Covert Conception

by Delores Fossen

  Uh-huh. No way.

  But he thought them.

  It surprised him when he felt himself move. Natalie moved. Closer to him. Her eyelids fluttered down, and it took him a moment to realize why. He was moving in on her. He was lowering his head and closing the already narrow gap of space between them.

  "I'll regret this," he heard himself mumble a moment before his mouth touched hers.

  The jolt was instant. Intense. The air didn't just change. It began to sizzle.

  Everything began to sizzle.

  She tasted like everything he'd ever been denied but desperately wanted. She tasted like sin. Like hope. Like redemption.

  Like Natalie.

  She didn't back away after that initial taste. Nope. She slid her arms around his neck. First one. Then, the other. And she inched closer.

  Rick did some inching of his own. He hooked his arm around her waist and hauled her to him. And he quit arguing with himself. Quit thinking. Instead, he took everything she was offering.

  Everything.

  Their bodies came together. It was a perfect fit. Just as he'd known it would be. Her breasts against his chest. Touching everywhere.

  He deepened the kiss with his tongue. Still no resistance from Natalie. In fact, she made a throaty moan of pleasure and approval.

  And that's when Rick knew he was in a helluva lot of trouble.

  Still, he continued the kiss. Continued to deepen it. Their bodies adjusted, fighting to get closer as the heat between them rose.

  "This is so wrong," Natalie mumbled against his mouth.

  But she didn't stop.

  She went back for a second round, and since Rick was past the point of logic, he made sure that second round was worth it. Finally, Natalie pulled away. A good thing, too. He was within seconds of dragging her to the floor. Hardly appropriate behavior. He was about to tell her that, too.

  But he heard the slight sound.

  It took him a moment to realize the sound hadn't come from Natalie. It took him yet another moment to realize it hadn't come from him.

  "What happened?" Natalie asked, blinking and obviously trying to focus. She eased her arms from around his neck and stepped back.

  Rick stepped back as well, lifted his head and caught a whiff of smoke.

  He spun around, trying to detect the source, and it didn't take him long before he spotted the flames. They were bright and hot, eating their way through the back wall.

  His shop was on fire.

  Chapter Nine

  "Fire!" Rick shouted.

  Natalie whirled around and followed his startled gaze to see orange flames snaking along the wall adjacent to Rick's office. And there was smoke. Thin, black wisps, but the wisps were quickly growing into smothering clouds.

  Her heart kicked into overdrive.

  Obviously, so did Rick's. He raced across the shop area and grabbed a fire extinguisher that'd been mounted on the wall. Natalie followed his lead, looking around until she located another extinguisher on the other side of the open bay area. She hurried to retrieve it as Rick began to spray the flames.

  Natalie sprayed the foam as well, but it didn't take her long to realize that this was a losing battle. The fire was spreading. Fast. And she could feel the brutal heat scorching her face.

  Rick obviously realized the same thing because he dropped the extinguisher, caught onto her arm and began running toward the door. In just those few steps, the smoke began to close in around them. It was dark and thick. Suffocating.

  Natalie tossed her fire extinguisher aside, cupped her hand over her nose and mouth to try and stop herself from taking too much of it in.

  She thought of the baby. Of the danger. The slam of adrenaline and the smoke couldn't be good for their unborn child, but there was nothing she could do about it except get out of there as fast as possible.

  Rick fought through the smoke while keeping a firm grip on her. They made it to the front of the shop to the rustic pine door flanked on both sides by windows covered with metal security shutters. Natalie couldn't see outside, but she hoped that someone nearby had already called the fire department.

  Rick reached for the brass doorknob and immediately jerked back his hand.

  "It's scalding hot," he informed her.

  Oh, mercy.

  Natalie filled in the blanks. If the doorknob was hot, then the fire had likely spread to the front of the building. Or maybe that was the point of origin. If they tried to get out that way, they'd no doubt be engulfed in flames.

  That robbed her of what little breath she had left.

  She refused to give in to the panic. She had to concentrate on getting out of there and staying alive because if something happened to her, it also happened to the baby.

  Rick tightened his grip on her arm and, with her in tow, he raced across the work bay, dodging parts and motorcycles.

  "Please tell me there's another exit," Natalie shouted.

  "There is, on the other side of the building."

  The smoke was so thick that she didn't even know they'd reached another door until Rick stopped. He shoved her inside. It was a bathroom and not as smoky as the rest of the building. She automatically reached for the light switch, only to realize the power wasn't on. Thankfully, she realized that, of course, Rick knew where he was going.

  They made their way to a pair of pedestal sinks. Rick let go of her so he could open the mottled-glass window high above them. Natalie felt the fresh air and automatically moved toward it. She had to get out of there for the sake of the baby. Every moment she spent in the smoke was a moment she could be endangering their child.

  Rick scooped her into his arms and lifted her toward that window. It was a narrow opening, but because she knew she had no choice, Natalie squeezed her way through it. Rick kept a firm grip on her arm until her feet were on the ground outside.

  "Run!" he shouted.

  Her instincts were certainly screaming for her to do just that. But her instincts were also telling her to make sure Rick was safe. After all, he'd saved her life. She couldn't just run away and not help him.

  He could die.

  The thought flashed though her head, but Natalie forced it aside and stuck her hand back through the window. Rick was already moving in her direction, but she caught onto his jeans anyway and pulled hard. It didn't take much, and he came out of the window, landing on his feet.

  "Run!" he yelled, sounding relieved and annoyed. The annoyed part was probably because she hadn't obeyed his order the first time.

  With his hand clutching hers, they raced down the sidewalk, away from the building and toward a crowd that had by now started to gather.

  Natalie glanced back to see that the flames were already on the roof, and they were tearing through the building. There wouldn't be much to save unless the fire department got there in a hurry.

  Rick grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and pressed in 911. "I need to report a fire."

  And he gave them the address. Not frantically but calmly. Natalie didn't have a clue how he could be so calm after what they'd just experienced.

  "If one unit is already on the way, I need an ambulance," Rick added, surprising her. "There was a pregnant woman trapped inside. She's out now, but she needs to see a doctor immediately."

  "I'm okay," Natalie assured him. But she had no idea if that was true. She was shaking from head to toe. Plus, it wouldn't hurt for both of them to be checked. Just to make sure that the smoke hadn't done any damage.

  And she prayed it hadn't.

  "It won't take long for the police to get here," Rick relayed to her.

  There was something in the undertone of his voice that caused Natalie's pulse to quicken.

  "Because this was arson," he insisted. "And because I'm almost certain that whoever set that fire was trying to kill us."

  * * *

  BECAUSE Rick couldn't sit still and because he couldn't go anywhere, he paced across Natalie's kitchen while he waited on hold for the police sergeant to
come on to the line.

  Things were going from bad to worse.

  Well, in one respect. Natalie and he still weren't any closer to figuring out who was responsible for what had happened to them. That hadn't changed. But what had escalated was the attempt to hurt them. The SUV had merely alarmed them, but the fire. God, the fire. It could have killed them.

  Someone meant business.

  And Rick intended to find out who that someone was.

  Natalie handed him a beer, and he mumbled a thanks. He also noted that she had some color back in her cheeks and was slowly coming back to earth. The bath and the change of clothes had likely helped that. Her hair was still damp, and she wore a slim above-the-knee dress that was the color of ripe peaches.

  Oh, and she was riled.

  There was a good reason for that. Both of them were literally mad as hell. Maybe they could channel that anger into getting something accomplished. Turning this over to the police was the first step.

  It was a step that Rick wished he'd taken much earlier. If he had, Natalie and the baby wouldn't have had to be exposed to that fire and smoke. To the danger. To the horrific memories.

  Just thinking about that caused Rick to curse.

  Natalie lifted an eyebrow, questioning his outburst, but he shook his head. She nodded, obviously understanding his frustration.

  She was medically all right according to the ER doctor who'd examined her just hours earlier. That was something at least. They'd made it through this physically unscathed. Not mentally though.

  "You should get some rest," Rick reminded her, sitting down in one of the kitchen chairs.

  That earned him a loud huff. "You keep saying that. But you know that you should get some rest, too."

  "I will, once I've finished with this call."

  She folded her arms over her chest. "You don't have to lie to me."

  And it was a lie. Rick had no intentions of resting until he'd spoken to both Dr. Henderson and the mysterious bartender, Brandon Stevens. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to contact either of them. It was the same for the caterer himself. Sunday evening just didn't seem to be a good time to catch people in their offices or at their homes.

  Or were these people purposely avoiding him?

  That wouldn't work. He was going to find them.

  Natalie gestured toward her phone. "I'll try to call Kitt again and see if she's learned anything new."

  "Good." Though he knew it was a long shot. Kitt was efficient, and she would have definitely called them if she'd discovered anything. Still, he didn't stop Natalie. She probably needed a way to burn off the extra adrenaline and emotion, and this was likely her way of doing it. Besides, it would do her good to talk with her sister.

  "Oh, and your head mechanic just dropped off your motorcycle," Natalie added.

  He'd called Hal and asked him to do that, just in case Rick needed a vehicle. "Did you go outside?" he snapped.

  Natalie reacted to that snap. Not with narrowed eyes or a huff. But with a sarcastic expression. "No. I watched from the window. Waved. Smiled."

  "Sorry," Rick mumbled, knowing he had to do something soon or he was going to explode.

  "You could try swimming," she suggested, obviously noticing his nervous energy. "There's also a treadmill in the workout room."

  "You think that'll help?"

  She shrugged. "Maybe. Or maybe you should go for a ride on your Harley."

  "No way. I'm not leaving you here alone."

  "If you don't do something, you're going to drive us both insane."

  "That bad, huh?" he asked.

  "That bad," she confirmed.

  Natalie just stood looking at him. And since he didn't have anything else to do while he was on hold, he looked at her. He'd had some good ideas in his life.

  That wasn't one of them.

  She looked and smelled expensive. Probably the lingering scent of some special bath oil. Combined with her mussed, wet hair and curve-hugging dress, it gave other bad ideas of how he could burn off some of this dangerous energy.

  Natalie must have sensed what he was thinking because she shifted slightly. What she didn't do was walk away, and that was something she should have done, because he wanted nothing more than to reach over, drag her into his arms…

  Heck, who was he kidding?

  He wanted her naked on the kitchen table. Or on the floor. He wasn't particular about the specific location. Just the specific act. He wanted to…

  "This is Sergeant Garrett O'Malley," Rick heard the officer say.

  It was the jolt back to reality that Rick urgently needed. He cleared his throat, took a deep breath and turned his attention away from Natalie so he could concentrate on the call.

  "Sorry to keep you waiting, but I was giving a situation report to my lieutenant," the officer explained.

  "And I hope that situation report identifies who set fire to my shop."

  "No. It's a little too soon for that. We just started the investigation. However, judging from the preliminary evidence, we'll be calling in the fire inspectors because it does look like a case of arson. Sloppy arson at that."

  "What do you mean?" Rick asked.

  "There were liberal amounts of gasoline poured around both your front and back entrances. Someone apparently tossed on a couple of matches."

  Gasoline and matches. Anyone could have easily acquired those. Coupled with the "sloppy" technique, that probably meant this firestarter was an amateur. Not that the end result was any less destructive. Most of his shop had been totally destroyed, and it would be weeks or even months before he could reopen for business. He didn't want to think about all the equipment and motorcycles that had been reduced to ashy rubble.

  "No one in the neighborhood saw this arsonist pouring the gasoline?" Rick asked.

  "We're canvassing the area, but it doesn't look good. Most of the businesses around there are closed because it's Sunday. There's an apartment building just a block up. We'll talk to everyone who lives there. We might get lucky."

  Might. But the sergeant didn't sound hopeful. Rick didn't feel so hopeful, either. He tried to force that particular feeling aside. He had to stay positive. He had to stay focused. Because there was no other alternative.

  When he heard another call coming through, Rick ended his conversation with the sergeant and took it.

  "Rick. It's me—Kitt."

  At that exact moment Natalie came back into the kitchen. She was shaking her head and mumbling something about not being able to get in touch with Kitt.

  Oh, man.

  This couldn't be good. Especially if Kitt had avoided talking with her sister only to call him.

  Rick braced himself for more bad news. "I'm here," he let Kitt know.

  "And so is Natalie, I assume?"

  "Yep."

  "Okay. So, here's the deal. I'll tell you what I have to tell you, and you somehow soften the blow when you pass it on to her. And before you give me a lecture about how tough Natalie is, I already know that. I also know this baby is important to her, and I don't want to do anything to put her pregnancy at risk."

  Hell. This really must be bad.

  "I'm listening," Rick prompted.

  But that prompt also alerted Natalie. With an inquisitive look on her face, she walked toward him.

  "Who is it?" Natalie mouthed.

  Uh-oh. He could go two ways with this. He could lie to Natalie, but it would almost certainly come back to bite him in the butt. Lies usually did. But if he told her the truth—that her sister was on the phone and wanted him to play buffer—Natalie would no doubt want to hear the "unsoftened" version of Kitt's news.

  So, this was a rock and a hard place.

  Rick had a ten-second debate with himself during which time Natalie continued to ask who was on the phone and Kitt continued to ask if he was still there. He ignored both of them and went with his gut. And his gut told him that Natalie and he were a team right now, and that she was indeed strong enough to endure whatever news Ki
tt was about to deliver.

  He hoped.

  "It's your sister," Rick informed her, and before Natalie could even insist, he pressed the speaker function and placed his phone on the table so that both of them could hear the conversation.

  And the first thing he heard was Kitt's rather loud huff—obviously voicing her disapproval that he hadn't kept Natalie out of this particular loop.

  "Kitt, what's going on? I've been trying to reach you," Natalie explained.

  "Yeah, I know. I got your messages, but I waited to call, well, because basically I didn't want to tell you this over the phone."

  Natalie made a sound of contemplation. "So, you called Rick instead so you could tell him?"

  Oh, yeah. Natalie was strong enough to do this.

  "Put your claws back in," Kitt grumbled. "I figured I'd tell Rick, and he could pass it on to you."

  "No. What you figured was that because I'm pregnant I'm somehow incapable of dealing with anything stressful or shocking. Trust me, Kitt, after what Rick and I have been through, there's nothing you can say that would compete with nearly dying in a fire."

  Rick was proud of her and that famous Natalie Sinclair backbone, but he also heard the silence from Kitt. Definitely not a good sign. This was going to be really bad. So, he caught onto Natalie's hand and pulled her into the chair next to him.

  That earned him a frown from Natalie. Probably because she thought he was questioning her mental strength as well. He wasn't. He figured they both might need some comforting before this was over.

  "Okay, let me warn you up front that I don't have any good news. It all sucks," Kitt commented. "So, I'm just going to lay it out there and let you two deal with it." She paused just a heartbeat. "Macy's missing."

  That was one of the last things he thought he would hear Kitt say. "What do you mean, she's missing?"

  "I mean she left the hospital while I was at her house getting some of her things. No one, including me, knows where she is. That makes her a missing person. I've already called the police."

  "Oh, God," Natalie mumbled.

  Rick slid his arm around her and pulled her to him. Natalie didn't burst into tears or anything. She took a deep breath and stared at the phone.