Deadly Heat

by Cynthia Eden

  “Guess that’s Garrison,” Kenton said.

  Early? Probably. The man always did show up half an hour early for every party.

  But Kenton didn’t release her. His forehead pressed against hers. “We’re not done.”

  “Not even close,” she whispered back. Because fate had been kind to her. Too kind. Not just one man to love in her life.

  Two.

  A second chance.

  Another knock. Then, “Lake, come on, open the door. I know you’re in there! Step away from the chick and open up!” A woman’s voice, sharp, a bit annoyed.

  It was a voice that Lora hadn’t heard before.

  He raised his head. “Kim?”

  Who?

  But he pulled away and fumbled for his clothes. “Hyde must have sent her down. Guess he thought we needed more backup.”

  Lora pulled on a robe, an old, slightly frayed hotel robe that had been tossed over the back of a chair.

  Kenton hurried for the door. He checked through the peephole, then pulled it open. “Donalds, when did you get into town?”

  A small woman with coal-black hair brushed by him. “Fifty minutes ago. I brought the boss with me.”

  Hyde? Hyde was back in town?

  “They want you at the station.” She glanced at Lora, and the agent’s gaze raked over her. “You the firefighter?”

  Lora raised a brow. “One of them.”

  A nod. No change of expression crossed her face. The woman didn’t seem to care that the bed was wrecked, that Lora was in a robe, or that Kenton’s shirt was missing all of its buttons.

  “I’m your chaperone for the day.” Her smile flashed in a wicked grin. “I got protective duty.” She slanted a glance at Kenton. “That’s why I didn’t bother calling first. Figured we’d just switch out… though I don’t think I’ll be offering quite the same services you just did.”

  “Screw off, Kim.” His tone was light, at odds with the words.

  She laughed. A quick, rich sound.

  Lora frowned. “What’s going on? Why do they need Kenton at the station?”

  “Monica has a lead. While Sam’s working it, Hyde’s chewing up the PD. I think he said he’d start with the captain.” She shrugged. “Kenton’s point man, so he needs to be there when the case breaks open.”

  Lora’s stomach knotted as her gaze flew to his. “You’ll be careful?”

  Another laugh rolled from Kim. “The man has a gun.” Her green, almond-shaped eyes gleamed. “He’ll be fine. You’re the civilian. If anyone’s a target, it’s—”

  “Kim.” Not sounding so friendly anymore. Kenton’s voice was definitely entering the land of the pissed.

  But the woman hadn’t said anything that Lora hadn’t already figured out. “So you’re my bodyguard?” Seriously, she could probably blow this woman over with a hard breath. Lora had at least seven inches on her, probably forty pounds and—

  A lazy smile lifted Kim’s lips. “It’s your lucky day.”

  He watched them leave. Garrison came for Lora. The old guy looked nervous as he glanced to the left, then the right. Lora walked out with her shoulders back and her chin up. No fear there. Stupid bitch. She’d learn.

  Then another woman appeared. She was small—all hair and eyes, but she carried a gun. His eyes narrowed when he caught a glimpse of the holster beneath her left arm. Another fucking agent trailing after Lora.

  Like an agent was supposed to stop him. He didn’t care how many guards she had. He knew just how to get to Lora.

  Too simple, really.

  But then, it had always been simple.

  Time was running out. He knew it. He’d checked with his source again just minutes before. The agents were running their search. They’d turn up his name.

  They’d track him.

  But he wouldn’t go down easy.

  No, not easy.

  He’d go down in flames because that was his way.

  His way, and Lora’s.

  CHAPTER Nineteen

  Kenton’s phone rang just as he stepped out of the hotel room. “Lake.” He shoved the keys into his pocket, adjusted his jacket, and felt the brush of his holster.

  “Has Donalds got the woman?” Hyde demanded.

  “Yeah, she’s detailing her.” He’d walked them out moments before and headed back into the room just to grab some files. Although he knew Kim would keep a careful watch on Lora, he couldn’t help feeling a little uneasy. He wanted Lora with him so he could watch her himself and make absolutely certain she was safe.

  “Pick up Davenport and get your asses down here. Sam’s got a list of names—”

  Names? “Who?”

  “She’s been looking for firefighters, men who’ve been burned.”

  That fit. They’d thought it was a firefighter in the beginning, until they’d seen the link with Malone. A link that was still there. “What about Malone? What happened to—”

  “Alibied by one of Lora’s neighbors.”

  “Okay.” He digested that. “But Malone is still tied to the cases. It’s no coincidence that he had a history with all the victims.” A link. Malone was the link, perhaps unknowingly, but he could lead them back to the killer.

  “We’ve done some more digging, and we found four men who fit Davenport’s profile. I want you both here because we’re bringing ’em in, and we will get the killer to break.”

  That sounded like one fucking fine plan. “Be there in twenty.” He shoved the phone back into his pocket and quickened his step. Monica’s room was on the other side of the hotel. Deliberate, that, after his last unfortunate encounter overhearing her and Luke in a hotel with thin walls.

  Four names. Excitement had his heart thundering.

  “Agent Lake!”

  Kenton spun at the call, tensing. “What are you doing here?” His hand rose, going close for his gun, just in case. Not a firefighter, but…

  “I wanted to talk to you and Lora.” Seth came closer, the limp slowing him a bit. “I checked at the station, but you weren’t there.” He shook his head. “I’ve found something.”

  Cars buzzed by on the interstate, and their engines roared.

  “What?”

  “I think—I think I know who started the fires.” Seth’s voice lowered. “I don’t want to believe it, but…”

  Kenton lowered his arm and stepped forward. The traffic was getting louder and making it harder to hear.

  “I think it’s…” A broad smile covered his face as Seth’s hand came up. “Me.” A spark of electricity shot from the taser in his hand.

  “Fuck!” Kenton jumped back.

  Too late. The metal probes slammed right under his rib cage, and his body convulsed. Kenton fell, the files scattered, and his head hit the concrete.

  The burn unit. Lora’s spine stiffened as she stared up at the sign in Memorial Infirmary. She’d been here so many times. First, she’d come as a kid for her own painful treatment. Ryan’s wounds had been worse than hers, so she’d come back during all of his long visits. Over the years, she’d also gone in with her teammates when they were injured and checked up on survivors.

  Wade wasn’t talking yet. He couldn’t with that tube still down his throat. But she’d paid her respects to him. The chief was still talking to Sherri, and tears trickled down the woman’s cheeks.

  The road ahead wouldn’t be easy for Wade and Sherri, but at least they’d be together.

  The scent of fresh flowers filled the air. She’d brought roses, though Wade would have cussed her out if he knew that. The man had always said they were too girly.

  “Lora.” She blinked and found Sherri in front of her. “Lora…” More tears fell as the other woman’s arms lifted and wrapped around her. “Thank you.” A whisper.

  Lora held her tight. Sherri. Sweet Sherri. She’d always come to the station, smiling and flirting with Wade.

  “Everything’s gonna be okay,” Lora told her, aware that her own voice was getting choked up. It was just that this place stirred up s
o many memories.

  A lot of people had survived because of this place.

  And some—some just hadn’t been strong enough.

  “Wade’s a fighter. He’s gonna make it.” He would. She pulled back and stared into Sherri’s tear-filled eyes. “You keep telling him that, okay?” Because it mattered. You had to hear the words over and over. The pain—you had to know that you’d get past it.

  “I will,” Sherri promised.

  Because sometimes just surviving wasn’t enough. He’d made it through the flames, but now Wade had to want to live.

  The shrill cry of her phone stopped Monica just as she was leaving her hotel room. She yanked the phone up even as her heart raced. “Davenport.” Maybe Sam had found—

  “What the hell is taking so long?” Hyde barked.

  Hyde.

  “You and Lake were supposed to be here thirty minutes ago. I want these interrogations started ASAP. Let’s get this—”

  “Kenton?” She turned and met Luke’s puzzled stare. “Wait—what do you mean we were supposed to be there?” She’d crashed hard once she and Luke had gotten back to the hotel, but she hadn’t missed a call from Kenton.

  Silence hummed on the line. “You haven’t seen Lake?”

  Goosebumps rose on her arms. Beside her, Luke tensed.

  “I talked to him fifty minutes ago,” Hyde told her flatly. “He was supposed to pick you up and bring you to the station.”

  Her heart kicked into a double-time rhythm. “I haven’t seen him.” That’s not like Kenton.

  “He’s not answering his cell.” She could hear the hint of worry in Hyde’s voice.

  Hell. Hyde wasn’t the type to worry without cause. “I’m going to his room.” Be there. Please, Kenton, be there.

  Kenton wasn’t in his room. With some help from Luke, she’d busted the door down. The bed was empty, the covers rumpled, and Kenton wasn’t there.

  But his SUV sat waiting, still parked in front of his room.

  “This isn’t good,” Luke muttered.

  No, not good at all.

  She yanked out her phone and dialed his cell as she paced along the line of rooms. Answer, answer…

  But the phone just rang and rang.

  Monica froze, then slowly lowered her cell.

  She heard the peal of sound then. A loud, quick beat that came from close by. She stumbled forward and her gaze scanned the ground near the ice machine. Oh, hell, it was—

  “His cell.” Luke’s grim voice.

  Monica glanced up and let her stare sweep around the lot. “We’re going to need a crime scene unit out here.”

  “You need to come with me.”

  Lora glanced up at Kim’s voice. Garrison and Sherri both turned toward the agent as she stood in the doorway.

  “Why?” But she knew why. Phoenix. Lora rushed forward, and Garrison followed right on her heels. “Is there another fire?”

  Kim shook her head. “Not yet.”

  Not yet? Her brows dipped down. “Then why—”

  The agent’s gaze held hers, and Kim’s lips pressed together. She swallowed, then said, “Kenton’s missing.”

  And Lora’s world stopped.

  When they arrived at the police station, Lora shoved her way through the crowd of cops with Garrison right at her side—until she found the man in charge.

  “Hyde.” Hyde slowly turned toward her with his jaw locked and his eyes grim.

  “Where is he?” Lora demanded.

  “We have a crime scene unit at the hotel.”

  A crime scene unit. She took the words like a punch to the gut. “Kenton’s been taken, is that what you think? Is that what you’re telling me?”

  The voices quieted around her as everyone waited to hear Hyde’s response.

  “It’s too early to know for sure.”

  What? She flew at him. Her hands grabbed his pristine white shirt, and Lora yanked him close to face her. “Don’t give me that crap,” she ordered, her voice nearly a yell as the fear that had filled her during the long drive over finally destroyed her control.

  Just found him. Can’t lose him—Jesus, Kenton!

  “Do you think Phoenix has him, Hyde? Tell me!”

  Hyde glanced down at her fists, then he looked back up at her eyes. “You should try to remain calm.”

  A broken laugh slipped from her lips. “Trust me, I’m way past calm.”

  If Phoenix had him…

  Hyde’s hands closed over hers and slowly unpried her fingers. “There’s been no contact from Agent Lake in over two hours. We have no specifics at this time.”

  “Two hours?” They’d waited this long to notify her? He could already be dead. Burning.

  No.

  “But I think it’s safe to assume that Agent Lake did not leave willingly from the Millway Hotel.”

  Her breath hissed out. “Has there been a call? I mean, if Phoenix has him, he’ll call and give us a fighting chance.”

  “There was no call for Bob Kyle.” Jon’s voice. Tired. Angry. She glanced at him and saw the dark circles under his eyes.

  His words sank in, and they might as well have been a knife, because they cut right through her.

  “What the hell is this?” Garrison demanded

  Her head slowly turned toward him. Everything seemed slow right then.

  Garrison stopped at the desk. His gaze was on the files. “My men?” His face tightened.

  Kim crept closer to him, eyeing the files, but saying nothing.

  “I thought we were past this. I thought—shit—”

  “That’s a list of suspects…” Pete’s voice carried easily across the room. He stalked in and shook his head. “But it’s narrowed down now, right, Ramirez? Guess you and Sam tightened the list.”

  “Down to four,” Sam said as she brushed past some uniforms. She looked as tired as Jon. The same dark circles lined her eyes, and the same tightness hardened her mouth.

  Lora gazed at her as she tried to focus on what they were saying, but—dammit! She just kept seeing Kenton in her mind. Kenton, surrounded by fire. “Y-you’ve got four suspects?” Did that mean Pete had been cleared? Had he—

  “You know them well, Ms. Spade,” Hyde told her, and she could only blink at him. “Some you work with, some you call friends.” He paused, then, “Frank Garrison—”

  “The hell you say,” Garrison snapped. “Kenton knows I had nothing to do with—”

  “Rick Suvalis,” Hyde continued quietly. “Max Quint, and Seth MacIntyre.”

  Her right temple throbbed. “How—”

  “They’re all tied to the station,” Sam said.

  “And they’ve all been injured by fire,” Pete added. “That was the link, wasn’t it? I knew after I talked to Davenport… they’d all felt the burn.”

  “What the fuck?” Garrison shoved the files away. “I’m no killer. You can’t—”

  “Yeah,” Pete said. “It sucks being a suspect.”

  Lora’s gaze rose to Garrison. He didn’t fit the age profile Davenport had given for Phoenix, and—“Garrison’s been with me at the hospital. He didn’t have anything to do with—with Kenton.”

  “We’ve already ruled you out, Garrison,” Hyde said, voice unruffled. “And we’ve got two of your men waiting in Interrogation right now.”

  Two?

  “Quint and Suvalis. It was easy enough to round them up.”

  Then just one was missing. One…

  Seth.

  Her breath caught even as her phone rang, vibrating in her pocket with a squeal. She pulled it out and glanced down at the screen. Lora could feel all the eyes on her. Don’t know that number. She turned away, fumbling. “Hello?” Not a good time. End the call. I can’t do this—

  “Walk away from them.” A man’s whisper.

  She didn’t take another step. “What?”

  “Alert them, and he burns right fucking now.”

  Lora lowered the phone and swallowed back the ball of fear in her throat. Glancing
over her shoulder, she saw Hyde’s watchful eyes on her. Kim stood at his side now, with her hand on his arm. Lora cleared her throat. “M-my brother…” She motioned to the phone. “Ryan wants to make sure I-I’m all right.”

  Hyde nodded, then bent to whisper to Kim.

  Lora pushed through the crowd and headed for the corner at the far right. “What do you want?” she asked quietly.

  A soft sigh rustled in her ear. “You know, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, Seth, I fucking know,” she whispered right back to him. Three suspects in the station. One on the loose. Didn’t have to be a damn genius to figure out who the bad guy was.

  “If you tell them it’s me on the phone, I’ll light him up right now.”

  “Don’t!” Too sharp, too loud. She cleared her throat. “Don’t worry, Ryan, I’m okay. You don’t need to come down here.”

  “Because you’re coming to me,” he taunted. “You’re gonna get away from the cops and the agent assholes, and you’re coming to me.”

  “Why?” Why the fuck had he done all this?

  But he only laughed. “Get here in time, and maybe you can save him.”

  Bullshit. He’d kill her and Kenton both. Or try.

  “He’s already surrounded by gasoline. One light… he’s gone.”

  Why? The question screamed through her mind.

  “You know, I think I like the gas best. Its fire is so damn beautiful, and it burns so fast.”

  Asshole.

  “If I see a cop,” he rasped, “so much as one fucking flashing light, he’s dead.”

  Her eyes closed.

  “You and the flames, Lora. You and the flames. Let’s see who’s stronger. The fire can fucking judge.”

  “Where?” she whispered from a mouth gone bone dry.

  “Your place.” Another low laugh. “Knew they’d never look here.”

  And her neighbors were all at work during the day. No one would be there to see the flames, at least not until it was too late.

  “Hurry, Lora. We’re waiting for you.”

  The call ended. Her fingers tightened around the phone. Damn nightmare. She shot a glance over her shoulder. The cops were huddled around Hyde as they got their orders. No one was watching her. Not now.