HeroUnleased (8 page)

A hill came upon them he knew he should slow for, yet he
gunned the motor, launching them over a jump. The frame of the bike bounced and
shuddered when they hit ground, but it was worth it to hear Amaryllis laugh
with unadulterated joy. He took another a jump, then another, basking in the
bubbles that her laughter created over his skin. Such joy was impossible to
ignore and he laughed with her, truly laughed for the first time since he
became the head of the guard.

The sports shop appeared before he was ready for the ride to
end. He drove them into the garage and cut the motor.

“That was fantastic,” Amaryllis crowed as she jumped off the
back. She removed the helmet and shook out her hair. “Say it. I want to hear
the words.”

He took his time rising. “That was fun,” he admitted with a
deep sigh.

With a rousing whoop, she raised her hands in the air and
danced in a circle. When she faced him again, she laid her hand against his
cheek, her thumb brushed along his lower lip.

“You’re a handsome man when you smile.”

He didn’t move. Couldn’t move, or he’d be on her, pulling
her close for that kiss they both wanted.

The warmth of her fingers lasted long after she pulled away.

“I’ll see you inside.” She turned on her heel and swished
away.

He lost count of the number of times she walked away from
him that day. But this time he reached out to pull her back. He dropped his
outstretched hand and made sure every piece of equipment was where it belonged
before returning to his post at her side.

* * * * *

“By the Gods, Betty Sue. This chocolate cream pie is
delicious. It’s so luscious, I want to slather it all over my skin.” Amaryllis
brought her plate up to her face to capture the last few crumbs on her tongue.

Betty Sue beamed a gigantic smile and twirled the cherry
earrings dangling from her lobes. “I can’t believe Amaryllis Rosenorn is
sitting in my diner, loving my food. Last year, for my birthday, my husband
surprised me with dinner at your restaurant. It was the best meal I ever ate,
and the environment was so romantic. Let me tell you, the mister was rewarded
quite well for that treat.” She waggled her finely arched brows.

Amaryllis laughed. “The next time you come to the city, you
will dine again at my restaurant and I will not only seat you at the best
table, but I will have the chef prepare you a special menu featuring his
favorite dishes.”

“Really? Oh that will be wonderful. This day is just getting
better and better. Now I’m friends with a famous person.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m famous. However, some may say I am
infamous.”

“And that’s the best type of famous to be,” Brett piped from
the next barstool over.

Amaryllis watched as the blonde flicked her tongue between
each tine of her fork to collect every speck of cream. “Oh now I know why
Kristos loves you so.”

A red flushed streaked across her cheeks. “You are so bad.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“You know, I noticed you and Lucian seemed to have put aside
your differences last night.”

“He agreed to stop being so bossy, and I agreed to stop
pushing his buttons. Most of the time.”

“That’s too bad. I like seeing Lucian flustered.” She
shrugged a deceptively casual shoulder. “Hey, have you thought about staying in
town a few days longer? You haven’t really had a chance to explore the
countryside.”

“You’re plotting something, Sheriff. I can feel it like
little feet marching down my spine.”

She stuck out her tongue. “I hate when you guys do that. Let
me keep my emotions to myself.”

“Then learn how to keep them to yourself. Especially if
you’re making devious plans about Lucian and me.”

“It’s just that I find you two very entertaining when you’re
together. You challenge him and I don’t think he’s had that in a really long
time. Besides, the boys think they’re the shit and I have my hands full with
Kristos being the protective warrior. You can work on relaxing Lucian. Around
you he seems more…human.”

The women held each other’s gazes for a moment before they
burst out in peals of laughter.

“Did I hear you can make Lucian flustered?” Betty Sue topped
off their mugs of coffee. “I’d pay to see that. He is one yummy man. So strong
and mysterious. But he’s also so somber. You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen
him laugh, really laugh, like you two have been doing all afternoon. It’s like
he has this shell around him that no one can break through, and believe me,
honey, almost every single woman in this town has tried.”

Really? Amaryllis was intrigued. “There must have been at
least one woman who’s captured his interest.”

Both Betty Sue and Brett wore identical frowns as they each
looked into the distance. Finally Brett shook her head while Betty Sue
answered, “Nope, not really.”

No wonder Lucian was as tense as a tightrope. She lifted her
cup in a toast. “Then it’s a good thing I’m in town. Sounds like the poor man
needs to release some steam. Ah—”

A sharp, pain shot down Amaryllis’ neck to her hand. The mug
dropped from her grip to smash against the countertop.

“Amaryllis?” Brett got to her feet as frantic screaming came
from the street outside.

“There’s a child in danger.” She jumped from her seat and
raced to the diner’s front window.

Bright-orange flames licked the underside of the overhang of
a nearby gas station. The source of the fire was a sedan. The petrol hose was
still in the tank, feeding the flames consuming pump and car. A man ran around
the vehicle, his face stretched with horror as he approached the smoking door
handle then sprang back when the heat became too much to bear.

Brett shot out of the diner and began barking orders into
her police radio. “Unit one to base. I need fire units to the gas station on
Maple and Main. Car is engulfed in flames and there may be a child trapped
inside.”

Amaryllis followed, joined by what seemed like the entire
town.

“I forgot,” the man yelled at Brett as she ran full speed
toward him. “I was smoking and forgot. Mikey. Mikey’s inside.”

A squad car pulled up, and then another and another. While
the officers were busy keeping the gathering crowd at bay and devising a plan
for rescue, little Mikey cried and shrieked with fear. His terror reached
across the distance and squeezed Amaryllis around the throat. Tears streamed
down her face as she tried to use her powers to send some comfort to the boy.
How was he to understand that the more he panicked, the faster he used up all
the available oxygen in the car? Perhaps she was wishing for the impossible,
but what else could she do? Race in and pull him from the vehicle?

Wait. Why couldn’t she? She had the strength, she had the
speed. All she needed was a way to slip in unseen. There were only a hundred,
maybe two hundred, potential witnesses clustered on the sidewalk, all gaping
with wide eyes and cellphones glued to the rescue efforts of the police.

Right. No problem.

“My boy! Please, my boy!”

No. She could do this. Had to do this. A life, maybe more,
was at stake.

She edged her way to the back of the crowd and skirted
around to where she had a direct line to the passenger door. Her muscles tensed
to run when another cry rang out.

“It’s him! It’s him!”

Shouts of “the Chameleon” grew louder and more fevered as
the crowd pointed in the distance. A streak of black and gray raced past the police
barricade and her mouth dropped open as the incredible sight unfolded before
her.

By. The. Gods.

This was a hallucination. It had to be. She blinked hard
once, then again, but the image remained the same.

The newcomer wore the royal armor of a Skandavian guard. His
torso shimmered with the reflection of the flames, making the outline of his
body disappear into the environment. The black cowl covering his head may have
concealed his identity, but Amaryllis recognized those firm lips and that cleft
chin in an instant.

Lucian.

With nary a pause he reached out and grasped the handle of
the car door, tearing it free from the hinges and tossing it aside as if it
weighed no more than a paper plate.

Ignoring the flames, he reached inside and wrenched the toddler
from the wreckage, car seat and all. His image blurred again as he raced to the
waiting paramedics and delivered his precious cargo. The child was in safe
hands, but the Chameleon wasn’t finished yet. He traced inside the store and
returned with two fire extinguishers and went to work on the worst of the
blaze.

Spectators jostled around Amaryllis, angling for the best
view of the hero in action. She ducked and weaved, searching for the perfect
view herself. Damn her small stature, she cursed as she stepped back and
jumped, clearing four feet of air to see over the heads of the humans blocking
her view.

The blare of sirens heralded the arrival of the fire
department. With most of the flames doused, Lucian nodded to the firemen then
ran back in the direction he had come from.

Amaryllis was torn with the desire to chase after him and
grill him for answers and staying to assist however she could.

Brett jogged up to her side. “Amaryllis, I’m gonna be
awhile. Let me get one of my men to take you home.”

“I can make it back myself. It looks like you could use all
the help you can get.”

She snorted. “I can spare one to take you home. Reutgers,”
she shouted, drawing the attention of a young deputy. “I need you to take my
friend here to my house and stay with her until Kristos or one of the other
Kilsgaards meet you there.”

“Brett, I don’t need a babysitter.”

“And I don’t need three overprotective men jumping on my
ass,” she snapped, then closed her eyes on an inhale and laid her hand on
Amaryllis’ arm. “I’m sorry. Please don’t think that I believe you incapable of
taking care of yourself, but I’d be able to concentrate better if I knew you
weren’t alone.”

“I understand. I’ll be good.”

Brett relaxed with a soft smile. “First chance we get, you
and I are heading to the city to raise the kind of hell that will turn my
husband’s hair white. Promise?”

“It’s a date. But before I go, would you like to briefly
explain what it was I just saw?”

“Yeah, about that. Sorry, it’ll take time to tell you
properly. I will tell you, later though. I promise. Reutgers is one of my best
deputies. He’ll take care of you. Reutgers, this is my friend, Amaryllis. She’s
family to Kristos, and you know how he can get about the safety of his family.
Treat her like gold.”

“Yes ma’am.” He turned toward Amaryllis and tilted his hat
in greeting. “Ms. Amaryllis, may I escort you to my vehicle?”

“Oh my. Handsome and good manners. I’m impressed.” She
hooked her elbow with his and cupped her free hand around his biceps. “Please,
lead the way. Do you have a first name, Deputy?”

A pink flush darkened his cheeks. “It’s Rhett. But everyone
calls me Reutgers.”

Why was he embarrassed about his name? With his short
military haircut and strong jaw, she thought it was quite fitting. “Mother a
Gone
with the Wind
fan?”

“No. My grandmother was a Clark Gable fan. I think I would
have preferred Clark over Rhett.”

“I like it. Rhett’s a very bold name, unusual and has great
impact. It suits you.”

The flush darkened. “Thank you, ma’am.”

“Please, call me Amaryllis.”

They arrived at his squad car where he opened the passenger
door. “All right. That’s an unusual name too. Very pretty. Like you.”

She offered him a warm smile as she sat upon the seat. He
closed the door and came around to slide behind the wheel. As he started the car
and began the journey to Brett’s house, she turned in her seat to give the
officer her full attention. From the corner of his eye, his gaze slipped down
to the generous amount of cleavage she sported. His hands tightened on the
wheel before he snapped his focus back to the windshield and swallowed hard.

Never let it be said that she was opposed to using any means
necessary to obtain what she wanted.

“So, Rhett,” she began, “what happened back there? Who was
that man in that crazy suit?”

“Oh that.” His shoulders relaxed as if talking about a
masked crusader was more preferable than being the object of her attention. “We
all call him the Chameleon, because of the way his suit blends in with the
surroundings. Whenever someone is in need, he appears out of nowhere, saves the
day then disappears just as quick as he arrived.”

“He’s a vigilante?”

“Used to be, but Sheriff Briggs put an end to that right
quick. You could say that he’s more of a good Samaritan.”

“And he’s always in the suit?”

“Yep.”

“And no one knows who he is?”

“That’s right.”

Seriously? How many men were crawling around Cedar who were
six-and-a-half-feet tall with broad shoulders, a tapered waist and a mouth that
begged to be softened with slow kisses? If there was more than one, she’d have
to pack her bags and move out here permanently.

“How come I’ve never heard of this Chameleon? Why hasn’t he
been in the news?”

“The local paper ran a few stories on him, but I guess the
idea is so crazy the bigger papers didn’t pick up on it. Plus folks around here
like the idea that the Chameleon belongs to the people of Cedar and want to
keep it that way. Especially the ladies.”

It was soft, but the bite of jealousy at the end of his
sentence plucked at her awareness. “Popular, is he?”

“If it’s not the Kilsgaard brothers they’re panting after,
then it’s the Chameleon.”

Yes, that would be quite a tough act to follow. “I don’t
know, Rhett. I’m sure some of them think rather dirty thoughts about you too.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed again. “I—I don’t know about that.”

“Why not? You’re a handsome man with a strong jawline and
deep, dark eyes. And women love a man in uniform. But do you know what the
Chameleon has that you could have as well?”