Hot Shot

by M. J. Fredrick

  “Do you have any idea where Kim could be now?”

  Gabe shook his head. “I wish to hell I did. I’d bring her in myself.”

  Peyton tapped a rolled-up flyer against her thigh as she waited in the Missoula airport for her flight home. The news of the fires played in a continuous loop on the TVs throughout the waiting area. Every yellow shirt reminded her of Gabe, every shot of flames reminded her of how they’d almost died.

  Being dead would almost be preferable to the pain twisting in her. She was paralyzed with a grief similar to what she’d felt when Dan died. The terror of seeing Gabe unconscious and unable to help him left her off balance.

  Now she’d lost him anyway thanks to her unwillingness, as always, to risk herself.

  She didn’t have the courage to change her mind.

  If she’d known, when she met Dan, that their time would be limited, would that have stopped her from falling in love with him? She dropped her head to her hands, squeezing her eyes shut, seeing the big charming man she’d adored, she’d married.

  She hadn’t had a choice then. The emotion, the joy had swept her up; she hadn’t known enough to be scared. What she wouldn’t give for that innocence now.

  She twisted the flyer tighter—a picture of Kim and Kevin, crudely drawn, that someone had handed her as she walked into the airport. As if she’d ever forget what they looked like. Still, they wouldn’t hang around this firefighter town. Surely they weren’t so dumb.

  The theory—her theory, anyway—was Kim had done this to get Gabe. She’d started the fire to get his attention, then set up his nemesis, and finally, tried to kill his lover. But Peyton hadn’t played the idea through, to figure out what might happen next. What would Kim do if she got what she wanted? Peyton was out of the way, Gabe was free. Would Kim walk away if he was what she’d worked toward?

  No. Kim would go after Gabe. And as little as she was, Gabe was in no shape to resist her.

  Peyton scrambled through her pack for her cell to call Agent Devlin to relay her fears, but her battery was dead. Of course. Where had she been able to plug it in? She tossed it back into her pack and dug for change, but again, she’d had no use for money in fire camp, and all her cash was in bills.

  She had to call the hospital, the police, someone. She pulled out a twenty, tugged her pack over her shoulder and ran to the gift shop. She grabbed a bar of chocolate, paid, then rushed back to the bank of pay phones. Three of the four were occupied, and the fourth out of order. How could that be? Didn’t everyone have cell phones these days? She shifted in impatience but no one on the phones took the hint.

  She could get to the hospital herself faster. Once she made the choice, she raced out of the terminal.

  A soft hand stroked Gabe’s jaw, waking him. “You came back.”

  Lips brushed over his. Not Peyton. He opened his eyes to see Kim standing over him, startling in dark hair, smiling. Every ounce of will kept him from jerking away.

  “You knew I would,” she murmured, moving closer, her breasts against his arm. “Now we can be together. I love you, Gabe. True love, not like Peyton.”

  His mind raced. Telling her no way in hell was probably not the smartest thing, so he tried for an all-business tone. “You have to turn yourself in.”

  Her expression tightened and she moved back a little. “I won’t. We have a place. We’ll be happy there, the three of us. You’ll love it, Gabe. In the mountains, surrounded by the forest.”

  “Till you set fire to it,” he muttered, and attempted to sit, but his head swam. What the hell? Peyton had said he wasn’t that bad off. Why couldn’t he sit up?

  And then he saw the syringe in Kim’s hand, the plunger depressed, the cylinder empty. The IV cord still swayed from her tampering as the sedative flowed into his system.

  She’d drugged him.

  Yeah, true love.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Peyton raced into the hospital after tossing another twenty at the cab driver. She stumbled into a nurse but didn’t look back, didn’t apologize, as she headed for the elevators, slapped the up button. Adrenaline had her muscles quivering till the doors slid open and she stepped inside.

  She would be between Gabe and Kim now. She snorted a little laugh. Being in that position had started this to begin with.

  Now she needed to worry about what to say to Gabe. She had four more floors to figure out whether she was back for good.

  Who was she fooling? She couldn’t walk away from him twice. Once had been hard enough.

  Again her thoughts drifted to those early days with Dan. Would she have walked away, knowing the pain she’d suffer when he died? Maybe. Maybe she’d have been able to. But look at what she would have missed, his energy, his big personality, his love.

  What would she miss if she walked away from Gabe now?

  She’d told herself he didn’t love her, she’d only known him a week.

  But no man jumped out of an airplane when he hated to fly. No man risked his life for a woman he didn’t love.

  And she’d been such a coward, she’d left him at his lowest point.

  She didn’t deserve him. But God, she wanted him.

  The doors slid open on the fourth floor and she turned toward his room. Before reaching the door, she sensed something was wrong, and she would have more time to decide what to say.

  His bed was empty, the sheets rumpled, a streak of blood across the pillow.

  Peyton pivoted toward the nurse’s station. “Where is Gabe Cooper?”

  A young nurse in Betty Boop cartoon print scrubs didn’t look up from her paperwork. “They took him to x-ray.”

  Peyton’s heart rate slowed a fraction. “Where’s that?”

  “First floor, turn right when you get off the elevators, end of the hall,” the girl said as if she’d said it a thousand times.

  “Thank you.” Peyton turned back to the elevators, but couldn’t shake the unease. Maybe it was just the uncertainty of making up with Gabe, worry over his reaction to her return. God, she really hoped that was what caused her anxiety.

  But when she reached x-ray, the tech told her Gabe had been in earlier. No one knew where he was. She checked with admissions, had the girl there promise to page his doctor to see if Gabe had left against medical advice.

  Maybe she had this all wrong. Maybe Gabe had been pissed off and left.

  Maybe—her heart bumped at the thought—he’d come after her.

  Agent Devlin strode through the sliding glass doors as she walked out of admissions, trying to decide what to do next. She’d had the cabbie call the agent on her way back to the hospital, but what if it had been for nothing?

  But no, her instincts were good, usually. Kim would come after Gabe, she was sure. Whether or not Gabe would be here was another issue.

  She approached the agent, grateful to have someone with whom to share the burden.

  “I thought you’d gone home,” he said.

  “I changed my mind. I started thinking Kim wouldn’t walk away and I did…” She trailed off. He didn’t want to hear this. “Any word on Kim?”

  He shook his head.

  “Have you talked to Gabe?”

  “I have. Maybe an hour ago.”

  Hope surged. Not much could happen in an hour, could it? “Because he isn’t here now.” She explained what had happened. “When you talked to him, did he seem like he was ready to leave against medical advice?”

  “No, ma’am, but he was stewing a bit.”

  Her face heated. “Does this hospital have security cameras?”

  He grinned and lifted his gaze over her head.

  At the camera pointing right at the door he’d come through.

  Peyton watched the bank of six screens in frustration as she, Agent Devlin and a security guard ran through video of the past two hours. The camera Agent Devlin had pointed out was great for seeing who entered the hospital, but worthless for seeing who left. However, a camera in the parking lot was better.

  “The
re’s something odd.” Peyton pointed, her heart jumping. “Nurses don’t take wheelchairs all the way to the parking lot to release patients.”

  Yet a dark-haired woman in generic green scrubs was muscling a wheelchair over a curb to a truck. The man in the chair lolled to one side—unconscious and still dressed in a hospital gown. Peyton leaned closer to study the video. The woman was small, and her dark hair contrasted sharply with her white skin.

  “It’s Kim!” she breathed.

  Agent Devlin snapped to action. “Get the plate on the truck,” he told the guard as he pulled out his phone. “I need access to traffic cameras and activity in the past”—he leaned closer to peer at the time stamp—“forty-three minutes, from St. Patrick’s hospital. And I need a BOLO for a black dually truck with the license number KA 4354. Three passengers, two men and a woman. No idea where they’re heading.”

  He flipped the phone shut and looked at Peyton. “Ready to go watch more video?”

  “She risked everything to come back to him,” Peyton murmured as they walked out of the hospital to Devlin’s car. “There were no leads on her. She risked her freedom.”

  “Then she kidnapped him,” Devlin pointed out, opening the passenger door for her. “You saw how he was sitting, how he was dressed. So, yeah, she risked everything, but that’s not love. That’s not real.”

  “How long do you think it will take her to realize it?” Peyton asked when they got on the road. “And what will she do to Gabe when she does?”

  Agent Devlin’s mouth was grim. “I don’t think she’ll take it well.”

  “Gabe isn’t one to make nice. We’d better find him soon.”

  Traffic cams were few and far between in Missoula, and black trucks weren’t. Kim and Kevin had at least been smart in their choice of stolen vehicle. Worse, all the camera footage was in black and white, so every dark-colored dually appeared black.

  “We need more manpower.” Devlin returned to the surveillance room with two cups of coffee.

  Peyton took one gratefully. She’d slept a bit in the chair in Gabe’s hospital room, waiting for him to wake, but she hadn’t slept in a bed since the one she shared with Gabe in Missoula. Was it the night before last now? No wonder her eyes blurred. The coffee wasn’t good, but gave her the jolt she needed. Time was too important.

  “More manpower for what?” she asked.

  “Most gas stations and banks have video cameras. Thing is, we don’t know which direction they’re heading, so we don’t know which video cameras to look at.”

  “Get the Bear Claws,” she said, straightening.

  “The what?” His brows drew together.

  “Gabe and Kim’s crew. They’re not on the fire line now. Get them to go to different stores for the videos.”

  “Stores aren’t going to allow that to happen.”

  She thought of the man at the general store. “They will if we tell them we’re hunting for the arsonists who set the fire threatening Bounty. This is a firefighting town, Agent. People will help. And the Bear Claws will help Gabe.”

  He tossed his phone to Peyton, who dialed Jen. “Jen, we need your help.”

  Gabe came to when his head cracked against something hard. He opened his eyes to see he’d hit it against the metal frame of a truck door. Before he could lift a hand to brace himself, he cracked it again. And then again, because his damn hand wouldn’t respond.

  Right. Drugged. In the front seat, Kim—weird, dark-haired Kim—was jouncing around too, and Kevin, presumably, with a cap pulled low, was driving. Where the hell were they? The road was pitted as hell. How long had he been out? He managed to get his hand out so he wouldn’t crack his head again, and the movement caught Kim’s attention.

  She turned back and smiled. “Hey. How’re you doing?”

  Damn, her voice was as smooth as if they were going for a Sunday drive. Which, maybe they were. What day was it, anyway? “Where are we going?” he croaked. He smelled ash, tried to lift his head to see out the window but his muscles wouldn’t cooperate. What had she given him?

  “Someplace private. Slow down, Kevin, I’m going into the back.”

  The jostling slowed and Kim climbed over the seat to sit beside him. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to get your clothes. We kind of were in a hurry.”

  He looked down at his hospital gown and felt more naked than he had in his life. If he managed to get away from the Crazy Twins, he’d freeze. These mountains got damned cold, even in summer. And between the way she studied him, kind of Little Red Riding Hood gone darkside, and his lack of coordination, he felt damned vulnerable.

  “What’s going on here, Kim?” he mumbled, his lips not wanting to cooperate.

  “I’m going to show you what real love is. You clearly don’t choose women very well, so I decided to show you.” She twirled a lock of hair around her finger. “I was going to dye my hair blonde, but I didn’t want to remind you of Jen or Peyton. I want you to just see me.” She trailed a finger up his bare thigh.

  He wanted to flinch away, but couldn’t. So he shoved at her with words. “You damn near killed me.”

  Her eyes hardened. “I didn’t tell you to jump out of the stupid plane for the stupid girl who couldn’t stay with you when you needed her. God, Gabe, you’d think you would have learned your lesson with Jen.”

  “And you’re going to teach me.”

  She nodded.

  “What about Kevin, there?” He inclined his head toward her brother. “Won’t be very cozy with him around.”

  “I need him there till you see the light. Can’t have you running away in the middle of the night. Of course, dressed like this, you won’t get far.” She smiled, like it was all one big joke.

  Christ. He didn’t have shoes. And even if he was able to overpower Kevin, the kid was little. No way would Gabe fit into any of his clothes.

  He was screwed.

  Peyton and Devlin met the Bear Claws and the deputies at the crossroads. The road forked in three directions, two paved, one a dirt road, dusty and pitted.

  “You were right,” Devlin told Howard. “We saw the video from the Exxon station. They headed this way.”

  Howard rolled his eyes. “I’ve worked with Kim a long time. I’d recognize her even with the freaked-out hair.”

  “The question is, which way did they go from here?”

  “And how long till the road turns off?” Peyton muttered, battling despair and losing. The sun had set, not much longer before full dark, and all Kevin would have to do to avoid detection was to pull off.

  “Are any of you familiar with this area?” Devlin asked.

  “I grew up around here,” one of the deputies said.

  “If you were on the run from the law, which way would you go?”

  The deputy, a young man probably midtwenties, whose nametag read Simpson, scratched his chin. “If I was looking to get out of state, I’d take that one.” He pointed to the road leading south. “But if I wanted to lay low, I’d take this one.” He pointed to the dirt road. “A whole lotta nada out there. A few old hunting cabins scattered around.”

  “Maybe that’s something,” Peyton said hopefully.

  “Something,” Devlin agreed, shining his light on the road. “A vehicle’s been through here recently. Big tires too.” He glanced back at Simpson. “You say nothing’s down here?”

  “No, sir. Not a lot of traffic.”

  “The rest of you split up, take the other roads. Simpson, you’re with me.” Devlin turned to Peyton. “Coming?”

  Like he could stop her. She climbed into the backseat of his rented sedan and buckled in.

  Gabe staggered up the steps to the hunting cabin, leaning heavily on Kim, though Kevin tried to take some of his weight. Gabe’s strategy worked better for keeping both off balance. Strength was returning to his legs, but it would do no good to reveal that now and not be able to run without shoes. He allowed Kim and Kevin to guide him into the shack, into a bedroom with a double bed covered with a Native Amer
ican woven spread. Is this where Kim and Kevin had fled after the attack on Peyton?

  “Is this the honeymoon suite?” he asked, deliberately slurring his words.

  Kevin shrugged out from under his arm and pushed him onto the bed. “You bet.”

  Gabe struggled to sit up. “Damn, I’m hungry. You have any food?”

  Kim gave Kevin a look. He grumbled and left the room as Kim sat beside Gabe, way too close.

  “I’m sorry it has to be like this,” she murmured, brushing one breast intentionally against his arm. “I promise I’ll take good care of you.”

  “What about firefighting?” he asked. “We can never go back to firefighting.”

  She stroked his hair. “I understand how important it is to you. I’m sorry to take you away from it.”

  “Peyton wanted to take me away from it and you hated her for it.”

  “You won’t miss it,” she crooned, caressing his chest.

  She wasn’t going to—was she? He had to stop her, push her away as her hand slid down his belly. “I will. It’s who I am.”

  His sharp tone made her snatch her hand away. “You’d leave it for her.”

  “I love her.”

  She drew back and hit him across the face, fingers curved inward to scratch his cheek. Stung like hell, but at least she didn’t have long nails. Still, it’d leave a bruise.

  “How can you say that to me?” she demanded. “After all I’ve done for you, all I’ve been for you?”

  “Yeah, my own personal psycho. Gotta love that.”

  Her eyes flared and she leapt from the bed, backing toward the door, just as Kevin came in with a sandwich. She blocked her brother from giving it to him.

  “No, nothing,” she said. “He can’t have anything until he agrees to love me and never speak her name again.”

  She slammed the door and Gabe found himself alone, virtue intact, and free to explore the room for clothes and shoes. He was glad they thought he was still weak, so they hadn’t restrained him. Quickly, he looked under the bed, gagged when he saw the skeleton of either a large rat or small cat, but no shoes. He opened the closet door quietly. A long jacket—well, long on some people—hung inside. It was musty, but better than nothing. No shoes on the floor, but when he stood on his toes—and caused the floor to creak—on the top shelf he saw some old hunting boots close enough to his size. The boards beneath his feet creaked again as he reached and he froze for a minute. Then he grabbed the boots—the leather was old and crumbly—and dragged them down. He turned them upside down and tapped the heels, a trick he’d learned long ago. Rarely did it yield anything, but now a scorpion the size of his finger dropped out and scuttled toward him. He cursed and jumped back, then crushed the insect with a boot.