He heard the first fire truck pull up on the other side of the building. He wasn’t about to wait for them to realize someone was around back. Scooping Tucker into his arms again, he tried to ignore her whimper and the way her entire body shuddered from pain. He headed around to the front just as an ambulance and another engine arrived.
The minute they saw him, the paramedics charged in his direction. “She needs oxygen. And she’s got other injuries. I’m not sure how or why, but it looks like she’s been beaten.”
One of the EMTs produced an oxygen mask and fit it over Tucker’s face. A firefighter rushed up to him, “Anyone else inside?”
“Not that I know of. Tucker?”
Her eyes opened for the first time since they’d made it out of the building. It hurt to see them dulled by pain and grief that he knew he was partly responsible for putting there.
She reached up to move the mask, but the EMT stopped her, so she just shook her head.
One of the hardest things Finn had ever done was to stand back and watch the professionals take care of her. His heart was pounding inside his chest, a combination of adrenaline and fear. They rushed, but in his head it wasn’t nearly fast enough.
He stood there, helpless, hands clasped to the top of his head. Until Tucker’s hand moved from the gurney they’d placed her on, motioning him closer.
He took a step, and then another, until he was standing beside her. She reached for him, grasped his hand and squeezed.
Looking down at her, face a blotchy mess, soot covering everything, he realized she’d never looked more beautiful. Because she was here, alive and silently asking for him.
Dropping his head down to her shoulder, Finn whispered, “I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you, Tucker. It hurt so much to lose my sister. I blamed myself for years. Losing you would be just as devastating. I don’t think I could survive that kind of pain twice.”
Her fingers tangled in his hair, gripping hard and pulling him back so she could look at him. With the other, she reached up and pulled the mask away, batting at the hand that tried to stop her.
“Apparently, I’m damn hard to kill,” she rasped. “Although Dade sure as hell tried. Tell Simmons to meet us at the hospital, I have quite a bit of information to tell him about his partner.” The grim expression on Tucker’s face made Finn’s heart squeeze.
“There’ll be plenty of time for that, Tucker. Right now, we need to get you checked out.”
“No. I want him, Finn. He burned down my bar.”
Of course she did.
“You don’t think Simmons could be involved?”
“No. I’m certain Dade was working alone.”
“All right. I’ll have Simmons meet us, but you’re not talking to anyone until the doctor clears you.”
She grumbled. The EMT reached out and placed the mask over her face again. It didn’t quite hide the glare she was giving him, not that it would do her much good. On this, he wasn’t budging. Her health was a hell of a lot more important than anything else at this moment, and he’d do whatever it took to make sure she was okay.
Even if that meant protecting her from herself.
She gave his hand one more squeeze before they loaded her into the ambulance and, sirens blaring, raced out of the parking lot.
Finn was at the Jeep seconds later, calling Duchess who hopped inside right away. The red-orange glow of flames licked against the inky sky behind him. It hurt to see the Rose in that condition, because he knew how much it would hurt Tucker.
But they’d make it right. Whatever it took, he’d help her rebuild.
16
THE NEXT AFTERNOON, Tucker was resting in her hospital bed. With all of her injuries, they’d wanted to keep her at least a day, so she was stuck for now.
Plus, there was no way Finn was going to let her leave, even if she was chomping at the bit to get her first look at the Rose.
She didn’t trust he was telling her the truth when he said the damage wasn’t that bad. Besides, she had no idea how he’d know, considering he hadn’t left the hospital since he’d arrived.
“If you pace across this floor one more time, I’m going to have to hurt you,” she murmured, trying her best to keep her jaw from moving too much.
Her entire body ached. She had a couple of cracked ribs, lots of minor cuts and a rainbow of bruises.
Finn shot her a grim look, but dropped into the chair beside the bed. So far, he hadn’t said much. At one point she’d tried to start a conversation with him, but he’d basically shut her down and told her they’d talk when she felt better.
Maybe that was smarter, considering the pain meds they’d given her. They were making her feel pretty floaty.
She couldn’t stop watching him. Not just the fluid motion of his body as he’d paced around her room, but his agitation and restlessness. He’d been that way from the moment they’d wheeled her in.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out he wanted to smash something. For her. But was holding back because he knew she needed him.
If she’d had any second thoughts about this man, they fled as she watched him. Yes, he was career military, but that didn’t matter anymore. Not when the heart of him was so beautiful and pure. She’d deal with whatever came with loving him, because no matter how hard she’d tried, she couldn’t stop.
Finn’s cell rang. He glanced at it, grimaced, then answered, “McAllister.”
He grunted a couple of times, said, “Yeah, I’ll take care of it,” and then hung up.
Reaching beside her, he grabbed the controls attached to the bed and turned the TV on. Flipping through, he stopped at one of the news stations. A picture of Simmons filled the screen...standing in front of her bar.
Okay. So, from the little she could see, at least it hadn’t burned to the ground. The roof clearly had some damage, but the rest...
Maybe Finn wasn’t lying to her.
“I’m happy to report that after months of work, a joint drug task force has apprehended a high-priority meth dealer whose product has been linked to several accidental deaths in recent months.”
It didn’t escape her that Simmons left out one tiny detail—the man had been a member of the police force. No doubt, they were hoping to keep that piece of information under wraps for as long as possible.
Simmons had met them both at the hospital, and her statement had been enough for him to call in Internal Affairs. Things had unfolded rather quickly over the last twenty-four hours. Now that they had information pointing them in the right direction, they were able to find overseas accounts in Dade’s name, holding millions of dollars in illicit funds.
After leaving Tucker for dead, Dade had attempted to flee the country, but was stopped by Border Patrol on his way into Mexico.
“Why is he standing in front of my damn bar issuing this statement?” Holy hell. With the obvious fire damage, he made it look like the Rose was the location of the bust.
Pushing up from the bed, Tucker swung her legs over the side. One hand gripped the line running fluids and drugs into her arm. She wanted to yank the thing out, walk out of this place, find Simmons and hurt him.
Finn’s hand landed heavily over hers. The other grasped her ankles and swung her legs back into the bed. “Keep watching.”
“When Ms. Blackburn was informed that someone was selling drugs inside her bar, she immediately agreed to cooperate with the authorities. Her arrest earlier this week was an effort to flush out the actual guilty parties.”
She collapsed back onto the hard bed. “Well, well, well. Who knew Simmons was such a smooth liar?”
&nbs
p; Finn shrugged. “It was hardly intentional, but that’s what happened, isn’t it? Me having you arrested put you in danger, Tucker. Made you a target.”
His mouth thinned, his eyes narrowing into unhappy slits.
“You had no way of knowing that would happen.”
“Maybe not, but I should have listened. Believed you.”
“Yeah, you should have.” What else was she supposed to say? That was the truth. And it would be a long time before the hurt of that went away completely. But, honestly, it was already starting to fade.
“But with the drugs in your safe and what Wyatt had told me...”
She was so damn tired of thinking about those drugs in her safe. Wait. “What did Wyatt tell you?”
“That you’d had some financial trouble when your refrigerator leaked and were up to your eyeballs in debt.”
Tucker groaned and then grasped her ribs when the sound sent a wave of pain shooting through her. “That idiot. I was upset at the damage, obviously, but more so because I’d been saving to make some improvements to the bar and that disaster made me dip into what I had. It was an emotional blow more than a financial one. The only debt I’m carrying is the mortgage for the bar and my house.”
Grasping her hand, he squeezed. “Good to know.”
Simmons’s voice pulled her attention back to the TV. “Unfortunately, Ms. Blackburn’s agreement to assist us placed her in harm’s way. Early yesterday morning she was assaulted, her place of business the target of arson.”
“By the way, they’re adding the arson and attempted murder charges to the others for Dade.”
“Beautiful.” Maybe she should have felt vindicated, but instead she just felt sad.
The story on screen faded away to a commercial. Finn flipped it off, tossing the remote to the end of the bed.
Turning, he set his hip at the edge of her bed and grasped both of her hands in his. For several seconds he stared down at where they were joined.
Tucker watched him. Really watched him. And saw every emotion that flitted across his face, before it finally settled on guilt.
Looking up, he simply said, “I’m sorry.”
The words were so stark and clearly heartfelt. They encompassed so much. And, yet, she still needed more. “For?”
“Everything? For not trusting in you when I’d done everything to crack through your protective layers and force you to trust me. For unwittingly putting you in a position that placed you in danger. For not protecting you. For the pain I know you feel because someone you trusted betrayed you.”
He squeezed both hands. “Promise me, no matter what you decide about us, you won’t let this become a reason to build those walls even higher. You’re an amazing woman, Tucker. You deserve to be happy. To be surrounded by people who love you no matter what. Who’ll be there for you.”
His words petered out and he simply sat there, drilling her with that same deep, observant expression that had snared her the first time they met. He saw so much, more than anyone else she’d ever known.
At first that had left her feeling uncomfortable. But now...it made her feel safe. Because she didn’t have to hide or pretend with him.
And even though there were no guarantees, she knew with Finn McAllister she would always know exactly where she stood. He’d protect her and support her. He’d call her on her bullshit. He’d work beside her if she let him.
He’d give her everything. As long as she promised to do the same.
“What do you mean, whatever I decide about us?”
Hope swirled through his gaze. “Kentucky Rose.” She huffed. He ignored her. “You stormed across that bar and into my life. In a few short days you’ve become the most important person in my world. I can’t imagine a single day without you beside me. I want the chance to build something with you. To prove that you can place your faith in me. To show you that I’ll earn your love.”
A lump formed in the back of her throat. Tucker swallowed hard. “Silly man,” she said, her voice scratchy. Darn smoke. Leaning forward, she placed her hands on either side of his face and drew him closer. “You ask that like I have a choice, when you know damn well you really didn’t give me one. I won’t deny there’s a part of me screaming to push you away, to protect myself from getting hurt. But that would be silly because living without you in my life would hurt so much more.”
“Tucker,” he breathed, right before finding her mouth and kissing her deeply. She sank into it, letting his mouth and words soothe all the places that still ached.
Although she wasn’t quite done. After several moments, she pushed him away. Reaching between them, she pinched his shoulder.
“Ouch! What the heck was that for?” he asked, rubbing the spot.
“Don’t think that means you’re not going to have to make all of this up to me. You owe me, and I intend to make you pay.”
Finn chuckled, scooping her up off the bed and into his lap. “Oh, yeah? I’m sure we can negotiate,” he said, right before kissing her again. This time, his hands started wandering beneath the flimsy gown they’d wrapped her in.
And somewhere beside them, her monitors started beeping faster and faster, not that either of them noticed.
* * * * *
Smokejumper Tate McKnight heats up Sweetheart, South Carolina...and the girl he left behind...in Kira Sinclair’s next sizzling Blaze story:
UP IN FLAMES
Coming soon.
Keep reading for an excerpt from A CHRISTMAS SEDUCTION by Daire St. Denis.
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A Christmas Seduction
by Daire St. Denis
1
A tip to travelers: always be prepared. No matter where you’re going, carry an emergency kit with food, water, matches and other essentials...like a bathing suit.
Jo Duval
JO DUVAL’S PHONE BEEPED—again—but she ignored it. She was too busy navigating the lonely, snow-covered road from Half Moon Creek to the Silver Tree Guest Ranch. Growing up in Chicago, she was no stranger to winter driving, except for the fact that it was so blasted dark out here in the Montana boonies. Plus,
she was all alone. It was just her and Michael Bublé, singing about chestnuts roasting on an open fire. No one knew where she was—her family, anyway—and her flight had been changed at the last minute, so she was arriving a day early. She’d called and left a message at the ranch, so presumably the hosts would be expecting her.
She hoped.
Despite the heat pouring out of the vents in the rented Jeep, she shivered.
What if she got lost on these back roads? Or stranded?
Her mind wandered to a scenario where she was driving a mountain pass—which she wasn’t—and her Jeep skidded toward the guard rail, bumping against it so that she was face-to-face with the cliff and yawning abyss below. In her mind, she wrenched the steering wheel and at the last second, the Jeep swerved, spinning in the middle of the road and ending up in a snowbank on the other side. She’d have to spend the night in the vehicle. She mentally went through the contents of her handbag. What would serve in an emergency situation? She had two candy bars—okay, one and a half—a box of Tic Tacs and...
She reached for the can of soda in her cup holder, picked it up and gave it a gentle shake.
A sip of soda.
Things were not looking good. Did she have matches?
“I should really keep some, just in case,” she muttered to herself.
Her phone beeped.
“I hear you. I hear you.”
The light snow that had been falling suddenly intensified, so Jo turned on her wiper blades, though they didn’t help much. The radio crackled, like it was snowing in there as well, and she turned it off.
“Sorry, Mr. Bublé.”
Visibility was limited to about ten yards in front of the vehicle, and the way the snow came at the windshield was hypnotic, like she was in the cockpit of a spaceship driving at warp speed.
“Ground control to Major Tom,” she sang softly.
She glanced at the clock.
It was only six thirty? How could that be? It felt so much later. The guy at the gas station in Half Moon Creek told her it was a thirty-minute drive out to the ranch. That was almost an hour ago. Felt like two. Leaning forward, she peered ahead, hoping to catch a glimpse of...something. A sign? A building?
Rescue Me Page 18