Bound by Fire

by Tracey Jane Jackson

  “Pepper, stop. I just need to know what to do until you get here.”

  Pepper chuckled. “I just told you.”

  “You’re no help.”

  “Okay, how about this?” Pepper secured Jonesy’s lock. “Try to get a glimpse of him naked. Maybe he’s a troll under his clothing.”

  Sam giggled. “Oh, Pepper. I miss you.”

  Pepper laid her palm over her stomach as her excitement bubbled up inside of her. “Just about nine weeks now, my friend. I’m counting down the days.”

  “Me too.”

  “Okay, I just put Jonesy to bed in his stall and now I need a glass of wine and a long hot shower to wash the horse off me.”

  “In that order?”

  “Maybe I’ll start and end with the wine.”

  “Nice. Thanks for the pep talk…pun intended,” Sam said. “I’ll Skype you over the weekend unless I have another crisis.”

  “Sounds good. Love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  Pepper hung up, kissed Jonesy one more time, and headed to her car. She arrived to find her back tire flat. “Great!”

  She was the last one in the barn tonight, which wasn’t unusual, but it was dark and she hated to bug the owner. With a groan, she pulled out her phone, found her Triple A card, and dialed their number. The operator said it could take up to an hour for a tow truck to come and asked if she was in a safe place to wait. If she wasn’t she should call 9-1-1. Pepper assured her she was safe and that she’d just wait in the car.

  Pepper sighed and got into the car. She hated waiting. For anything. Technically, she could change the tire herself—Samantha’s dad had taught both of them basic car care when they got their licenses—but she didn’t “do” manual labor…or grease. Not to mention, a migraine was approaching and she was out of pain meds.

  Luckily, she’d downloaded the new album from Fallen Crown. She hadn’t had a chance to listen to the whole thing yet, but it was her favorite band and this was the perfect opportunity to immerse herself in the music. She dropped her head onto the headrest and settled in to wait. She was three songs in when a knock at her window elicited a quiet squeal, but her heart calmed when she saw who it was. Mario Hernandez was one of the best-looking men she’d ever met. Tall and muscular, the native Mexican had been living in Savannah since he was a teenager and working at the ranch for almost as long. Now thirty-five, he was married with two kids and was the go-to trainer for the rich and influential. He’d been training Pepper for two years in exchange for light bookkeeping and administrative duties. The arrangement was working out perfectly for them both.

  “Hey, Rio.” She opened her door and stepped out. “What are you still doing here?”

  He grinned. “I could ask you the same thing, but it’s not quite midnight, so you’re still within your timetable.”

  She snorted. “You’re funny. Uh, my tire’s flat. I’m waiting for the tow truck.”

  He frowned. “No need for that. I can change it for you.”

  “Don’t you need to go home?”

  He sighed. “Anna took the kids to her mom’s for the week. I’m joining them over the weekend, but for now, I’m trying to distract myself.”

  She grinned. Mario loved his family and they adored him right back. Pepper grabbed her keys and opened the trunk. “Okay, then distract away. The tire’s in here. Thanks.”

  Less than thirty minutes later, Mario was setting the flat in the trunk just as a truck made its way up the road.

  “Oh, crud. I forgot to cancel the tow truck,” Pepper said.

  “Why don’t you head home, and I’ll talk to the tow guy,” Mario offered. “You have to work tomorrow.”

  “So do you,” she pointed out.

  He chuckled. “Ah, but I need a distraction, remember?”

  “Right.” She climbed into the car and cranked the window down. “Thanks for everything, Rio.”

  “See you tomorrow for your lesson. Get some sleep.”

  Pepper waved and headed down the driveway, past the truck and toward home. She was halfway home when her phone rang. “Hello?”

  “Why did you let the Mexican fix your car, Pepper?”

  It was him.

  “What?”

  “I warned you, Pepper. Do you remember?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You are not behaving the way you are supposed to. You are going to need to learn to obey me, Pepper.”

  “Excuse me? You haven’t told me anything. Not that I’d listen if you did. I’d highly suggest getting back on the crazy train and heading on out of town.”

  “And I’d suggest you listen to me or you’ll be in trouble, Pepper.”

  “You better leave me alone, or I’m calling the cops.”

  “Call them, Pepper. They won’t find me.”

  Pepper shook. He was creepy as hell, and not just because he said her name after almost every sentence.

  “Look, I don’t know what you want. Just tell me and I’ll see what I can do,” she said.

  A sardonic chuckle sounded through the phone. “I want you, Pepper. It’s always been you.”

  “Well, you can’t have me. Just leave me alone!”

  “I will have you, Pepper. One way or another.”

  “Creep!” She hung up and glanced in her rearview mirror. Maybe he was following her. She decided to take the long way home, just in case. She arrived at the badly-in-need-of-repair box her mother called home, and parked in the driveway. Shaking off her impending sense of doom, she made her way inside.

  She closed the front door and frowned. Her big black lab usually met her at the door.

  “Rover,” she called.

  Nothing.

  “Mom?”

  Still nothing.

  She sighed. Her mom probably locked Rover outside when she went out with Jeff, the new “sweet, but misunderstood” ex-con who’d swept her off her feet.

  Her mother’s cat, Morris, was pacing the length of the sliding glass door and meowing. Pepper dropped her purse on the kitchen counter and, after grabbing a dog biscuit, made her way to the door and opened it. “Rover?”

  She flipped the outdoor light switch, but nothing happened. “Wonderful.” She couldn’t see much, even the moon was hiding from her, so she flipped on the lamp inside the door. Rover was lying on the concrete patio slab next to his dog house.

  “Rover? Hey, buddy, why aren’t you in your cozy bed?” She knelt beside him and her stomach turned. “Rover? Come on, buddy, you need to wake up.” She continued to try to wake him, but the reality was that her beloved dog was dead. As the tears streamed down her face, she sat back on her heels and let the stress of the evening cover her.

  Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she answered it. “Hello?”

  “It was a painless death, Pepper.”

  “What?” she squeaked.

  “Next time, maybe you’ll listen to me, hmm? I warned you that something bad would happen if you didn’t do what I said. This time it was your dog, Pepper. Next time it might be your mother. Or perhaps even Jonesy…although, I think I’ll leave him until last and make you watch.”

  “Why are you doing this to me? What do you want?”

  “I want you, Pepper. I have always wanted you.”

  “I don’t even know who you are!”

  He chuckled. “Oh, you will. But in the meantime, we should really get to know one another, hmm? We’ll start slow. Answer my calls. Every time, Pepper. Understand? Do as I tell you and as you earn my trust, you’ll be rewarded.”

  “And if I don’t?”

  “Don’t push me, Pepper. One of the things I like most about you is your spunk, however, your mouth has gotten you into trouble, and I think we need to work on that. Now, bury your dog. I’ve taken the liberty of digging a grave in the corner of your yard.”

  Her blood ran cold. “What?”

  “I know you like to be taken care of, my love. I’d never make you do manual labor.”


  Pepper swallowed. “Leave me alone.”

  “I can’t do that, Pepper. Take care of your animal before he starts to decompose and I’ll call you in the morning before your shift at the diner. I’d like you to wear that pretty blue scarf you wore to the airport when you said good-bye to Samantha. This will show me you’re willing to do as you’re told.”

  The phone went dead.

  CHAPTER TWO

  PEPPER HADN’T ANSWERED the stalker’s calls or worn the scarf. He wasn’t happy. Neither was Hank when he received a call in the middle of the night informing him the diner was on fire.

  Pepper was frantic to tell the police who she suspected set the fire, but she didn’t even know where to direct them. She still tried, though. They were helpful up to a point. They hadn’t finished the investigation on the fire, so they wouldn’t share what they’d found. If anything. There also wasn’t any evidence she was being stalked. Not even a record that she’d received phone calls from anyone other than the people in her phone contacts. And since she didn’t know who he was, they couldn’t help.

  He’d been able to cover his tracks better than she could have imagined. When she told the police about Rover, they’d come out to the house to find the “grave” wasn’t there. All they saw was fresh sod. The creep had apparently dug up her dog and refilled the hole.

  A canvas of the neighbors revealed nothing. No one had heard or seen anything, and she quickly realized she might be dealing with a crazy person, but he was a smart crazy person. When he called two mornings later, she answered it.

  “Ahhh, Pepper, you entertain me so, my love. Are we done playing our little game?”

  Pepper bit her lip, willing the tears to stay away. “Yes.”

  “Excellent. Now, you have that training session with your Mexican today. Wear the blue scarf and make me proud. It’ll be the last time you ride your beloved horse, after all.”

  “What? No! You can’t hurt him.”

  “But you are to be punished, my love. You disobeyed me.”

  “Please don’t hurt him,” she begged. “I’ll do anything.”

  “Anything?”

  She bit her fist in an effort not to sob. “Yes.”

  “Sell him.”

  “What?” She shook her head. “Sell him?”

  “Yes. Sell him. You have two days.”

  He hung up.

  * * *

  Three Weeks Ago

  Pepper slipped quietly through the front door, hoping her mother wasn’t home. She didn’t need questions, particularly ones jaded by alcohol, and she had to make a phone call she was dreading.

  The house was quiet, so she pulled out the burner phone she’d paid for with cash and dialed Dalton’s number.

  “Dalton Moore.”

  “Hi, it’s Pepper,” she whispered.

  “What number are you calling from?” he asked.

  “It’s a burner phone.”

  “What happened to your phone?”

  “It’s a long story.” She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. “I need your help.”

  “Does that mean you’ve forgiven me?”

  “Don’t, Dalton, okay? Someone’s stalking me and you’re the only one who can help me.”

  “What do you mean ‘stalking’ you?”

  “Some guy has been leaving weird crap at the diner for me, calling a hundred times a day, and now he killed Rover.”

  “What the hell, Pepper? Why didn’t you call me sooner?” he snapped.

  “Because I thought I could handle it, but then he used your name specifically, so I thought you might know him.”

  “Can you narrow it down? I’m not in the habit of keeping company with dickheads who stalk women.”

  “All I know is he’s the guy who burned down the diner and the same one who calls me every fifteen minutes on my frickin’ phone!” she snapped. “You know everyone. You must have sold a car to someone in the law enforcement field, right? I need your help.”

  “Let me think. I’ll call you back as soon as I can, okay?”

  Pepper squeezed her eyes shut and slid down the wall. “Okay.”

  She hung up with Dalton just as her other phone rang. “Hello.”

  “Hello, my love. You had a good day today.”

  She bit her lip. “I did everything you told me to.”

  “I know you did. Well done. Tonight I’ll let you sleep through the night. I’ll call you in the morning. I left you a bottle of your favorite wine on the patio.”

  She wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Thanks.”

  “Enjoy it.”

  He hung up and Pepper sat in silence for several minutes before making her way to the patio. She had no intention of drinking the wine, but she’d had another flat when she refused his gift of a bottle a week earlier, so it was easier just to open it and dump it. She was pretty sure he didn’t have cameras in her house…at least, so far.

  Her mother’s house was the one place she felt safe, and the irony wasn’t lost on her. It was the same place that several of her mother’s “friends” had tried to take advantage of her, forcing her to add several locks to her bedroom door and hide whenever her mother’s “company” was being entertained.

  Pepper grabbed the wine and locked the door again. Once she dumped the bottle down the sink, she took her migraine medication, shut off all the lights, rushed to her room, and locked herself in. She sat on the bed, back to the wall, and prayed she didn’t have to pee. Nothing outside of a burning inferno was going to get her out of the bedroom.

  * * *

  Pepper came awake with a fright when she felt a strong, calloused hand press over her mouth. The smell of soap and burnt fireworks assaulted her nose. She tried to scream as she kicked and scratched and did whatever she could to push the person off her.

  “Shhh, Pepper, it’s me.”

  She blinked. “Dalton?” she mumbled behind his hand.

  He was kneeling beside her bed, black jeans and a black T-shirt helping disguise him in the dark. “Yeah. I’m gonna let you go. Okay?”

  She nodded and he removed his hand.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “I did some checking, and someone’s definitely messing with you.”

  She sat up and pushed the covers off her legs. “Did some checking?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. I have a secret to tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. Not even Sam.”

  “I promise.”

  “I’m with the FBI.”

  “What? What does that mean? You’re a spy?”

  “Sure. We’ll go with that.”

  Pepper burst into tears. “Is this why you’ve been shutting me out?” she asked in a sob.

  Despite her protests, Dalton wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his lap. “Hey. It’s okay. I’m sorry, babe. Seriously. There’s so much I want to tell you, but I can’t.”

  She knew she couldn’t fight against his strength, so she sagged against him and sobbed into his chest for what seemed like forever, the relief and fear finally merging into one. Dalton held her without speaking and she began to calm.

  “How did you get in here? I locked both locks.”

  “Deadbolts are easy-peasy,” he said.

  “But how did you get into the house?”

  “The basement.”

  She gasped. “Oh! The broken window. I forgot about that.”

  He shook his head. “No, not that. I fixed that last week. But I fixed it so I could still get in.”

  She frowned. “You did? How come I didn’t know about that?”

  “There are a few things you don’t know.” He lifted her chin with his finger. “This creep might be watching you, but so am I, okay?”

  “Why?”

  “Because I promised you I’d never let anything happen to you again, remember?”

  “That was a long time ago, Dalt.”

  “A promise is a promise.”

  “Why haven’t you said anything?” she ask
ed.

  “Because I couldn’t. Technically, I shouldn’t be saying anything now.”

  She climbed off his lap and stood. “I don’t understand.”

  “I know you don’t.”

  “Was anything real?”

  “You mean us?”

  She nodded and bit her lip, not sure she wanted to know the answer.

  “Baby, it was all real for me,” he said.

  “What about your receptionist?”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “Was she real?” Pepper pressed.

  “Not even close.” He shook his head. “She was part of a case.”

  “So, our being together and then breaking up?” Pepper fisted her hands at her side. “It was all for nothing?”

  Dalton stood and cupped her face. “It’s better this way. I can’t be what you need.”

  She pulled away from his touch. “Then why did you make me believe you could be?”

  Pepper tried not to react to his tortured expression.

  “Because I have loved you forever,” he admitted. “From the moment I kissed you at your twenty-first birthday party, I’ve wanted more.”

  Pepper remembered the kiss. It had been four years ago and was sweet, but over far too quickly and more than baffling. “Dalton.”

  “I know. I’m so sorry. It was my selfishness that caused you pain and I wish I could take it back. I wish the timing was different. I wish…well, I wish a lot of things, I guess.”

  She bit her lip. “You’re so much more than anyone would even guess. I wish you’d show that.”

  “I can’t. At least, not yet.”

  “What about Sam?”

  “Right. Sam. She’s becoming a problem.” He groaned. “She knows when I’m lying. It’s annoying. I’d love to tell her everything, but I can’t. I just hope she forgives me one day. I miss her.”

  “She misses you too, I think. We don’t really talk much about you anymore.”

  “That’s good. I want that trend to continue,” he said.

  “I can’t lie to her either, you know.”

  “If you don’t talk about me, you won’t have to lie. She already knows something’s up with us, she just doesn’t know what. We don’t need to offer information, right?”

  Pepper nodded.