Against the Fire Read Online Free PDF

of times myself when I was a kid. If it hadn’t been for my older brother, I don’t know where I would have wound up. If your friend is innocent, as you believe, and there’s a way I can help him, then I’d like to do it.”
    Mattie shook her head. “I appreciate your offer, but I can take care of this myself.”
    A slow smile curved his lips, which looked soft at the same time they looked incredibly male. “I’m sure you can,” he said, “but sometimes caution is the better part of valor. If Angel didn’t set the fire, maybe Enrique did. If that’s the case and you approach him, he might get violent.”
    Gabe was right. She didn’t really know Enrique Flores. And parts of the central Oak Cliff district were extremely rough. Rosa Ramirez lived at the edge of the district, on a slightly quieter street than some of the others.
    “The person you need to be thinking of is Angel,” Gabe pressed. “The sooner you speak to Enrique, the sooner you get the proof you need that Angel is innocent.”
    She bit her lip. She was extremely self-reliant. She’d had to be after her father died. On the other hand, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to have someone go with her. Particularly if that someone looked as capable at handling himself as Gabriel Raines.
    “All right. I’ve got a couple of things to finish before I leave the office. I’ll pick you up at seven.”
    “What kind of car do you drive?” he asked.
    “BMW convertible.”
    “Nice. Unless you want the wheels stripped off, we’d better take my truck. I’ll pick you up at your place at seven. What’s the address?”
    No way was she giving her address to a man she had barely met. “I’ll meet you here at seven. I’ll wait for you in front of the building.”
    “Smart lady. All right, I’ll be here then.”
    Mattie watched him walk away and some of the tension she hadn’t realized she was feeling left her shoulders. She hurried to catch the elevator. Twenty minutes on Google and she would know a lot more about Gabriel Raines. Then she would finish her work, go home and change into a pair of jeans and get back here to meet him.
    As she walked out of the elevator onto the fifteenth floor, she quickened her pace. She had to hurry. She had a lot to do before seven o’clock.

    Gabe spotted Mattie standing on the corner at exactly seven o’clock. He liked that about her, that she didn’t seem inclined to play female games. He pulled his pickup into the yellow loading zone in front of the building and reached down to turn off the engine, thinking to go around and help her inside, but Mattie had the door open before he had the chance.
    In jeans and a T-shirt, she climbed into the truck and slammed the heavy door. An independent woman, just as he’d guessed.
    “Right on time,” he said, thinking she looked just as good in jeans as she did in her tailored suit, maybe better. Still, her hair was pulled back in the severe style she had worn before, delivering a very clear message.
    I’m not interested in anything other than business.
    “When you work for someone else, like I do,” she said, “being timely is a necessary habit.”
    He pulled away from the curb and turned the corner, starting off toward the area where Enrique lived. “You know the kid’s address, right?”
    “I called the center and they gave me his address. Mrs. Flores came in a couple of times. She was worried about her son.”
    “Why was that?”
    “According to the file, some kid at school was giving him a hard time. She never came back so I guess the problem was resolved.”
    “What’s the best way to get there?”
    She gave him the address and the cross street and suggested he head out the 35 freeway. They wove their way down one street after another until they reached the apartment building where Enrique Flores lived. It was old and run-down, some of the windows open, the curtains billowing out in the warm evening breeze.
    Gabe parked the truck then went around to the passenger