Smoke billowed around her and fire raced up the walls in long lines. She ignored it all and reached for the latch. She fumbled but got it open just as something stabbed into her hip. The sharp pain had her flinching, but she fought on.
Throwing the lid open, she ripped an arrow from the lid and spun around. Charlie crawled up next to her thigh with his knife raised. His chest shook from coughing, but all she saw was the madness in his eyes.
She had one shot and she took it. Gripping the arrow, she stabbed it right into his shoulder as hard as she could. He screamed and the knife fell to the floor. She thought about searching for it, but the thick smoke clouded her vision.
She looked up. The door loomed in the distance. She thought she’d fallen near it, but it wavered and blurred in front of her.
She tried to crawl, but her strength abandoned her and she crumpled to the floor.
Somewhere over her she heard a crack. The noise sounded familiar. She remembered it from the cabin and feared the ceiling was caving in.
Then a rush of warm air poured in and swept over her. She heard her name. In her cloudy head, she thought the voice sounded like Joel’s. She tried to call out, but her throat refused to work.
As the world went hazy, strong arms slipped under her. Fearing she’d slipped into a dream, she forced her eyes open and saw a line of flames headed her way.
But there was someone else in her dream. She lifted her hand, expecting to touch air.
Her fingertips hit warm skin. Reality punched through her.
Blinking, she forced her vision to settle and touched the face swimming in front of her. “Joel?”
“I’m right here, baby.” His voice sounded harsh and faster than usual. But he sounded real, like he was actually there.
“It was Charlie.” An illusion or not, he needed Joel to know. The desperation to get the words out broke free.
Then she was floating. Her feet had almost left the floor when a hand clamped over her ankle and tugged her back.
The jolt revived her. Joel held her. They were in danger.
She looked down the length of her body and saw Charlie’s furious face. She turned to warn Joel about the knife, but she saw Joel’s gun.
He tucked her head against his shirt and brought her body in close to his. The roar of the shot broke through the thunder of the fire. It boomed in her ears and she rushed to cover them.
After one sharp crack, all pressure was gone from her legs and Joel stumbled back. Freefalling, she tried to get a sense of where the flames were and realized they raged all around them.
She heard people talking and the wail of her alarm before she smelled fresh air. When her back hit the grass, she believed she’d finally slipped into that welcoming dream. Before she could settle in, the coughing started. She turned her head and hacked as the scent of fresh grass filled her head.
After a few minutes she lay back down. She tried to gulp in breaths of fresh air as the realization hit her—she was alive. Which meant...
Joel’s face hovered in front of her. “You’re going to be fine,” he said.
She thought she heard Cam and a neighbor. Sirens screamed in the distance and all around her. None of it made sense. It was so dark and she’d lost track of time. “What’s happening?”
“You’re safe.”
She saw it all now. She sat cradled in Joel’s arms as people rushed around them and Cam repeated something to Joel, something she couldn’t understand. For some reason she needed to tell him one more thing.
She grabbed on to Joel’s shirt and tugged him closer. “I love you.”
Then the world went black.
Chapter Eighteen
Joel would never forget that moment. The SUV had screeched to a halt in front of her place and the whole first floor was aglow with orange flames. He searched the crowd that had gathered, looking for her and shoving people aside without thinking.
When he didn’t see her, he rushed to the door. Cam grabbed his arm and told him to calm down, but Joel was desperate. Filled with panic, he kicked and the door slammed open then the alarm went off.
The gun. The knife. The blood. It was all so much to take in.
The sound of her voice as she’d told him she loved him was playing in his head now. Even as he sat by her bedside at the hospital and the loudspeaker squawked, he remembered her final vow of love.
The smell of disinfectant slammed into him. At least the dragging numbness had worn off. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand and stared at the crisp white sheet pulled up to her chest.
He’d come so close to losing her. If any one thing had gone wrong he would have lost her. The traffic had worked for them thanks to some stoplight maneuvering by Davis. Cam drove fast enough. The door gave on the first kick.
Knowing about Charlie’s wound, Joel also knew she’d saved herself. That was his woman. Strong, confident and fierce. The only bad news was the guy would live.
Tony wasn’t so lucky. Charlie had unleashed on his former partner, leaving him no chance for survival. Remembering the state he was in, Joel thought it was probably a miracle he had made it until they had found him.
Cam stuck his head in the doorway. “Is she awake?”
“Not yet.” Joel took in Cam’s ripped and bloody clothing and wondered why someone hadn’t taken one look at him and called the police.
Of course, they were crawling around but Connor handled them, as always. Cam looked as if he’d been dragged by a truck. Joel guessed he looked even worse himself.
“Where’s Connor,” he asked.
“Still talking with Hope’s dad.”
Talk about taking one for the team. The older man had yelled at Joel via cell phone during the entire ambulance ride to the hospital. He promised revenge if Joel didn’t get his act together and treat his baby girl better.
Joel didn’t blame the guy. He’d done a pretty lousy job of protecting her. The one thing he excelled at was leaving, and tonight doing so had almost cost her life.
He didn’t know what kind of husband he would be. Hell, he wasn’t sure he even ranked that high on the boyfriend scale, but he wasn’t letting her go. Not again. He’d had a glimpse of life without her and he’d rather be selfish and hold her tight.
“At least he’s back in town,” Joel said, remembering the worry in her dad’s voice.
“He’s not happy about any of this.”
Joel looked at her still form and a new wave of anger crashed over him. “That makes two of us.”
The nurse came in wearing an official badge and dragging a tray behind her. The only way for her to get by Connor just outside the door was to be pre-approved by Corcoran.
More than one doctor commented on the overabundance of caution. It was nothing compared to the contingent of police assigned to watch over Charlie one floor down.
The nurse nudged him away from Hope’s side. “I need to check her bandages.”
He held his ground. “I’ll stay.”
“You should step outside.” The woman was five-feet-nothing and she stared him down like she would take him out.
He thought about arguing until he saw the smile on Cam’s face and conceded. “Fine.”
Joel waited until they stepped into the hallway to tell Cam what he should have said hours ago. “Thank you.”
He brushed a square of what looked like part of a curtain off his upper arm. It could have come from anywhere since they’d been fighting all night. “For what?”
“Everything.” Joel didn’t even know how to put his gratitude into words. “I know you were supposed to be on vacation.”
“Fighting fires is more interesting.” Cam clapped Joel on the shoulder and nodded. From Cam, that was a huge show of emotion. “Besides, I was going to fly anyway.”
It was the way he said it that had Joel questioning. “Where?”
Cam glanced at their boss where he passed back and forth a few feet away in front of the nurse’s station. “That was up to Connor. He asked me to
take him to Jana.”
Now, there was news. “What?”
“He stayed to help you instead.”
“Because I recognize a man in love.” Connor stepped up and stared Joel down. “Do you?”
The conversation left Joel speechless. Connor back together with Jana, or trying to be. Davis and Lara. They gave him hope.
Cam groaned. “Don’t do it, man.”
Lost in his thoughts, Joel lost track of the conversation. “What?”
“Don’t give a list of excuses why it won’t work with Hope.”
Before Joel could answer, Connor launched into a speech. “One thing you might want to remember is that not being with her in this case made her vulnerable.”
“Okay, but—”
“I’m not saying that to make you feel guilty, because this wasn’t your fault, but being away from her didn’t make her safer.” Connor wound down long enough to exhale. “You’re not your dad.”
“I know.” For the first time, Joel believed it. Unlike his father, he fought for other people. He believed in people. He possessed a sense of humanity.
Hope had told him so many times. Having a woman like her love him should have clued him in. She wouldn’t waste her time on a dangerous loser. He got it now.
“No, you don’t, but if you give that woman a chance she’ll show you.” Connor’s comment came out almost as an order. “Be half as smart as I think you are.”
Cam nodded. “Or her father will kill you.”
“It doesn’t matter what he thinks.” It really didn’t. It was great to have his support and his blessing, though right now he was pretty displeased, but Joel didn’t need her father’s opinion. He had Hope and she believed in him, even when he didn’t believe. That meant more than anything else.
“Joel, come on.”
He held up his hands. It was either that or listen to these two try for the next two hours to convince him of something he already knew. “I’m saying that because I already know living without her isn’t an option.”
Cam threw up his hands. “There, was that so hard?”
“Actually, I think the hard part is ahead of him,” Connor said.
Cam barked out a laugh. “I hope she makes you beg.”
* * *
HOPE SLOWLY AWAKENED. She saw the white ceiling and heard the beep of machines. She closed her eyes and mouthed a little thank you. She wasn’t dead.
A deep male laugh had her turning her head. One she recognized and savored whenever she heard it. Joel sat in the chair next to her bed looking all rumpled and scruffy and far too delicious.
When their eyes met, he stood up and came to the side of the bed. Bending down, he slipped an arm over the top of her head. “No, you’re not dead.”
“You wouldn’t let that happen.”
“Never.” His fingers danced across her skin. “But we should really thank your quick thinking.”
That’s not how she remembered it. “You pulled me out of the fire.”
The memory played in her head. She’d thought it was some weird dream, but it wasn’t. His strong hands and words of encouragement. The firm grip and the gunshot. Her ears still rang from that, and a high-pitched ringing sounded as if in the distance. She knew from experience on the shooting range that that would eventually go away.
His fingers slipped into her hair. “You saved yourself. I was just there for the ending.”
The word cut through her. She closed her eyes to beat back the pain as a new series of memories hit. Him leaving and her crumpled in a ball on the couch.
“Hey.” His thumb rubbed over her forehead. “It’s okay. Charlie can’t hurt you now.”
He had the wrong nightmare, but she opened her eyes anyway. “Is he dead?”
“No.”
In a way, the news was a relief. She wasn’t responsible for killing the man, and this one would’ve been on her. No accident. She’d stabbed him and had meant to...and would do it again.
But the idea of him being out there and alive in society made her stomach twist. “Did you catch him?’
“Pretty easy to do after you hobbled him.”
She smiled at that. “I’m not sorry.”
“Me either. I just wish I’d been there a minute or two sooner.”
She wished he’d never left. Now that the thought was in her head, she wouldn’t think about anything else.
“Are you leaving?” The question burned her throat, but she forced it out.
Looking into those eyes, all soft and sweet as he stared at her, broke her resolve. She wanted to take back everything she’d said to him at the house and call him back to her on whatever terms he wanted. The expression was the very definition of love. She had no idea how this man could continue to bring so much pain.
“No.”
The word clashed with her thoughts. “What?”
“I’ve walked out on you twice.” He leaned down and placed a small kiss on her nose, then pressed one against her lips. “I’m so sorry I hurt you.”
Tears pushed at the back of her eyes. She refused to let them fall.
“You break my heart.” She had told him so many times how much she loved him. This time she wanted him to understand how much pain he inflicted.
“Never again.”
She tried to move her head, and the bed flipped around on her. Apparently she had a head injury. At some point she would have to take stock of all the bumps and bruises and figure out why her hip ached so much.
Then she’d deal with her town house and not having a place to live. Right now the combination of it all was too much to handle.
Especially when she was trying to grab hold of this conversation. “What are you saying?”
He snuggled in closer, careful not to jostle her or move the pillow. His face rested right above hers, and those dark eyes were as clear as she had ever seen them.
“My father wouldn’t have put aside his own needs and tried to rescue you.” Joel kissed her on the mouth, short and quick. “He wouldn’t love a strong woman like you.” This time the kiss lingered and heated. “He wouldn’t work for a place like the Corcoran Team. I am not him, nor will I ever be.”
Her heart jumped. It was as if she nodded off to sleep and woke up to him spouting the things she’d been telling him forever.
But he wasn’t spitting the words back. He believed. She could feel the confidence radiate off him.
“The fire convinced you?” If so, she might set up a permanent bonfire in the middle of her kitchen. On second thought...
“You did.” He smiled at her. One of those sexy smiles that had her toes curling. “You wouldn’t love a man not worth loving.”
Her fingers slid through his. “Exactly.”
“You certainly wouldn’t stick around waiting for him to wake up.”
Just like that, all the pain fell away. The loneliness and anger evaporated and the gut-wrenching fear vanished.
The strength in his voice and his unwavering eye contact would have convinced her if the kisses hadn’t. He wasn’t playing a role and nursing her through an injury or, if she guessed right, injuries. This was a man with staying power. The man she’d been hoping to see forever.
She raised their hands and kissed the back of his. “It’s as if you read my mind.”
“I love you more than anything.” His eyes grew serious. “I would walk away from my job, from civilization for you. Ask me for anything and I’ll give it to you.”
Right about now that sounded fine with her. All the death and danger rang in her head. She’d leave that behind in a second if it meant a lifetime with him.
“Hell, I’d move to a suburb for you.” He scowled as he said it.
She believed it and burst out laughing. The vibration moving through her had her grabbing her side when a shot of pain hit her. “Now, that’s love.”
He frowned as he reached for the nurse’s call button. “You okay?”
Hope stopped him with a touch of her hand. “I am now.”
From this man, it was a vow that meant everything. “I know. It’s part of what gave me hope that we could work through it.”
“There’s been no one else since the day I met you.” He buried his mouth in her neck. “There won’t be anyone else ever.”
This time she let the tear fall. It ran down the side of her face.
When it rolled onto him, his head popped up. He caught the second one with his thumb before it hit her cheek. “What’s this?”
“Happiness.”
He toyed with her fingers, touching each one. “I know I’ve failed you in the past.”
Rather than hold back, she went for it all. “I want a future.”
A huge smile lit up his face. “That I can make happen as soon as you get out of this bed.”
“I mean—”
“As soon as I convince you I’m staying, because I am, I’ll propose. We’ll do it right. Your father will eventually forgive me and give his blessing.”
“Joel.” His name came out as a breath. She’d say yes right now, and so would her dad, but she sensed Joel needed to do it his way.
He wanted to prove something to her. She already believed, but she certainly had no trouble with the idea of being wooed.
But they did have a more practical problem. “I think I need a new house.”
She didn’t think about all she’d lost. Those were things. Today she’d gained so much more.
“I was hoping you’d look for one with me. In Annapolis.” He was handing her everything yet he sat there looking sheepish.
“A future marriage proposal. A new town. A man I love with a new attitude.” She slipped her arms around his neck and planted a long kiss on his mouth. One that said something about her intentions once she got out of this bed. “A woman couldn’t ask for more.”
“Actually, I have two favors.”
His eyes sparkled as he said it, so she didn’t worry. “Uh-huh.”
He finally sat down on the bed next to her. The mattress dipped and he rubbed a hand over her stomach, making her forget about any pain. “Just for a while...”
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