Read White Hot: A Patrick & Steeves Suspense for Free Online

together, no question. But when it comes down to it, you’re the one with the military training and he’s a firefighter. A damn good firefighter, and obviously an asset in a conflict…” she paused and sought Emily’s eyes. “We’re sending you out there as a team, but I want to be clear about this. We need you to be the point person. I’m counting on you to lead this mission, Emily.”
    “I see,” she said, brushing a piece of lint from her pant leg. “And Dal? Does he know I’ll be the lead?”
    “I don’t think that would be wise,” she said, “do you?”
    “I don’t think he’d have a problem with it,” Emily replied. “It’s one reason we worked well together. Firefighting isn’t a solitary job, you know … their lives depend on them working in teams.”
    “True. But my discussion with his Captain and District Fire Chief indicated …” she let her words trail off. “Let’s just say that I want you to be in front on this mission. Strategic decisions will need to be made and I’m counting on you to be able to make them.”
    She rose, indicating the meeting was over, so Emily stood as well. Jill placed two fingers on her forearm. “Not a word of this to Steeves.”
    Emily nodded, wondering if she could keep that promise, and fell into step beside Jill as she crossed the room.
    As Jill approached the door, Emily turned to her. “You couldn’t have given me a heads up about my father?”
    “I left that decision to him. He did what he thought was best,” she said, hand on the doorknob. “Dal is in the training facility, my secretary will give you directions. You should go and meet him there now. And tomorrow morning, we need you back here at oh seven hundred sharp to be chipped.”
    “Chipped?” Emily turned to her. Would there be no end to her dislike of this woman? “You mean like microchipped so you can track us?”
    “Just takes a minute,” Jill said, swinging the door open and ushering Emily through it. “How do you think we found Jack?”

10
    D al passed the extra packet of ketchup to Emily admiring the way she tucked into her burger and fries. They’d both been starving and had picked up food from a take-out and driven to one of his favorite spots overlooking the ocean. Cars surrounded them, filled mostly with groping teens and hopeful lovers this time of night, but it didn’t dampen his enthusiasm for the view.
    “Try this?” he asked, extending his shake toward Emily.
    She scrunched her nose. “Licorice in a shake is just wrong.”
    “Don’t knock it ‘til you try it,” he laughed. It had been a long day. When she’d walked into the training facility around four, he’d thought she was there to pick him up. Instead, the trainer had them working on hand-to-hand combat together almost until after eleven.
    At first, he’d been afraid he was going to hurt her. He got over that the third time she’d slammed him to the mat. She was tough, she was fast, and she’d given him a hell of a workout. Any lingering misgivings about being with her in the field were wiped away. Not that he had any, really. He had the utmost respect and confidence in her abilities, given she’d already gotten him home alive once.
    “I saw a missed call from you earlier,” he said, dipping a fry into a mound of ketchup before shoving it in his mouth.
    “Checking in, that’s all” she replied. “This is the best burger I’ve had in a long time.” She took another huge bite, swiping at the sauce that dribbled down her chin.
    “So… tomorrow,” he tried again.
    “Yeah, we’ll be leaving before noon. But - get this - they want to chip us in the morning.”
    “Microchip? So they can track us?”
    She burst out laughing. “That’s exactly what I said. And yes, so they can track us. Apparently,” she continued, meeting his gaze, “that’s how they found Jack.”
    “Hmmm.” He chewed another fry, taking some time to formulate his next question. “How do you feel about being