Burn Zone (Hotshots 1)

But right as they made the final turn, higher-ups with clipboards in sight, Ray slowed further.

“What’s up with them?” Ray pointed to a clump off to the side. Garrick and McKenna loomed over two figures seated on the ground. Sims was there too, which couldn’t be good.

Jacob. Somehow the internal homing beacon he had for Jacob warned him even before he figured out that Jacob and Kelley were indeed the two on the ground. They were both pale as copier paper, and Jacob had his hands on his knees.

“What happened?” Ray came to a stop by the group, giving Linc an excuse to stop too.

“Overheated,” Garrick explained in grim tones. “Pushed too hard, too fast. Kelley’s probably dehydrated, but our rook’s not much better, puking his guts out.”

“I can finish,” Jacob said weakly.

“No way.” Sims shook her head. “You’ll get another shot at this, but I’m not letting you risk real injury. We’ll handle your gear. I want you to get some fluids, then when you feel up to it, you can either bunk down back at base or head home, but you’re taking the afternoon off, and that’s an order.”

“I’m not sick,” Jacob protested, even as Kelley nodded. Her shoulders were slumped and even her usually spiky hair drooped. And Jacob’s voice was even saggier. “Who hasn’t puked while exercising before? It happens.”

“Yup. But you don’t want to spend all week miserable.” Leaning down, Garrick clapped him on the shoulder. “You need to rest up. Lingering dehydration is no joke, and there’s always the chance you picked up a bug on the weekend.”

Weekend. Fuck. Was this Linc’s fault? Too many late nights? Too little sleep? Had Jacob drunk enough during the building? Had the sex worn him out too much? His own gut churned, guilt and concern bubbling up like toxic sludge. He knew how much Jacob wanted this. He had to be truly hurting to tap out like this.

Garrick helped Jacob to his feet, steadying him when his legs wobbled, and the urge to reach for him was so strong that Linc had to clench his fists and plant his feet to keep from moving.

“Reid. You guys need to finish.” Sims gestured at him and Ray. “We’ve got this.”

The last thing he wanted to do was leave Jacob hurting and unhappy, but an order was an order. He trusted Garrick and McKenna to take care of the rookies, but that didn’t cancel out the urge to be the one hovering.

“They’re right. You both need rest.” He didn’t let his eyes linger on Jacob too much, not wanting to risk giving too much away. “You take care. You don’t want to miss out on the jumps later in the week.”

“Exactly.” Garrick dropped his voice, saying something to Jacob in low tones that Linc couldn’t make out.

“Let’s go.” Ray sounded as resigned as Linc felt, but he didn’t want to give Sims reason to repeat her order either.

Reluctantly, he finished the course, mind churning. Not long after they finished, an ATV pulling a small cart came by loaded down with Jacob, Kelley and their gear.

“He says he’s good to drive back to his place,” Garrick reported. He’d apparently finished the course himself before doubling back to check on the rookies, and the extra mileage showed in the tight lines around his face and sweat dripping down his neck. “One of us should maybe check on him after work.”

“I will.” Linc kept his voice firm, not too eager, but not allowing Garrick to talk him out of it either. He’d already been planning on that himself, distracting himself on the finish to the course with thoughts of electrolyte beverages and soup for Jacob.

“Good.” Garrick shook his head. “Never thought I’d see you as the mother hen, but you looked almost as sick as him out there.”

“It’s not that.” Linc made a dismissive gesture. “More that I know how much he wants this. Failing training would gut him.”

“He’s not gonna fail.” Garrick sounded a lot surer than Linc currently felt. “He’s in good shape. Just had a bad morning.”

Because of me. Shit. Maybe he’d have had an easier time of it had he gone to Portland. Again the guilt took hold of Linc, made it hard to breathe.

“He’ll get it.” He tried to make himself believe the words.

“Tell him we’re all pulling for him,” Ray added. “And it’s good to see you guys friendly again. Nice work on that play structure. You make a good team.”

Yeah, we do. Linc’s throat tightened. He liked them better as friends too, liked being a team more than he should. And as much as he didn’t want to care, didn’t want to be this concerned, he was. He wasn’t going to rest easy until he saw for himself that Jacob was okay.

Chapter Thirteen

A loaded cement truck had nothing on the weight bearing down on Jacob’s shoulders. His head felt like a wrecking ball had smashed into all his logic centers, making the world fuzzy. After protesting that he didn’t need rest, he’d slept most of the afternoon, first time napping since he’d had the flu several years back. But he wasn’t sick. Just stupid.