Burning Up: Firefighter Contemporary Romance Series Box Set

by K. C. Crowne

  “But I do know him,” she protested. “He’s a friend of my mommy’s.”

  A chill ran down my spine. Unless she was mistaken, this didn’t feel like a random occurrence. From the way Justin looked at me, he sensed it as well.

  “Come on,” he said, taking Abby’s hand.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “We’re going home.”

  “By home, do you mean...” I prompted.

  “I mean New York, yes,” he said. “We’re going to talk to Stephanie and see if she can rush this process. The sooner we get Abby out of Atlanta, the better I’ll feel.”

  I didn’t disagree with him, but it took me by surprise. Seeing him so set on protecting his daughter was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen.

  Together, we walked out to my car and headed straight for Stephanie’s office. We told her everything that had happened, and she alerted the authorities. They got the results of the DNA testing, and it was exactly as suspected - I was Abby’s father. Not that I had any doubt once looking at her, but we had the proof we needed to make things official.

  She also gave us the news that we could take Abby home, agreeing that it would be safer outside of Atlanta for the time being.

  We were going home.

  Justin

  “Are you excited to be going to New York City?” Hannah asked as the three of us walked toward the hotel lobby.

  Abby didn’t look too certain, but she nodded.

  “There’s so much to see and do,” Hannah explained. “We’re going to have a blast.”

  There was a playground at the hotel, and Abby looked er at it wistfully. We were going to be in the car for a very long time she was bound to get antsy.

  Hannah saw it at the same time and suggested, “Why don’t I take her over there to play while you check us out?”

  After what had happened at the aquarium, I was nervous to let them out of my sight. The police thought it was a random encounter, that the girl didn’t really know the man, but I wasn’t so sure.

  Hannah reassured me, “I’ll be with her. I won’t take my eyes off her, even for a second.”

  I felt like it was my fault Abby got lost in the first place. Not Hannah’s. I nodded, but said, “I’ll make it quick.”

  “Of course,” Hannah replied with a smile. “It’ll be nice to get home.”

  I watched the two of them walk to the playground. No one else was there, just the two of them. No cars nearby, the hotel was mostly empty. The playground wasn’t near the road, and I could see them from inside the lobby.

  I went inside and rang the bell. An older woman came out from the back, squinting at me as if she couldn’t see very well.

  “Yes? How can I help you?” she asked.

  “I’m ready to check out,” I said, handing over the key cards for our rooms.

  The woman looked at the cards, then picked them up to look closer. “Rooms three and four, correct?”

  “No,” I corrected, “Eight and nine.”

  “Oh, yes, I see that now.” She peered closer at the card. “I think so, at least. Just give me one second to print your receipt.”

  The woman turned to a computer and tapped on the keyboard - one letter at a time - then leaned close to the computer screen, adjusting her glasses to read it better.

  “Mr. Davis, it says you checked out earlier today,” she said, looking puzzled.

  “I’m Justin Hargraves,” I corrected. “You must have pulled up the wrong account.”

  The woman stared at the screen again, then back at the key cards. “Room four, right?”

  I sighed, running a hand through my hair as I checked on Hannah and Abby in the playground. A black car had pulled into the parking lot, blocking my view. Probably nothing, but I wanted to be sure. My pulse raced when I couldn’t see either Hannah or Abby.

  “Excuse me,” I said. “I’ll be right back.”

  I exited the lobby, walking toward the playground and heard a scream - Abby’s scream. I took off running across the parking lot just as a loud gunshot cut through the air.

  “Abby! Hannah!” I screamed.

  I heard Hannah’s voice, loud and fierce. She was yelling but didn’t sound hurt, thank God. I stepped around the car just as it pulled off, tires squealing as it left the parking lot.

  Hannah was on the ground, but she pushed herself back to standing with my help, crying. “They took Abby, Justin,” she panted. “We have to do something!”

  The car had just pulled out of the parking lot and turned right. “Give me your keys,” I demanded.

  “What? We need to call the cops!”

  “You call the cops, but we can’t lose that car,” I yelled. “Give me your keys!”

  Hannah tossed me her car keys, and I took off toward her vehicle. She was right behind me, dialing on her phone at the same time.

  “Stay here,” I ordered.

  “No way,” she said, climbing into the passenger side of the car. “We’re a team, remember?”

  I didn’t have time to argue, not if I wanted to catch up to the car. I climbed into the driver’s side as Hannah reported everything to the police dispatcher. I took off, heading in the direction they went, going as fast Hannah’s car would allow.

  “Seatbelt,” I said.

  Hannah’s trembling hands reached for her seatbelt and buckled it. I couldn’t imagine losing her if we got into an accident. She continued speaking to the person on the other end of the phone as I sped down the road, narrowly avoiding cars on the busy street.

  “Red light!” Hannah warned, but it was too late.

  I hit the brakes, and the car skidded out of control before coming to a stop on the side of the road. A line of cars honked their horns at us.

  “Fuck!” I yelled, slamming my hands against the steering wheel. The other car was nowhere to be found.

  I wasn’t about to give up, however. I took off, continuing the way I assumed they went, but they could have turned off at any point. I had no clue where they were headed. No idea who they were.

  “Justin, the cops are on it,” Hannah said softly. “They said to go back to the hotel and wait for them to contact us.”

  “Fuck no,” I growled.

  “We don’t know where they went, Justin. What else can we do?”

  I knew she was right. I didn’t have any idea where they might have taken Abby, but I suspected Sally might know something. If Abby had been telling the truth about the man yesterday and this was one of her mother’s friends, Sally might know him.

  “Call Sally,” I told her. “Get her address and tell her we need to talk.”

  Hannah looked at me questioningly but called Sally. We’d been given her phone number in case we had any questions about Abby.

  Hannah spoke to the woman, trying to keep her voice calm and not telling her exactly what was going on.

  “Alright, we’ll be there soon,” Hannah said, hanging up. She looked at me. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”

  “Enter the address into the GPS,” I said. “I think Sally might have an idea who took Abby. I figure it’s worth a shot.”

  Hannah nodded. “That makes sense,” she said softly.

  I realized she was crying. Not only that, but her face was bloody. Not bad, but enough that it broke my heart. She’d been hurt in the confrontation, fighting for Abby, and it didn’t even seem to phase her.

  I took her hand. “We’re going to find her.”

  “I know,” Hannah said, sniffling. “We have to.”

  “Damn right we do.”

  Ooo000ooo

  “Which house is it?” I asked, ready to jump from the car the moment we were stopped.

  “I don’t know, I’m trying to find a house number,” she said, leaning closer to the window. Hannah let out an audible gasp.

  “What?”

  “I think that’s the guy from the aquarium!”

  “Where?”

  She pointed to the front of the closest house. Out fron
t was a young man smoking a cigarette, and from what I saw of the guy at the aquarium, I bet she was right.

  I opened the car door, but Hannah grabbed my arm. “Wait, we need a plan.”

  I loved Hannah and all her planning, but this was a time when planning wasn’t going to do us much good. We had to find Abby fast.

  “No time,” I said, yanking my arm away. “Wait here.”

  Hannah didn’t listen, of course. She got out of the car and followed me, trying to keep up with my stride. I was walking fast, nearly running. The guy at the front porch didn’t budge at first. He stared at me like I had a disease or something until he recognized Hannah.

  “He’s gonna run,” I stated, quickening my pace.

  He took off inside the house. I rushed up the steps and saw the number; it was Sally’s house.

  I tried to open the door, but it was locked. I knocked as Hannah caught up with me.

  “This is the place,” Hannah said softly, telling me what I already knew. “That would mean the guy probably knew Dee.”

  I banged harder on the door.

  “I’m coming, I”m coming. Hold your britches,” Sally said from inside. The door opened, and she greeted us - inviting us inside.

  “Who was sitting outside your house just now?” I blurted.

  “What on Earth are you talking about? Where’s Abby?” Sally asked, looking from Hannah to me and back.

  “There was a guy on your front porch.” Hannah spoke calmly. “We recognized him. Do you know where he is? He came inside and--”

  “Oh, you mean Zachariah, my grandson,” Sally said, waving off our question. “He’s upstairs in his room.”

  I took off toward the stairs before Hannah or Sally could stop me. Hannah stayed downstairs, trying to explain what was going on to Sally. Once I was upstairs, I tried every door. Most of them were open. The first room I came to looked like Sally’s. The next was occupied by an older man who was sleeping. I reached the end of the hallway, only a few doors left. The first one I tried was locked. There was music blasting from inside of it.

  I pounded on the door. “Zachariah, we need to talk.”

  Sally and Hannah had made it up the stairs, and Sally said, “There has to be a mistake. Zach is a good kid. He’d never hurt Abby.”

  I wanted to believe that, I really did. Sally seemed like a good woman, someone who’d raise a good man. Not the type who’d kidnap little girls. But it wasn’t looking good for Zach.

  The door remained closed, and I pounded on it again.

  “Hold on, I’ve got a key,” Sally muttered, fumbling with a key ring. She called out, “Zachariah Lamont, you better hope this is all a misunderstanding. If you had anything to do with the disappearance of that little girl, I’ll--”

  The door opened, and before Sally could finish talking, I lunged toward Zachariah. He was standing up when we entered, and I pushed him against the wall, my hand on his throat. He was younger than I expected him to be - maybe nineteen or twenty at most. Not a large man either. Still very much a kid himself.

  I loosened my grip on his throat but didn’t release him. “Where is she?”

  Sally continued her lecture behind me, scolding Zachariah and screaming at him about how she raised him better than that. The boy looked at me with tears in his eyes.

  “I’m sorry,” he whimpered. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

  “Mean for what to happen?” Sally asked, shocked.

  “I just wanted to talk to her. I was supposed to find out if she knew anything about what happened to her mom, but then you two stopped me and--”

  “Go on,” I growled, giving him a little shake.

  “I didn’t take her, but I know who did,” he said. “The same people who killed Dee. They wanted to be sure she couldn’t identify them. But I’m afraid they might hurt her.”

  Sally pushed past me, and I had no choice but to let her grandson go. She proceeded to beat the ever loving shit out of him, screaming, “What the hell are you caught up in, boy? You better tell us everything, and you better hope that little girl ain’t come to no harm.”

  Hannah grabbed Sally, and with my help, we pulled her away from Zachariah. It was clear the boy wasn’t going to run again.

  “Tell me where I can find her,” I demanded.

  “If I do that, they’ll kill me,” he whimpered, cowering from his grandmother.

  “Lord Jesus!” Sally exclaimed, her hand over her heart. “You’re just like your daddy, ain’t ya? I tried to do right by you, and you still get yourself into trouble!”

  “I’ll tell you,” Zachariah cried. “I couldn’t live with that on my conscience. My grandma raised me better than that.”

  “Damn right I did” Sally sniffed, her voice holding a hint of sadness.

  Zachariah gave us the address after looking at her disappointed face.

  Hannah reached for her phone. “We need to tell the cops right away.”

  “No,” Zachariah cried, putting his hand out as if to stop her. “We-- I mean, they - have people who work with the cops. They’ll know I told you if you do that, and the guys will have a warning you’re on the way.”

  “Jesus,” Sally muttered, collapsing onto her grandson’s bed. She began shaking violently. Hannah tried to comfort her.

  Zachariah looked absolutely terrified, but I had to give the kid some credit for what he did next. “I’ll go with you,” he offered, taking a deep breath. “I can keep them busy and help you get inside the house.”

  I hated bringing the kid into this, knowing he was risking his life, but I had no idea what I was up against. I had no weapons, nothing. It would have been stupid to go in alone and unprepared.

  “Fine,” I said, looking at Hannah. “You wait here.”

  “No,” she refused. “I’m going with you,” she added, standing tall and defiantly.

  “Like hell you are.”

  “We’re a team, Justin,” she interrupted, her stance strong. “We work better together than apart. I’m going with you and there’s not a damn thing you can do to stop me.”

  “Fine,” I muttered. “But you’re staying in the car.” She grumbled but didn’t argue.

  Zach stopped me before I could leave. “Hey, listen. You can’t go in there with no weapon, man. I can promise you, they’ll have guns.” He reached into a drawer and moved some underwear out of the way, then pulled out a pistol.

  “What the hell is that?” Sally screeched, and I worried she might have a heart attack. “Where did you get a gun?”

  “I need it, Ma,” he answered quietly.

  “Oh, baby, what are you involved in?” she muttered.

  Zach chose not to answer as he handed me the gun. “You know how to use it?”

  “Yeah,” I replied, immediately checking the gun to see if it was loaded. The clip was full, the chamber empty, and the safety on. “Took shooting lessons when I was working some rough neighborhoods back home.”

  Hannah gaped but didn’t speak. I glanced at Zach, who was busy promising his grandmother that when he got back, he’d change his ways. I hoped for his sake, as well as hers, that he meant it. He seemed like a good kid with a good heart; he deserved better than this life of crime.

  Sally and Zach hugged tightly. “Zach, you don’t have to go. I can’t lose you like I lost your father. You’re all I have.”

  “I have to go, Ma,” he said. “You know I do.”

  She sniffled loudly, nodded her head, and wished them the best of luck. “Find your baby, and bring back mine.”

  Ooo000ooo

  We parked down the street from the house, and Zach volunteered to go in first. He would get the guys out of the room where Abby was being held, and I would climb in through the window to rescue her.

  “How do you know where she is?”

  Zach didn’t look at either of us when he answered. “They’ve kidnapped rivals before, always keep them in the same room.”

  I nodded and asked no more questions. The gun was in my hand, th
e safety still on, and I hoped I wouldn’t have to use it. I told Hannah to stay in the car with the engine running, to be prepared to drive away quickly.

  “You know it would be easier if you had a lookout,” she argued.

  “It’s not necessary,” I insisted.

  “Justin, you need my help--”

  “No, I don’t,” I retorted. “We don’t have time to argue about this.”

  “Then let me go with you,” she cried. “You can’t do this alone.”

  “I’m not alone, I have Zach with me.”

  “You know what I mean,” she griped, glaring at me.

  “Hannah, listen to me. I can’t lose you,” I explained, grabbing her shoulders. “I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you because you got caught up in my mess.”

  “It’s not your mess, Justin. You didn’t cause any of this,” she reminded me. “And besides, any messes that are yours are mine too.”

  “I need you safe, Hannah,” I said.

  “And I need you safe, Justin,” she cried. “Your plan has too many flaws.”

  “Well, you know me. I’ll figure it out as I go.”

  A few minutes had passed since Zach had left the car. It was time for me to follow. I grabbed Hannah’s hands and turned her to look at me. Her eyes were wet with tears. Pulling her close to me, I kissed her, and her tears ran down both our faces. It killed me to leave her, knowing that if things went badly, I might never see her again. When I finally decided to dedicate my life to someone, everything had to go to shit. It didn’t seem fair, but I knew Hannah would never blame me. We both loved Abby more than we could have imagined after such a short time, and I’d do anything to save my little girl.

  “Stay here,” I whispered against her lips, stroking her hair around her face. “I’ll be right back.”

  God, I hope I’m not lying, I thought as I got out of the car. Let me return with my little girl. Let the three of us live happily ever after.

  I walked down the block to the house Zach had pointed out. It was quiet, eerily so. The home was in the middle of a residential street, surrounded by other rundown houses. It was a poor neighborhood, one where people probably looked the other way when they saw something suspicious.