Heat Flash (9 page)

“You’re awake,” he grumbled, dropping into the chair next to her bed. He picked up the latest copy of People Magazine and aimlessly flipped through the pages.

“Aren’t you a ray of sunshine?” Julia reached her slender hand toward him, but Mason ignored it.

“Forgive me, mother, if I’m not in a good mood after driving four hours to get here to find out you’re okay. Mr. Hernandez made it sound like a life-threatening situation. I wonder, why did you even ask for me?” Bitterness laced his voice.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Silence settled between them.

Tension built in Mason’s shoulders as he watched Julia struggle with the blanket on her bed. Pushing the words out with a tight voice, he said, “Try me.”

Julia raised the head of the bed and sat up straighter. She cleared her throat. “Yes, I’m going to be okay. My ankle will heal in a few months and things will get back to normal. But, everything is different now. I. . . I’m different, and I’m sorry.”

He watched as his mother labored to get the words out. Her mouth twitched from side to side, lips trembling slightly.

“Sorry for what?” He was not going to make this easy for her.

She turned to face him, her eyes filled with moisture. The sight of his mother on the brink of crying should have touched him. Instead, it made him angrier. Pissed him off because of all the tears he had cried over her as a child.

“I’m sorry for everything. For leaving when you were so young. For dropping in and out of your lives when it suited me. For—”

“Don’t, mother.” Mason interrupted. “Seven years ago you said you were sorry. Two days later, you were gone again. I don’t want to hear it.” He stood to leave. He’d heard enough of her excuses over the years. She would never change. He would never have a real mother.

She reached for him. “Mason, wait. You have to believe me this time. The accident. It was a wake-up call. Lying there in the car, waiting for the ambulance, I realized how selfish and wrong I’ve been. I kept thinking that if I didn’t survive, you’d never know how much I love you.” The tears that threatened earlier now fell down her cheeks.

Irritation grated on his nerves. “It shouldn’t take an accident to make a mother realize her love for her son. We needed you. Dad drank himself to death because he couldn’t deal with your abandonment. He loved you more than life itself.” He could not bring himself to say he loved her also. The words wouldn’t come. He tossed the magazine onto the chair and strode to the door.

He glanced back. Julia strained to get out of the bed, only to be restricted by the IV hooked to the wall. He felt a tug at his heart, but fought the emotion.

“Mason. Mason, don’t leave. Hear me out. Please, son.”

He turned and stormed out, ignoring the sound of his mother’s broken sobs.

Chapter Seven

The afternoon sun was high in the sky when Kendall and Mandy pulled into the driveway. A little winding down after a full day of shopping with her sister would be nice. “You have time for coffee?”

“Sure.” Mandy replied. “Tori won’t be home for another hour. Her best friend’s sister is starting college this year. Tori rode with Jessica and her parents to check out the dorms. I can’t wait to hear what she thinks about Northwestern State University.”

“I guess she hasn’t changed her mind about LSU?” Kendall tried convincing her niece to follow in her footsteps and go to college in Baton Rouge. However, Mandy was leaning toward their mother’s Alma Mater in the quaint town of Natchitoches, but she was leaving the final decision up to her daughter.

“She has plenty of time to decide. After all, she’s just entering high school.”

Unloading shopping bags from the trunk, they wearily trudged up to the front door. The stifling heat of the afternoon drained the last bit of energy left in Kendall’s body. A few more months and cooler weather would be upon them. As far as she was concerned, it could not come soon enough.

“She said she likes the smaller size of NSU versus LSU. She says…” Her sudden gasp replaced the words coming out of her mouth.

The women stood frozen in place as they stared ahead. Taped to the front door was a picture of Kendall, a big red X slashed across her face. Knots formed in the pit of her stomach. Her fingers traced the face on the glossy snapshot. The picture was a recent one. She was leaving Cajun Roy’s after having dinner with Layla, Mandy, and Tori. She’d bought the sundress she was wearing in the picture only a week earlier.

She ripped the picture off the door, stuffed it in her purse, and fumbled for her house keys. She was irritated, and a little frightened, while Mandy was frantic.

“We need to call the police. Call Bobby.” Mandy reached for her cell phone, but Kendall stopped her before she could dial.

“Mandy, calm down. I’m not calling the police again. Detective Marks probably thinks I am an idiot as it is. Let’s go inside and get out of this heat, and then we will figure something out.”

“Sis, someone is obviously stalking you. You can’t ignore it any longer. And you can’t just sit around until this person decides to attack.”

Her sister was right. Kendall was tired of all the phone calls, and now this. Whoever was responsible for all of this was really beginning to annoy her. It was getting more and more personal too. Every time she thought of someone watching her, stalking her, she had to fight away nausea.

“If you aren’t calling the police, then call Bobby. You know our brother. It’d be better for him to hear this from you before he hears it from Bill.”

Amused by her sister’s choice of words, Kendall pushed the problem at hand aside. Jumping at the opportunity to change the subject, she raised an eyebrow. “Bill?” she teased. “No one calls him by his first name. He hates it.”

“I mean, Detective Marks.” Mandy turned, scuttling toward the kitchen in an obvious effort to avoid Kendall’s questions. “I’ll put coffee on.”

“O.K., but I want to hear about
Bill
. What’s up with that?” The color rose in Mandy’s cheeks, but a smile lit her face. “You like him, don’t you?”

Mandy shook her head in denial. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve only talked to him once or twice about your case.”

“Oh, so now I’m
a case
?”

“You know what I mean. But I have been thinking, with Tori starting high school, I have more time on my hands. Maybe it’s time I start dating.”

Kendall admired how her sister raised Tori on her own. Mandy had insisted on devoting the last fifteen years to raising her daughter, not wanting to bring men in and out of Tori’s life. Her chance would come, eventually, she always said.

“It’s about time. You deserve to meet someone nice. What about Marks being a cop?” Kendall waited for a reaction from her sister.

Mandy sipped her coffee and hesitated a second before answering. “You know, that doesn’t bother me as much as his arrogant attitude.”

“Marks is not arrogant,” Kendall argued.

“Whatever. Anyway, I’m not rushing into anything with anyone. Especially a know-it-all detective.”

“Right, sis.” Coffee cup in one hand, Kendall grabbed a rag with her other to wipe the counter where drops of coffee spilled. When she moved her purse out of the way, the glossy print fell out. She picked it up and examined it one more time. Her nerves knotted in the pit of her stomach, making the coffee taste like acid. She poured the contents of her nearly full cup down the drain.

“Hey,” Mandy pushed aside her own empty coffee cup. “You okay?”

“I don’t know. This weirdo is really starting to bug me. It feels like he’s taking my life. I hate answering the phone if I don’t recognize the number. He’s been here, at my house. He follows me, takes pictures of me. That’s just creepy.”

“You really need to take that picture to Marks if you’re not going to give it to Bobby or Mason. He’ll know what to do.”

The warmth of Mandy’s comforting arms hugged Kendall. “Yeah. And I guess it’s time I tell Bobby everything. Tomorrow though. I don’t want to deal with this anymore today.” She sighed in frustration. “I promise,” she stated when Mandy gave her an unbelieving look.

“Your turn now. What about Mason?”

“What about him? This doesn’t have anything to do with him.” Kendall busied herself washing their cups. “End of discussion.”

“Then why are you so nervous because I said his name? And don’t try to pretend that wasn’t his texts you ignored all day.” Mandy gave her a knowing look before picking up her purse to leave. “Remember, I’m your big sister and can see right through you.” With that she was gone.

****

Just as Mason pulled his Tahoe into his driveway, his cell phone beeped. It hadn’t made a noise for the last four hours, which meant Kendall still wasn’t returning his texts or calls. Glancing at the caller id, he tried to hide his disappointment when Marks’ name showed up. Punching the button to answer the call, he vented, “I hope you’re calling to say you want to go grab a beer or two, because honestly, I can’t handle much more than that right now.”

Marks laughed into the phone. “Well, officially I’m off the clock, if detectives are ever really off the clock. So, yeah, a few beers would be good. It’ll help me relax. And you too. You sound like you’re wound a little too tight.”

“You don’t even know. Meet me at The Pub in forty minutes.” That gave him just enough time to unpack his overnight bag and grab a quick shower. The disinfectant hospital smell clung to his clothes and body. A constant reminder of his mother.

Mason walked into the sports bar, immediately spotting Marks at the far end of the bar. Walking the short distance, he slapped his friend on the back and sat at the empty barstool next to him. “What’s up, man? You look beat.”

“Have you talked to Kendall?” Marks asked while motioning to the bartender to bring Mason a beer.

“Not lately. Why? What’s going on?” Marks’ face was scrunched in concentration, causing Mason’s senses to go on high alert. “Talk to me,” he demanded before picking up his beer and taking a long swallow.

“Someone’s been harassing her. She’s been getting prank calls. Foster and I went to a call at her house the other day. Dead rat showed up on her doorstep.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah, and she says that’s not the first one. She also said, two days ago she walked out of a restaurant to find her SUV sitting on two flats. Both front tires slashed. No doubt it was intentional.”

“Any idea who’s doing this? You think it’s related to her old boss in any way?” Something about that entire case didn’t sit well with him.

Marks peeled the label off his beer bottle. “Don’t know. But that’s not the worst of it. Yesterday she was pretty shook up when she called me from her cell. She was on her way home after meeting with a client. You know that bridge over the bayou just as you’re entering Kendall’s subdivision? The one with the damaged railings?”

“Yeah, what about it?” Mason’s gut instinctively tightened. He didn’t like the idea of someone messing with Ken.

“She said a dark blue pick-up tried to run her off the road. If it hadn’t been for an oncoming car, she would have swerved off the bridge.”

Mason slammed his beer down on the counter, threw a few bills down to cover his tab, and snarled, “I’ll catch up with you later.” He stormed out of the bar.

The short drive did nothing to dissipate his anger. He was furious. No, he was beyond furious. Why hadn’t Kendall told him about this? This was not the time for her to be stubborn. He pounded his fist against the steering wheel. Who was doing this to her? Something in the back of his mind kept warning him the case with her dead boss was not completely over.

He banged on her front door, waiting impatiently for her to answer. “Kendall, open the door. It’s Mason.”

The door swung open after several seconds. She stood in the doorway, one arm propped on the doorjamb, looking as desirable as any woman could. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, with just enough strands hanging to frame her face and accentuate her big brown eyes. She was beautiful. And right now, he felt all male. Standing on her front porch, he shifted from one foot to the other. The scent of gardenias tickled his nose. Dammit, he was not a horny teenager any longer, but it had been too long since he’d been with a woman. Standing there facing this one, he wanted to pull her into his arms. But he couldn’t let these feelings distract him. She was in danger.

The scowl on her face matched the tightness of her voice. “What do you want?”

Without waiting for an invitation, he eased his way past her. Instantly he felt the peace of her home surround him.
Damn the power of the woman and her home.

“Mason, what are doing here?” She stood with one hand on her hip and one hand on the door. Definitely a sign she was waiting for him to turn around and leave. A smart man would have done just that. He never claimed to be a smart man, especially when it came to women.

He refused to budge. He was here on a mission and was not leaving until he got answers.

“Why didn’t you call and tell me what’s been going on?” He bit the words out one at a time.

Kendall smirked. “Oh, so you’re here for business reasons, not personal ones.” Mason pushed the door shut, took hold of her upper arms and hauled her into his embrace. Next to his body where he wanted her. Where he could protect her. Thank God she was safe.

Staring down into her brown eyes, several emotions flashed across her face. There was surprise, but also something else...hunger? The same desire he felt every time he was near her? His hand lifted to settle on the back of her head. It was as if something other than common sense controlled him...something primal and so deep, it seemed to have been a part of him forever.

“I think you should go.” The words were barely a whisper. She stood still, not fighting him, but not encouraging him either.

He lowered his head a fraction of an inch. Her eyes closed seconds before his mouth claimed hers. When a soft sigh escaped through her lips, he held on tighter. Damn the consequences.

****

His muscular arms closed around Kendall, held her against his solid chest, protecting her. Mason framed her face with his hands and kissed her deep. The possession in his kiss was mind blowing. Her body melted, beginning at the spot where his hand gently cradled her head. The fire surged downward, burning her lips as his claimed hers, scorching her heart as it pumped furiously. Igniting the pit of her stomach. Lower still, tingles warmed that spot just below her belly, between her thighs. Her breath caught when his hands caressed her back and tugged her in closer.