In the Line of Fire: Hot Desert Heroes, Book 1 (15 page)

“Yeah, well, he’s a guy, so if he were, I’d think he was a wimp.” Morgan winked and tightened her arms around Delaney. “But he’s a former marine,” her sister said, “and was trained to stay cool in a crisis. You weren’t.” She quirked an eyebrow. “Unless you’ve been holding out on me.”

Delaney briefly closed her eyes and shook her head. “Once a marine, always a marine,” she murmured to correct her sister’s “former marine” comment. After a moment she struggled to her feet and said, “I need some water. And I need to call someone for help. If I can get any reception.”

“Oh yeah. I’d forgotten that about being up here.”

“Well, there are a lot of spots where you can’t get phone reception at all. And others where you can get it, but it’s spotty.”

Two cars went down the road; then a motorcycle screamed by, passing both cars on the curve.

“Idiot,” she muttered.

“Organ donor,” Morgan added. “Except for his brain.”

Delaney shot her a grin. She opened the passenger-side door and grabbed her purse off the floor. After pulling her cell phone free, she nabbed her water bottle from the middle console and took a couple of long draws.

“Who’re you going to call?”

She wished she could call Beck, but he was still out of the country. The main point was he wasn’t here when she needed him. Chagrined at the resentment she felt, she put a lid on it and focused on who could help. The first person who came to mind was Gabe. “Keep your fingers crossed the call goes through,” she told Morgan as she scrolled through her Contacts list then depressed the Call button.

“And stays connected,” her sister muttered.

Gabe answered on the second ring. “Hey, Laney. Havin’ a good time with your sister?”

She let out a relieved sigh. The call had gone through and so far the reception was good. “Well, we were, until the brakes gave out on my car coming down Mount Lemmon.”

There was silence then a low “What?”

“My brakes gave out, Gabe. We’re…” She looked around. “Dang it. I was so focused on not dying that I forgot to check for mile markers. I think we’re past Windy Point.”

“You’re okay? Both of you?”

“A little shaken. Okay, a lot shaken,” she said on a gruff laugh. “But neither one of us is hurt. I managed to get the car off the road on an incline.”

“Good girl. You hang tight. I’m on my way.”

She closed her eyes and let her head drop, too heavy for her neck to support, so that her chin rested against her chest. “I was hoping you’d say that,” she whispered. She heard him tell Vivian he was going out to help her. “Tell Vivian I said hey,” she said.

“Laney says hey,” he obediently parroted.

“Tell her I said hey back,” Vivian shouted in the background.

“You hear that?”

She grinned, just that little interaction making her feel better. “Yep.”

“It’ll probably be at least forty-five minutes, maybe an hour, before I get to you, depending on where you are. You have water?”

She eyed her bottle and the still nearly full one of Morgan’s. “I’d say we have about twenty ounces, give or take.” She wasn’t going to count the jug of water in the trunk. It was strictly for the radiator, just in case, and wasn’t safe to drink after being in her trunk for the last five years.

“All right. Find some shade. Watch out for snakes and other critters, and I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Okay.” She didn’t hear anything more and shook her head as she ended the call. She looked at her sister. “What is it about men and ending phone calls without saying goodbye?”

“Like with other things, when they’re done, they’re done.”

* * * * *

Forty-five minutes later, Gabe drove past them with a lift of his hand, followed by a flatbed tow truck. Both vehicles turned into a pullout a few hundred feet farther up then made a U-turn. Gabe pulled in behind Delaney’s car while the flatbed managed to have enough space to stop in front.

Gabe was still climbing out of his car, a candy-apple-red Dodge Charger, when Delaney called out, “Love your car!”

He grinned. “Four-door so it’s a family car, but it’s got enough muscle that it’s not staid.”

“Because heaven forbid you drive something staid like, say, a minivan,” Delaney teased.

“Bite your tongue.”

She grinned and put a hand on Morgan’s shoulder. “Gabe, this is my sister Morgan. Morgan, Gabriel Falco.”

He came up to them, shook Morgan’s hand; then his gaze swept over Delaney. “You two all right?”

They both answered in the affirmative. Delaney glanced at the flatbed driver who had already put her car into Neutral and was winching it onto the truck. She looked at Gabe and said, “You’re very efficient for a Saturday.”

He shrugged. “Wouldn’t have made sense to wait to call for a tow once I got up here.” He started toward the other man. “C’mon. Let’s get the paperwork done so we can all get out of here.” As they reached the back of the flatbed, which now had her car on it, he watched the driver chain the car securely and added, “I’ll drop you off at your condo as soon as we’re done here. Unless you want a rental.”

She couldn’t be without a car. But because she worked in the same building in which she lived, Morgan could use the car while Delaney was at the office. “I need a rental.”

“Me too,” her sister piped up.

Delaney frowned. “You can use the one I get.”

“I can afford to rent a car, you know.”

“I know that,” Delaney returned. “But you don’t need to because you can use mine.” She looked at Gabe. “We’ll need just the one.”

He did the whole lip twitch thing like Beck did when he was trying not to smile. “Then we’ll stop and get you a rental,” was all he said.

True to his word, about two hours later Delaney let herself and her sister into Beck’s unit, a shiny, sapphire-blue Chevrolet Impala parked in her spot under the ramada outside. As they entered the condo, Morgan took a look around and murmured, “This is charming. It’s not a Craftsman bungalow, but it’ll do.”

“I’m starving,” Delaney said and set her purse on the sofa. She headed toward the kitchen. “What do you say about spaghetti for dinner?”

“Works for me.”

They worked side by side, enjoying each other’s company. After dinner Morgan insisted on cleaning up and Delaney, suddenly exhausted, was happy to let her do it. “I know it’s early and it’s your first day in,” she said with a glance at the clock display on the microwave, “but I’m beat. Would you mind if I went to bed?”

“Of course I don’t mind. I’m not surprised you’re so tired, with all the death defying you did today.” She grinned when Delaney punched her lightly in the arm. “Go to bed. I’ll amuse myself with some mindless TV. And tomorrow you can take me to Coffee & Confections so I can catch up with your gang.”

“You’re on.” Delaney gave her sister a hug and headed back to Beck’s bedroom. As she closed the door behind her, she shook her head. She had to stop thinking of things as Beck’s or hers. She lived here now, so this was her bedroom too, not just his.

Fatigue quickly began weighing her down. She shuffled into the bathroom, did her nightly routine, and changed into her sleep shorts and one of Beck’s T-shirts. “This is definitely one of those areas where what’s his is mine,” she murmured, looking down at the soft gray shirt she now wore. She climbed into bed, grabbed one of his pillows, and hugged it close. It didn’t take long at all for sleep to overtake her.

What only seemed like mere minutes later she came awake with a muffled cry, jackknifing to a sitting position. Terror from the nightmare clutched her mind, ratcheted up her heart rate. Lungs heaving, she fought for breath. “Oh God,” she whispered. She bent her knees and wrapped her arms around her legs, holding them to her chest. The images were still so vivid, a possibility of what could have happened—the car careening out of control, sailing over the edge of the mountain to land in a fiery crumpled twist of metal in the canyon below.

It hadn’t happened like that. She and Morgan were both safe and sound. But just to be sure, she got out of bed and quietly opened the bedroom door before padding down the hall to the spare room. She slowly opened the door and peeked in. From the weak light of the bedside lamp set on low, she could see her sister sprawled on her stomach, one arm under the pillow, the sheet her only covering, leaving her naked from the waist up. She appeared to be sleeping soundly.

Delaney closed the door and went back to bed. She and Morgan were definitely going to talk about her sleeping in the nude. A locked door was in order. She trusted both her sister and Beck, but he wasn’t used to someone being in the spare room and she’d hate for him to unthinkingly walk in on her sister.

She blew out a sigh and wiggled into a comfortable position. Grabbing Beck’s pillow, she once again hugged it close and wished it were Beck.

Chapter Twelve

Sunday came in with an unusual overnight summer storm that lingered into the morning hours. Delaney woke to the sound of rain pattering against the skylight in the master bathroom and lazily stretched. After the nightmare, she’d slept surprisingly well. She didn’t feel particularly raring to go, but that was her norm. While she wasn’t really a night owl, she’d like mornings a lot better if they started later.

She took care of her morning ablutions and wandered out into the kitchen where her sister was fixing a cup of coffee. “Mornin’,” Delaney mumbled.

“Good morning!” Morgan, who was definitely a morning person, already had her makeup on and her hair styled, leaving the long layers to fall in soft curls over her shoulders. She grabbed another mug from the cupboard and poured coffee into it then held it out. “Here ya go.”

“Thanks.” Delaney took the mug then fetched a bottle of hazelnut creamer from the refrigerator and added a healthy dollop. Then, just to be sure, she added another splash. Only after she’d taken a few sips did she begin to feel like she might be able to face the day. “You still okay with going to Coffee & Confections this morning? We all usually meet up there on Sunday mornings, have breakfast and hang out for a couple of hours.”

“Sounds like fun. I like your friends. And I’d love to see Rachel again. I didn’t get to see her the last time I was home.” She wrinkled her nose. “I have to say, however, I’m not that keen on having a cupcake for breakfast.”

“They make savory stuff,” Delaney told her. “Though, you know me. I’m not averse to having cake for breakfast.” She grimaced and gestured back and forth between her sister and herself. “You can tell by looking at us which one has been known to start the day off with a cupcake.”

“Hey!” Morgan set her mug on the countertop and propped her hands on her hips. “Don’t you be dissin’ my sister! You have a lovely figure, Lay-Lay.”

“My hips and ass are too big. And I have a pooch,” she added, pressing her palm flat against her lower belly.

Her sister shook her head. “And I bet Beck doesn’t mind that pooch at all. It makes you womanly. Soft in opposition to his hard. And I’d lay down good money he loves that ass of yours.” Delaney must have made some sort of face because Morgan laughed and pointed a finger at her. “See? I’m right, aren’t I?”

Delaney sucked in a breath and rolled her lips in for a moment. “Yeah,” she finally admitted on an exhale.

Morgan stared at her a few seconds before saying quietly, “Don’t try to change who you are, sweetie. He’s been interested in you for over a year, right?” Without waiting for a response she went on, “So you know he liked what he saw. And from what you’ve told me, he’s also liking what he’s discovering about you as your relationship progresses. Don’t screw with that.”

“But—”

“But nothing.” She picked up her mug and headed out of the kitchen. “I haven’t met this Beck of yours,” she said over her shoulder. “I’m looking forward to seeing the man who’s givin’ a little somethin’ somethin’ to my big sister.”

“Morgan!” Delaney couldn’t help but laugh at her sister’s sass. She took her coffee with her as she went back to her bedroom to get herself ready for the day.

* * * * *

By the time they got to the coffee shop the rain had stopped, though the sky remained completely overcast. The cloud coverage meant that the temperature would stay below a hundred degrees for the high, but even now it felt like it was already at least ninety.

Morgan blew her breath upwards, fluttering the long bangs that brushed her eyes. “Dang,” she said. “I forgot how muggy it is here in the summer.”

“Welcome back to monsoon season.”

As they walked through the door Delaney glanced around and saw the sofa was empty. “Go grab our seat,” she told Morgan, pointing at the larger of the two couches. “I’ll get the coffee and food. What kind of muffin do you want?”

“Just get me something that’s savory. Nothing with icing, please.” She gave a shudder and went over to the sofa.

Delaney walked up to the counter, pleased there wasn’t a line but wishing it were busier, for her friends’ sakes. One of the teenage helpers, not Anna, was at the register. “Hey,” Delaney greeted.

The girl smiled. “What can I get for you?”

Delaney ordered her usual cappuccino blend, plus one for Morgan, and two bacon-cheddar-corn muffins. “Could I have those in a bag so I can carry them easier?” she asked.

“Sure thing.”

In a couple of minutes, having paid for and received her purchases, Delaney made her way back to her sister. Just as she reached her, the bell above the door jangled, drawing her attention that way.

Hoping it was Rachel or Colbie, she was disappointed to see it was Edmond. She sent him a smile of greeting and turned back to her sister. After setting the cups down on the coffee table, she moved around it as she opened the bag.

A man’s voice called her name. She looked up to see Edmond standing on the other side of the squat table. From his empty hands she surmised he hadn’t been to the counter yet to give his order. She wondered what he wanted, but good manners dictated she introduce her sister. “Hey, Edmond. This is my sister, Morgan.” To her sister she said, “This is Edmond.”

He looked at Morgan and held out his hand. As she reached forward to shake it, he said, “Edmond Barras. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“And you,” Morgan murmured. “How do you two know each other?”

“Oh, we bump into one another here now and again, don’t we, Edmond?” Delaney said.

“Yes, we both habituate this wonderful place,” he said with a charming smile. “I have often invited your sister to join me for coffee, but she has always—as of yet—declined. I, however, live in hope.”

“That’s a lovely accent,” Morgan responded even as she ignored his comment about inviting Delaney for coffee. “Where are you from?”

“A small town near Quebec,” came his smooth response. “I doubt you would have heard of it. So what plans do two such beautiful women have for today?”

Delaney’s cheeks warmed at being classified the same as her gorgeous sister. Even though she’d made some strides, especially where Beck was concerned, it still made her uncomfortable to be referred to as beautiful when she knew she was not. Passably pretty, maybe. Not unfortunate looking, certainly.

But beautiful? She didn’t think so.

“Morgan’s looking to move here in about six months or so. We’re probably going to take a look at a few houses,” Delaney told him.

“Ah.” He stared out the window. “I, on the other hand, have decided that once my current job is done I will be leaving Tucson.” He brought his gaze back to Delaney. “Unless I had reason to stay.”

She blinked. He surely didn’t mean what she thought he meant? What she hoped he did
not
mean?

Morgan must have wondered the same thing because she blew out a breath and said, “Oh, my man, I’m afraid you’re too late. Laney’s taken.”

His lips tightened and his black eyes went dead, as if he didn’t want them to be able to read his emotions.

“Yes,” he said, his accent thicker now. “I had seen the attention that man—what’s his name?”

“Beck,” Delaney murmured.

“Yes. Beck,” he repeated in a hard, scathing voice, his mouth curling into a sneer. “Beck.” He shook his head and made a scoffing sound. “You could do so much better than him,
ma chérie
. You
deserve
someone better, someone more…cosmopolitan.”

Delaney stood there and stared at him. He was putting Beck down. Beck, a hard-working, caring, compassionate man who had served his country faithfully and still worked to protect others, and this man dismissed him as unworthy? She rubbed her brow, unable to find words.

Morgan had no such problem. She shot to her feet. “Really? You think a decorated marine doesn’t deserve my sister? And I guess you think
cosmopolitan
,” this drawled out with affront rife in her voice, “is a small town outside of Quebec?”

While Delaney appreciated Morgan’s defense of her boyfriend, she really wasn’t keen on having a public scene. People were starting to look their way. Before she could jump in to try to calm the situation down, though, Edmond responded to her sister’s cutting remark.

“Are you so sure it is not?” he countered. His gaze raked Morgan up and down. “I imagine you know you are beautiful, yes? I’m sure you’ve been told so from the cradle by everyone who meets you.”

He got that right. And it was true.

“Your face certainly holds great beauty, I grant you,” he went on. “But you are a hard, angry woman, and maybe need to eat a few sandwiches now and then.”

“Now, wait a just a minute!” Delaney would not let him talk that way to his sister.

He gave a slight bow to her. “I have allowed my temper to take control, and for that I apologize. And what I said to you before about getting to know me better, Laney, I meant no offense.”

“Oh…um…” she shook her head, “…no, no offense, Edmond. But I have to be honest with you. Even if I weren’t involved with someone else, I don’t feel that way about you.” And she certainly wouldn’t if he talked to strangers the way he’d just spoken to Morgan.
Especially
since he’d spoken to her sister in that manner.

“And this is only because you don’t know me,” came his quick rejoinder.

As the bell over the door jingled, he glanced over, as did Delaney. Rachel and Colbie both waved and headed toward the register.

“Ah, yes,” he murmured. “That is my cue to leave, I think.” He looked at Morgan, seemingly unperturbed by her aggressive posture, feet placed in a fighter’s stance and fists on hips. “It was…nice to meet you,” he blatantly lied with a slight smirk on his lips. He tilted his head to Delaney and left the shop.

“Well, I can’t say the same thing,” Morgan mumbled, staring after him. “Can you believe that guy?”

“No. He didn’t even buy anything.” Delaney set the bag of muffins onto the coffee table. “Weird.”

“
That’s
weird?” Morgan rolled her eyes. “The entire encounter was freaky, if you ask me.”

Going to the sofa, Delaney put a knee to the cushions so she could peer out the window and watch him. He stalked to a fairly nondescript-looking, light-blue sedan and climbed behind the wheel. When he backed out of the parking lot, he did it in a fast, jerky way that told her he was pissed off.

She let out a low whistle. “Wow,” she said to Morgan as she turned and settled onto the sofa. “Where did that come from?”

“I know, right? Who did that guy think he was, coming on to you when he clearly already knew you’re in to Beck and he’s in to you?”

Delaney stared at her sister. “I meant you, Morgan.
You
were rude.”

Morgan’s perfectly groomed eyebrows shot up. “
I
was rude?
I
was? He told me I needed to eat more sandwiches!”

He wasn’t wrong. Morgan would look better if she put on another ten or even fifteen pounds. But Delaney knew her sister’s handlers and others in the modeling industry would start telling her she was fat if she couldn’t fit into a size zero.

“But you escalated it,” she said. People were still glancing their way, and it made her uncomfortable to be the center of attention.

Morgan waved that off and plopped down onto the couch. She grabbed one of the coffees. “He had some nerve. Why is it people have to make it about appearance when they want to be hurtful?” She glowered at the paper cup in her hand. “Is this one mine?”

“Yes,” Delaney said. “Now that you’ve glared it into submission, you can have it.”

“Har-har-hardy-har-har.” Morgan took a cautious sip. Her eyes widened and she drank more. “Wow, this is good.”

“Try a muffin. It’s not a sandwich, I know.” Delaney shrugged. “But it’ll have to do for now.”

“Oh, snap.” Morgan leaned forward and set her cup on the table, then opened the bag and took out one of the muffins and a napkin.

Just then Colbie and Rachel walked up. Colbie saw Morgan trying to take the paper off the muffin without getting crumbs everywhere and said, “Hold on a sec. I’ll get you both plates.”

She placed her coffee cup and plated muffin—a blueberry bran, by the looks of it—onto the small table by the armchair to one side of the sofa. With a flourish she turned and made her way to the front of the shop.

When she returned, she asked Morgan, “So, how was your first day back in town? Do anything exciting?”

“Not unless you count almost driving off Mount Lemmon,” she said. At their exclamations she told them what happened the day before. “But Lay-Lay kept her cool,” she finished. “Coasted us to a stop on the side of the road before she let her freak fly.”

Delaney made an
eek
face. “She’s not wrong. I did pretty much freak out.”

“But you’re all right? Both of you?” Rachel asked.

Morgan nodded.

Delaney did too, but said, “I had a nightmare last night.”

“What?” Morgan, about to take a bite of muffin, twisted to face her, her hand suspended in front of her mouth. “You didn’t say anything.”

“I knew we’d probably end up talking about it here, and I didn’t want to talk about it twice,” she told her sister in a soft voice. “And I had just the one.”

“And?”

She closed her eyes and leaned back against the sofa. “Crumpled, fiery ball of metal in a ravine,” was all she said.

Morgan transferred her muffin to the other hand and slipped her arm around Delaney’s shoulders. “I’m so sorry, sweetie. You should’ve woken me up.”

“No, I was all right. I did have to check on you, though, just to make sure you were okay.” She glanced at her friends then said to her sister, “Just sayin’, once Beck’s home, your sleeping attire needs to change.”

Morgan seemed confused, blinking at Delaney; then a wide grin split her face. “No problem. I got hot last night.”

“Oh, I reset the thermostat. Beck had it programmed to go down to sixty-five at night. I like it cold, but not that cold. When he’s back you’ll be asking for blankets. And a granny flannel nightgown.”

They all laughed and settled in for a good visit. After about twenty minutes Lily and Andi came out from the back and joined them. Morgan told them about the close call they’d had on the mountain and gave them the snippet of Delaney’s dream. Then she told the rest of the women about Edmond coming on to Delaney.