The man turned his way. “Yes?”
“Did you determine a cause for the fire?”
“I did, and who are you?”
Jeff held out his hand. “Jeff Clark. My girlfriend lived here.”
The man nodded. “Deputy Baker mentioned you might stop by and said to fill you in on my findings. It looks like the fire was caused by faulty wiring. It’s not the first time this has happened. We had a similar incident a couple of years ago. All these buildings need to be rewired, but the law’s on their side, not mine.”
“You’re sure it was faulty wiring?”
The man narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. “Positive.” He walked away.
Jeff called out a thank you to his back. He’d thought for sure it had been arson. He checked his watch—eight o’clock.
He nodded to a nearby fireman watching for hot spots. “You mind if I go inside? My girlfriend asked me to get a few things for her.”
“The structure is sound, but I’ll have to come with you.”
“Works for me. Thanks.” Careful to not disturb anything, he entered the burned-out building. It wasn’t as bad as he’d imagined. One whole side was charred, and a smoke line covered the ceiling, but the other side of her apartment seemed intact for the most part. Too bad the dresser was on the charred side along with what looked to have once been a purse. Where was her Glock? He used a pen from his pocket to carefully lift what was left of her purse. Her Glock lay beneath the charred leather. He stuffed it into his waistband when the firefighter wasn’t looking.
Jeff did a one-eighty. The place would need to be gutted for sure. The water damage looked extensive. What could he hope to find? Electrical wiring wasn’t his area of expertise, but Gary might know someone who could confirm what the fire marshal said. He thanked the firefighter and walked outside to his SUV and slid in.
“Gary, Jeff here. Kara’s place caught fire last night while she was asleep inside. The fire marshal declared it faulty wiring, but I was hoping you could get someone over here to confirm.”
“I’ll get right on that. Is she okay?” His concern came through the phone line.
“Yes. Smoke inhalation, a gash on her forehead, and some minor burns, but she’ll be fine.”
“That’s a relief. I’ll take care of this and get back to you when I have something.”
“Thanks.” He could depend on Gary to make sure this fire was, indeed, an accident.
He checked the Internet for the number of the hospital. The chances Kara would still be there were slim, but he called anyway. He frowned when the receptionist informed him that she hadn’t checked out yet. He hoped she was okay. Head injuries and smoke inhalation could be tricky, but Kara had said everything was minor. His pulse quickened, and he pressed hard on the accelerator.
Kara sat up in her hospital bed and thumbed through a magazine while she waited to be released. The doctor had informed her that since she was breathing okay and her X-rays looked fine, he’d release her as soon as someone came to get her, but he made her promise to seek medical help if she started having breathing problems. He also told her to make an appointment to have the stitches removed. She’d phoned Gail’s house but only got her answering machine. Gail must be on her way.
Tossing the magazine aside, Kara rested her head on the soft pillow. A lump rose in her throat. The comment Gail made about God protecting her stuck in her mind. The car bomb had set off her anger toward Him. Until that time, she loved and trusted Him to always take care of her. Had God been with her all along? How else could she have survived all the attacks? She frowned. But why couldn’t He have stopped it all from happening in the first place if He truly cared?
Her hand brushed against the Bible Gail had left. She opened to Hebrews chapter eleven as her friend had suggested and began reading. The chapter was filled with references to familiar Bible stories she’d heard as a child. Yes. It did take faith for Noah to build an ark, and for Moses to lead the Israelites through the Red Sea. She’d never really thought about it that way before, because as a child it never occurred to her that a flood wouldn’t come or that the Red Sea could have drowned them all. She’d never once questioned that the outcome of those incidents could have been different because God was God.
When had she lost her trust in Him? Or was it lying dormant waiting to be realized? Lord, I’m sorry for cutting You out of my life. I want to have the same faith that I once had, only this time I want my faith to be unshakeable.
Trust Me.
Peace settled over her. A lone tear slipped down her cheek, and she swiped at it. How could she not trust God? After all, He had a pretty decent track record. Lord, I am choosing to trust You. I still don’t understand everything, but I will trust You.
A weight lifted from her, and tears streamed down her face. She wiped them away with the back of her hand then remembered something her mother had once told her when she’d been bullied at school. She said that God allows the bad stuff to happen to make us stronger and that He will never give us more than we can handle with His help. Mom had been right. How could she have forgotten that? She was definitely a stronger person and agent now.
It’s me again. I guess bad things have to happen like my mom said. It’s all part of growing. But if it’s okay with You, I’d love to stop growing for a while, and thanks for saving me from that fire.
Kara dried her eyes and smiled. It felt nice to be on God’s side again. A light tap sounded on her door, and Gail entered with Jeff in tow.
Gail stood at her bedside and grasped her hand. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve been crying.”
Kara laughed softly. “Nothing. In fact, I’m the best I’ve been in quite a while.” She looked past Gail and made eye contact with Jeff. Something about him made her pause for a moment. What was different? She tore her gaze away from him and focused on Gail.
“If that sparkle in your eyes means anything, I’d say you’re better than okay.” Gail spotted the Bible in Kara’s hand, and a knowing smile crossed her face. “I’m glad you’ve worked things out, my friend.”
Kara held up the small New Testament. “You mind if I hang on to this for awhile?” Kara glanced at Jeff. He seemed to understand what was left unsaid.
“Keep it. I have another one at home.” Gail lifted a small bag onto the bed. “Sorry I took so long getting back. The phone wouldn’t stop ringing with friends calling to check on you.”
“Who called?”
“A few members from the singles’ group at church and a couple of your nail clients. I can’t remember their names. I finally had to put the answering machine on.” She pulled a dress from the bag. “I hope this fits.”
Jeff cleared his throat. “I’ll be outside the door when you’re ready.”
Kara changed into the sundress Gail had brought then laughed at herself when she looked down at her feet. The fabric reached to the ground and the top half draped way too low.
Gail frowned. “I forgot to take into consideration our height difference.”
Hands on hips Kara looked toward Gail. “I don’t suppose you brought a belt to tie this up with and a top to wear under it?”
She undid the belt she wore and handed it to Kara. “Take this one. I knew none of my pants would fit you, but I thought a dress would work. I suppose pants would have been better after all. At least then you could have rolled the legs up.” Gail slipped off her button-up sweater. “Use this too.”
“Thanks.” Kara belted the dress so it wouldn’t drag on the floor then put the sweater on over the dress. “Will you take me by my apartment on the way to your place? Maybe there’s something useable.”
“I’m not sure that’s such a great idea,” Gail said.
“At least let me see for myself.” Kara handed back the cell phone she’d borrowed. “Thanks.”
Gail reached for her purse and tucked it inside. “You’re welcome. We could run by a store on the way home.”
“I don’t have any money on me. Let’s just see
what can be salvaged.” Kara moved toward the door.
“You never were much of a shopper.”
“Guilty as charged.” Kara and Gail walked out of the room and came face to face with Jeff.
His eyes glimmered. “Looks like you’re playing dress up, Kara.”
“Ha, Ha. We’re going by my place to see if anything survived.”
“I was there. You won’t find anything useable. Besides, I’ve heard you should never disturb anything after a fire until your insurance company sees it. Let me take you shopping for a few new things.”
Kara looked down at herself. “I can’t go shopping dressed like this!” She touched his arm. “Wait a minute. How’s my car?”
“Intact. Apparently, the walls of the building are thick and your car escaped unharmed.”
“That’s odd. If the fire stayed in the building, how did anyone know to call the fire department?”
“Beats me, but I’ll find out. Now, how about shopping? I’ll even loan you the money,” Jeff said.
“Gail was planning to take me.”
Gail cut in. “Don’t worry about me. You two go and have fun. I needed to bring you a change of clothes, and I did that.” She turned to Jeff. “You take good care of her.”
Jeff sobered. “Yes, ma’am.”
Kara hugged Gail. “Thanks.” Then she turned back to Jeff and looped her arm through his. “Let’s go.” Kara spotted a nurse coming her way with a wheelchair and groaned. “Not a wheelchair too. The clothes are humiliating enough. Is that really necessary?”
“Sorry. Hospital rules,” the nurse replied.
Kara sat and crossed her arms with her eyes cast down. “Someone get me out of here.”
Jeff chuckled as he took over pushing her out to his rig.
“So what’s the news on my apartment?” She buckled up and looked at Jeff who sat behind the wheel of his SUV.
“What do you mean?” He put the vehicle in gear and drove out of the parking lot.
“Arson?”
“The fire inspector said faulty wiring.” He pulled her Glock from his waistband. “I salvaged this for you, but you’d better check it out before you try to use it.”
Kara reached for the weapon. “Thanks.” She stuffed it into the belt under Gail’s sweater. Kara could tell by his tone that he had his doubts about the faulty wiring. She wouldn’t put it past Alvarado to resort to arson, but it wasn’t his normal MO.
Kara sat beside Jeff in his SUV. “I assume you’ve spoken with Tad about the fire. What did he say?”
“Not much. He saw the glow from the fire through your window, called it in, and proceeded to pound on your door.” He glanced over at her. “I can’t pretend I’m not worried. This fire reeks of arson. I think you should stay at the ranch.”
“Gail’s expecting me to stay with her.”
“Do you think that’s wise? I can’t protect you when I’m not with you. And you could be putting your friends’ lives in jeopardy.”
“True. It’s not your job to be my bodyguard, though. This is exactly why we shouldn’t get involved. Once emotions are in the mix everything gets complicated.”
“Everything became complicated the moment I saw you fly through the air when your car exploded. Forget that I love you.”
“You what?”
“Did I say that out loud?” He groaned.
Kara nodded and grinned. If Jeff weren’t a Christian, she suspected she’d be hearing a string of curses right about now. “You dropped the L-word, but don’t worry. I won’t hold it against you.”
“You won’t hold it against me?” His voice seemed to raise an octave as he pulled the SUV off to the side of the road.
She’d been teasing, trying to keep the mood light, but apparently, Jeff had other ideas. “Um.” She bit her lip then tried to smile. “Why’d you pull over?” Traffic whizzed past causing their vehicle to shake in response to the current.
“I tell you that I love you and you say, ‘I won’t hold it against you’? What kind of a response is that?”
“A funny one?” she asked in a small voice.
“I’m not laughing.”
Kara swallowed hard. “Sorry. I’m not good at this kind of thing. Every time I love someone, they get ripped away from me—first my cousin Dee and then Tony. Growing up Dee and I were close. We were the same age and inseparable. Then one day that all changed when she decided to try crack. She had a reaction to the stuff. I called 9-1-1, but it was too late. She was already gone.”
“I’m sorry. How old were you?”
“Fifteen. That was the day I decided I wanted to go into law enforcement. I wanted justice for what had happened to my best friend.”
“Then how’d you end up in beauty school?”
“I loved doing nails, and my parents were against me going into law enforcement. They paid for beauty school then I used the money I made doing nails to get a degree in criminology.” She shrugged. “It worked out in the end.”
Jeff shook his head. “You’re amazing. I pull over because I’m ticked with you, and now all I want to do is hold you.”
“Love’s like that.”
He raised a brow. “You know this from experience I gather?”
“Mm-hmm. Now that you mention it, I have a confession to make.” She looked over at him in time to see a car slow to a stop beside them. The window lowered and the barrel of a gun poked out. “Down!”
Chapter 32
The window shattered above Jeff’s head. He threw the SUV into gear and floored the gas. How had someone pulled up beside them without either of them noticing it coming? Clearly, they were both distracted. He looked in his rearview mirror to see if the car tailed them. It was gone. He looked at Kara. “You okay?”
“Fine. You?” Kara brushed glass shards off her arms with a tissue.
“Same. It looks like the shooter took off in the opposite direction.” Jeff turned onto a side road, pulled over, then got out. He shook glass from his clothing.
Kara ran around to Jeff’s side coughing the whole way. Seemed her lungs were giving her trouble. Guess the fire had more of an effect than she wanted to admit. “I called Tad.”
Jeff nodded. “It looks clear.” He shielded his eyes from the sun. “I made sure we weren’t followed.”
“Good but it seems they are always one step ahead of us.”
Which made him think they were being trailed via GPS. He lay on the ground at the rear bumper, shining his phone’s flashlight—nothing. He repeated the process under the front bumper. “Let’s get moving.”
Kara scrambled into the rig. “Where are we going?”
“The Bend field office. You need a working service weapon and a vest. And I want my rig checked for a tracker. I didn’t see anything, but maybe it’s too well hidden. I also think the timeline needs to be moved up. I want you to stay in Bend at a hotel. Tad or myself will contact you when everything is set up.”
“What about Eric? Did you ever talk with him?”
“No, but that will be the first thing I do when I get back. Even if I have to follow him into the restroom, he’s not escaping me this time.” Admiration and a hint of fear filled Kara’s eyes. He reached out and squeezed her hand gently. “Don’t worry. God’s got this all in His control.”
“Good point. I’ll snag a T-shirt and sweats at the field office too and then you can drop me off at a hotel. One of my clients told me about a place outside of town the other day that sounds perfect.”
“Okay. You sure you’ll be safe there?”
“I’m not sure about anything anymore, but I looked it up online and it seemed like a good option.” She pulled out her phone and a moment later rattled off the address.
Whatever it took to keep Kara safe he’d do. That girl had wrapped her fingers around his heart, and he didn’t want to shake her loose.
An hour later, after a detour to the DEA field office for equipment, Jeff made his way back to the ranch. He parked, grabbed a duffel bag, which held a bug det
ector, and walked toward the house.
Veronica sat on the porch swing. “How’s Kara?”
He leaned against the railing and crossed his arms. “She has six stitches in her forehead and minor smoke inhalation, but she’ll be fine.”
“What a relief. When Jake told us she was in the hospital, we imagined the worst.” She rose from the swing and walked toward the entrance to the house. “I’m glad she’s okay. I can’t imagine how frightened she must’ve been.”
Jeff frowned. “Yeah. Is Eric around?”
“He’s in his office.”
“Thanks.” Jeff went inside and climbed the stairs. With every step, his legs seemed heavier, and his pace slackened. He paused outside Eric’s door. Without knocking, he entered—time to get this over with.
Eric looked up from the papers strewn across his desk. “You’re back. Is Kara okay?”
“She will be.” His gut clenched. Eric had no idea what was about to come down.
“What happened?”
“Seems the wiring was old and caused an electrical fire. She escaped on her own and only suffered minor smoke inhalation and a small cut on her head.”
“How are you doing?” Eric asked.
“Me? I’ve had better days.”
“I can tell how much you care about her. If that’d been Veronica, I’d have been out of my mind.”
“I’m fine.” No one needed to know all the traffic laws he’d broken in his rush to be by Kara’s side. Having her with him today had felt good and right. He pushed up from his seat. “We need to talk. But first...” He locked the office door then pulled a bug detector from his duffel bag. He held his finger to his lips as Eric watched with wide eyes. Surprisingly, the place was clean.
“What’s going on?” Eric asked.
“Funny. I was going to ask you the same thing.” He pulled his credentials from his pocket and showed Eric. “I’ll tell you what I know, and then you can fill in the blanks.” Jeff kept his voice low as he explained all the photos he had of Eric’s deliveries and how the DEA, FBI, and local authorities were working together to put him out of business. “Before you say anything, I want you to know that no matter what, you’re still my brother, and I want to help you.” He pulled a small digital recorder from his bag, pressed record, and placed it on the desk between them.
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