But Logan wasn't going to back down either. If she hadn't figured it out yet, they were well matched.
“I'm your only option, the only guy with the gear who's willing to risk his life to get you something to take to the crime lab.”
She had to realize he'd never let her go in herself. He couldn't stand the thought of seeing her wrapped up like a mummy in the hospital.
“I'm good friends with the chemist who runs the local lab. You don't want to wait out the weekend, do you?”
She sighed, knowing her hands were tied. “You know I can't wait that long.”
“I'll get him to open up his lab today.” Provided David wasn't sailing on the lake with his family for the weekend, of course, but there was no point in mentioning that. Not when he was using his friend as leverage.
They drove to the hotshot station to collect his gear. “You might want to stay in the car,” he warned her in the station parking lot. “Odds are, you're not real popular with the guys right about now.”
Ignoring his good advice, she jumped out. “Do you honestly think I care?”
Yeah, he did. But saying so would only set her off. “Don't say I didn't warn you.”
He watched her square her shoulders and set her expression into an impervious mask as they headed inside. A handful of guys were gulping down a quick meal around the plastic dining table.
Logan grabbed his flame-resistant jacket, pants, boots, and helmet from his locker.
“What the f**k is she doing here?”
Even though Maya had pulled him from duty, he wasn't going to stand for the guys treating her like she was dirt. She had a job to do and she was doing it. End of story.
To her credit, she didn't appear the slightest bit bothered by their scrutiny. Logan supposed being hated by firefighters in these situations came with the territory.
“She's just doing her job, Sean,” he said before turning their focus away from her. “What are conditions like on the mountain right now? How's everyone holding up?”
Sean, Zack, and Andy momentarily stopped glaring at Maya. “It's completely kicking our ass,” Zack admitted. “The wind's acting all squirrelly, and with the dry shrubs, the fire's moving fast. Really fast.”
Andy cut in. “I heard you went to see Robbie. How's he holding up? None of us can get out to the hospital. Not while the fire's spreading so fast.”
Firefighter morale was a funny thing. Most of the time guys could block out the bad stuff until they'd finished doing their job and the fire was out. But this was a special case. His only option was to say very little about Robbie's true situation. After his brief talk with Dr. Caldwell, he wasn't at all sure Robbie was going to pull through.
Logan weighed his words carefully. “He's hanging on.”
The guys nodded and ate some more, knowing better than to push for details they couldn't handle. Sean pointed to the gear in Logan's hand. “She letting you back in the game, man?”
Maya finally spoke. “Let's get going, Mr. Cain.” She turned on her heel and walked back out to the car.
Andy whistled. “What a waste of a hot piece of ass.”Logan clenched his jaw, feeling more than a little proprietary about Maya's curves. “Keep your focus on the fire,” he warned, knowing it was exactly what he needed to be doing himself. “I'll be back in action as soon as I can.”
He headed outside and threw his gear into the back of his truck. He slid behind the wheel.
“Must be rough.”
Maya didn't say anything, but her full lips were a tight line.
“Your father was a firefighter. And today you're the enemy, the one they all love to hate.”
She shifted in her seat, turning away from him, her hands clasped tightly on her lap. “I don't have to investigate firefighters very often, but when I do, I don't treat their cases any differently.”
“Are you sure you can do that?” Logan asked, even as he wondered why he cared so damn much. Especially when she sure as hell wasn't making it easy for him.
She was silent for a long moment. “I never expected to run into you again, let alone for you to be my lead suspect. And then after what happened at the motel, after getting that note—” She stopped, and started over. “Trying to separate this case from what happened to my brother is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But I promise you—and your men—that this is not a witch hunt. I'm not simply looking for someone's head to jam on a stake. And I don't want any more of your men to get hurt because of a serial arsonist.”
She wasn't hiding her distress from him, and he felt that maybe he was starting to gain her trust.
“Thank you for that,” he said. “For your honesty. And for thinking of my men.”
She twisted the sniffer in her hands. “I don't want you to get hurt either, Logan. Getting evidence is too dangerous. I can't let you do this.”
But danger no longer mattered. He needed to find out who'd set up the explosion to make sure it didn't happen again and take out another one of his men.
“Robbie was my friend. He didn't deserve this. Some ass**le thinks he can get away with it. He probably thinks no one will be willing to walk up to that fire and find out what caused it.” His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “That ass**le is wrong.”
“It's too dangerous. I wish you'd reconsider.”
But they both knew he wouldn't. “What do I need to know about operating the sniffer?”
“Be sure to hold the red button down for at least thirty seconds or the sample size won't be large enough to register on the meter. I'll also need a couple handfuls of dirt and grass, and anything that isn't native.”
She looked like she was going to say something else.
“Go ahead. What else do you want me to know?”
She shook her head. “Nothing.”
“I can take it,” he said in a soft voice. He could feel her warring with herself in his passenger seat, could practically see the wheels turning in her head.
Suddenly she said, “Just be careful, okay?”
Of all the things he expected her to say, that wasn't anywhere on the list. “Nice to know you care.”
“Yeah,” she said, her mouth quirking up on one side, “it would suck to lose my top suspect.”