Setting Off Sparks (Jupiter Point Book 4)

by Jennifer Bernard

  Another photographer was aiming his camera at the Mercedes and the shrouded Molly. “Who’s in the car? Is that the nurse?”

  “No comment. Take your pictures and be done. Let me pass, I’m late for a medical appointment.”

  “Medical? Is it about your father? What’s his prognosis?”

  “What?”

  “Your dad’s illness, any comment on that?”

  The cameras clicked and clicked. He struggled to school his expression to reveal nothing, so they’d have nothing to print. Was Stu really sick? Did they know something real or was it just a ploy to get a reaction from him?

  He fought to show no reaction, but it was pointless. Fuck, he was no actor. He spun away from the Escalade and loped back to the Mercedes. He threw the car in reverse and backed all the way to the next street, where he made a screeching three-point turn and then jammed down on the accelerator to get them the hell out of there.

  As they drove, he tugged his sweater away from Molly’s face.

  “They’re behind us now,” he said, trying to keep his voice even. “Sorry about that.”

  “Starly s—sometimes has p-paparazzi following her,” Molly said. “It’s quite thrilling. Especially in our little town.”

  “Thrilling is not the word I’d use. If I want thrills, I’ll go to Magic Mountain. We don’t need this kind of crap in Jupiter Point. It’s supposed to be quiet and serene here. What happened to all our peace and quiet?”

  “The hotshots c-came.”

  He laughed at that response. True, the arrival of his crew had definitely shaken things up here. “On behalf of the Jupiter Point Hotshots, I apologize. All we want to do is put out fires and keep people safe. We didn’t intend to make this kind of trouble.”

  “You’re a sweet boy.” She smiled over at him. “A very good boy.”

  A loud pop sounded from behind him.

  “Shit.” Finn stared at the rearview mirror. The paparazzi’s Escalade must have blown a tire. It was swerving all over the street, black smoke pouring from one of the tires. The Camry was trying to avoid it, but couldn’t. The two vehicles slammed into each other with a horrible crunch and spun to a stop in the middle of the street.

  Oh hell. Much as he’d like to leave the pesky paparazzi to deal with their own idiocy, he couldn’t. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself. He pulled over to the side of the road again and grabbed his phone.

  “Sorry, Molly. I have to make sure they’re okay.”

  “Yes, you g-go. I’m fine here.”

  As he ran toward the crash, he dialed nine-one-one and filled in the dispatcher. When he got close enough to the two cars, he did a quick scan and sniff for gasoline.

  Since he didn’t see any danger signs, he jogged to the driver’s side of the Escalade. The photographer had a gash on his forehead and was testing his shoulder gingerly. “What the fuck happened?” he asked when Finn appeared.

  “Looked like a blowout.”

  “Damn.” He groaned and groped for his glasses, which had gotten knocked onto the dashboard. Finn reached through the half-open window and grabbed them for him.

  “Paramedics are on their way,” he said. “I just wanted to check on you.”

  “Thanks. And sorry about before. We’re just doing our job.” He put on his glasses and squinted. “Hey, is someone stealing your car?”

  Finn swung around to look at the Mercedes.

  A man in a backpack and a deer hunter cap was running across the street toward the driver’s side door. He had a gun in one hand.

  Dear God. Molly.

  “Call the police,” he ordered the photographer, and hurtled back down the street toward the Mercedes.

  “Hey!” he yelled as he ran. “Police are on their way. Don’t be stupid!”

  The man ignored him and flung open the door of the Mercedes. Then he jerked in surprise. He hadn’t expected Molly, Finn realized.

  When Finn was only a few steps away, the gunman swung around and aimed his weapon at Finn. “Stop where you are. Where’s the nurse?”

  “She’s not here. She’s back in Houston. You’re too late, she already made a statement. Whoever hired you, they’re probably already in custody.”

  The man, who had a sandy crew cut and a nervous manner, kept the gun on Finn. “This is her car, right?”

  So he wanted the Mercedes? Jesus. “Take the car. Let me get the woman out of it. She has Parkinson’s and I’m taking her to the doctor. You don’t need her. And you’d better let me take her quick, because the cops are coming.”

  The gunman gave a brusque nod and gave him a go-ahead gesture. Finn ran to the passenger side and flung open the door.

  Molly fixed wide eyes on him. “W-what’s happening?”

  “He wants the car and we’re going to give it to him.” He bent down to unfasten her seat belt.

  “Don’t touch anything else,” the man said sharply.

  “Anything else? Like what? There’s nothing in here.” He put one arm under Molly’s knees and the other around her back. As he maneuvered her out of the car, he wondered if that was correct. Maybe Lisa had left something important in the car. Her backup file, maybe. Though why that would matter at this point, he had no idea.

  Not important. All the mattered right now was getting Molly to safety. He settled her trembling body into his arms. “I’m so sorry about this, Molly. Bet you’re regretting picking me as your transport, huh?”

  She shook her head. “I’m g-glad you’re here.” She pulled his head farther down to whisper in his ear, “He has a l-lighter. I smelled gas. I think he wants to burn the c-car.”

  Finn gave a quick glance at the man, who was impatiently scanning the street ahead. “We’ll get out of your way now,” he said, hiding the panic roiling inside him. He took a casual step toward the sidewalk. He had to get Molly out of here without causing the man to panic or change his mind or decide to take a hostage or…

  Stop it. Just get out of here.

  The man ignored them and turned his attention to the Mercedes. Finn kept going toward the sidewalk, relieved when his foot hit the curb. This area of Jupiter Point was known as the Flats; it held metal shops, furniture warehouses, that sort of thing. The closest building was a commercial bakery that supplied packaged bread to stores along the central coast.

  If he could just get inside, they’d be safe.

  Even though Molly couldn’t weigh more than a hundred and twenty pounds, she made an awkward bundle. He hunched his torso around her as a kind of shield and headed for the bakery. But when he reached the front door, he saw no signs of activity, no lights. Damn it—closed.

  He couldn’t go back, so he kept going. The next building on the street was a sprawling warehouse, its front door another half-block away. But between the two ran

  a side street—more like an alley. Maybe he could find a side door into the warehouse, and in the meantime stay out of the gunman’s sight.

  He veered onto the side street and instantly felt safer. Even though the man wanted the car, not them, the further away they got, the better.

  Yeah, it would suck to tell Lisa that her car was stolen. But that was nothing compared to protecting Molly.

  “F-Finn,” Molly cried. “He’s c-coming!”

  He swung around.

  Molly was wrong—the man wasn’t coming. But the Mercedes was. It rolled slowly down the alley with no one at the wheel. Trailing liquid behind it. He sniffed. Gasoline. He must have steered it into the alley on purpose. So it didn’t blow up in the main street?

  Blow up. Holy mother of God—it could explode at any moment. There was no way he could reach the end of the alley in time, not while carrying Molly.

  Finn scanned the alley for a way out and spotted a Dumpster about fifty yards away.

  He ran for it. It was like running a sprint while carrying a hundred pounds of cement. He made a mental note to thank the entire Jupiter Point Hotshot crew for making him train so hard. Even so, his thighs burned by the time he reached
the Dumpster.

  He propped open the lid. The Dumpster was filled with packaged loaves of bread that must have recently expired. Instead of garbage and rotting produce, all he smelled was the comforting, yeasty scent of wheat rolls.

  “We got lucky, Molly. It’s like a nest in there. The best-smelling Dumpster on the planet.”

  She clutched at his shoulders. “Why…what’s happening?”

  “We’re getting in,” he told her. “Ever heard of Dumpster diving?”

  Her white hair bobbed as she nodded. He swung her over the edge of the Dumpster and half-tossed, half-guided her onto the pile of plastic-wrapped bread. “You okay? How you doing?”

  She glanced around the big metal container. “Hungry.”

  He laughed. “You’re a wonder, Molly. You’re not panicking at all, are you?”

  Looking into the tight space, he hesitated. A shudder of fear passed through him. Whatever was coming their way, getting into the Dumpster seemed even more terrifying. He’d be shut up, closed in, helpless…

  But one look at her terrified face decided him. He couldn’t leave her alone here. No way. This was their best chance if that car did blow up.

  He hauled himself over the edge of the Dumpster and tumbled in, doing his best not to land on her.

  Slip-sliding on the plastic bread bags, he maneuvered her so she lay behind him. That way he would take the brunt of whatever danger came at them.

  “Seen any peanut butter and jelly in here?”

  She laughed softly, a shaky sound that clutched at his heart. With one last look at the oncoming Mercedes, he reached for the Dumpster’s top and pulled it down. It didn’t fit perfectly, so he could see an uneven strip of light between the lid and the edge.

  “Thank you, Finn,” Molly whispered from behind him, patting his back. Her hand trembled against his shirt.

  He drew in a long breath of yeasty air. The walls of the Dumpster seemed to close in around him. The last time he was crammed into a tiny space with danger threatening outside—oh God. The trunk. The same feeling rushed back—claustrophobic fear. Dark confusion. Terror. And—a memory.

  A name.

  And then a blast shook the Dumpster. The world rang like a bell, then turned bright as a supernova.

  Then black as smoke.

  33

  Lisa collapsed onto the white leather love seat in the sunken den of her mother and third stepfather’s house in River Oaks. The hum of chattering guests and ice clinking in glasses drifted from the rest of the house. With the anniversary cocktail party still in full swing, Lisa needed a break from all the hot gossip.

  Especially since she was Topic Number One.

  After she’d made her statement about what she’d witnessed at the hospital, an investigation had been launched. Senator Ruiz and Dan Block had both been questioned and the hospital’s computerized records seized. Unfortunately, she no longer had the original files since they’d been stolen from Finn’s guesthouse. But she’d handed over her flash drive. A forensic accountant and a computer expert were examining everything now. The truth would come out.

  In the meantime, her role in the drama was done.

  Almost.

  She opened the binder she’d stashed in the den when she’d first arrived at the party. All week, she’d been carrying it around with her, trying to make up her mind. It held an offer from the hospital. Kind of a put-up-or-shut-up offer.

  Her mother danced into the room, champagne cocktail in hand. With the classic Texas-blond blowout and more gold jewelry than a treasure chest, she gleamed under the overhead chandelier. “Are you pooping out already? Boo on you.”

  “Taking a break, Mom. We’re not all party animals like you.”

  “I shouldn’t complain. I never expected you’d be here at all.”

  “Am I such a crappy daughter as that?”

  Sue Ellen let loose a husky laugh. “Oh sweetie, that ain’t it. I know how you feel about anniversaries and all that silly stuff we get up to.” She swayed next to the love seat.

  Lisa steadied her with a hand. “It’s not silly. Ten years is quite an accomplishment. I’m happy for you both.”

  “Well?” Her mother waved at the binder. “Did you decide?”

  “I did. You can be my witness.”

  She opened the folder, grabbed the pen she’d clipped to the document and flipped to the final page. She signed her name with a flourish, then added the date.

  Sue Ellen winked at her. “I see what you just did there. You chose the man. You and me aren’t so different, are we?”

  Lisa made a face at her. “I didn’t sign this because of a man.”

  The document was a small settlement from Houston Memorial. They’d also offered to hire her back if she preferred, along with a huge raise and a management position.

  “Oh? Why, then?”

  “The air is so clean and clear in Jupiter Point. Did you know that there are stars up there and you can actually see them? And the scenery is just breathtaking.”

  Her mother laughed and laughed. “It’s that fireman, isn’t it? I know that look.” She circled her index finger in front of Lisa’s face. “Seen it on my own face enough times. It’s called love, sweetie. L.O.V.E. Loooooove.”

  “Oh Jesus, here we go.” But a smile quivered at the corners of her mouth.

  She wouldn’t admit it to her mother, but she missed Finn like crazy. She missed him so much she couldn’t even call him. She was afraid any contact would make her lose it, and she had to take care of business here.

  It kind of shocked her, actually. In all her practical, hard-working life, she’d never been this moonstruck.

  But that wasn’t why was going back to Jupiter Point. Of course it wasn’t. No, she wasn’t going to be the kind of woman who made decisions based on a man. It just made more sense to accept the settlement. And her Mercedes was still in Jupiter Point, so she had to back. And then there was Sparky…

  Her phone rang, the McGraw name flashing on the screen.

  “Hello?”

  “Lisa? It’s Evie.”

  The serious tone of Evie’s voice made her straighten. Molly. Something must have happened to Molly. “What’s the matter? Is your mother okay?”

  “She’s fine, thanks to Finn. But he’s still unconscious. There was an explosion and—”

  “What?” Half-blind with panic, she launched to her feet, then spun around every which way. “Where is he? Oh my God. Oh my God. Where is he, Evie?”

  “He’s at the regional hospital near the airport. They think he’ll be fine. They ran a CAT scan and saw no swelling. But I thought you might want to know.”

  “I’m coming. First flight.” Lisa picked up her tote bag, grabbed the binder and thrust it at her mother. “Mom, will you…” She couldn’t remember what was supposed to happen to the document and she didn’t care.

  “Sure, sweetie. I’ll take care of this here. You go. And hurry, you don’t want to miss any of that fine stargazing.”

  Lisa barely noticed her mother’s teasing wink as she ran out of the door. “Thank you. Love you.”

  She pressed her phone to her ear. Evie was still talking.

  “There’s more, Lisa. I have bad news about your car.”

  “What?”

  Finn drifted back to consciousness to the memory of baking bread. A beeping sound nagged at him. A warm hand held his. It almost felt like…

  “Finn?”

  Lisa. His eyes flew the rest of the way open. She wore a pink cardigan over a soft white t-shirt and looked like an angel to him. He feasted on the sight of her. But her dark eyes were so wide and worried, skin pale in the fluorescent light of wherever he was.

  Hospital, he realized.

  He sat bolt upright. “Molly! Where is she?”

  “She’s fine. She’s already back home. Not a scratch on her. Last I heard, she was telling the entire tale to Mrs. Murphy.”

  He lay back on the hospital bed. His head throbbed like a mother—

  Mothe
r.

  “I remembered, Lisa. I remembered my family. Their name is DeLuca. I was Elias DeLuca. My mother’s name was Brandi, my father was Ryan. I think they partied a lot. She was probably smoking downstairs and passed out.”

  It all came back like shattered glass flying in reverse, reforming a broken window. The paparazzi, the Mercedes, the Dumpster. Molly. His heart started to race and the monitor beeped faster.

  “Hey, hey.” Lisa squeezed his hand. “It’s okay. Everything’s okay.”

  “There was a man with a gun, he wanted your Mercedes.”

  “Actually, he was looking for any other files I might have hidden in the car. Dan Block knew I had some, but he didn’t know which ones or how many. He hired someone to destroy whatever evidence I had. That’s why the motorhome got torched—apparently he didn’t know we were in it, he was just trying to get rid of potential evidence.”

  “But our cars were right there.”

  “He came in from the woods so no one would see him, and I guess we were pretty quiet. We were kissing at the time, as I recall.”

  As did he. He remembered every second of every kiss with Lisa.

  “So then with the Mercedes, he didn’t have time to thoroughly search it, so he just blew it up. My last remaining possession.” She made a wry face. “Pretty rude, if you ask me.”

  “I’m sorry. I should have done something but I had to get Molly out of there.”

  She fixed him with a fierce look. “You did exactly the right thing. The car means nothing. And Blockhead’s going to pay, especially now that they’ve arrested this jerk. He’s going to sing like a bird. The other one, from Breton, probably will too, now that Block’s going down.”

  Finn nodded, his energy flagging. “I might have to sleep now. You won’t leave…” He swallowed the words before he sounded like he was begging.

  “Finn Abrams-Elias DeLuca, you should know that I am never leaving again.” She lifted his hand to her cheek, her long hair sifting softly across his skin. “When I heard you were hurt…” She broke off, biting her lip. Something gleamed on the upper curve of her cheekbone.

  “Is that a tear?” he asked softly.