Burned (Keeper of the Flame) Read Free Page A

vibrates in my chest. “ Ghosts of the Shadow
Hill Mines. ” He lifts his head, gaze connecting with mine.
“Going gold mining?”
    I point my finger at his chest. “You know
what I’m doing here.”
    He captures my hand in his. “Sure. Mother
hunting, passing out in the bar and taking in the local
history.”
    I try to wiggle my hand from his grasp, but
he tightens his grip. “Let go.”
    “I told you to go home.”
    “Last time I checked, this was a free
country.”
    A flicker of anger lights his eyes. “You have
no idea what you’re getting yourself into.”
    “Looks like a threat to me,” I say, keeping
my voice even.
    His gaze drops to my lips and lingers before
he leans in close. So close his breath tickles my ear. “Shadow Hill
doesn’t have the answers you’re looking for. If you say you’ll
leave, I won’t bother you anymore.”
    “And if I don’t?”
    “Life is going to start getting very
difficult.”
    I grit my teeth. “Let go of me.”
    He eases back, but his gaze stays locked with
mine. “Say you’ll leave.”
    “Go to hell.”
    “I’m not going to ask again,” Ryan says.
    The fire builds inside of me, shooting
straight to my fingertips. In an instant, the books wedged between
us go up in flames. I gasp and drop them on the ground. The fire
grows and Ryan stamps on the books with his boots.
    I shove around him and run for the door.
    “Hey!” the librarian shouts after me.
    I don’t stop, don’t slow down. I race through
the open door and glance back as I hit the last stair.
    Two more steps and I slam into someone’s
chest.

Chapter 3
     
    The momentum is enough to make me stumble and
I hit the cement hard with my palms, scraping them against the
rough surface.
    “Willow?”
    A hand closes around my elbow, pulling me up.
I swivel and look straight into midnight blue eyes.
    “Logan,” I murmur.
    “Where’s the fire?” he asks, amusement in his
voice.
    I point to the library entrance. “In there. I
should really go.”
    He looks torn between stopping me from making
an escape since I just admitted to a fire, and coming with me.
    “Wait.” He follows me around the corner
before he catches my arm again. “Are you running away?”
    “Not from you,” I say, peering around the
corner. I wince when I place my hand on the brick wall of the
building.
    “You hurt yourself.” Logan grabs my hands.
His eyes are glued to the palms, where small beads of blood stain
the surface. I see him swallow. “It’s bleeding.”
    His pulse throbs at his neck, and he squeezes
my hands and then yanks his eyes away. “We should get this taken
care of.”
    “It’s a scratch.”
    He grins. “I’ll help you escape.”
    I hear voices around the corner and escape
sounds like a great idea. “Okay.”
    Logan curls his arm around my shoulder, and I
can feel the strength in his muscles. He guides me across the
alleyway and two doors down to an independent building. There’s a
medical cross on the front above the door.
    He ushers me inside and nods at a man at a
desk. “Hey, James.”
    James nods back. “What have we got here?”
    Logan’s eyes flicker to mine with amusement.
“A felon.”
    I glare at him although technically it’s
true. I did just run away from the scene of a crime. But then, no
one can prove I caused the fire. And it was just a few flames. I
imagine Ryan and the rude librarian have it under control by
now.
    My only regret is that I didn’t get to check
out my books.
    “Can we use your first aid kit?” Logan
asks.
    “Sure. In the back,” James says.
    I follow Logan to the back of the large room,
where there’s a cot next to a few chairs. “Where are we?” I
ask.
    “Search and rescue coordination station.”
    “That’s a mouthful.”
    “Sit,” he says. When I go for one of the
chairs, he snags my arm and swings me to the cot. “Here.”
    “Really? I just need a sink to wash my
hands.”
    He nudges me onto the cot. “It could get
infected.”
    “That’s