Primary Suspect

by Laura Scott

  She’d be lying if she said she liked being in danger, but at the same time, she couldn’t deny she’d felt more alive in the past twenty-four hours with Mitch than she had in days. Months.

  Years.

  Since she’d buried her feelings and zest for life with Kurt and their unborn child.

  But she couldn’t say that out loud.

  “It’s not your fault someone tried to stab you in the hospital.” She smiled and shrugged. “Helping you find out who is behind these ridiculous attempts to frame you is the best way for me to get my life back.”

  “I guess you’re right. But I want you to know I’ll find a way to make it up to you. I feel terrible that you’re missing your volunteer hours because of me.”

  She lightly smacked herself on the forehead. “Rats, I forgot to call Louise.”

  “You should do that now, before we get back to Hawk’s cabin, just in case...” His voice trailed off.

  She frowned. “In case what?”

  “It’s a long shot, but there is a very slight possibility your disposable cell could be traced.”

  Wasn’t the whole point of disposable cell phones the fact that they couldn’t be tracked? Then again, what did she know about technology? It wouldn’t hurt to follow his lead.

  She pulled out her phone and dialed Louise’s number by heart. The line rang several times before a rushed voice answered, “Hello?”

  “Louise? It’s Dana Petrie. I’m sorry but I won’t be in for the next few days...” She barely finished her sentence before the manager of Home and Harvest interrupted.

  “Dana? Where are you? The police have been here asking questions about you.”

  “What?” she looked at Mitch in shocked horror. “When?”

  “Earlier this morning. They think you’re in some sort of danger.”

  “Hang up,” Mitch hissed. “Now!”

  She frowned at him and shook her head. “That’s ridiculous, Louise. I’m out of town with some friends. No need to worry. If the police return, you tell them I’m fine, okay? I’ll keep in touch.” She ended the call seconds before Mitch plucked the phone from her hand.

  “The police have already been there?” He’d obviously heard Louise’s part of the conversation. “They could have a tap on her phone right now.”

  That possibility hadn’t occurred to her, so she held her tongue as he powered the phone off. He looked so upset, she tried to reassure him. “I thought it was better to act as if I were perfectly fine than to alarm Louise by hanging up abruptly. That would only make her think the worst.”

  Mitch dropped the phone and rubbed his hands over his face. “You’re probably right. Who else will she talk to? Kent’s parents?”

  “Maybe. My in-laws certainly know about my volunteer work.” She didn’t add how they’d never embraced her decision. In Kent’s parents’ eyes, she should live in the lap of luxury, doing things like playing golf or tennis at the local country club.

  The problem was, golf was boring and she was absolutely horrible at playing tennis. Besides, she didn’t see the point of being more involved in the Petrie lifestyle than she was already.

  Crazy as it sounded, volunteering at Home and Harvest had been her secret way of defying them. It wasn’t as if they could publicly denounce her working there. Silly now that she looked back at the situation.

  Once again, she was faced with the relentless truth that she’d taken a passive role in her own life since Kent’s death. Losing her unborn child had sent her emotions into a deep freeze.

  It was embarrassing to realize it had taken a crisis like this to make her see the light. It was well past time she broke away from the suffocating presence of Kent’s parents to stand on her own two feet.

  Mike returned to the SUV. “Coast is clear,” he said.

  She straightened up, moving from side to side to clear the kinks from her back. Then she unbuckled her seat belt and pushed the car door open.

  Mitch unfolded himself from the floor and climbed out the other side. He gave his brother one of those half hugs that men did before sliding behind the wheel.

  Sitting up front beside him felt a little odd, but he didn’t say anything as he drove away from the car rental place.

  “You didn’t mention my call with Louise to Mike,” she said, breaking the strained silence.

  “No.” Mitch shrugged, his face set in grim lines. “I didn’t want to worry him.”

  She understood his need to protect his family, but she couldn’t help thinking that they weren’t going to be able to fight the men who were chasing them without help.

  “We’ll just keep your phone off for now and use mine, only for emergencies.”

  She glanced at him with annoyance. “I’m sorry, but what part of being on the run from men who are trying to kill us isn’t an emergency?”

  He glanced at her with chagrin. “I know, I’m sorry. Listen, I’m going to head to the cabin to drop you off. Then I’m going to go to my house to pick up my notes and Jeff’s related to all the fire investigations.”

  He was going to leave her alone? No way. “Getting all of the notes you have about the fires is a good idea, but I’m tagging along.”

  His jaw clenched. “No, you’re not.”

  Two could play this game. “Yes, I am. I’ll stay in the car if you prefer, but you need someone nearby in case you run into trouble. Besides, don’t you think it’s a strong possibility the police have someone watching your house?”

  “I know they’re watching my place,” he said in a terse tone. “Which is one of the reasons why I don’t want you anywhere nearby.”

  She sighed. “What would Mike suggest?”

  The corner of his mouth quirked in a smile. “He’d tell me to wait until dark and to take someone along.”

  “Well, there you have it. I’m glad that’s settled.”

  “Dana.” The way he said her name in that low husky voice of his sent goose bumps of awareness rippling over her skin. “I’m trying to protect you. The cops may arrest me, but I can’t bear the thought of your being dragged along for aiding and abetting a criminal.”

  “You’re not a criminal.” The denial was instinctive, a fact she believed with every ounce of her being. “And I have confidence we’ll figure out a way to clear your name.”

  He reached out and clasped her hand in his. “I don’t deserve your unselfish willingness to help me, but know that I’ve been praying for us to uncover the truth since this nightmare started.”

  She’d never met anyone who talked about faith and prayer the way Mitch did. She hadn’t opened herself to faith or prayer since losing Kent and their unborn child. At the time, she’d felt as if God had abandoned her when she needed Him the most.

  But maybe it was time to try again. For Mitch’s sake.

  “Then I will, too.” She stared at their clasped hands, unwilling to break the tenuous connection.

  She liked the warmth of his fingers surrounding hers. More than she should.

  SEVEN

  Mitch didn’t like the idea of dragging Dana along with him while he sneaked into his house for the fire-related notes, but he couldn’t in good conscience leave her behind. He momentarily tightened his grip around their clasped hands, enjoying the warmth of her fingers around his.

  “We’ll go later tonight, then,” he agreed. “A little after midnight.”

  “Good.” Dana slid her hand from his and he immediately mourned the loss. Telling himself to get over it, he took a circuitous route to the cabin in an effort to be sure no one followed them.

  Once they arrived, he set aside the hat and settled in behind the computer, intent on digging into Simon’s past. At least Hawk had shared his network password, so they had decent internet access.

  Dana sat close beside him so she could see the screen, as well. The lilac scent of her skin w
as so distracting, he had to read everything twice.

  “What are you looking for?” Dana asked as he scrolled through Simon’s social media photos.

  “Anything that might give me a hint as to why he has muddy work boots in his truck.”

  “Maybe he was doing construction side jobs for extra cash,” Dana suggested. “I wouldn’t be surprised—he was jealous of Kent’s wealth.”

  “He was?”

  Dana grimaced and nodded. “Kent invited his firefighter friends over all the time. Simon in particular made a lot of comments about how nice it must be to live in the lap of luxury.” She put air quotes around lap of luxury. “I told Kent to tone it down, but he liked entertaining so he continued to invite the guys over every chance he had. He didn’t see it as flaunting his money, but I sensed they did.”

  “Interesting.” He could see how Simon might have harbored a deep resentment of what Kent had been given freely by his parents. “What else do you remember about Simon?”

  She looked thoughtful for a moment. “I know he routinely borrowed money from Kent and rarely paid it back. Kent used to complain to me, but that didn’t stop him from lending Simon more money when he asked. I think he felt bad for Simon and figured he was helping out a friend.”

  Mitch had never liked Simon much; the guy was arrogant, even as a rookie. Now, the more he learned about the guy, the less he liked him. Mitch wasn’t okay with someone taking advantage of a friendship by borrowing money he didn’t intend to pay back. Not that it mattered, since both men were dead. “Do you have any idea how the Petries made all their money?”

  She shrugged. “Real estate, I think. They talked about certain apartment and office buildings.” She wrinkled her nose. “Simon used to call them slumlords, instead of landlords, which really upset Kent. I’m sure the property they owned was anything but low-income. The Petries prefer high-class, as you could probably tell by the house they gave us as a wedding gift.”

  “Yeah, you mentioned that. Quite an impressive wedding gift.”

  Her expression turned glum. “I know, right? But how do you say no to parents who want the best for their one and only son? I tried to tell them it was too much and that we’d be happy with something smaller, but they wouldn’t listen. They insisted we have nothing but the best. And Kent loved the place.”

  “I can’t imagine being an only child. My four brothers and my sister drive me crazy more often than not, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”

  “Four brothers?” She looked surprised. “I only know about Mike and Miles.”

  He scooted his chair back so he could face her. And so he could minimize the effect of her closeness. Trolling through Simon’s social media page wasn’t giving him much to go on anyway, and he liked talking to Dana. “Marc is the oldest. He’s an FBI agent. Second in line is Miles, who is a homicide detective. I’m third in birth order, then Mike. Matthew and Maddy are twins, but Matthew was born first, a fact he relentlessly teases Maddy about, as if a couple of minutes is a big deal.”

  Dana’s eyes were wide with shock and maybe a hint of envy. “Wow, that’s incredible. What kind of work are Matthew and Maddy doing?”

  “Matt is a K-9 officer and Maddy is an assistant district attorney.” He grinned. “She wants to sit on the bench someday as a judge and knowing Maddy? She’ll get there.”

  “So many cops.” She tipped her head curiously. “Why did you go the firefighter/fire investigator route?”

  He grinned, remembering his father’s grimace when he announced his chosen career path. Not that his dad was truly upset, but cops and firefighters had a long-standing rivalry, usually good-natured, but sometimes not. Each profession felt theirs was superior, which made for interesting dinner conversation. “Our dad, Max Callahan, was the former police chief and he always encouraged us to go into careers that served our community. But I didn’t like the thought of being compared to my dad and my older brother Miles and, frankly, I was drawn more toward the medical side of things, so I decided to become a firefighter/paramedic.”

  She smiled. “I can certainly understand that. But now you’re an investigator.”

  He nodded, then hesitated, not sure how to tell her that losing her husband on his watch had been the impetus to switch his path. To this day he believed the fire that had claimed her husband’s life had been set on purpose, although Jeff Walker had deemed otherwise. No sense in creating doubt in Dana’s mind, though. He didn’t want to upset her any more than necessary. “I guess those investigation genes in the Callahan DNA won out, because soon fighting fires and saving lives wasn’t enough. I wanted to play a stronger role in stopping people who set fires on purpose.”

  “I can see you as a guy who likes solving a puzzle.” She averted her gaze. “Losing patients can wear you down over time.”

  He understood where she was coming from, so he reached over to cradle her hands in his. “Dana, I have the utmost respect for nurses like you, who work hard to save lives every day. I know it must be difficult when patients die, but you have to know you can’t save everyone. Doing your best is what counts.”

  She dipped her head down as if staring at their joined hands. “I know, but it’s not easy to let go. I often find myself second-guessing my decisions.”

  Was this about her patients? Or her dead husband? Or both? Regardless, he hated the thought of her grieving. He lifted her chin with his index finger so that she was looking at him.

  “It helps to remember that everything happens for a reason, it’s all part of God’s plan. I know it’s not easy to understand His way, but He will always be there for you, no matter what.”

  Her green eyes held the sheen of tears. “I haven’t been a good Christian since Kent’s death.”

  The urge to lean in to capture her mouth with his was strong. She was so sweet and adorable. He managed a smile. “That’s okay. We all stumble in our faith from time to time. I will admit that it wasn’t easy for me to forgive Janice for what she did. In fact. I still struggle at times. God understands your grief and He’s still there, waiting for you to return.”

  “I’ve never talked about God or faith with anyone before,” she said in a low voice.

  Not even with her husband? He didn’t voice the question, just continued to hold her gaze. “Praying silently and from your heart is wonderful. But you shouldn’t be afraid to talk about your faith, either.” He grinned and tried to lighten things up. “You should know by now, the Callahans are a noisy bunch who are not afraid to speak up about anything.”

  “Your family sounds amazing.”

  The sadness intermixed with longing in her eyes was his undoing. He leaned over and lightly kissed her.

  His intent was to offer comfort, but Dana surprised him by returning his kiss, hesitantly at first, then with more confidence. He wanted to haul her off the chair and into his arms, but held back, allowing her to take the lead.

  Their kiss was far too brief. Dana broke away and jumped to her feet, looking everywhere but at him. “I’m sorry, this isn’t right. Please excuse me.” She turned and disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

  That was the second time he’d crossed the line with her, and the second time he’d chased her away. He pinched the bridge of his nose, silently calling himself an idiot. The last thing he wanted was to make things awkward between them.

  Yet he was worried about her. It couldn’t be healthy to be grieving for her dead husband three years after his death. But that was her journey to take, not his.

  Which meant he needed to focus on keeping their relationship at the friendship level, nothing more.

  The last thing he needed or wanted was another woman who would ultimately break his heart.

  * * *

  Dana covered her flaming cheeks with the palms of her hands, mentally berating herself for acting like such an idiot.

  It was only a
kiss.

  Yes, the sad truth was that she hadn’t kissed a man since Kent. But that was mainly because of losing her unborn baby and Kent at the same time.

  Physically she’d gone on with her life, but emotionally it was all she could do to provide care to her patients. Moving beyond that had seemed impossible. In fact, she hadn’t been attracted to anyone in the years since Kent’s passing.

  Until now.

  Until Mitch, a man who’d done his best to save her husband’s life. A man who preferred tall, stunningly beautiful blondes. A man who’d already been betrayed by a woman. She turned on the faucet and sluiced cold water over her face in a pathetic attempt to reduce the redness.

  “Get a grip,” she whispered to her reflection in the mirror. “You are not a naive girl. So what if he kissed you? Knowing Mitch, he was just trying to make you feel better. Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

  Her pep talk, along with several deep breaths, helped settle her erratic pulse. She knew she was being ridiculous, but deep down, she couldn’t deny the fact that she had enjoyed kissing Mitch.

  A lot.

  Too much.

  This weird...attraction that seemed to have taken control of her hormones couldn’t go anywhere. Even if Mitch was interested, which she felt certain he wasn’t, she wasn’t ready to go down the path of loving someone again, only to have it all disappear in one fell swoop.

  She placed her hand over her lower abdomen. The thought of getting married and starting a family filled her with dread. To this day she didn’t know what had caused the miscarriage at sixteen weeks in the first place. Stress after Kent’s death? Maybe. Or it could be something physical or genetic. For all she knew, she might be incapable of carrying a child to full term. Her doctor had offered to do testing, but she’d refused. What was the point? She wasn’t married anymore or likely to be again.

  At least, that was what she had thought. But kissing Mitch had her reconsidering that decision. Maybe it would be better to know...