Blazing Hotter (Love Under Fire Book 2)

by Chantel Rhondeau

Rogers nodded her head. “You quit about two-and-a-half years ago, though. Right after...”

  “After Dr. Kenneth Morgan got me laughed out of the police station, yes.” There was no sugar coating that, but Cassie was somewhat mollified when Rogers had the grace to look embarrassed and stare at her feet. “That wasn’t your fault, Detective Rogers, and I’m glad you believe me about the situation.”

  Rogers looked back up, her chocolate brown eyes narrowed with a shrewdness that suggested she knew Cassie hadn’t brought that up just to make her feel bad. “So what happened in the neonatal unit that you think might relate to this?”

  “It was a hard job,” Cassie said softly, grabbing her suitcase from beneath her bed and unzipping it. “Good days were great because it meant you saved a baby that was in dire straits.”

  “But the bad days were horrid,” Rogers said, nodding her understanding. “It’s the same being a cop. The days that go bad usually mean someone died.”

  “Exactly. My best friend was head nurse at the time, so I was in on several difficult cases, her right-hand woman. We always tried our best, but sometimes nature won over the miracles medicine can provide. Maybe one of those parents had something bad happen to them and they snapped?”

  “Are there any kids you helped save who have passed on recently? That could be good motivation.”

  Cassie nodded, remembering the woman standing in the center of the rehab facility before Frankie’s party. She’d looked so familiar, and Cassie finally placed her. “I think there’s a real possibility. And I’m even partially to blame because this all happened while Kenneth Morgan was stalking me. I checked the babies ten minutes late one night because he had cornered me in the hallway. One of the kids had stopped breathing during that time and ended up with severe brain damage.”

  “Which wouldn’t have happened if you had arrived sooner?” Rogers asked.

  Cassie nodded, feeling miserable all over again. “More than likely. For some reason the monitor malfunctioned, not alerting anyone there was a problem. The longer without oxygen, the worse it is on the brain. I revived him after getting in the room, but in the years that followed, he didn’t have normal development and never gained much in the way of physical abilities.” Blinking back tears, Cassie forced herself to go on. “His mom was in the hallway of the rehab center right after I returned from my brother’s wedding. I thought she looked familiar, but couldn’t place her. She was crying and said it was all my fault. I didn’t think she meant it was actually my fault, but medical professionals’ in general. It’s something that sometimes happens when people’s loved ones die, and I forgot about her with everything else going on.”

  Rogers came up alongside Cassie, helping to fold the clothing she’d been laying on the bed. “But why wait so long to come after you?”

  “The doctors had all agreed her son wouldn’t have a full life. He started having uncontrollable seizures after the cardiac arrest, and the doctors said eventually one would end his life. What if that’s happened?”

  “Then Kenneth Morgan has more to answer for than being a stalker and a jerk. That mother should hold him accountable, not you.”

  Cassie breathed out a small exhale of relief. It was good to hear someone else agree that checking the babies late hadn’t been her fault. Her friend, Tess, told her that repeatedly after the accident, but Cassie couldn’t help but feel responsible. If she’d stood up for herself and shoved Kenneth out of her way, she might have been in the room when that baby stopped breathing and he would have likely gone on to live a normal life.

  Rogers grabbed her phone from her suit jacket pocket, tapping the screen. “Tell me the names of everyone you remember and I’ll look into it. If this is what started all these deaths, the situation is even sadder than I thought.”

  ***

  Frankie had hoped to avoid Sandy while in the facility, but as he and his dad stepped into the lobby off the elevator, Sandy was waiting to go up it.

  “Frankie! Where have you been?” She bent over his chair, hugging him around his shoulders. “I knew you were leaving with Cassie a few days ago, but you never returned. I had expected you to come back when she left town.”

  Doing his best not to reveal his distaste and anger at the woman, Frankie hoped she’d interpret his curled lip to be directed toward Cassie. “She left town? Well, I wouldn’t know what Cassie’s doing these days. She totally ditched me, kicking me out of her house the day after I left here.”

  “That’s horrible of her,” Sandy said, practically cooing at him. “I can’t believe she’d do that to such a nice guy.”

  The other nurse Frankie knew the best, Rose, walked up. “What’s horrible of who?”

  Sandy pouted and patted Frankie’s shoulders, not seeming to notice how her touch made his skin crawl. “Cassie ditched Frankie. Just threw him right out of her house!”

  Rose raised an eyebrow, looking between Frankie and his dad. “I don’t know how to put this delicately, but you aren’t always a joy to be around, Frankie, especially not when you’re in pain. What did you do?”

  “Don’t blame him,” Sandy scolded. “He’s not at fault. I’m sure it’s Cassie’s fault.”

  Big Frank cleared his throat. “Are you ready, son? We need to get going.”

  “I’m ready.” Frankie smiled at the nurses, doing the best he could not to let his irritation show. Sandy might not be picking up on it, but Rose was more shrewd. Heck, the woman wasn’t even willing to talk crap about Cassie without hearing both sides of the story. It was that attitude that made her such a good nurse, but Frankie couldn’t risk her realizing he was upset with Sandy. “It was good to see you both, but I’m going to spend some time with my dad. Don’t worry if I don’t come back to the center for a while.”

  Sandy smiled at Big Frank, extending her hand to shake his. “I didn’t mean to ignore you, Mr. Hernandez, I just really care about your son and was worried about him.”

  “It’s good to know the people around here take such good care of my boy,” Big Frank said, not indicating one way or the other whether he realized Sandy was the person Bambi had accused of making her buy the flowers. Frankie thought his dad knew, but Big Frank was better at disguising his feelings. “I’ve missed Frankie a lot. Now that he has this great chair, I’m taking him home with me. I’ve got a line on a job for him and everything. It’s time he left this place.”

  “A job?” Frankie was distracted from his anger at Sandy with this news. “What job?”

  “That’s where we’re headed next.” Big Frank made a production out of looking at his watch. “If we don’t hurry, we’ll be late to the appointment I scheduled. Nice to see you again, ladies.”

  Setting off at a brisk pace, his father headed out the doors of the facility.

  “A job?” Sandy asked. “That’s exciting.”

  “It really is,” Rose agreed. “And, hey, don’t worry about Cassie. I’m sure she’ll come around when she gets back to town. She’s usually a reasonable person.”

  “Where has she gone?” Frankie asked, proud of himself for doing such a good job playing stupid.

  Rose shrugged. “Vacation is all she told me. I think she left with whoever sent those flowers last week.”

  “That’s nice for her, I guess.” Frankie shrugged. “I’m getting a new therapist anyway, so I guess it doesn’t matter what Cassie does with herself now.”

  Sandy rubbed her hand against his shoulder. “If you get that job and move out, you should call and tell me all about it. Maybe once you get back on your feet we could go to dinner. I’m going to miss you around here if you live with your dad, but once you aren’t living here we could date.” She flashed a wink.

  She wanted to date him? Frankie was floored, having always assumed her flirting was harmless. Could that be the reason she was after Cassie? Jealousy because Frankie had so obviously been into his therapist? Then again, he’d just made it clear there was nothing going on between him and Cassie, and Sandy didn’t even twitch. Nothing
to suggest she might feel guilty about anything.

  Not that he was ready to believe Sandy was innocent, not until Detective Rogers cleared her.

  Rose made a noise of disapproval and rolled her eyes at the other nurse before focusing on Frankie again. “I’ll see you around. Good luck with the job interview and watch out for yourself.” She glared back at Sandy again before turning and marching down the hallway, likely upset with the younger nurse’s lack of professionalism.

  If only Rose understood how much worse things with Sandy were than being unprofessional.

  He bumped the joystick on the wheelchair to turn it sideways, pointing toward the door. “I’ll keep in touch, Sandy,” he said, “but I need to go now before my dad leaves me and I miss the chance at a job.”

  ***

  Later that night Cassie snuggled against Frankie, curling her leg between his as deep relaxation took over. “I know you once worried about how you’d perform in the bedroom, but trust me when I say you have nothing to worry about.”

  Frankie chuckled. “You aren’t sorry that we’ll never be able to do it in the regular missionary style?”

  Thinking about the multiple orgasms he’d favored her with tonight, Cassie shook her head. “Definitely not. That position is boring, and the two of us together are anything but boring.”

  “Agreed.”

  “I can’t believe your dad got you a job interview.” Cassie’s mind was still blown about that. “Especially without talking to you about it first.”

  He shrugged. “A week ago, I wouldn’t have gone if he’d asked first. Besides, it was just an interview, and the position doesn’t open up for three months.”

  “But that’s perfect,” Cassie said, wanting Frankie to get excited about the possibility of working again. She had a suspicion that he was afraid to hope, just in case it didn’t happen, but right now hope was worth a whole lot. “You can get the amputation done when we come back from the island, and you’ll be healed before you start working.”

  “If they hire me,” he said. “Don’t put the cart before the horse.”

  “Why wouldn’t they want you?” Cassie asked, refusing to let him give up on himself so easily. “It’s a dispatcher job. Who knows more about helping people in need and sending out the right emergency services than you do? You were a fireman for goodness’ sake.”

  To her relief, Frankie nodded. “That’s true. I’m qualified. Plus, their computer system is set up with voice command software, so the fact that I could only type with one hand wouldn’t slow me down that much. The supervisor over there was receptive to the idea and seemed excited they’d finally get better use out of expensive software since no one else likes it.”

  “How did your dad even know about the position? It sounds like the perfect job for you, but I’m sure they didn’t advertise in the newspaper that they have voice recognition software.”

  “No, they didn’t.” Frankie’s hand circled around her, cupping her against him. “I might have been too hasty to judge my dad’s new girlfriend when I decided that I didn’t like her without meeting her. She works in the mayor’s office and found out about the job. I guess she talked to the supervisor over there before mentioning it to my dad, and she put in a good word for me.”

  “But then you’re sure to get the position!” Cassie couldn’t help but be happy. If Frankie had a job again, he’d be that much closer to being the man he used to be. That much closer to being able to really judge whether he wanted her because he loved her, or if she was a stepping stone on his way to something greater.

  As much as she feared it might be the former, she’d rather he find out and get his life back, rather than continuing to think of himself as a crippled person just so she didn’t lose him.

  “We’d better enjoy this vacation Thayne and Laura are giving us,” she said, hugging him tightly. “Things could change quickly once we get home.”

  “Some things will never change,” Frankie whispered into the dimly lit room. “I’ll always love you.”

  Chapter Twenty

  “And do you Laura Lyon take this man to be your husband?” the wedding official asked.

  “I do.” Laura’s eyes glowed with happiness as she stared at Thayne.

  Frankie couldn’t help looking past them toward Cassie.

  The warm breeze hitting them off the ocean blew her tightly curled hair across her face and made the gauzy peach dress she wore flutter like butterfly wings around her body.

  The bride might be beautiful with a smile that rivaled the brightness of the sun itself, but she had nothing on his woman. The men and women had separated the last few days, and being absent from Cassie only made Frankie realize how much he really cared for her. He couldn’t wait to have her back in his bed tonight.

  Before Frankie realized what was going on, lost as he was staring at Cassie, Thayne and Laura kissed and the wedding was over. The restaurant’s patrons, who had stopped eating their meals and become bonus guests to the festivities, broke into applause.

  Cassie wrapped Laura into a big hug at the same time as Thayne turned toward his best man.

  Thayne’s smile was every bit as wide as Laura’s. “I did it, bro. She’s my wife.”

  Frankie clapped him on the shoulder in congratulations. “Who would have thought giving her homemade chicken and saving her kitten was all it took to make her fall in love?”

  “That and a whole lot of persistence,” Thayne pointed out.

  Frankie nodded. “Let’s just hope persistence wins out for me as well.”

  “It will,” Thayne said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to thank your girlfriend for being the maid of honor and then whisk my wife off to our honeymoon hideaway.”

  “Go for it,” Frankie said. “And enjoy your night. We won’t worry if we don’t hear from you for a few days.”

  Laura approached Frankie with open arms, but her smile shifted to a frown and she stopped before hugging him. “You okay? You’re sweating. I think you need to sit down.”

  Frankie shook his head. “I wanted to stand up for you and Thayne, literally. Don’t worry. I’m okay, my legs are just a bit tired. Congratulations, beautiful.”

  A pretty blush spread up Laura’s cheeks and she launched herself into him with a tight hug, her puffy veil swirling around them both. “I’m so happy you were here, Frank. I can’t tell you what this means to me and Thayne both.”

  He nodded but then made a shooing motion. “This is your day to celebrate. I’m glad I could attend, but I’m not the big story. Get out of here. I don’t want to see either one of you for a while.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about that.” Laura winked before turning to take her husband’s arm and walking across the wooden platform of the restaurant to exit onto the beach.

  “Okay, they’re gone,” Cassie said, stepping across to him and pushing the control on his chair. “Sit. This has all been too much on you.”

  “I’m fine,” he protested, though his legs would have wept with relief if they were able to as the pressure came off them.

  “You aren’t fine. I heard about you and Thayne dancing with all the pretty girls at that beach party last night, and you still look a bit hung over. You’ve been overdoing things.”

  “Who knew this chair could handle the sand as long as it was packed down?” Frankie laughed. “For the record, we didn’t dance with all the pretty girls. You and Laura weren’t there.”

  Cassie rolled her eyes. “Cheesy.”

  “But true.”

  It was her turn to laugh. “Come on. Let’s get out of here so the waiters can put the tables back in order. Housekeeping was supposed to move Thayne’s stuff into Laura’s room and put my stuff in yours now that the bride and groom can sleep together. Let’s get to our home away from home.”

  “They were so silly about not spending the last few days together. I had no clue we were coming to a paradise island only to be separated.”

  Cassie shrugged, leading the way to the exit ramp.
“Spending time away from each other helped them realize what they were getting today. They wanted tonight to be extra special.”

  “It’s extra special for us too,” Frankie pointed out. “These last three days have been torture.”

  “Torture, huh?” Cassie laughed. “I have to admit that you look hot in that tux, but let’s get back to the room and see how hot you are without it.”

  ***

  After a round of lovemaking and a nap, Cassie decided to test out the jetted tub in their private bungalow. Laura had kept her so busy with shopping at the island’s boutique stores, spa visits, surf lessons, and late nights talking about what she hoped the future would hold that Cassie hadn’t had a chance to relax since reaching the island.

  However, keeping so busy had also kept her from worrying what might be going on back home with the murder investigation. Detective Rogers had promised to call her if they made an arrest, and so far the hotel room phone had yet to ring.

  She lay back in the warm water, struggling to loosen tense muscles. Apparently it was impossible to relax even when she was an ocean away from the person trying to kill her.

  As though her thoughts had summoned a call, the loud peal of a landline telephone spread throughout the bungalow. Cassie remembered a phone beside the bed as well as out in the living room. Frankie should be able to reach it, but she didn’t want to take any chances.

  Rising from the water, Cassie wrapped one of the fluffy McCallister Paradise robes around her body and raced for the bedroom, sliding on the wet tiles beneath her feet.

  Frankie had managed to roll over and answer the phone but had his back turned to her.

  Cassie hurried toward him, wanting him to know she needed to talk to Rogers herself.

  “Hey, Mom,” Frankie said. “I’m glad to hear your voice. I thought you’d never call back. Dad must have told you how to reach me?”

  Cassie stopped at the end of the bed, trying not to feel defeated. Would Rogers ever call? They had to leave the island in a few more days, and Cassie didn’t know where she would go if they still hadn’t caught the killer.