“He’s not at the house, he’s in the house,” Jared said in a bland tone.
How did he know that? And why was his whole demeanor suddenly so much lighter, like he found this discussion amusing?
Frank sat back in his chair, his eyes clouded. “That mutt is in your house?”
Dee’s forearm plunked on the table as she leaned forward. “Lucky is not a mutt, he’s a puppy.”
“But he’s a stray,” Frank continued, his face pruning. “He could have worms or fleas or…”
The corner of Jared’s mouth twitched.
“The vet gave him shots and some worm medicine,” she said keeping Jared in her peripheral vision. “Lucky is fine.”
“Still,” Frank softened his tone, “he’s a dog. Dogs belong outside. They need space to run. They need exercise.”
No way could this man be serious. The humor dancing in Jared’s eyes convinced her that this was some sick form of male humor. Get the little lady all riled up. Well, good luck to both of them.
She laced her fingers in her lap and forced her face into a serene expression, refusing to engage in their game. “Frank, many people keep dogs as pets. They keep them inside. They’re considered members of the family.”
Leaning his chair back on two legs, Frank chuckled. “So, how’s the crate training going?”
“What’s crate training?”
Frank’s chair hit the floor with a thump. “Crate training. You know, the cage thing you put him in at night, and when you’re leaving the house.”
Lucky locked in a cage was not a pleasant image.
Frank lowered his head and sighed as he rubbed his fingertips up his forehead and through his hair. “Tell me you’re crate training him.” Beneath raised palms, Frank pierced her with a narrow-eyed gaze. “You can’t be letting a puppy run loose in that house.”
Annoyance rode hard through her. “Look Frank, I admit I don’t know much about having a puppy, but I’m not totally irresponsible. I have him confined to the kitchen, at least when I’m not watching him. He even slept in the kitchen last night,” she added with smug satisfaction.
“Well, that’s….”
“Don’t get excited, Frank,” Jared cut in with dry certainty, “she slept in the kitchen with him.”
Heat blazed across Dee’s cheeks. She searched Jared’s face and wondered how he knew. “He was afraid,” she defended.
Two black brows arched over amused eyes.
She curved damp palms over the edge of the table. “He was all alone.” Pinpricks of discomfort stung her skin. The harsh scrape of her chair sliding across the floor filled the mounting silence. “He was nearly hit by a car. He’d had shots. It was a traumatic day,” she defended as she stood.
Jared’s dark eyes sparkled; his sculpted lips twitched once, twice. But like a dam with pressure building behind it, his reserve exploded into laughter.
Dee stood, transfixed by the way the laughter changed him. His pitch-dark eyes and black-stubbled cheeks lit with humor.
Her heart stuttered and came to a complete stop.
Dee reached for the back of her chair and managed to steady her liquid legs. She sucked in a breath, then another. She had to get out of here. She had to get away from him.
She had no business falling for him. Hadn’t Carl taught her that her instincts, her choice of men was not to be trusted?
Dee pried her fingers from the chair and searched for the door. To her laboring lungs, the bright rectangle of sunlight seemed like a million miles away. It took deliberate effort to place one foot in front of the other again and again. The sound of Jared’s laughter tugged at her as she struggled forward.
The stream of sunlight dimmed, then grew shadowed.
Her breath whooshed from her lungs as she collided with a hard body. Arms banded around her and kept her from falling.
“Whoa, are you all right?”
She stared numbly into Ray’s ice blue eyes. Over his shoulder the sunlight beckoned through the closing door. Her hard earned self-respect, her safety waited just outside.
Dee stumbled away from Ray. She felt him pluck the phone from her fist but didn’t look back. Her hand registered the cool safety of the door as she pulled it open.
She was running when she hit the loose, shifting gravel of the parking lot. Still running when she saw Jack, notepad and pencil in hand, as he walked through the parking lot.
“Everything okay?” Jack asked.
It took three attempts to get the shaking key in the lock. “Fine,” she snapped. “Just running late.” Days late. She should have left this place last week. She couldn’t afford another mistake. At some point, her luck would run out and she’d be dead.
Dee yanked the door open.
“When would you like to look at my drawings?”
A blast of oven-hot air poured out of the truck. Her gaze shifted to the bar. Could they finish without her? She’d given Ray enough ideas. Hadn’t she lived up to her first agreement?
But wouldn’t it bolster her professional reputation to stay and see this project through to the end?
“How long will it take you to have them ready?”
Jack lifted a shoulder. “Couple of days.”
Could she avoid Jared another couple of days? “Make it tomorrow. I’ll take preliminary sketches,” she amended when he frowned. She climbed into the truck and ignored the burn of the seat against her bare legs.
“But….”
As she pulled the door closed, Jack slapped a business card to the windshield. Dee peered through the glass, a weak smile tugging at her lips. She rolled down the side window and accepted the card while the truck sputtered to life. She had to get out of here, had to put some distance between herself and Jared, had to get her unruly heart under control.
The old truck managed to sling rocks as she bumped onto the highway. Options were spinning fast and furious in her mind. She could stay or she could go. See this project to completion like a professional, or run away like a scared rabbit.
This was her baby, her vision. No way would Jack do it right, not without her supervision.
Dee swayed on the bench seat, an unexpected roughness in the road pulling her from her unsettled thoughts. Her fingers tightened around the bouncing steering wheel as she peered through the windshield. The road was smooth; she could see nothing.
Nothing but Jared’s smiling face, swimming in front of her mind. She had to find a way to minimize her contact with him.
The truck shimmied as she started into the curve at the bottom of the hill. Dee glanced at the odometer. Seventy-five miles per hour. Lifting her foot from the accelerator, she snorted. Who knew this old thing could go that fast?
A hard jerk from the steering wheel dried up her humor. She straightened in her seat. “Great,” she muttered. “As if I don’t have enough car problems without this truck acting up.”
Fishing in her purse, Dee pulled out her phone, then laughed at her foolishness. Who was she going to call?
The truck heaved violently as she hit the sharpest point of the curve. The small cell phone pressed painfully into her palm as she tightened both hands around the steering wheel.
Dee fought a useless battle to stop the slow slide across the yellow lines. Sweat beaded along her hairline, above her lip, under her palms.
She stomped on the brakes, her body rigid. Bluish gray smoke enveloped the truck, the smell of rubber burned her nose as the squeal of tires grew to a deafening pitch.
The first spin was slow and wide, throwing her back against the seat.
A sickening lurch. A loud bang. A sudden drop to the right. The harsh sound of bare metal scraping asphalt.
“No! No! No!”
The truck spun faster.
Her stomach plummeted as the truck left the road. An eerie silence. A bone-rattling jar. Her body strained against the hold of the seatbelt. The shoulder strap held Dee upright, a puppet watching her fate and unable to change it.
Bits of brown and green flew b
y the window. A shrieking sound pierced her ears.
Please, dear God, I don’t want to die.
The spinning was ceaseless. Nauseating. Faster, tighter.
The impact was jolting. Unexpected. One minute thundering chaos, the next abrupt stillness.
The steering wheel pressed tight against Dee’s stomach. Her right arm was pinned to her side by a twist of metal, cloth seat, and something else. Something hard.
In slow increments, her eyes shifted to the right. A tree. There was a tree sitting in the passenger seat. Dazed, she studied the silver-green moss that clung undisturbed to the bark.
As if the knowledge were pushing through a dense fog, Dee realized she was still alive. And still screaming.
Chapter Eight
“What does anyone know about this girl?” Jack asked to the group-at-large as the door closed behind him.
All eyes turned to Jared. It was enough to make a man squirm. He didn’t know her. His gut told him one thing, but all the information he’d been able to dig up pointed to something else. Carl Ormsby was a true hero in Columbus. If there was anyone who thought different, Jared had yet to find him.
Dee was the wild card. Of the handful of guys he’d contacted, no one knew her well, only that Ormsby had been obsessed with her from the beginning.
That Jared could understand.
“Ray knows her as well as anyone,” he stated.
One side of Ray’s mouth twisted down. “You’ve spent more time with her than I have. But maybe y’all were doing something besides talking.”
Jared pushed his chair back and stood, “It’s not like that,” he snorted.
Ray’s face morphed into his patented bartender/counselor tell me all about it look.
Jared stalked to the bar, snatched a bottle of water from the small refrigerator under the counter, and slapped a dollar on the cash register. He wasn’t a kiss and tell kind of guy. Hell, he hadn’t even kissed her. Even though he had spent way too much time imagining what she’d taste like, remembering her sweet cinnamon scent, wondering about the heat they’d make. There was nothing to talk about.
“She’s only been here a few days,” he said, twisting the top off the plastic bottle.
“I wasn’t looking for an in-depth personal history,” Jack drawled, “just a general opinion. You know, is she legit?”
Legit? Jared studied the man. Who was he to ask? Still the question brought a certain admiration for the determination it took to work her way through school. Almost. His research had uncovered that little fact. She was one class shy of her degree, and she’d already registered for that class, was supposedly already working on it.
“She has a degree,” Ray answered. “Where did she say it was from?”
Jared slugged some water. “Art Institute of Pittsburgh.”
Jack leaned against the glass door. “A degree doesn’t mean a damn thing. She’s got some good ideas so far, but they’re expensive. Can you trust her? Do you know the people she’s going to bring in? What’s her bottom line here?”
That question haunted Jared. She wanted to break off with Ormsby? Fine. But why was she creating this big drama? Why run?
Jack combed his fingers through his hair. “Look, I know I wouldn’t win any popularity contests. But you know me. You know my work. You know where to find me if something’s not right. Can you say that for her? Will you be able to say that for her people? Does anyone know who she’s thinking of using?”
No, Jack wasn’t popular around here, even though he was a hometown boy. His past cast a long shadow that held too many ghosts. One, a girl whose murder had originally been pinned on him. He was never convicted, but memories were unforgiving. People in Maystown tended to walk a wide path around Jack Duer. Still, the guy had the shear guts it took to carve out a life and stay.
Ray straightened slowly, an icy gaze frozen on Jack.
Jack never slowed. “Have you not noticed the way she’s so interested in spending all your money?”
Bull’s eye. Ray took two lunging steps before a spray of icy water hit him in the head.
Jared grinned. He may not be able to run like he could before the accident, but his reflexes were still sharp.
Swiping a hand over his face, Ray turned. “You’d better have a damn good reason for doing that,” he growled.
Jared waggled his brows. “I’m a peace officer.”
“Look, I just want you to think this thing through,” Jack said, pleading his case. “What does anyone know about her?”
“She may be new to the area,” Ray said, still bristling as he swiped icy water from his chin with the back of his hand, “but I like her ideas. You saw them for yourself. She knows what she’s talking about, and she can give me the full package: design plans, advertising and marketing.”
“If she stays.”
Ray heaved an impatient sigh. “Where is she going to go?”
“Where did she come from?”
A perverted wave of protection swept over Jared, and he slid a warning glance at Frank. His boss sat quietly through the argument and Jared intended him to stay that way. Jared did not want to hear any words that might discredit Dee in anyone else’s mind. Not until he had all his answers.
Jack pushed away from the door. “What is this place to her? Why all the interest in a stranger and his bar?”
“She isn’t trying to marry him.” Jared’s abrupt statement brought all eyes to him. “She’s spending his money on this place.” That statement did nothing to lessen the sudden, avid interest. “Her ideas are sound.”
Every word he said drew more attention and speculation to him. Jared fetched a new bottle of water from the refrigerated cooler, opened it, and drank deeply.
Frank stood, stretching his arms overhead. “This has been entertaining, but I’d better get going.”
Jack didn’t move, his body square in the doorway, his eyes narrowed on Jared.
Jared remained silent.
“You’re just trying to stir something up,” Ray said. “You want the job. You’re trying to turn us against her when you need to be trying to impress her.”
“I do want the job,” Jack admitted. “It should be mine.”
Ray snorted.
“I do good work, and you know it. You’re just blinded by a pair of tits.”
Ray let loose with a low growl.
“Well, shit.” Jared swung around the counter. Jack and Ray’s argument grew louder, and if he didn’t move a little faster, he’d wind up in the middle of a full-blown fight. He tried to catch Frank’s eye, tried to signal him to step in front of Jack. But no, Frank, the weasel, was too intent on getting out.
“Enough!” Jared slung a chair across the floor, grabbing everyone’s attention. “This is getting us nowhere.”
“Stay out of it,” Jack warned. “It’s none of your business.”
“You’re absolutely right,” Ray said with a pointed look. “It’s mine. And I say who I’m working with.”
Jack heaved a frustrated sigh. “Ray, look….”
Jared struggled to keep from rolling his eyes. “Why don’t we sit down and discuss this like reasonable men,” he said. He may not be officially on the job, but he was still a cop.
“That would be fine,” Ray said as he pointed at Jack. “But then he wouldn’t be able to talk.”
The fracas escalated to such a pitch that it took several seconds for Jared to recognize the sound of his cell phone ringing. Slipping it from his belt, he glanced at the screen and didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello?” If someone was on the line, they were speaking too softly to be heard above the din.
“Hey. Hey!” he shouted, lifting his phone and twisting his wrist.
Immediate silence descended. Jared shook his head in disgust.
Settling the phone against his ear, Jared listened intently. “Hello?” The eerie quiet on the other end stirred an itch at the back of his neck. “Can you hear me?”
“Help.” A faint voice came
across the receiver.
Jared yanked the phone away from his face and stared at the number. Who was it? “Who…?”
“Jared.” The voice was a little stronger. Female.
Dee.
Jared stood abruptly, every muscle in his body tensing. “Dee? Where are you?”
There was no reply.
“Dee,” he shouted into the phone as he wove his way across the room, pushed past Jack and opened the door. “I can’t hear you. Speak louder.”
Jared was able to make out only one word in the hit and miss signal. Accident.
“Hang on. I’m on my way.” But the connection was gone.
Ray followed close behind as Jared sprinted across the parking lot. “What’s going on?”
Jack hustled to join them.. Frank stopped beside his cruiser.
“Dee’s had an accident,” Jared said.
“Is she hurt?” Frank called out.
“Did someone hit her?” Jack asked.
“I don’t know. I could barely hear her.”
“Come on,” Jack commanded as he stood beside the dual-axel truck sitting closest to the bar. “Get in the truck. I’ll drive.”
“I can drive,” Jared argued as he opened the door to the tiny sports car.
Jack climbed into his truck, nodding toward the back. “I’ve got my tools in the back. Come on.”
“Wait for me,” Ray hollered as he hurried back to lock the door while Jared climbed into the truck.
Frank’s patrol car crept up behind the truck as Jack backed across the lot and waited for Ray to climb in.
Jack edged toward the road. “Where is she?”
“I have no idea. She kept breaking up.” Jared glanced at Ray. “She didn’t say anything about going anywhere else, did she?”
Ray shook his head.
“I’m guessing she was headed home.”
Jack turned west toward Maystown, Frank following close behind. Cramped in the middle of the bench seat, Jared tamped down the urge to demand that Jack drive faster. His gaze strained on the road ahead, both praying for and fearful of a glimpse of the old gray vehicle.
Unforgettable Heroes II Boxed Set Page 239