Hot and Bothered

by Jennifer Bernard

  “Ben!” she shouted. “He has a knife, watch out!”

  “I don’t fucking care! I just want answers.” Ben moved on the man like some relentless force of nature, while the guy ducked away, just out reach. The man was probably in his early fifties, no match for Ben’s strength and power—except for that weapon. “Do you know who he is?”

  “No, but he’s the same one who grabbed me before. He admitted it!”

  Where was that knife? Julie tried to spot it, but saw no sign of anything sharp or shiny on the man’s person. Maybe she’d imagined it.

  Ben kept after him. “Why’d you scare Julie away? What were you so afraid of? Did you kill my father? Where do you think you’re going, asshole? You’re not leaving here without fucking handcuffs! The police are on their way. The only question is whether you’ll be conscious when they get here so you’d better start answering. What’s your name?”

  The mention of police spurred the man into action. With a desperate growl, he reached for his hip.

  The knife! Julie knew it was coming. She scrambled to her feet and dashed toward Ben and the man, who were only separated by a few feet. She fixed her gaze on the hand going for the knife.

  It flew out of the man’s hand, its blade glinting orange in the sunset light, bright and terrible, sailing toward Ben’s chest, his beautiful heart.

  Before Julie even made a conscious decision to do it, she was off her feet and airborne.

  She hurled herself through the air at Ben. She rammed into him with the force of a linebacker and toppled him to the ground. She felt a quick, burning sting on her arm, but barely noticed compared to the bone-jarring impact of colliding with Ben and then the ground.

  Everything went momentarily dark and confusing, as Ben’s elbow hit her jaw and she saw stars. Someone was shouting—actually she thought it was her, warning Ben about the knife. A feral growl sounded near them. Someone was kicking her in the stomach, or maybe kicking Ben—no, both. She felt pain, though Ben’s body absorbed most of the impact.

  Ben grabbed the man’s leg and twisted hard. The attacker spun through the air and landed on his ass. Then he saw something in the direction of the parking lot, and scrambled to his knees.

  At a flat run, he took off into the woods, thrashing past trees and through thickets of branches until he’d disappeared from sight.

  Julie turned her attention to Ben, who lay underneath her, warm and alive. Sweaty and panting. Beautiful and there. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. Are you?”

  “How did you find me?”

  “Friends in high places.” He winced, lifting his eyes toward the sky.

  Way up there, she saw the Knight and Day chopper hovering.

  “Oh.” God, her head was spinning. “Felix! We have to get Felix!”

  “Already did. I put him in my truck and locked the door. I didn’t want him getting near all this. Will and Savannah are on their way.”

  Relief had her slumping against him. He wrapped his arm around her, and even though it hurt, because her arm was sore from all the battling, it made her so happy she wanted to cry. “God, I was so scared. I was thinking about you, right before you appeared out of nowhere.”

  “You were?”

  “I was afraid I might never see you again. And what if you thought I’d abandoned you again, and I kind of did, because that creep said I had to leave and never come back. I was terrified you’d never forgive me if I did the same thing all over again.”

  “Julie.” He cupped her face, two big hands cradling her. “I love you. That’s not changing. Not ever.”

  Tears started in her eyes.

  “I figured you had a good reason for taking off. I only followed in case you needed backup.”

  “Thank God you did.” Feeling dizzy again, she buried her face in his neck. “I don’t want to be without you, Ben, not ever again.”

  “I’m here, my love. For good.”

  Her vision blurred around the edges. Her eyes were starting to close and she felt so, so tired. All she wanted to do was sleep. Well, and be with Ben. While she was sleeping. Sleeping with Ben, that was the definition of bliss in her world. Sleeping with Ben, waking up with Ben, making love with Ben, laughing with Ben…

  “Goddamn it.” His profanity jolted her back awake. Ben had pulled his arm away from her. A terrible frown creased his face. She wanted to smooth out all those lines, bring back his happy smile. But she couldn’t seem to lift her hand.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were injured?” he said harshly. “Jesus, you’re bleeding! He hit you. That knife he tossed at me—it hit you! I thought it missed both of us.”

  “Oh.” That did make sense. Her arm throbbed as if a vicious little ice skater was racing back and forth across it. That image made her smile dreamily. At least the knife hadn’t hit Ben. It couldn’t have, because now Ben was scooping her up off the ground and carrying her toward his truck. No, toward police lights and cars and paramedics rushing toward her. It was a terrifying sight.

  She spotted Ben’s truck in the middle of the madness, and Felix’s bespectacled face pressed against the window.

  She tried to smile at him and wave, but it hurt so much she winced. Ben saw where she was looking. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of Felix.”

  “It’s okay. I see Savannah.” Her friend was racing across the pavement, her black hair flying behind her. Ben called Savannah’s name as he dug through his pocket, somehow managing to hold her with one arm. She clung tight to his neck, aware that she was soaking him with her blood.

  “Savannah, here are my truck keys,” Ben yelled. “Felix is in there.”

  She nodded, but hesitated before heading that way. “Julie? Is she okay?”

  “Just a scratch,” Julie piped up. “A really really really bad scratch.”

  “She still has her sense of humor, I think she’ll be okay.” Ben adjusted her in his arms again. He veered toward the paramedic van, where a crew was getting a gurney ready for her. A gurney. For her. She felt like a star in a medical show, and giggled at the thought.

  “Who cast this show?” she asked, thinking it was perhaps the most hilarious thing anyone had ever said. “They got it all wrong. I’m not the star, I’m the comic relief. Or maybe the best friend.”

  “Baby, you have it all wrong. You’ve always been the star. You always will be.” Ben’s deep voice resonated through her, bringing peace and comfort.

  A paramedic ran toward them with some equipment. He was going to take her away, she knew. She clutched at Ben. “Will you stay with me, Ben? Promise?”

  “Always. I guarantee.”

  “Word of a…” She was falling into a deep pit as sleep engulfed her.

  “Word of a Knight brother. I love you, Julie. I’m not leaving.” And that was the last thing she was aware of for a long time.

  When she woke up, her shoulder burned under a swaddling of bandages. She was in a hospital room, and it was night. The room was lit only by the blinking green indicators on the medical machines, and the washed out light from the street lamps outside the building. The remnants of her dream still lingered—the voices, the singing.

  She was alone.

  She panicked. Where was everyone? Where was Ben? Felix? Where was she? A machine beeped in response to her rising heart rate.

  “Hey, hey.” A door opened, spilling warm yellow light into the room. Ben’s familiar figure was silhouetted against the bathroom light. “It’s okay, I’m right here.” He hurried to her side and knelt next to her. “How are you feeling?”

  “Pretty good, considering. How’s Felix?”

  “He’s all right. Pretty amazing kid. He’s been giving Will all kinds of information about the kidnapper. You should see Will’s face. It’s obvious he’s trying to think of legal ways to hire him. He’s a phenom.”

  “Yes, that he is.” Images from her dream still danced through her mind. “I have some information, too. I finally put it together…or at least my subconscious did. I knew
there was something about his voice that was familiar, but I could never place it. I finally did, while I was knocked out.”

  “Honey, are you sure you should be thinking about this right now? You just focus on resting and recovering. We’ll find the jackass. Tobias was tracking him in the chopper until it got too dark and he lost him. But we know what direction he was heading. Between him and Will and Felix, I’m not a bit worried.”

  “Ben, I’m fine.”

  “You got stabbed.” His eyes smoldered with anger. “That fucking dipshit stabbed you. He’s going to pay for that.”

  “Not exactly stabbed. More like…flicked.”

  “No. Not flicked. Sorry, that wasn’t a flick. That was a goddamn heart attack in action. I should sue him for nearly killing me.” He pulled her hand to his chest, where his heart beat a steady rhythm. “I’ve just barely recovered. Finally. Only once the doctor said you’re going to be fine.”

  “Just a scratch, right? Told you.” She grinned at him, then licked her lips, which were dry and cracking. “Any water around here?”

  “Hang on.” He brought her a plastic cup with a straw embedded in it. She took a long, grateful sip. “Okay, go ahead and tell me what your subconscious came up with. But just so you know, the only thing that truly matters to me is that you’re not hurt. As soon as they release you, we have to have a serious talk about this.”

  “This?”

  “Us.” He pressed her hand against his ribs. “The future. Our future. But not yet. I know it’s a complicated topic, so let’s wait until you’re out of here.”

  To be honest, it no longer seemed so complicated to her. She belonged with Ben. Her life had taken a strange detour twelve years ago, and for all that time, she’d lived without him. She had no intention of doing that ever again.

  But first, she really had to tell him what she’d remembered. “He sings. That’s how I remembered him. I know him from the performance of ‘Messiah’ that the Community College puts on every year. I sang in it once, that year when your mother talked me into it. Remember, we used to go together? At first, I felt awkward because it was your mother. But it ended up being cool. He was in the baritone section. But I don’t remember his name or anything else about him. I’m not even sure I ever knew. But that must be why he didn’t want me in Jupiter Point. He knew I’d recognize him eventually, after I caught him snooping around the house. And I’m pretty sure I’ve heard his voice more recently too—maybe from Grease, or maybe just around town.”

  Ben soothed her by rubbing her hand gently. Her tension eased, and she fell back against the pillows. He was frowning thoughtfully at her hand. “So, you think he’s the killer.”

  “He basically admitted it.”

  “How did he know my dad? Probably not from the Army, huh?”

  “I don’t know how he did, or even if he did. I have a feeling he was there because of your mother.”

  “My mother?”

  “I think he was in love with her. She mentioned to me once that one of the singers had tried to flirt with her, and she shut him down. Well…what if he didn’t get completely shut down? What if he still wanted her? And your dad was in the way?”

  32

  Ben left the hospital, reeling from the news Julie had shared. She’d finally gone back to sleep, right after ordering him to go home and grab a shower. He figured when someone insisted you take a shower, you should do as they asked. Before he got under the hot water, he called his brothers.

  “Emergency meeting. My place, stat.”

  When he came out, in a clean t-shirt and cotton sweats, his brothers were sprawled around the living room. Even Aiden was there, having just flown home after midterms.

  “We have a problem.” Ben got right to the point. “I think Mom knows more than she let on back then. I think she has a suspicion about the killer, and that’s why she left, and that’s why she’s been such a rolling stone.”

  He filled them in on what Julie had remembered.

  “Are you sure it’s not the blood loss talking?” Tobias asked in his blunt way. “I remember some strange dreams when I got shot by those Light Keepers.”

  “I don’t think so. I mean, he grabbed her, he was dragging her off into the woods and—” He broke off, passing his hand across his face. He still couldn’t think about it without losing his shit. “Point being, she was close to him. Close enough to remember the last time.”

  Will leaned forward and squeezed his knee, while Tobias shot him a sympathetic look. But it was Aiden, the youngest but in some ways the wisest, who came to his side and hugged him. “You’re a hero, Ben. You saved Felix, you saved Julie. And by the way, it’s totally okay with me if I’m the last single Knight brother standing. Just so you know.”

  “I’m definitely going to take you up on that, if Julie’s game.” He hurried past the personal stuff, which was between him and Julie. And Felix. And Savannah. And…crap. He still didn’t know how all that was going to work out. With a pit in his stomach, he changed back to the original topic. “We need to get Mom to talk to us. Mom’s the key.”

  “Agreed,” said Will. “How about we all head out there and surprise them? Family style. We’ll lay it all out there. Now that we’re hot on the trail of this guy, I bet she’ll be right there with us. She was probably scared all these years, scared he’d find her.” Suddenly he swore. “Damn, it just occurred to me. I wonder if he thought Mom was coming to the Winter Ball. Maybe that’s why he was at the Reinhards’ property.”

  “How would he know that?” Tobias asked.

  Will and Ben’s eyes met, a possible answer striking at the same moment. “Maybe he was one of the security guards. They probably had the guest list.”

  “Damn, you are one good investigator.” Ben offered his big brother a high-five.

  “Oh, that’s just the start. I have a notebook of clues to put together based on what Felix told me. I’ll probably be up all night putting everything on a whiteboard. If anyone wants to come by tomorrow and stare at it with me, you’re more than welcome.”

  “Count me out,” said Ben right away. “Right now, it’s all about Julie. I’ll be back at the hospital until they release her.”

  “And then what?” Tobias asked. All the brothers stared at him expectantly.

  He had no real answer to give them. Because he’d never forget the fear of knowing Felix was missing. He didn’t want to do something that might hurt Felix. He and Julie were on the same page now. The problem was, that page was blank.

  Julie was released the next day. He drove her to the pharmacy to pick up some pain pills.

  “I hate those things,” she grumbled as they walked back to his truck, her arm gingerly cradled in a sling. The pharmacy was located in a little strip mall next to the old two-screen movie theater, where they’d made out during countless double features. They strolled slowly, since Julie was still a little wobbly. “They make my head feel like cotton.”

  “Pass them over, then,” he said dryly. “I have a feeling I might need them.”

  She gave him a puzzled look. “What are you talking about? Are you injured and haven’t told me yet?”

  “Not exactly. Not from a knife. It’s just…” He stopped and turned toward her. “Julie, I love you. I want to be with you. I never want to be away from you again. But I can’t leave Jupiter Point, not now. Now when the business is just starting to fly, and we’re so close to solving Dad’s murder. Mom and Cassie are going to stay for a while, hopefully a long while if things go well. I just have too much happening.”

  “Of course you can’t leave! I never even gave that a thought.”

  “But you can’t leave Felix, either. I didn’t quite get that until he went missing. So I’ve been thinking…I have my own plane, you know. Two of them. And I can fly to see you whenever—” He only stopped because she put her hand over his mouth and made him. Otherwise he probably would have kept on babbling forever, hoping to find the perfect combination of words that added up to a future.
/>   “It’s okay,” she whispered. “I have it all figured out already.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes. Do you trust me?”

  “Completely.”

  The speed of his reply seemed to startle her. She took his hand and tenderly held it to her cheek. “Thank you. Then let’s go.”

  “Where?”

  “Knight and Day. I’m calling a family meeting.”

  33

  The meeting didn’t involve his family, but the Reinhards. And it was held in Ben’s happy place—onboard the 206, flying at five thousand feet. In the right seat, Felix showed off his knowledge—and lack of throwing up—to Savannah. Julie sat in the back with the Reinhards. Even though they’d ended their custody bid after Felix was retrieved, Ben still wished he could do a Dutch roll and scare the crap out of them.

  But this was Julie’s show, so he stuck to flying the plane straight and level like the professional he was.

  After Felix had sufficiently wowed Savannah, Julie got down to business.

  “I asked you all up here because I have something to say. Ben has promised to find some turbulence if anyone interrupts me.”

  Ben gave her a thumbs up.

  “Okay, members of the Reinhard family. If there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s how horrible it is to lose your family. I don’t want that to happen to any of you…or to me. And you guys, despite everything, are like my family. Priscilla, I know I’m not technically a family member—”

  “Take that back,” said Savannah. “Either you’re family, or we don’t have one.”

  The Reinhards shared a glance. Priscilla took Adam’s hand and spoke for them both. “Savannah’s right. Felix’s kidnapping scared the life out of me, and you’re the one who got him back. We’ll never forget that.”

  “With a knife wound to boot,” added Adam. “I’d say that makes you family.”

  “Damn right,” Savannah agreed. “About time you two showed some appreciation.”