alex and Ava both discover the other is a shifter, will it bring them closer together, or tear them apart for good?

  Chapter One: Comrades

  “Hernandez!” Ava yelled. “Get your ass down here!”

  “Where’s the fire, Schoenguard?” Jackson Pike asked.

  “Up your ass, Pike,” Ava replied with a smirk. Jackson laughed, taking it as Ava had meant it, jokingly.

  “What the hell’s all the yelling about?”

  “Ava’s got a fire she wants to shove up someone’s ass apparently,” Steve Jansen answered, tossing Alex Hernandez a cola.

  “Cool your jets, Schoenguard,” Alex said. He took a swig of the cold drink before he added, “We’ll have enough fires to worry about soon enough. Why don’t you and Crime Dog take the perimeter?”

  “McGraw!” Ava yelled, winking when the other men started to groan. Alex just shook his head and enjoyed the cold drink. It was hot as piss on the Fourth of July and Alex was just as edgy as everyone else. He wasn’t going to let anyone else know that, but he knew he wasn’t really thinking anything everyone didn’t already know. They were all waiting on the same thing, the call to report for duty.

  “Alright everyone,” Jasper Jansen said, holding up a clip board. “We all know that we’re in the peak of fire season. It’s hot and dry and this basin is like a tinder keg, just waiting to go off. That being said, we need to be ready at a moment’s notice. Since none of us, myself included, are actually that prepared; it’d be a good idea to get there, today. We don’t want to be lagging behind when that call comes in.”

  ***

  Ava peered through the fog, her eyes adjusting, focusing with the eyes of a wolf. Her nose sniffed the air, concentrating on the nuances of different smells in the air. As always, Ava was careful not to let her whole body shift into her wolf. Doing so would expose her as a shifter and one could never tell exactly who to trust with that sort of information. She didn’t think any of her colleagues would turn her in or anything, but she always kept a little chip on her shoulder, just in case. “

  You see anything?” McGraw asked, jogging over to her. He was in his early forties she guessed, although you couldn’t tell by the shape of his body. He was tall and lean, but muscular enough to cut through the training program in near record time. He’d been on the squad for a couple years and Ava knew firsthand she could count on him. More than once he’d been there in the nick of time to save her, or someone else on their team from injury or death.

  “Nothing yet,” Ava replied. She didn’t tell them that she had seen for miles, despite the poor visual conditions. “You?”

  “Nothing on my end either.”

  “Wanna head back in?”

  “Might as well,” Hunter said. “Doesn’t make much sense to piddle around out here when there’s work we can do back home.”

  “Sounds good.” Ava beat Hunter to the truck, much to his chagrin. “You owe me one.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Hunter grinned. “I’ll get you, don’t worry.”

  “I never worry,” Ava said with a wink. She gunned the engine, spitting dirt and gravel as she pulled out onto a well-worn trail and headed back to the crew.

  ***

  Alex was rolling up his extra sleeping bag when the mainline phone rang. He picked it up on the second ring. “Lobo Crew, Alex speaking.”

  “Hey Hernandez,” a familiar voice said.

  “Rita,” Alex smiled. Rita was the secretary who worked upstate. She was on call more often than not and just hearing her voice had a calm settling over him. “Good to hear your voice, darlin’.”

  “You too,” she smiled into the phone. “Unfortunately, I’ve got to call your crew out. We’ve got a fire starting to rage out near Bear Flats. Your crew is the closest and the freshest.”

  “We’re on it. We’ll be out within the hour.”

  “Check-in when you make camp.”

  “Will do.”

  “Stay safe,” Rita said.

  “Always,” Alex said, before hanging up. He was already talking as he headed out of his room. “Alright, everyone! We’ve got a fire outside Bear Flats. It’s a twenty minute drive so we need to be out within t
he hour.”

  “Bear Flats?” Ava said, intrigued. A twenty-minute drive was well-outside her visual range, but she hadn’t picked up smoke in the air either. That was the intriguing part. “You’re sure?”

  “That’s what Rita said. It hasn’t exploded yet, but it’s important that we make sure it doesn’t. This is our territory and it’s our job to protect it, as much and as often, as possible.”

  ***

  Ava was ready to go within the hour and was already sitting behind one of the Jeeps they kept prepped for on call situations. “Let’s do this,” Alex said, sliding into the passenger seat.

  “You got it.”

  Ava cut her eyes toward the man sitting beside her, when they were finally on the main road. He was intense, darkly handsome and sexy as hell. She knew his people hailed from Puerto Rico and every once-in-a-while Alex would curse in Spanish and damn if he didn’t make it sound particularly enticing. She had no idea what exactly he said when those moments came over him, but she knew how it made her feel and she liked it, a lot.

  “Your girlfriend coming to visit anytime soon, Hernandez?”

  “My girl…no. I don’t have a girlfriend; for all the reasons you can name.”

  “You lookin' to get laid, Schoenguard?” Irish said, a chuckle in his voice. “I got a nice bunk back at base.”

  “Can it, O’Leary,” Ava said, color rising to her cheeks. She hoped anyone who noticed would attribute her blush as rage or at least irritation. “I was simply making conversation. Besides, we all know your girlfriend will make an appearance. Every week like clockwork.”

  Alex laughed, punching Ava in the arm. “Nice burn.”

  “I didn’t mean it as one,” Ava said with a grin. “I simply meant that we all know O’Leary’s girl is a bit predictable. She’s eager to please, no pun intended.”

  “Alright,” Finn O’Leary said with a smirk. “We can drop it now.”

  “Anyone else got anything interesting to discuss?”

  “Money,” Steve Jansen said. “Everyone likes money.”

  “Likes?” Harry Denismore laughed. “Tell me anyone who can live without it.”

  “My…um-“

  “Exactly!” Denismore said. “No one. I don’t love money, but damn if I don’t like it a whole hell of a lot.”

  “Oh please, Beefcake. You love all the shit money can buy,” Ava said. “Pretty much the same thing.”

  “Nah,” Harry said. “I could do without it, if everything it bought could be purchased some other way.”

  “You gonna sell your body?” Ava laughed.

  “Hell naw,” Harry said, sounding offended. “I got better sense than that. Although I’m not sure, now that I think about it, exactly how I’d be able to barter for the things I need.”

  “Want-“ Steve interjected. “Needs are easy. It’s the wants we need money for.”

  “He’s got a point,” Alex said, joining the conversation. “Everyone will find a way to meet their needs. It’s the wants we use cash or credit to buy.”

  “I can agree with that,” Ava said with a nod.

  “Needs or wants I don’t really care,” Harry said. “I need money and I like it. I’m not afraid to admit that I like it a lot. But love is something else altogether.”

  “I can agree with that too,” Ava winked in the rear-view mirror.

  “You’re awfully amicable today,” Alex said, quirking up one dark, sexy eyebrow. Ava had to concentrate on driving so she didn’t drive off the edge from staring at him.

  “I’m not always a hard ass,” she said, pouting.

  “Maybe not, but you’re bitchy-more than your share.”

  “My mom always said I was born with enough bitch for three households and that’s when I’m in a relatively good mood.”

  “I can agree with that,” Steve laughed.

  “Shut it, Steve-O,” Ava said before snorting a little. “You were born with more bitch than even me.”

  At that Alex laughed so hard he had to lean forward in his seat. “She’s got you pegged,” he chuckled as he began to calm down. “Jesus I haven’t laughed like that in weeks.”

  “We’ve all been waiting for today,” Ava said.

  Chapter Two: Fire Line

  Alex looked at the driver and wondered, not for the first time, what it was about her that drew him in like a moth to a flame. She was pretty, but not fantastically so and yet he couldn’t get her out of his head. He’d watched her numerous times over the last six months and every time she surprised him. Just when he thought he knew what she’d say or how she’d react; she’d turn and do something he hadn’t expected.

  She was funny, which Alex considered a huge plus. She sure as hell could do the work and seemed to love it with the same sort of passion he had. That wasn’t a negative. No, the only thing standing in his way was that she was part of his crew. Anyone else, he knew, would tell him the same thing he’d been thinking from the start; don’t go there. Don’t even waste your time thinking about anything beyond the work, because it’ll only spell disaster.

  But here he was, again, thinking about the way she laughed, the way her smile tilted up in one corner. Her hair drove him crazy, especially after she’d been in the shower, that thick mass of dark, kinky curls. Even now his hands ached to dive into them.

  “Camp’s just ahead,” Harry said, pointing to a turn off in the trail.

  “Smell the smoke?” Ava asked.

  “Yeah,” Alex said. Harry and Steve nodded in agreement as well.

  “Alright crew,” Alex said, once they’d stopped. “Gather round. We have a few things to go over before we head out. Harry.”

  “Alright everyone,” Harry said, raising his voice so everyone would hear him. “We all know how this works. Two man crews. Clearing or fire line, doesn’t matter, no exceptions. Don’t like who you’re paired with, too damn bad. We go out together, we come in together, period.”

  Harry went on to name off the pairs and Alex hid a grin when he was teamed with Ava. Harry wasn’t the only one who knew that Alex had a thing for Ava. He’d graciously paired them together. “Let’s do this,” Alex said, clapping Harry on the back. “You with Irish?”

  “You know it,” Harry smiled. Alex knew that Harry and Finn O’Leary, aka, Irish, were fast friends. Both of Irish descent, they’d found kindred spirits in each other and every time they went out the two men worked together, watching each other’s backs.

  “You ready, Hernanadez?” Ava asked, quirking up one dark, damn sexy eyebrow.

  “As I’ll ever be,” he said. “Just let me grab the Pulaskis and I’ll be good to go.”

  “Alright,” Ava said. “I’m going to start heading that way along the trail.”

  “I’ll catch up,” Alex said. Fifteen minutes later they were approaching a thicket of trees that would certainly go up in flames if they didn’t get the fire under control.

  “We need to start here,” Ava said as she and Alex scanned the area. “You see anyone else?”

  “Harry and Irish are to our right. The others are spread out down the line.”

  “Good,” Ava said, pulling on her protective gear. “I’m good whenever you are.”

  Alex handed her a Pulaski and together they started to take down the small stand of trees that would have easily become tinder for the fire if they’d left it standing. An hour later, they were both hot and sweaty as they headed for the truck for something cold to drink.

  “It’s already sweltering,” Alex said, pointing toward the thick line of smoke that was headed toward them.

  “Yeah,” Ava agreed. “I just…I don’t know how Harry and I missed this.”

  “Winds aren’t strong,” Alex said. “Without them, you’re not going to smell smoke and the fire isn’t extremely impressive, especially given the amount of forestation there is around this area. I’m surprised this one isn’t bigger by now.”

  “Hm,” Ava said, drinking more water. “It is certainly interesting.”

  “Did you
notice?”

  “What?”

  “The way this fire is acting?”

  ***

  “Not particularly,” Ava said, surprised that Alex had noticed the strange patterns with which this fire raged.

  “The burn patterns are interesting to say the least,” he agreed. “Do you see, though, how some of these trees aren’t even burnt? This one…” Ava watched Alex walk over and point to a tree that was scorched on the outside, but otherwise untouched. “Everything around this one says it should be burnt down. But the outsides barely scorched, let alone the inside effected.”

  “I know,” Ava said, turning to look around. “I just…I’m not sure this is what you’d normally consider a forest fire, let alone a wild fire.”

  “No,” Alex said with a shake of his head. “It doesn’t change our mission, but it is concerning.”

  “Should we call the marshal?”

  “No,” Alex said vehemently. “If he doesn’t know about this already, there’s no need to deal with it until after we’re done. If he does, there’s nothing he’s going to tell us we don’t already know.”

  Ava looked into his dark eyes, felt a chill run through her, then she shook her head and turned to cut down the three they’d been discussing. She could still smell the smoke heavy in the air and the fire still raged, but if they didn’t clear this stand of trees in time and create a good, solid firewall, it’d grow larger and run that much closer to homes where people lived their lives.

  Three hours later, when Ava stopped to get a drink, her arms felt like jello. She tried to put the Pulaski on the back of their truck and nearly dropped it. If Alex hadn’t been there to catch it, she’d have hurt herself and possibly broken the axe.

  “Whoa,” he said, pulling the Pulaski from her hands. “You okay?”

  “Tired,” she said, wiping sweat from her brow.

  “You look it,” he said, not suppressing the grin that crept across his face.

  “I feel it,” she said, taking a long drink of water. The cold liquid cooled her smoke stained throat and cooled her overheated system.