Burn Out (20 page)

“
No. We thought the same
thing,” Rachel said.

“
It could have been a
hunter.” Mike repeated.

“
Did you guys find
anything?” Stacy asked.

“
Yes, an older cabin off
the beaten path. It was boarded up. We didn’t get a chance to look
inside. We heard the gun shot before we could do anything,” Mike
replied.

“
It’s getting dark.
Probably too late to go back and check it out. Let’s come back
tomorrow,” Rachel suggested.

“
Yes, you’re right. It
looked deserted anyway. We’ll try again in the morning,” Mike
said.

“
If Paul is around, he will
notice someone has been here,” Rachel said. “That might spook
him.”

“
Yes, probably so. That’s
why we need to come early before he has a chance to do anything,”
Mike said.

They quickly made their way back to
the truck and got in.

“
This place is creepy,”
Stacy said.

“
Just like Paul,” Rachel
agreed.

“
It’s a true sportsman’s
paradise. Remote, hidden from view with everything a hunter could
need,” Mike said.

“
Yes, and a perfect place
to hid a body.” Stacy shivered.

They rode back to the hotel in
silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Mike dropped them off and
walked them inside.

“
Want to stay for dinner?”
Rachel asked him.

“
Why don’t I cook dinner
for you?”

“
Sounds great.” Rachel
looked at Stacy for confirmation.

“
Hey, whatever you guys
want to do. I thought I would go over to Jack’s for a bit. He
invited me over for dinner again. They are planning a memorial for
Mack.”

“
I guess it’s just you and
me then,” Mike said. “I’ll go change and pick up something from the
store.”

“
What time to you want to
leave tomorrow?” Stacy asked him.

“
I say we leave around
seven. Get an early head start.” Mike grabbed his stuff. “I will be
back in about an hour.”

“
Got it. Bright and early,”
Stacy said as Mike left. She waited until Mike was gone and said to
Rachel, “I’m gonna take a quick shower. I’ll hurry so you can get
ready for your big date.”

“
What?”

“
You and Mike,” Stacy said
with a smirk.

“
I have no idea what you’re
talking about.” Rachel said, pulling a couple of beers out of the
fridge and handing one to Stacy.

“
The chemistry between you
two is undeniable.”

Rachel took a deep pull of her
beer.

“
Mike? He’s so not my
type.”

“
Yeah, whatever. The man is
fixing you dinner.”

“
He offered to fix dinner
for
us
. You are
the one who is bailing and going over Jack’s.”

“
I would’ve gone somewhere
else anyway. You guys need some privacy. And don’t worry, I’ll be
home late.”

Rachel laughed. “I am so not talking
about this right now.”

“
I want details in the
morning.” Stacy walked toward the bathroom. “I’m getting in the
shower. Be out of your way soon.”

Rachel sat out on the patio drinking
her beer. Maybe she would make a move tonight.

Santa Rosa Beach, Wednesday
evening

That was cutting it close, Paul
thought, as he made his way back over the bridge and into town.
Thank goodness he had spotted them first.

He was just getting ready to move Sam
back to the cabin when he saw Rachel and her friends walking
outside. It was perfect they left the other girl behind. He waited
until Mike and Rachel started down the trail before shooting his
gun. He knew it would spook them and they would come running back.
Now he would have to wait until morning to get Sam. She would
eventually come around and see things his way. With Gonzales
breathing down his neck, he knew they had little time to escape.
First, he needed to change out his vehicles. Everyone knew he had a
black truck, but not many people knew he still drove his father’s
old pickup. When he got back in town, he would get everything ready
to go. His heart quickened with anticipation. Sam and the girls
would finally be his and they would start a new life
together.

***

Rachel walked in living room to the
smell of garlic and tomatoes. It was heavenly. “What is
this?”

Mike was stirring something in a pot
on the stove. “Spaghetti and meatballs. My mom’s special recipe.
Guaranteed to heal what ails you.”

He handed her a glass of red
wine.

“
Thanks. It smells
delicious.”

“
You look very nice.” Mike
gave her kiss on the cheek.

“
Thanks. You too.” Rachel
took her wine and sat on one of the barstools, watching Mike work.
She had a hard time deciding what to wear. She still didn’t buy
much when she replaced some of her wardrobe and the choices were
limited. So Stacy ended up loaning her a simple black jersey knit
dress with crochet detail on the cap sleeves and upper back. The
dress hit just above the knees and showed off her legs. It was
still hard to brush her hair and put on makeup due to the heavy
bandage on her hand. But she felt like she did a fairly good job.
Her eyebrows were still singed, so she had to take an eyebrow
pencil and fill in the bare spots. She kept it simple and just put
on some mascara to make her green eyes pop and a swipe of
strawberry flavored lip gloss across her generous lips. She added
mousse to her natural wavy hair to make it glossy. Rachel thought
she looked pretty damn good for working with what she had. A spritz
of Chanel Chance, her favorite perfume, and she was ready to
go.

She looked around the room, surprised.
It was magically transformed. The candles sparkled on the table and
jazz was playing in the background. This certainly feels like a
date, she thought. Very romantic.

Mike dished some spaghetti on the
plates. “Please have a seat.” He pulled out a chair for her. “Just
let me get the garlic bread from the oven and we’ll be ready to
eat.”

She watched as he finished up getting
the bread and salad to the table. Rachel thought he looked great in
a pair of khaki pants with a polo button down shirt and scuffed
cowboy boots on. She had never seen him out of jeans and a t-shirt,
so this was a treat.

“
You clean up nice,” Rachel
said, teasing.

“
Yeah, I guess I
do.”

“
Everything looks great.
Thanks for doing this.” Rachel ate a forkful of spaghetti and
savored the taste. “Yummy.”

“
Mom would be
proud.”

“
Yes, she would. This is
delicious.”

“
I’m sure this nothing
compared to fine cuisine you are used to in Miami.”

“
I would rather eat this
than anything I could get in Miami. This is pure comfort
food.”

“
How do you like living in
Miami?” Mike reached for a piece of garlic bread to sop up some of
the red sauce with.

“
It’s great. All you can
ask for. Great, white sandy beaches with emerald green waters. Nice
weather year round. Shopping and restaurants galore. And an
international airport to take you anywhere you need to
go.”

“
Sounds like a nice
lifestyle.”

“
And the Miami Heat. Can’t
forget my sports team,” she said, taking a bite of the
salad.

“
I never pegged you as
sports fan.”

“
Sure. I love basketball. I
have season tickets. You should come with me sometime.”

“
I would love to.” Mike
took a generous sip of his wine. “Is that an
invitation?”

“
Yes. Hot dogs, beer and a
basketball game. What more could you ask for?”

“
What else do you do in
your spare time?”

“
Well, unfortunately I
don’t have a lot of spare time. When I do I like to shop. I’m an
antique junkie. Also, I have a weird thing for learning different
languages.”

“
I don’t think it’s weird.
How did you get started?”

“
When I was starting out in
real estate, I wanted to do all I could to stand out as a top
agent. A lot of my clients were from other countries. So, the first
language I learned was Spanish, since Miami is home to many
Hispanics. I found it easy and fun to learn. After Spanish, I
mastered other languages.”

“
Such as?”

“
Ringraziarla per questa
bella cena.” Rachel waved her hand over the food and smiled. It was
Italian for
this dinner is
delicious
.

“
Grazie.”

Rachel looked amused.
“Farla parla l'italiano?”
Do you speak
Italian?

“
Un po'. La mia mamma è
italiana,” he answered.
A little. My mom
is Italian.

“
Nice. I love Italian. It
is the most romantic language of all.”

“
It sounds really nice when
you say it,” Mike said. “What else do you know?”

“
German and French. I was
working on Mandarin Chinese before I got called on this
case.”

“
A woman of many talents.
Is there anything else I should know?”

“
I’m a lousy cook. I have
about twenty-five restaurant phone numbers memorized by heart. My
kitchen drawers are filled with take- out menus instead of
utensils. So this is a real treat.” Rachel pointed to the plate of
spaghetti, which was almost gone.

Mike laughed. “Well, I love to cook.
My mom taught me everything I know.”

“
What are your
specialities?”

“
Let’s see… Besides
spaghetti and meatballs, I can make lasagna, pasta carbonora, and a
mean steak and twice-baked potato.”

“
That’s more than I can do.
Bacon and eggs I have mastered fairly well, though.”

“
Well then, you can make
breakfast next time,” Mike said.

Rachel’s heart skipped a beat.
Breakfast. She thought about what that implied.

They finished eating and Mike opened
another bottle of wine. “Let’s go sit outside. It’s nice tonight.”
There was a little private courtyard just off the living area. Mike
and Rachel sat down at the small table. Her bare leg brushed up
against his.

“
This is nice,” Rachel
said. “I’m glad you came over to help.”

Mike reached up and stroked her chin
with his finger.

“
I’ve been wanting to do
this since the first time we were alone together.”He leaned over
and kissed her softly on the lips.

Rachel returned his kiss with more
urgency. She ran her hand across his chest and down his left arm.
He was so strong and hard. She found herself turned on.

Mike wrapped his fingers around her
hair and tugged gently, kissing down her neck. Rachel head was
spinning from the combination of the wine and the passion that was
heating up from inside of her.

“
Let’s go inside,” she
suggested in a throaty voice.

And for the first time since she
divorced her husband, she opened herself up and made love to
another man.

***

The next morning Rachel woke up to an
empty bed and the smell of bacon and coffee. She grabbed her robe
and went to the kitchen.

“
First you cook me a great
meal. Then seduce me. Now breakfast? I thought it was my turn to
cook.”

Mike turned from the stove, spatula in
hand, and smiled. “I thought I’d let you sleep. We have a busy day
ahead.”

“
You sure know how to turn
on the charm.” Rachel gave him a kiss as he handed her a cup of
coffee. “If you keep cooking for me, I’m going to have to up the
miles I run every day to ward off the pounds.”

“
I think you look
fabulous.”

They sat down to eat breakfast. Mike
asked her, “So we didn’t get around to talking about your visit to
Jack’s.”

Rachel finished chewing her eggs and
said, “Jack had Mack and Stacy over for dinner the night of his
accident. He said Mack talked to him a little about the case and he
felt Paul was hiding something, too.” She looked around the room.
“Where is Stacy?”

“
She’s already up. Came in
for a cup of coffee and then said she was going for a run. She
should be back in an hour ready to go.”

Rachel smiled. She knew Stacy didn’t
run unless someone was chasing her or there was a big sale at her
favorite store. She was just giving them more time
alone.

“
Jack works for the police
department, right? They should be looking at Paul,” Mike
said.

“
Jack is not active on
Sam’s case. But he did say Chief Gladstone is not looking too hard
at Paul. He is pretty convinced the mafia is to blame for Sam’s
disappearance and her body will turn up eventually.” Rachel
finished her coffee. “I think he was going to talk to the chief and
see if he could convince him to take another look,
though.”