Blazing Hotter (Love Under Fire Book 2) (26 page)

Rose hurried to spread the kerosene around the room as requested, handing the lighter she’d used to start the lamp in the first place over to Kenneth. “Say your goodbyes, honey. Let’s get out of here.”

Kenneth turned to Cassie, raising a single eyebrow and grinning. “There’s just one problem with this plan.” Without warning, he swung his entire body around, slamming his fist full force into Rose’s head.

The woman dropped to the ground without uttering a sound, completely knocked out.

If anything, Kenneth’s smile grew bigger. “I need the cops to figure out who was responsible for this fire and all those killings back in Sayle. I’ll free one of your hands so they can assume you landed the blow that knocked her out after she started the fire. It’s too bad you couldn’t get free before the smoke killed you.”

Coming at her with the knife, Kenneth let out a maniacal laugh as he sawed through the rope. “Good to know you, Cassie. I hope Hell is as nice for you as Earth has been.”

Dropping the knife so it was just out of her reach, Kenneth backed toward the doorway, lighter in hand.

“W
e’re almost there,” Brad said from his position at the driver’s seat.

Laura reached behind the ATV from her spot in the back seat, squeezing Frankie’s shoulder in the trailer behind. “We’ll find her.”

Frankie didn’t know if he believed that or not, but at least they were doing something now. Another second in that room, and he would have gone crazy. Nothing mattered at this point. He didn’t even care what Cassie had lied about. All he needed was to have her in his arms, alive and safe.

Brad spun the ATV in a tight circle, nearly launching Frankie’s wheelchair off the trailer. The maneuver caused the lights of the vehicle to shine on three broken down beach huts. The one nearest them had light flickering from inside.

“They’re here,” Thayne shouted, grabbing the gun Brad had provided and vaulting from the front seat.

As quickly as he could, Frankie unlatched the rope holding the trailer’s ramp into place. He cruised his chair down the ramp and onto the rocky ground, bumping and jostling his way behind the others as they raced for the hut.

His own gun sat at his side, tucked between his thigh and the chair. He wouldn’t hesitate to shoot Sandy. This ended tonight.

Just as they all stopped in front of the closed doorway, trying to decide what to do, the door swung inward and a man came stumbling out, coughing as flames flickered across the ground behind him.

“Don’t move!” Brad and Thayne yelled together, each pointing their guns at the man.

“What are you doing here?” Brad asked.

Though the flickering light from the fire behind the man made it hard to be sure, dread filled Frankie as he recognized the man pictured on Sayle Regional Hospital’s website.

“That’s Kenneth Morgan,” Frankie said, drawing his own gun. “He’s the dick who stalked Cassie.”

Kenneth shook his head. “You don’t understand. I’ve been trying to save her. Rose has gone crazy.”

“Who the hell is Rose?” Thayne asked, not lowering his gun.

It was Rose in there with Cassie. Frankie swallowed down his surprise. “Rose is a different nurse at the rehab center, not the one we suspected.”

Behind Kenneth, the sputtering flames inside the doorway rose higher, catching at the moldy straw insulating the wall.

“Frankie?” came a soft voice from inside the cabin. “Help me.”

“It’s Cassie!”

Not thinking about the danger to himself, Frankie throttled the wheelchair’s control as far as it would go and zoomed toward the entrance.

Kenneth dodged out of the way at the last second before Frankie hit him, and a scuffle ensued behind him as the others took him down. Despite their yelling and the sound of a gunshot, Frankie didn’t turn back.

Flames licked at the walls all around him and a trail went further into the hut, leading to a bed. The bed was free of flame, but not empty.

Cassie struggled against ropes holding her down, trying to undo the knot on one hand with her other free hand. “Frankie, quick. He dropped a knife over here but I can’t reach it.”

The flames did their best to cut off his access to her, and the smell of burning rubber and plastic mixed with the pungent aroma of kerosene.

He could walk. He had to. It was now or never.

Undoing the straps holding him into the chair, Frankie lurched upright, charging through the fire with a stumbling gait. He hit something soft and fell down, unsurprised to land on top of a body. So this was what happened to Rose. The fire hadn’t reached her yet, but the woman wasn’t moving.

“Hurry, Frankie,” Cassie begged. “I thought I wanted to die, but I heard you out there and all I want is to be with you.” She began coughing as smoke seemed to overwhelm her from her position higher up on the bed.

Crawling as best as he could without regard to Rose’s body, Frankie dragged himself across the floor, spotting the glint of metal near the bed. “I see it. I’m coming.”

Reaching for the hilt, it was as though his hand couldn’t grasp the handle of the knife. His fingers just wouldn’t close. Frankie looked over his shoulder, seeing that the fire had them surrounded. Only the spot around the bed hadn’t caught fire yet. His chair was a lost cause and if he didn’t get Cassie out of here soon, they would both join the chair in a fiery death.

“No!” He yelled, clenching as tightly as he could.

His hand finally contacted with the knife and he jerked it upward toward Cassie. “Take it,” he screamed. “You have to cut yourself loose.”

Deep coughing still came from her, but her fingers closed around his and she transferred the knife to her grasp. After a few seconds, her feet slid over the edge of the bed and her hands were against his shoulders.

“Come on, Frankie,” she pleaded. “We have to get out of here.”

“Go,” he ordered. “I’ll be right behind you.” He looked up on the bed, spotting the moldy blanket. “Put that over your head and run through the fire. You can make it out.”

Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head, as though suspecting what Frankie already knew. He wasn’t getting out of this hut. “We’re going together,” she said.

Although she hissed in pain and Frankie shuddered to think what Rose and Kenneth had done to her, Cassie bent down and tried to lift him to his feet. Knowing she was in pain, he couldn’t let her struggle through on her own. He didn’t know where the strength came from, but Frankie pushed himself upright with his bad hand and helped as she pulled him to a standing position.

Grabbing the blanket from the bed, Cassie swirled it over both their heads, holding him close to her and helping him run for the doorway.

“Watch out for the chair,” he warned as they raced toward freedom.

Each step was an agony as his legs protested so much movement, but he had his woman and they were going to be together. That was all that mattered.

***

C
assie stumbled from the building, every inch of her body hurting and her lungs burning for fresh air. She didn’t have time to rest, though. People stood on the beach and they had Kenneth surrounded at gunpoint. As much as she hated the necessity, they had to save Rose.

“Rose is still in there,” she yelled as loud as she was able with her smoke-filled lungs. “Someone has to save her. Kenneth knocked her out so he could frame her for the murders, along with Sandy, I think. Rose wore a wig to look like Sandy. She knows what all he did and is the only one who can help stop him.”

Over Laura’s screaming protests, Thayne charged into the flames, swooping the blanket off Frankie and Cassie as he ran past. Seconds later, he came back through, holding Rose’s limp body in his arms as he shed the blanket from his shoulders.

“You idiot,” Laura said, rushing toward the group. “Why would you risk making me a widow on our wedding day?”

Thayne dropped Rose on the ground to gather his wife into his arms, kissing her deeply. “I’m okay, cat woman,” he said. “I’m fine. We couldn’t let her just die, even if she is a killer.”

When Laura nodded and buried her head against Thayne’s chest, obviously forgiving him, Cassie allowed herself to collapse. It was still hard to breathe and the sand filling in cracks between all the rocks seemed to scrub her cuts raw.

Frankie crawled up beside her, gingerly tracing her cheekbone with his fingertip. “I can’t believe they did this to you. I’m so sorry, Cassie. I should have never let you leave.”

Cassie sighed and closed her eyes. “You think you could stop me?”

Frankie chuckled. “No. You’re going to do whatever you want to. That’s one of the things I love about you.”

“Oh, Frankie.” She opened her eyes, nearly weeping when she saw how much tender love filled his gaze. “I’ve been an idiot. Love scares me, I just didn’t realize it. I’ve never let myself get too close to anyone so that I couldn’t lose them. But I don’t have a choice anymore. I love you. All I want is to be with you, no matter what struggles we have to conquer to make it happen.”

He nodded. “I’d kiss you, but I’m afraid to hurt you.” He glared over at Rose’s unmoving form. “Are you certain she’s only knocked out and not dead? As much as I wish her dead, I’d sure like to see her behind bars.”

Even though it hurt, Cassie forced a smile. “She and Kenneth will both go to prison, and you and I get the last laugh, love. We get to be together.”

The sounds of engines whined on the ocean wind and suddenly the beach was full of people. Some in security jackets slapped cuffs on Kenneth Morgan while another group came toward Cassie. Half of them stopped to check Rose, but two approached Cassie and Frankie.

“I’m Dr. Peterson and this is my wife, Betty. It’s a good sign that you are conscious, but we need to get you to our clinic right away.”

“Can either of you stand?” Betty asked.

Frankie made eye contact with Cassie and laughed. “Considering my wheelchair just burned in that damn fire, I know I can’t anymore tonight. But I’m fine, take care of Cassie.”

The doctor nodded to show he was taking Frankie at his word, and he and Betty focused their attention on Cassie.

Trying not to cry out in pain as the doctor strapped a blood pressure cuff onto her cut and bruised arm, Cassie let herself feel relief. It was finally over. She no longer had to worry about anything. Her vision started to feel funny and Cassie knew she could finally succumb to the pain she felt, letting the doctor take care of everything.

“Any allergies?” Betty asked. “Any medical history we should know about?”

It sounded like the woman’s voice came to Cassie through a long tunnel. Cassie’s addled brain wasn’t working well anymore, and she just wanted to sleep. Could Kenneth have hurt the baby by punching her? Or what if the doctor here gave her the wrong kind of medicine? She couldn’t relax just yet.

Clawing onto consciousness, she whispered, “Don’t let my baby die.”

***

“B
aby?” Frankie looked toward Cassie for an explanation, but the doctor and his wife had already lifted her off the ground and rushed her toward their vehicle. He turned on Laura instead. “What is she talking about? I know you know.”

In the light provided by vehicle headlights and the moon, Laura paled. “I... uh. Well...” She shrugged. “It’s not my place to say.”

Thayne bent over Frankie, helping him to sit upright before looking at his wife. “You know something, cat woman, don’t you? I can see it in your eyes.”

Laura sighed and shook her head. “You’ll have to talk to Cassie for particulars. She’s not sure she’s pregnant, so nobody freak out, okay?”

It was obvious that was all Laura would say on the matter. To prove her point, she walked back to the ATV they arrived on, leaving Thayne to help Frankie.

Frankie looked at his friend, unable to stop a grin from spreading on his face. “She told me she hasn’t been with anyone else in a long time. I’m going to be a dad.”

“Lord help us all,” Thayne joked. “Does that mean you are going to forgive her for whatever the two of you fought about before she left tonight?”

Frankie hadn’t exactly explained the entire situation to their friends, as worried as he was about Cassie. “I was never mad at her in the first place. She freaked out, said there was some lie she needed to come clean about, and then left.”

Thayne’s eyebrows rose. “I like Cassie, but I don’t like that she lied to you. What do you think it was about?”

Despite Thayne’s open skepticism, Frankie felt joy bubbling deep within. “She said she couldn’t get pregnant. Do you think she was trying to trap me into a relationship? She was so uncertain that first night, needing to be reassured that I found her desirable and sexy. Maybe she thought I wouldn’t stay without a baby.”

“You think she got pregnant on purpose to trap you?” Thayne’s skepticism turned to anger. “That’s low.”

“No, it isn’t,” Frankie corrected. “It means she wants to be with me as much as I want her.”

“You’re really okay with the fact that she tricked you?”

Frankie shrugged. “Maybe she didn’t try and trick me. Maybe she thought she was telling the truth but something when wrong. Either way, it doesn’t matter. I win if I get to be a dad and get her.”

Thayne sighed but nodded. “Okay, then. I’ll be happy for you and trust you know what you want, little brother. Let’s get your ass to the ATV so we can go check on your woman.”

C
assie had been in and out of consciousness for days. Traveling back to Washington and getting set up at Sayle Regional had taken a lot out of her, with the doctors giving her heavy drugs.

Unfortunately, every time she woke, Frankie wasn’t in the room. Laura and Thayne had both assured her that Frankie was there all the time, holding her hand and reading her books, but said she slept deeper when he was around.

Cassie could only guess that was because his voice comforted her, but now that she was fully alert and awake for the first time in a week, it was a shock to find her room empty of visitors. Whether it was her mom and stepdad, her stepbrother, Laura and Thayne, or one of the nurses, Cassie hadn’t been awake and on her own since Frankie walked through fire to save her.