Where Fire Meets Flame: Yours From The Ashes, #1

By Elena Kincaid

As a private detective, Riley Scott has witnessed her fair share of the ugly side of relationships. She guards her heart like a fortress, but a pair of sizzling blue eyes threatens to take down all of her barriers. He came to her rescue through a blazing fire. Now, she could only hope he would not incinerate her heart.

 

Tristan Cain hasn't been able to let go of his red-headed angel, or his promise to get justice. Fate throws them together again when he once thought it would be impossible, and when a daring rescue turns out to be the least of their worries, Tristan vows to keep her safe. He's not letting Riley out of his sight again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elena Kincaid
• Release date: Apr 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215800072

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Y ou love my cock in your greedy little cunt, don’t ya?

Yes! Yes! Give it to me harder.

Riley crouched low in her client’s office in the back of a trendy refurbished old two-story warehouse in downtown Brooklyn. Inside, there was actually only the first floor, not counting the basement, with really high ceilings, low hanging light fixtures, and tall metal beams throughout. All of the enclosed office interiors were made of glass but were fortunately equipped with vertical blinds. The room she was hiding in was dark with the blinds drawn and the glass door slightly cracked open as she snapped photographs on her digital long-lens camera. Her target liked to bring his dates here quite often.

Harder!

Fuck yeah! I knew you’d like it rough. Take it all.

As a private detective, Riley had seen her fair share of cheating husbands, and this case was no different. Jane Wilson’s husband, and half owner of Beguiling Bath and Kitchen, a posh remodeling service, sat in an office chair out in the open at one of the cubicles. His newest conquest, another blonde with fake tits, both traits Chad Wilson had a penchant for, straddled him as she rode him. The sounds the illicit couple made were raw, their talk dirty, each of them clearly chasing their own selfish release.

Riley caught it all on camera with the date and time stamp on—the bastard’s face set in ecstasy, his mouth agape as he ogled the woman’s bared breasts, his hands holding on tightly to her ass. Although something about the woman, as Riley saw her in profile, seemed familiar, it didn’t really matter who she was. She was just another to add to the portfolio in what would be more than enough ammunition for Jane to use against her husband when filing for divorce. Mostly, Jane wanted her husband forced out of a company that was conceptually her baby.

Several shots later, Riley knew she had what she needed. She took a few more photos on her cell phone for good measure. All she had left to do now was wait them out, and then she’d use the keys and the alarm code provided by Jane to make her own exit.

When the couple’s loud shrieks and moans finally subsided, Riley peeked out to see them getting dressed.

She texted her client.

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Hi Jane. It’s done. Meet you in an hour.

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Jane’s reply came quickly.

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AND?

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As with all of the other times, she attached one of the photos to her text. She had no idea why Jane always insisted, knowing Riley would be showing her a slew of photographs on her camera and later printing a few of them to go into the file for her attorney. Perhaps she just needed the reminder each time of what her husband truly was.

Riley had seen Chad Wilson’s type many times before. He wasn’t very tall or what one would consider classically good-looking—Riley actually thought him average—but he was in great shape, a gym-rat, smooth talker, who knew exactly what women wanted to hear to get them into bed. He had fed so many lies to Jane over the years, ones she’d easily bought, it was no wonder she needed that extra affirmation and fuel each time.

Riley knew no further response would come from Jane, so she tucked her phone away into the back pocket of her jeans and turned around to put her camera away in her bag. That’s when she felt a sharp blow to the back of her head and darkness overtook her.

She had no idea how long she lay there with the right side of her face pressed against the wooden floor, her long, wavy red hair in disarray around her. She drifted in and out of consciousness, much like she had six months ago when she was in a car accident. And also, similar to that time, she smelled smoke and the pungent scent of something burning. The heat wasn’t as close this time, but she could still feel it creeping toward her.

As more time passed, minutes, hours, or even days for all she knew, she became aware that her head felt heavy and her eyes refused to open, even though somewhere in the back of her mind a voice had been pleading for her to do something … anything. Eventually, she heard shouts along with muffled voices and sounds, followed by a momentary feeling of weightlessness. Someone had lifted her.

It’s gonna flash! a panicked masculine voice yelled. Get out now!

Cain! another voice shouted.

Riley lifted her head a little and tried to process what was happening. She could see the firefighters through the smoke-filled chaos as they ran toward the front of the building while she and her savior were on the move further in toward the back. She realized she had been thrown over his shoulder and wondered why he was running in the opposite direction. The answer literally came crashing down in between them and the exit in the form of tall metal beams and debris, smoke and then a burst of fire threatening to consume everything in its path.

Oh God! We’re gonna die. She had figured that someday her chosen profession would land her in some kind of trouble. She just had no idea it would be the death of her.

A door was flung open and then quickly shut, and all Riley was aware of before her world went black again, was that she was falling.

A throbbing pain in her head awoke her. The air was too thick. She could barely breathe. Her heart raced and pounded in her chest, thumping loudly in her ears, the sound competing with nothing but deafening silence, as if someone had pressed the mute button on the remote on the outside world. Frantically, she reached out in the darkness. Panic arose as her hands scraped against metal, and then sound finally assaulted her. She heard her own hyperventilating and choking breaths as the memories of what had happened came flooding back.

Strong arms wrapped around her center pulling her back against