On Fire Read Online Free PDF

do hit him, run like hell.”
    In spite of her tension, Riley managed a laugh. “I have no intention of seeing your son again, never mind throwing rocks or anything else at him.”
    The back door banged open, and Straker glared in at the two women. If Riley had still had any doubts he wasn’t eighteen anymore, they would have been dispelled. He radiated hard-edged energy, the kind of raw intensity she’d expect from a man who’d gotten himself shot twice.
    “Speak of the devil,” Linda Straker said, unperturbed.
    He kicked the door shut behind him. “St. Joe—damn it, what the hell are you doing here?”
    Riley groaned. “I’m talking to your mother. I’mallowed. Aren’t you supposed to be holed up on the island?”
    “He comes into town every now and then for supplies,” his mother answered for him.
    He turned to her. “I thought you quit smoking.”
    “I did. It’s not lit.”
    “Then what are these for?” He picked up a package of matches that Riley hadn’t even noticed and tucked them in his jeans pocket. “You’ll be puffing away the minute I leave.”
    She dropped her cigarette into a brass ashtray shaped like a lobster. “There. Nazi. I deserve a cigarette after hearing you found a dead body.”
    “I didn’t. Riley did.”
    “You could have taught school like your sister,” his mother said, “or taken up lobstering like your father. You could have opened up a law practice in town. But no, you have to join the FBI and get shot, bring dead bodies to town.”
    “That body has nothing to do with me.”
    “Then it has something to do with Emile Labreque. Either way, you’ll get involved. You’ve always had a soft spot for Emile. He believed in you when no one else did. Even I had my doubts.”
    “Mrs. Straker,” Riley said carefully, “just because the body was found on Labreque Island doesn’t mean Emile—”
    Straker didn’t let her finish. He fingered a paper doily. “What’re you making?”
    His mother bit off a sigh. “Your Christmas present. Keep your mitts off.”
    “I stopped by to reassure you. I knew you’d hear what happened.” He shot Riley another nasty look, as if she’d been the one who squealed. “It’s nothing to worry about, probably just some poor bastard who fell off his boat.”
    “No one’s been reported missing. You’d think—”
    “Don’t think, Ma. Just let the police handle this one. And I’m fine, in case you were wondering.”
    She glowered at him. “The hell you’re fine. You’ve been sitting out on that island for six months. Half the town thinks you’re a raving lunatic.”
    His jaw set hard. “I’ve said my piece.”
    He about-faced and walked out. Just like that. Linda Straker snatched up a huge pair of scissors. “That terrorist didn’t do half the job on him I could do right now.”
    Riley judiciously said nothing.
    “I’ll tell you the truth, Riley. We all breathed a sigh of relief when he went out to Labreque Island to recuperate instead of up into the spare bedroom. I’d just as soon tend a wounded tiger as him.”
    Riley knew the minute she agreed with her, Linda Straker would turn on her. “Will you excuse me, Mrs. Straker?”
    “Go on,” she said. “Go after him. You’re looking good, Riley—I meant to say that right off. I wasn’t sure what to expect after your grandfather’s ship went down.”
    “That wasn’t his fault, you know.”
    “You never know with ships,” she said, and Riley, suddenly feeling the walls closing in around her, shot outside.
    She caught up with Straker in the driveway. “Where are you going?”
    He whipped around. Every muscle in his body seemed tense, rigid, as if he was ready to burst out of his skin. “Back.”
    “Back where?”
    “The island.”
    “I’ve got your shirt. It’s in my car.” She eyed him, becoming aware of a strange sense of uneasiness. His mother was right—he wasn’t the same kid she’d bloodied all those years ago. But she wasn’t intimidated. “You