Ash Falls Sideways by Brea Holden

Thirteen burned houses. One surviving witness. And a deadly secret hidden in the ash.

Sloane Avery makes her living documenting the aftermath of disasters. When she breaches the barricades of the Sawyer Creek wildfire to photograph the ruins, she expects a routine insurance assignment. Instead, she finds undeniable evidence of arson—and a suspended smokejumper who has been hunting the truth before the smoke even cleared.

Cal Mercer has spent two years paying for a split-second decision that saved lives but ruined his career. Now, operating off the grid, he's tracking a ruthless corporate conspiracy that burns residential neighborhoods for profit. To expose the corruption, he needs Sloane's photographic proof before the county's corrupt fire chief orchestrates a controlled burn to erase the crime scene.

Trapped inside an active evacuation zone with a second fire rapidly approaching, Sloane and Cal are forced into a relentless alliance. The men who lit the match know they are on the mountain, and they don't intend to leave any witnesses behind. In a landscape where survival means trusting a stranger, the tension between them ignites into something just as consuming as the flames closing in.