by Liz Johnson
He was nearly to his parents’ place, so he whipped his car around, sailing up the on-ramp and north on I-5. For a Saturday night, traffic wasn’t terrible, but everyone seemed to be content going the speed limit.
Luke was not.
As he swerved between cars, his heart thudded painfully, and his knuckles turned white around the steering wheel.
Heavenly Father, keep her safe. She matters to me.
He didn’t want to think about how she’d come to be such an important part of his life in such a short time, but he couldn’t deny the space that she now occupied in his heart and mind.
He had to get there in time. He just had to.
An ambulance heading south wailed down the left lane, its sirens crying out.
Sirens. He had to get her help. He couldn’t save her alone. Not if her house was filled with natural gas and possibly on the verge of exploding.
The emergency call button on his phone quickly connected him to a response team. “Nine-one-one, what is your emergency?” asked a female operator.
“A gas le-leak in Balboa Heights.” Luke choked out the words. Getting them around his heart, which was firmly lodged in his throat, took two tries.
“What’s the address?”
“I can’t remember the house number.” He’d been there twice, and he couldn’t picture her address. Both times he’d just followed Mandy’s directions. “But it’s on Balboa Heights Lane. It’s a little blue bungalow. The only one on the street.”
The 911 operator typed something into the computer on her end, her fingers clacking against the keyboard. “Are you at the house?”
“No. I’m on my way there right now. But my friend is inside the house. I think she passed out before she could get out.”
“How do you know?” The woman’s voice switched from even professionalism to a hint of real concern.
Luke cut off another car to take the exit toward Mandy’s subdivision, flying through a yellow light at the end of the ramp. “She called me. She was completely disoriented, and I don’t think she can get out.”
“Is there anyone else in the home?”
A scene from the search through Mandy’s house the night before flashed across his mind. What if her stalker had come back? What if she was inside with Mandy? His vision narrowed as he skidded around another corner. “I’m not sure.”
“I have the fire department and an ambulance en route. ETA three minutes.” She paused for a long moment, and again, the clacking of keys filled the silence. “Sir, what’s your name?”
What did it matter? Why was she wasting time when Mandy’s life was on the line? Even though he knew she was only doing her job, he had to force himself to take a breath before responding. “Petty Officer Luke Dunham.”
“Can you stay on the line with me, Petty Officer Dunham?”
As Luke pulled onto Mandy’s street, he saw her car parked in front of her house. “No.”
He didn’t wait for an argument or goodbye before hanging up, parking on the far side of the street and flinging his car door open. Just as he did, sirens filled the evening, growing ever louder as they bore down on his location. Scrambling for his crutches from the backseat, he was just upright on them when a huge red fire engine swung onto the street. Standing in their headlights, he flagged them down and pointed to Mandy’s home.
The beast of a truck rolled to a stop with a whine of its brakes, and men began jumping out of every available opening. Organized and orderly. They were much like the navy in that way.
A man, who took charge as if he was the captain, jumped out of the passenger seat, while his men began slipping their oxygen tanks over their shoulders.
“Did you call this in?” the captain asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“You haven’t been in the house, have you?” Piercing blue eyes swept over him.
“No.” Only because the professionals had arrived before he could get across the street.
“Good.” Those unflinching eyes locked in on him again. “Stay on the far side of the street until we give the all clear.”
Luke nodded. There was no need to argue.
As three men with oxygen masks ventured toward the front of house, another ran around the back. Most likely he was shutting off the gas main. On his return, he gave a thumbs-up, and the other three reached the front door.
Almost simultaneously, the ambulance appeared at the end of the street. It pulled into place opposite the fire truck, and a man and a woman in blue uniforms hopped out of the cab.
Someone’s walkie-talkie squawked to life. “Woman down in the front entrance.”
Luke didn’t care if the fire captain had chained him to the other side of the street. Nothing was going to keep him from being at Mandy’s side. His crutches clacked as he crossed the street as fast as he could make them go.
“Stay back,” one firefighter said.
He locked gazes with the shorter man, channeling one of his SEAL instructors. “She’s my responsibility.”
The fireman saw something that made him nod and step back as one of his coworkers ran out of the house, carrying Mandy’s limp form. Her arms hung at odd angles, her neck strained all the way back. Her skin was sallow, her lips nearly colorless.
Luke gasped at the change. In less than an hour, she’d turned into a shadow of her former self.
The paramedics had the gurney there in a moment, and Luke raced toward them, his heart beating twice as fast as his feet could move.
“Her pulse is weak, and her blood pressure is low.” The woman pulled open Mandy’s eyes and shined a flashlight into them. “Good pupil response. And there doesn’t appear to be any head injury.”
The other paramedic pressed a plastic mask to Mandy’s face, lifting her head to secure it with an elastic band. A long tube ran from the front of the mask to an oxygen canister, and even in the yellow streetlights, he could see pink returning to her lips.
Slipping to her side, he grabbed her hand and laced his fingers with hers. When their palms pressed together, a shock ran up his arm.
“Mandy? Can you hear me?”
The female paramedic glanced from Luke to Mandy and back again. “Is she your girlfriend?”
Without even a thought, he opened his mouth and let his heart reply, “She’s mine.”
At his words, Mandy squeezed his hand, and her eyes flickered open. She took a deep breath that swelled her chest and gave her cheeks a hint of color.
Luke smiled like an idiot, his grin stretching his face so far that it nearly hurt. But he couldn’t be bothered to notice something so trivial when the corners of Mandy’s eyes crinkled with joy. A tiny spark there brought her back to him.
“Knew you’d—”
The paramedic touched her arm and shushed Mandy, who blinked several times before letting her eyes stay closed. The muscles in her face relaxed, and her breathing slowed as though she was finally finding restful sleep. He released his grip on her hand, but she held on so firmly that he couldn’t let go.
Fine. He’d stay right where he was. No complaints.
Running a finger along her forehead, he smoothed her hair out of the way. It was like silk beneath his fingers, and he gave it another pass and a gentle caress. Mandy rewarded him with a shallow smile under her mask.
“We’re going to take her to the hospital,” the woman said.
Luke shook his head quickly. “She won’t want to go.”
Mandy gave a quick nod but stopped as her face twisted in pain. “I’m okay. I don’t need to go…”
“Well, you can’t stay here.” The familiar voice was clear and unyielding, like an elementary-school principal. Officer Wilson sauntered toward them.
This brought Mandy nearly upright, leaning on her elbows behind her. She pulled down the oxygen mask and let it hang around her neck.
“I was hoping I wouldn’t be back out here again.” Wilson seemed to think he’d made a joke, letting out a dry laugh. All the muscles in Luke’s throat tightened in
dread, and he couldn’t respond.
Mandy, however, wasn’t suffering the same paralysis. “What did you find?”
The cop held up an evidence bag, which contained a broken lightbulb. The glass casing had been shattered, but the filament and support wires were fully intact.
A collective gasp rose from their little group, and Mandy pushed herself farther up, bracing a hand behind her and holding her head with the other.
“The gas on the stove was turned all the way up, and the pilot light had been blown out. And this was in the hallway fixture.” Wilson lowered the bag but kept his gaze fixed on Mandy. “Someone removed the outer globe and left this. If you’d flipped the hall light switch…”
Luke’s body shivered, and Mandy’s shoulders twitched. They both knew what would have happened. Mandy had managed to escape again. And whoever was after her wouldn’t be happy that she’d dodged another figurative bullet. But there was no telling how long it would be before those bullets were real.
One look at her face, and Luke knew she was thinking the same thing. Her lips had regained their color but had nearly disappeared into a tight line, and the shimmering in her eyes wasn’t from the flashing blue-and-red lights.
“Do you have somewhere safe to stay?” Wilson asked.
“I stayed at a hotel last night.”
The officer shook his head as a paramedic pushed Mandy’s oxygen back into place. “Keep this on. It’ll help your headache.”
She nodded at the other woman before turning back to Wilson, who asked, “Are you alone?”
She offered a slow, affirming shrug.
“Is there someone who can stay with you? Someone else you can stay with? Especially tonight.”
Mandy shook her head, her eyes as big and sad as the basset hound he’d had as a kid.
“She can stay with me.” Luke was happy to be of service and for an excuse to keep her close. Even if his mission had just increased to a full-time job.
But would it be enough? If he never returned to the SEAL teams, would one-off jobs like this be enough? If God took away the thing he loved most on earth, being part of the elite brotherhood, would Luke be enough? These and a hundred other questions hooked on to the back of his mind.
He could only cling to the things he knew to be true. God loved him. Mandy’s smile made him melt. And he was doing something he was good at: protecting the innocents and hunting down the tangos.
He risked a grin. “My parents have a guest apartment. She can stay with us until the threat is neutralized.”
“No, I don’t want to…” But her mask muffled her excuse, and Luke just shook his head until she finally nodded her acquiescence.
“Good. Now that that’s settled—” Wilson pulled his notebook out of the back pocket of his uniform pants and flipped it open “—I talked to your Detective Fletcher today. He said there’s still no news back from the CHP about the brakes on your car. And there’s still no sign of Mrs. Heusen. She hasn’t returned any of his calls. But I’ll make sure he knows about what happened tonight.”
Mandy looked at Luke, and he lifted his shoulders. More and more he had doubts about Camilla’s involvement. But if she wasn’t targeting Mandy, why was she hiding from the police? If it wasn’t Camilla, who was after Mandy? They needed to look at those files and start pulling some names from the cases she had mentioned. This vendetta was personal, and they were going to have to turn over every stone to figure out who was behind it.
The paramedic picked up her equipment bag. “If you’re not going to the hospital, then we’ll pack this up.”
“Of course.” Mandy hopped off the gurney and immediately looked as if she regretted her decision. Her legs buckled beneath her, and she fell into Luke’s chest.
He wrapped an arm around her back and had to restrain himself from scooping her up into his arms. Once upon a time, he’d been able to comfort a woman that way. He could cradle her and protect her from the rest of the world.
But not right now.
He hated his leg for failing him. For bringing him to this very moment.
That idea slammed into him with the force of a train, and he dropped his arm. Was it possible that his injury—the one that could keep him from his greatest dream—had also brought Mandy into his life? What if he had never met her? What if he’d settled for a woman like Bianca without ever knowing an amazing woman like Mandy?
He shook his head. This wasn’t the time or the place to think about those things.
But the rock in the pit of his stomach suggested that it might not be so easy to dismiss.
Right now, he needed to get Mandy to his parents’ place so she could get some rest and they could give Detective Fletcher some names to look into.
The paramedics began tucking their tools of the trade back into large duffel bags and storing them inside the ambulance’s bay. Luke bent as low as he could on his injured knee and looked right into Mandy’s face. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
She pressed a hand to her temple, wrapping her fingers over the top of her head as if it might fly off if she didn’t hold it in place. “Just dizzy. My head is throbbing.” She wrinkled her nose and pursed her lips. “And there’s a serious mess to clean up inside my house when I can get back into it.” She managed a shallow chuckle as her gaze dropped to the grass between the toes of her shoes. “Thank you for getting here as fast as you did. And calling the fire department. You saved my life. Again.”
Usually when someone thanked him for a specific service, he played it off with a flippant joke. But the soft rise and fall of Mandy’s shoulders gave him pause. She kept showing up in his thoughts about the future, and he wasn’t nearly ready for her to walk out of his life.
Especially when he was in a position to make sure she stuck around.
“Anytime.” He walked her toward his car. Settling her into the passenger seat, he closed the door and whispered, “Every time.”
*
Mandy leaned her forehead against the cool glass of the car window. Its soothing temperature eased around her head, setting the uneven floor of her mind to rights.
This wasn’t the first time she’d sat in this very seat and rested against this same window.
Luke was making a habit of rescuing her. And giving her confused looks every time she returned his comforting embrace but then pulled away when it turned into something more. Something deeper.
And now she was going to stay with him at his parents’ place. Professional boundaries had flown out the window faster than she’d careened down that mountain a week before.
She had to put some kind of barrier in place. Her last attempt to keep her heart and actions in check. He deserved to know why she couldn’t act on the feelings that refused to be subdued.
But when he tossed her box of files into the backseat, slid behind the wheel and held out his hand, she couldn’t help but slip hers into it. “You’ll be safe. Tomorrow we’ll tackle the files. Tonight you can rest.”
“Thank you.”
The base of his neck, just above the collar of his US Navy sweatshirt, turned pink in the car’s dim overhead light as he pulled away from the curb and around the last police car left on the block. But he didn’t say a thing. Instead he gave her a slow, sad smile, almost as though he wished he could take her place in this whole mess.
Only, she didn’t want him in danger. From a madman. Or even from her.
Letting go of his hand and clasping her own in her lap, she stared hard at her interlaced fingers, searching for the right words to explain her past and their present. Somehow they’d become intertwined—the before and the right now—and he deserved to know the truth about both.
With a silent prayer, she closed her eyes and opened her mouth. And the words began to tumble out. “I hadn’t seen Gary for almost four years until he showed up at my office last week. He was a patient. And he was so charismatic.”
She peeked at him as he turned the car toward the coast. His eyes never left the road, and a muscle i
n his jaw worked as if he were chewing on her words. But he didn’t tell her to stop, so she kept going.
“One of my college professors had warned our class about the illusion of closeness that comes with the therapist-patient relationship. After spending multiple days a week together for months at a time, it’s easy to feel close to someone. I get to share pain and triumph, joys and struggles with my patients. It’s a special relationship, particularly in the medical field.
“But Gary surprised me. He pursued me in little ways. It started just two weeks into our sessions. I’d find notes, after he’d left, stuck on the outside of his patient chart. Then flowers delivered from a secret admirer.”
“White roses.” Luke’s interruption was softly spoken but utterly certain.
“Yes. How did you know?”
He shrugged. “Tara might have mentioned they were your favorite.”
Of course. “She’s always up on the office gossip. No one knows more about what’s going on than she does.”
An expectant pause filled the car as lights on the side of the highway flew by, flickering in the car. Finally, he gave her a gentle nudge. “Go on.”
But she didn’t really want to, because she wasn’t proud of the rest of her actions. She could have kept her distance. She should have shut him down.
So many should haves and could haves.
They all melded together in the haze that still encircled her mind, and she just waited for the words to start rolling out, praying that somehow Luke wouldn’t find her as appalling as she found herself. “I was flattered by his kind words and thoughtful gifts, and I let my guard down. I told myself that he was just being friendly. And honestly, no one had ever pursued me with such focused attention.”
Luke mumbled something under his breath that sounded as if he found that hard to believe, but she didn’t stop to ask him to repeat it. This was hard enough without changing the subject. Twisting the hem of her shirt into a ball, she kept at it.
“And then one night we were alone in the office. Everyone else had gone home, even my office manager.” She swallowed down the regret that burned the back of her throat, keeping her eyes fixed on the road. “I let him kiss me. Honestly I wanted it as much as he did. It was… Well, anyway, it went on for a while. But then I started hearing rumors. About another woman.”
