Rising Heat (26 page)

In the midst of the chaos, my heart pounded with anxiety. I stood, staring down at the diner. Where was Kathy? Where was Sarge? That smoke coming from the front of the diner now wasn’t the white smoke of a flash-bang or a smoke grenade. The place was on fire. Shit! How was Sarge going to get her out—

The sound of breaking glass caught my attention. This time, it was the window that I knew came from the office.

A flap of burlap was thrown over the sill, and then someone began crawling out of the window. Not just someone. It was Kathy!

Unable to stop myself, I left the shelter of the trees and raced toward the back of the diner, my blood surging with a combination of relief and fury. Kathy was trying to scramble out of the window, but it was small and too high just to jump out of.

“Kathy!” I hissed. “I’m coming.”

Hanging halfway out the window, she froze, then choked out a sob of relief when she saw me. Then she was reaching for me. “Help me out! Help me out!”

Wrapping my arms around her upper body, I pulled. She was shoved from behind and nearly toppled us both to the ground, but I managed to keep my balance. Relief tore through me, but I knew the danger wasn’t over yet.

“The place is on fire,” Sarge yelled from inside. “Get her into the trees. Disappear!”

I turned to do just that but paused only a second. My gaze met that of Sarge, and I nodded. A wordless nod that said everything. The guy was okay.

After a muttered, “Ooh rah,” he disappeared back into the diner.

More gunfire came from inside as I ran, this time with Kathy in my arms. The smell of smoke, the crackle of flames, the screams of someone inside caused a shiver to race down my spine. I hoped to God it wasn’t Sarge. Or Bones.

I reached the tree line and continued on behind the cover of the close-growing trees before I stopped and lowered her to the ground, examining her from head to toe, cursing at the ragged looking cuts on her wrists. “Are you all right? You’re not hurt?”

She said nothing, just stared up at me, and I realized she was probably in shock.

“Sweetheart, are you hurt?”

She shook her head. “I need to pee really bad.”

I laughed and kissed her forehead. “Keep holding it, baby. I’ll find you a place soon. Bones has a car waiting for us on the other side of that ridge,” I said, pointing. “It’s about a half-mile away. We’re going to have to run and keep under cover of the trees. Can you make it or do you want me to carry you?”

She blinked, cast a fearful glance over her shoulder at the diner, and then looked at me. Her features were set with determination. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

I smiled and kissed her forehead again. “My brave girl.”

Helping her to her feet, I kept hold of her hand and began to run, weaving through the trees. She kept pace with me. I heard her heavy breathing behind me, but she didn’t ask to stop. Didn’t pause. I was never so proud of anyone in my life. A lump rose in my throat with the intensity of my feelings. I wanted more than anything to stop, to pull her into my embrace, to burrow my nose into her hair, to smell her, to touch her, to make sure that she was all right. But we couldn’t be caught. We couldn’t be seen.

By the time we reached the top of the ridge, scrambling between the trees, struggling up the small slope, dislodging small chunks of dirt beneath our feet, we were both covered with a layer of dust. Behind us, the sounds of gunfire, shouts, and sirens echoed.

We finally topped the rise, still hidden among the shelter of the trees. I searched the ground near the bottom of the hill upon which we stood. It looked like a dirt forestry service road down there. And then, maybe about fifty yards away, tucked into the trees, I spotted it. A dark blue Jeep.

“There it is. Can you make it?”

Gasping for breath, resting her hands on her knees, she looked up at me and nodded. One more burst of effort and we scrambled down the hillside. Once there, I opened the passenger side door, but she ran behind a bush. “Don’t you dare come over her,” she shouted, and I heard the hiss of her zipper. A second later, there was a long groan and what sounded like Niagara Falls.

Damn. She really did need to pee.

When she reappeared, she scowled at me before climbing into the Jeep. Running around to the driver’s side, I jumped behind the wheel and reached for the keys jutting from the ignition.

And froze.

I hadn’t gotten behind the wheel of a car since the day I killed my younger sister. Accident or not, I caused her death. I glanced at Kathy. She stared at me, wide-eyed, her chest heaving with exertion.

“You want me to drive?” she asked and placed her hand on my arm, understanding flooding her face.

Her voice, the compassion and sympathy in it, took my breath away. Once again I wanted to do nothing more than wrap her in my embrace. Not yet. Maybe later. But maybe not ever if she turned her back on me. I wouldn’t blame her if she did, but I hoped to God she wouldn’t.

I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed her knuckles softly. Then I placed it on my thigh and turned the key. “I’ve got this.”

In a matter of seconds, we were following the county service road around the bottom of another hill, up another, and then wove our way down toward a highway. I wasn’t quite sure where we were, but I knew where I didn’t want to go. I headed south and then west.

I drove toward the setting sun. Eventually, I got onto a county road that took us toward Cañon City. I didn’t stop there. Not in Salida either. Just before dark, I pulled into a recently refurbished motel halfway up the eastern slope of Monarch Pass. I glanced at Kathy as I pulled into a parking space. We sat there in the growing darkness, neither of us saying anything for several moments. The only sound was the ticking of the engine cooling down. The laughter of a young couple walking past the Jeep.

“You okay?” I finally asked.

She turned to me, opened her mouth and questions began to fly. “How did you find me? I didn’t think you’d be able to find me. I thought they were going to kill you and then they would kill me. I didn’t know how to get away. Who was that guy? That big guy who helped me? Where were you when I got back from the pharmacy—”

I pulled her into my arms. I half-expected her to pull away, to slap the shit out of me, but instead, she crumpled into my embrace and began to weep.

“Ash, I’m so glad you’re okay. I’m so glad they didn’t hurt you…”

And then, she did pull away slightly, but only for a second. The next thing I felt were her lips on mine. Desperate. Demanding. I relished the sensation of those lips and even the warmth of tears burning behind my eyes. Tears of gratitude. Of relief. She was okay. She was safe. And I would never, ever let anything happen to her again.

If she would have me.

*

Later that evening, after we had showered, we ran to the store to get clothes, toiletries, and medical supplies for both of us. We grabbed take-out on the way back, a bottle of wine for her, a six pack of beer for me.

After we’d eaten and tended each other’s wounds, I simply held her.

Bones had called me from the police station, where he was taken after his arrest. I had been alarmed at first, until he told me it was all part of the plan. He had been arrested along with about a dozen others of the gang members. He wasn’t
really
arrested, but the feds made sure that the gang thought he was.

That would keep the heat off him, the repercussions of the gang. He gave me a brief rundown of what happened. Spider had gotten away, but Digger and Mops were in custody. Sarge had disappeared as well, but I had no doubt that he would track down Spider. I knew that bastard well enough to know that the gang members that had escaped the raid would gather at one of the other hangouts in Denver. Maybe they would all leave Denver for a while, until things cooled down. Bones had heard comments that they would relocate down near Pueblo, maybe further down south in Trinidad, closer to the New Mexico border.

I didn’t care where they relocated. I knew Bones couldn’t talk long or say much, but I was worried about him. “You okay? You going to be able to get out without anybody suspecting anything?”

“I think so,” he said. “You have any idea where you’re going?”

“Not yet. You still thinking of visiting your cousin up in Fort Collins?”

“Yeah, as soon as the dust settles a little. I don’t want to disappear right away, give Spider or any of the other remaining gang members any ideas, if you know what I mean.”

I did. I also knew that if I needed to, I could always find a way to contact Bones. He would be able to do the same with me. No matter where we ended up.

By the time I finished the call, I felt a little better. Kathy looked exhausted, a little shocked still, but she didn’t have any serious injuries. I glanced down at her wrists, feeling the surge of anger burgeoning within me when I saw the bandages, knowing bruised, chaffed and broken skin was underneath.

Placing the phone down on the end of the bed, I reached for her hands and gently kissed one wrist, then the other before looking up into her face. I would say what I had to say and then let the chips fall where they may.

“Kathy. I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am. I never meant for any of this to happen.”

She offered a small smile. “I know that, Ash.”

“When I found out that you’d been kidnapped, I was so… afraid. Alone. I would never have been able to forgive myself if anything happened to you. In fact, I don’t think I can ever forgive myself for what did happen to you.”

“Ash, don’t—”

“You can’t go back to Denver. You know that, don’t you?” I felt horrible when I saw the sheen of tears in her eyes.

“I know. But I’ll survive. I can go back home for a while. Find another job. I’ll probably have to retake my semester, but it could’ve been a lot worse. I realize that now. I’m alive. You’re alive. And really, that’s all that matters.”

At that moment, I realized that Kathy was much stronger than I had given her credit for. She would come through. She would always remember, as would I, but she would come through this stronger than before.

We sat on the bed together. I held her hands gently in mine. “Kathy, I have to leave Colorado. Would you consider…” I took a deep breath. “Would you consider coming with me?”

She stared at me a moment, her eyes searching mine. I wouldn’t blame her if she shook her head and said no. Or even laughed in my face. But I still hoped she wouldn’t.

“Where will you go?”

I shrugged. “I’ve got a place near Salt Lake City. I also have a place in New Hampshire.”

She stared at me. “You have homes in both cities?”

I nodded. Then grinned. “I told you I was rich.”

“You didn’t tell me you were filthy rich,” she said and punched me in the arm. “Seriously? You’ve got two homes on opposite sides of the country?”

“Three, actually, but I don’t really like the place in Florida. Too many bugs down there.”

That made her laugh, and the sound went straight to my balls.

“I’ll tell you what, Ash. I might just take you up on that. But first, would you mind taking me to California? So I can visit with my parents? Would you like to meet them?”

She hadn’t said no. Hot damn. She hadn’t said no.

I grinned. “Sure, I’d like to meet your parents.” I swallowed. “Then maybe we could go see mine.”

A tear fell from her eye. “I’d like that very much. What about Alice?”

Shit. I’d forgotten about my snake. “I could give her away to a good home if—”

“No!” Her finger traced a circle on the back of my hand. “If you get a snake…” she looked up at me, “can I have a cat?”

Holy hell.

I swallowed. “Sure. I think if you can battle your fears, I can battle mine.”

Her smile could have lit up the world. “Yes, we’ll do it together.”

I pressed my lips to the soft skin of her temple. I had a lot of thinking to do. It was about time I figured out what to do with myself. “Maybe we could just start over,” I suggested. “If you’d like, we could find a place where we can do that. You pick. I’ll go wherever you want me to. You can finish school. I was thinking, if… well, if things progress the way I would like, and what with you becoming a veterinarian and all, we might buy a ranch someplace.”

She didn’t say anything for several moments, and I realized I might be going a little too fast for her. She might not even want—

“A ranch? Sounds nice. Someday.” She grinned and snuggled closer, her head nestled into the crook of my shoulder. “But no rush.” She looked up at me, her eyes filled with something. Affection? Was she feeling what I was feeling?

Her lips brushed against my neck, her teeth nibbling softly and my dick responded immediately. She laughed, her breath warm against my neck as she wrapped her arms around my waist and clung to me.

That was something I would never grow tired of. And at that moment, I knew I would do anything and everything to make this woman as happy as possible. Anything.

As her fingers moved to unbutton my jeans and I lifted her shirt over her head, I knew I’d never grow tired of this either. From the first moment I met her, I’d known I needed her in my life.

It looked like she needed me too.

I laid her down on the bed, my lips never leaving hers as I pulled her panties down her thighs. Then I groaned. Condoms. Why didn’t I buy fucking condoms?

Kathy giggled and reached over the side of the bed. A second later, she had a box of them in her hands. “A girl could always hope.”

My cock throbbed painfully as I rolled one on, taking in those gorgeous legs. Her firm breasts, topped with tight nipples the color of ripe peaches. The thin layer of curls between her legs, covering a place I wanted to know better.

I moved between her legs, spreading them wide until I could admire the glistening pink folds. Her entire body flushed and she squirmed under my inspection, but she didn’t protest. I leaned down to trace the tip of my tongue up her slit, and she shivered. Taking her clit between my teeth, I sucked until she climaxed in my mouth.

“You’re so beautiful,” I told her as I covered her body with my own, taking her mouth, letting her taste herself on my lips.