Flames Of Deceit

by Carol Hutchens

  The fact was he found it hard to believe she had risked breaking the law to clear her brother. More likely, she was on the trail of her next big headline and didn’t want to give clues away. But one question wouldn’t leave his mind. Why had he listened to the pleas of a woman he had never met before now?

  The courthouse behind him was burning. If Mia Clark hadn’t set that fire, she might know who had. He’d heard the panic in her voice. Until he questioned her further, he wouldn’t know if he had used good judgment or fallen under the spell of her stubborn chin and sapphire eyes.

  Listening to her could put the only thing that had kept him sane for the past six years on the line, his career. As a sitting judge, he needed to make the right decisions, but he kept asking the same question. Why had he listened Mia Clark’s plea for help?

  Chapter 3

  Mia sighed as Jake slammed the rear door of the truck and closed her in the backseat. Struggling to shake the numbness from her sluggish limbs, she leaned forward as he climbed behind the wheel. “Where are we going?”

  Jake glanced over his shoulder. “Stay down out of sight.”

  “You’re leaving before the fire is out?” Mia didn’t dare analyze her reaction to his deep voice. This wasn’t the time for personal issues. Her efforts to clear Phil’s name had backfired. All she’d done so far was make things worse.

  Jake Stone was a judge, for crying out-loud. The man spent his life enforcing the law and to make matters worse, he had rescued her. Would he understand why she had to find the truth about the ex-model’s claims? Did he believe her? Could his influence as a judge have any affect Phil’s chances at re-election?

  She couldn’t let things get that far. She had to convince Jake she was telling the truth. Goading him about leaving the scene of the fire wasn’t the way. Sibling rivalry aside, normally she was nice to people she met. Why this instant need to protect her deepest thoughts from Jake?

  “Local units with ladder trucks took over the scene.” Jake turned on the ignition. “There are still hot spots where the clock tower collapsed, but the building isn’t a total loss.”

  “What about the courtroom on the second floor?” Regretting the words the second they left her mouth, she held her breath and waited. Had she revealed what had drawn her to the building? Jake Stone was smart. He already suspected she was up to something by her presence in the courthouse. Now, he could guess…

  “With all that wood paneling and benches, I doubt there’s much left to save if the fire got that far.”

  She hit the back of his seat with a bunched fist. “I need a lift to my car.”

  Meeting her glare in the rearview mirror, he said. “You aren’t going anywhere without me until I get answers.”

  “You can’t hold me. You aren’t a police officer. I want to go home.” She shoved against the back of his seat with pent up frustration. “My bladder is about to explode. I didn’t expect my errand to take this long.”

  “I could drop you by the police station.” Jake checked for on-coming traffic, and made a left turn. “Or you can go with me and answer questions.”

  “Could we stop for food? I’m starved.”

  “Fine, but don’t try to get away,”

  Mia rolled her eyes. “It’s a little late for threats? I’m in your truck.”

  “Why were you really in the courthouse?”

  Chewing on the inside of her lip, Mia looked out the side window and watched lights flash past. “I told you, I was trying to find evidence to clear my brother.”

  Jake met her glance in the rearview mirror.

  Her face burned with heat. Did she have to explain everything? Why couldn’t he just accept her word? “I already told you.”

  “You must really love your brother.”

  Was she crazy to trust this man? A firefighter and a local, he was probably a fan of the ex-model’s? Maybe they had gone to school together. “It would help a lot if you’d let me pick up my car.”

  Silence except for the whining of truck tires on the asphalt surface.

  Okay, she was in this too deep to expect to escape without complications, but how much should she tell him? He had connections with the police. Was that why he wasn’t worried about turning her in? Could she be in the clutches of a mad man? Maybe he thought no one would miss her. “Where are we going? How do I know I can trust you?”

  He glanced at her in the mirror. “Trust is running a little thin right now, wouldn’t you say, Ms. Clark?”

  Before she could act on the urge to jump out the door of the moving vehicle, he pulled the truck into a parking lot and stopped in front of an all night restaurant.

  “We’re here.”

  She scrambled out the rear door, unsure whether to dash for the restroom or freedom. Her stomach growled, making the decision. So she followed Jake to the door.

  Their steps echoed in the empty restaurant as they walked toward the restrooms. Two employees leaned against the front counter, watching them. Jake nodded to the women, and urged Mia forward with his hand to her waist.

  His firm touch on her lower back burned her skin and made her aware of his every move. Chills skated down her spine in contrast to the warmth of his touch. Heat pooled in her cheeks. In another time, another place, she would enjoy her reaction to his masterful touch. If only…

  Jake stopped in front of the door marked Women. “Are you going to be here when I come out?”

  Had he sensed her urge to run? Or did he think she was guilty and running was what guilty suspects did? Eyes glaring, she tossed her hair over her shoulder and forced steel into her voice. “Don’t you think I would have run by now if I’d planned to?”

  “You tried that already, firebird.” The muscle along his jaw bulged as he turned away. “I’m going to wash up.”

  Her insides withering with reaction to Jake’s implications, his strength and her need to trust him, she groaned when she saw her face in the bathroom mirror. No wonder the employees stared when she and Jake walked in. Her attempts to wash off the soot with the cup of water and napkin had made things worse.

  Several minutes later, after soaping and re-soaping her face and hands, she walked out of the restroom to face the man who had saved her life. Jake Stone had rescued her twice. First, when he’d gotten her out of that burning building, and again, when he hadn’t turned her over to police. She owed him for her life and her self-respect.

  Her mother and Phil would have a fit if she were arrested. Worse, if her escapades had made the news, she would lose her job. She could hear her boss repeat his favorite phrase, “News is what we report, not what we do”.

  Sighing, she forced her attention to Jake Stone as she crossed the room. He had chosen a corner table, away from the front counter. With his face washed, his hair slicked back, he looked different. The black t-shirt hugging impressive muscles made him look younger than she’d thought. Stronger. More appealing.

  She gulped back a wave of emotion. It wasn’t just his voice that sent shivers racing through her limbs. Every nerve in her body vibrated at the sight of him, forcing her to fight to keep from becoming a fan. How could she help? With his appearance, Jake Stone should have his own firefighter of the year calendar.

  Hands clenched at her sides, she covered the last few steps to the table. Jake glanced up as she approached. Her heart lurched. Lashes, dark as his hair, framed eyes glowing with green sparks. Wow, he washed up good.

  Dropping into the chair opposite him, she picked up the menu.

  “The eggs are good,” His voice rumbled in the echoing silence of the empty restaurant.

  “I’ll just have something to drink.” She slapped the menu on the table, refusing to look at the mouthwatering photos or admit to the gnawing in her stomach.

  “You’re hungry. I heard your stomach growl.”

  Chin angled high, she glared at him. “I left my purse in the car, okay.”

  Jake swore under his breath. “Order food, damn it. I’m starved and I don’t like eating alone.�
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  “Fine, I’ll have pancakes since you asked so nicely.” She turned her snarl into a smile as the waitress appeared at the table. “Oh, good, you brought coffee.”

  Filling their coffee cups, the woman took their orders and left.

  Mia lifted her glance to meet Jake’s and forced a word past clenched teeth. “Thanks.”

  “Forget it. You’re a cheap date.”

  Date!

  Her heart thumped. Jake Stone looked like a man she would date in normal circumstances. From the second she laid eyes on him, she hadn’t found a thing wrong with him. Except he was a judge, and that made him off- limits. She had crossed the line when she slipped past security to enter the courthouse. She needed to keep away from Jake.

  “Now you want to tell me what’s going on? And don’t say your mother made you do it.”

  Okay, she had found a flaw.

  His annoying habit of jumping on a subject with both feet and not letting go, and using that courtroom tone made him less than perfect, too. “I don’t—”

  “No more lies. Tell me what you were doing in that building or—”

  “Lower your voice,” she snapped through clenched teeth and glanced over her shoulder. Satisfied that no one had overheard, she leaned toward him. “This isn’t about me, okay? Not one word of this can get back to reporters.”

  “You’re a reporter. Or was that another lie?” Brow arched to his slicked back hair, the deep green of his eyes bored into her. Finally, a noisy sigh escaped his lips, conceding defeat of their battling stares. “Sorry, go on.”

  She blinked, her mind filled with thoughts of those perfect lips. She wanted to...

  Leaning as far back as her chair allowed, she forced back the images playing in her head and struggled with the tension blocking her words. Should she tell him the truth, or try to conceal facts to protect Phil?

  A glance at the rigid set of Jake’s firm jaw told her she was out of choices. No more delays. If she wanted to avoid going to jail, it was time to tell the truth. “A former model claims my brother paid her to terminate her pregnancy.”

  “Senator Phil Clark is your brother?”

  Mia nodded. “He wants to stop the rumors. Protect his wife and children. ”

  Jake lifted a shoulder. “Nothing new about that situation, it’s in the paper. That doesn’t explain why you were in the courthouse.”

  “Here you go.” The waitress put loaded plates in front of them. “You’ve been fighting the fire at the courthouse, haven’t you?”

  Brow arched, Jake searched Mia’s face before he turned to the woman and gave a nod.

  Mia clenched her hands in her lap and stared at her plate.

  “That’s what I told Doris.” She walked a few steps away, and turned back. “Eat all you want. It’s on the house. We need more heroes like you.”

  Mia peeped through her lashes. With Jake’s broad shoulders and good looks, he looked like a hero, but she didn’t deserve the honor. “How long have you been a firefighter?”

  He paused with the cup halfway to his lips. “Eat. Talk later.”

  In hungry firefighter’s terms, later turned out to be ten minutes later. Jake put his fork down on the empty plate and watched as she chewed the last bite of the pancakes.

  “Stop looking at me like that. I’m telling the truth. Phil met Leigh Anne Saddler through a business contact. And he refuted all her claims at the hearing last Friday.”

  “She lied in my courtroom?”

  “Yes.” Mia wondered about that my. What did he mean? He hadn’t been the presiding judge.

  “You’re talking about the case causing all the media hoop-la last week?”

  Mia nodded and swallowed back the lump of pancakes bouncing in her throat. “Phil is running for re-election. Leigh Anne Saddler is the ex-model trying to ruin him.”

  “What business did a former model and a senator-elect have in common? How did they meet?”

  Mia heard the doubt in his voice and forced back a scream. “It’s not what you’re thinking, but my brother’s telling the truth. Leigh Anne Saddler works at one of the big drug companies in Research Triangle Park. They met when Phil was invited to speak at a banquet for Stern-McHamlin employees.”

  Jake’s reaction was all Mia had hoped when she named one of the state’s largest employers. Stern-McHamlin Pharmaceuticals produced drugs for a worldwide market. She couldn’t turn on the TV to watch any program without seeing several of their commercials. Holding her breath, she waited for him to speak.

  Muscles bunched along the square line of Jake’s jaw. For a second, she thought he turned pale, but his voice seemed normal when he finally spoke. “What evidence does this model have?”

  “That’s just it, I don’t know. But she claims to have proof Phil tried to pay her off.” Mia met his probing stare as she repeated the ex-model’s words.

  “What does that have to do with the courthouse? She couldn’t hide files in there without being seen.”

  “The judge ordered her to turn over all evidence, but Friday, Leigh Anne claimed she’d misplaced some files.”

  “You don’t believe her?”

  Mia returned his stare. “Leigh Anne was quoted, saying she has evidence to prove her claim against Phil.”

  “What does that have to do with you sneaking past security to get into the courthouse?”

  Mia’s cheeks warmed. “I think Leigh Anne hid a disc in the courtroom to keep from turning files over to the judge.”

  “Why the courtroom? Why not a place she has easy access to in case she needs to retrieve the information?”

  Mia blinked at the cold reason of his tone. For half a second she stared at the muscles in the arm he rested on the table. But she jerked her gaze away, forcing her mind away from how appealing he looked in a t-shirt and back to convincing him to believe her.

  “I think she had the disc at the hearing, but when the judge ordered her to turn all files over to the court she changed her mind and hid the disc. If the judge ordered a search of her home, she wouldn’t have the evidence and risk being held in contempt of court.”

  “Twisted, but believable,” Jake studied her across the table. “How did you come up with this angle?”

  “It’s the only solution I could imagine.” Mia stiffened at the doubt in his tone. “The judge ordered her to turn all copies of her files over to the court. None were found in her house or safety deposit box. Where else could they be?”

  “I can think of a dozen places.”

  Lifting her chin high, Mia glared. “Name one.”

  “Friends. Co-workers. Attorney.”

  Drumming her fingernails on the table, she mumbled. “I said one.”

  “Just making a point—”

  “You don’t believe me, do you?”

  “If you were a judge, would you believe this story?”

  Mia jumped out of the chair. “Can we go now? I have to work tomorrow,” she glanced at the clock over the counter, “I mean today.”

  Jake pushed his chair back and stood.

  Her breath caught and she grabbed the back of the chair to keep from falling. He was taller and bigger than she had realized. A head taller than she was, and all muscle. The turnout gear had hidden his strength.

  Jake dropped some bills on the table and motioned her toward the door. “I should take you to the police station.”

  Mia stepped out the door to the sidewalk and looked back over her shoulder. “How will you explain your role the last few hours—”

  Jake let out a howl.

  Thinking she had him cornered, Mia looked over her shoulder with a gloating grin, but the instant she saw his face in the dim light from the restaurant, she froze. Jake was staring at his truck with astonishment and rage lining his face. Mia followed the direction of his glance and her mouth dropped open.

  The tires on his truck had been slashed.

  “Son of a gun,” Jake snarled as he examined a front tire. “Who the hell did this?”

  Step
ping closer to him, heart slamming against her ribs, Mia tore her eyes from the tires and searched the shadows filling the parking lot. “Do you believe me now?”

  Jake glared over his shoulder. “Are you suggesting this is connected to the story you just told me?”

  She didn’t need her skills as a reporter to realize he hadn’t believed a word she had said. Great. Just great. She had an arsonist trying to kill her and a tire-slasher following them, but this firefighter didn’t believe her.

  “Have you ever heard of anyone in this town having four slashed tires at the same time, before now?” Clenching her arms around her middle, she tapped the toe of a black shoe on the pavement.

  Hands on his hips, Jake walked around the truck. Disbelief marred his face. “Guess I’ll call the police after all.”

  Following close on his heels, Mia gasped. “You can’t. Please, Jake. No police.”

  “What’s wrong with calling the police? I didn’t say I would turn you in.”

  “Police reports are listed in the paper. If my name appears in print, I’m in trouble.”

  “With your brother? Why wouldn’t he appreciate your efforts to help?”

  “My boss will make my life a living hell if my name appears in the news.”

  Jake rolled his eyes and stared at the tires. Finally, he walked back to the restaurant and stuck his head in the door. “Hey, Doris, I’ve got a flat. Can I borrow your car?”

  ***

  Ten minutes later, Jake turned the borrowed Corolla toward Raleigh. At this late hour, Highway 64 was nearly deserted. “Give me directions to your apartment.”

  Mia tried every angle she could think of to avoid telling him where she lived. Finally, after all her excuses failed, she gave him her address. “How am I supposed to get my car?”

  “It’s probably blocked in. You couldn’t get it tonight anyway.”

  “That’s it? You’re holding my car hostage?”

  Cutting a glance toward her, he grinned. “No law against that. Now, holding you until I get answers could cause trouble.”

  “This isn’t a joking matter. I’m serious about finding evidence to clear my brother.” Mia twisted in the passenger seat to get a better view of his face in the dim lights from the dash. “I have to get back inside that courthouse and find Leigh Anne’s proof. After what you said about files, I’m convinced she stored the information on a thumb drive.”