He gave her a look with the slightest of smiles that made her stomach do funny things. “Do you have to ask?”
With that comment, she knew exactly where he was taking her. “I guess not.” More flips in her belly. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”
He glanced at her. “You can’t beat the view.”
“I can’t argue with that.” She did want to argue that it was the last place on earth that she wanted to go. But that wasn’t true, so she didn’t say anything more.
He stopped at the Arctic Circle, which Dylan told her had been open and closed numerous times over the years. New owners had remodeled and painted it, and just being at the place reminded her of long ago times. Mostly good times, and that’s what she held onto.
Dylan paid for their order and then they were headed up Tombstone Canyon, and sure enough, rather than going through the tunnel, he took a detour and went up the Old Divide Road, on top of Mule Pass Tunnel. He didn’t stop there, a place where teenagers had always stopped to party. He continued on up Juniper Road, all the way to the towers. He parked there so that the rear of the truck was facing the view of the town, like he used to the times they’d come up here to make out.
The thought of those old days brought back good memories, yet they were so good that they were almost too painful to bear.
He went to her side of the truck and helped her out, then grabbed the bags of burgers and fries, along with a blanket from the back of the cab and two jackets. While she got the milkshakes, he put down the tailgate of his truck and spread the blanket on the cold metal.
“Do you need a jacket?” He held them up as he set the fast food bags aside.
“Not yet.” She touched the lapel of her blazer. “This is warm enough for now.”
Before she could climb up, he grasped her by her waist and set her on the tailgate. He didn’t let go. He held onto her while she gripped the large Styrofoam cups so tightly she thought her fingers would go right through them.
She held her breath, her heart pounding, half afraid he would kiss her and half afraid he wouldn’t. After a long moment he released her and she let out her breath as he scooted onto the tailgate beside her. He was so close that his big arm brushed hers as he moved, and his leg pressed against her thigh. Her skin tingled wherever his body touched hers.
He grabbed a burger out of the bag that was wrapped in the old-fashioned way, with the plain white paper the place had always used. He handed the burger to her when he’d partially unwrapped it.
She breathed in the warm, delicious smell. “It smells as good as I remember.”
He unwrapped his own. “The new owners have done a good job of staying true to the original menu and way of making everything.”
She bit into it and closed her eyes and chewed. When she opened her eyes again, Dylan was watching her.
“It’s amazing.” She had to tear her gaze from his and focused instead on the view.
The sun was sinking behind them, but there was enough daylight left for one of the best views she could remember. The mountains, the high desert vegetation, and the houses built on the side of the hills in the canyon.
Lights began flickering on in the town as the sun went down and it seemed almost surreal, like fairy lights appearing in the hills.
They ate in comfortable silence, but it allowed her to think too much about secrets and lost years. She knew she should tell him, but the words wouldn’t come.
The burger was so huge that she handed him the rest after she’d eaten half, just like she used to when they were dating. It came naturally, as if they’d still been doing it for years.
He’d already downed his burger and all of his fries. He took the rest of hers and ate it as she picked at her fries. The sunset faded away as they finished eating.
When they were done, he crumpled the wrappers and used napkins, and then stuffed them into one of the empty bags, which he set behind him in the truck bed. He gripped his milkshake cup as he studied her.
She took a sip of her chocolate milkshake, lowered it, and looked at him. He was much taller than her and even sitting on the truck bed she had to tilt her head a little to meet his gaze. It was nearly dark now, but she could still make out his features.
“You were about six-feet-tall when I left.” She let her gaze drift over him. “You’re around six-three now?”
“On the money.” He set his milkshake on the truck bed, reached up, and took several strands of her hair, letting them run through his fingers. The way he did it, so sensually, so familiar, caused her to tremble inside. “I want to know everything that’s happened since you’ve been gone.”
She looked down at the cup that she still gripped. He hooked a finger beneath her chin and raised her face so she was looking at him. A lump grew in her throat. “There’s not a lot to tell.”
“To me it’s everything.” He spoke quietly. “Please tell me.”
“Okay. You deserve to know.” She sighed and he released her chin. She looked away for a moment before turning her gaze back on him. “When I made the decision to leave, I only took a backpack, two changes of clothing and a few other items, basic toiletries, and cash. I’d managed to accumulate over a thousand dollars from years of babysitting, and I’d kept it hidden beneath a floorboard so that my mother and stepfather would never find it. They would have used it for drugs.”
His brows narrowed slightly. “You’d planned that long to leave?”
“No.” She cleared her throat. “At the time I was just saving it for something special someday.” Like a ring for Dylan, if he proposed to her when they were out of high school. She wasn’t about to tell him that. “But things got worse and worse at home after my mother died, and one night I decided I had to leave.”
Tears bit at the backs of her eyes as she continued. “I would have told you everything, Dylan. Honestly. But I didn’t want anything to happen to you.”
The full moon peeked through dark clouds and she could see his anger in the tightness of his jaw. “What did your stepfather do to you, Belle?”
She bit her lower lip. What hadn’t Harvey done? Telling Dylan wouldn’t change it or take the pain away. “It doesn’t matter now.”
“Like hell it doesn’t.” If it were possible, flames would have lit Dylan’s eyes, he looked so furious.
She blew out her breath. “He sexually abused me. Took pictures and videos, too.”
The rage on Dylan’s face had her hurrying to speak.
“After I left, I hitchhiked my way to Albuquerque.” She kept talking as anger grew in his gaze. “I only rode with women. I also cut off my hair until it was spiky and dyed it white-blonde so that no one would think twice about me looking like the girl on the news. I even wore glasses with plastic lenses, made to look like they were prescription.” She thought of those days when she’d been running scared, afraid the authorities would find her and take her back to her stepfather. “I saw my face on newspapers once. Back then there weren’t Amber alerts, so it was a little different.”
The way the moonlight hit his face let her see his intense expression. “Why didn’t you at least tell the authorities if you wouldn’t tell me?”
“I didn’t want to be put in foster care, and ultimately it would have come back to you.” She pleaded with him with her gaze.
She set the milkshake cup aside and folded her arms across her chest as she shivered, the cold getting to her now. He retrieved his jackets and helped her put on one of them. It was lined and comfortable although so huge she was practically lost in it. Dylan slipped on the other jacket and then looked at her again as he stuffed the two empty milkshake cups into the remaining empty bag from the hamburger place.
“It wasn’t easy but I managed to get a job with a woman in Albuquerque.” Belle hugged herself tighter. “Marybeth let me sleep in her backroom and wash dishes to earn money. I saved everything.”
Dylan’s frown deepened. “Why didn’t she turn you in as a runaway?”
“She was going to
, but I told her my story and begged her not to send me back to that monster.” Sadness for the woman gripped Belle’s heart.
His expression was so intense. “I’ll bet Marybeth had a story similar to yours.”
At first Belle was surprised, but then realized in his line of work he was trained to listen and pick out details.
“Yes.” She nodded. “Marybeth was abused by her uncle and she ran away at a young age, like me. So even though I was over forty years younger than her, we were kindred spirits in our own way. I started off with menial jobs and worked my way up to waitressing over the two years I spent working for her.”
A tear rolled down Belle’s cheek. “One night Marybeth was killed in a car accident by a drunk driver. I was homeless again and my closest friend was dead.”
He put his arm around her shoulders and drew her close to him until her head rested on his chest. “What happened then?” His voice rumbled against her ear.
It felt so natural, so comfortable having him hold her. “I’d saved almost everything I earned, so I moved on, got an apartment, and found another waitressing job. It took a long time, but I made my way up to restaurant management.”
He squeezed her tighter to him and just held her for a moment.
She tilted her head up. “What about you?”
“Pretty much what I told you and the others at the Den.” He played with the ends of her hair like he used to. It was a natural, comforting movement. “I’ve worked in Washington, D.C., California, Phoenix, and then transferred here when a position opened up.”
She wanted to know more, like what kind of relationships he’d had, if there had been a special woman in his life. But then she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Her heart ached at the thought of him being with someone else. Even after all these years, she still felt more for him than she should.
“Did you ever marry?” His question startled her out of her thoughts. “Is there someone back in Houston waiting for you?”
“No.” She shook her head, her hair sliding over his shirt beneath his open jacket. “And no.”
“Why not?” His question was simple but it caused heat to flush over her skin.
“I’ve just never met the right man.” Since you, she thought. No one ever measured up to my memories of you. She dove in despite her earlier thoughts. “What about you?”
She felt him shrug his big shoulders. “Nope, never married.” He squeezed her tightly to him. “I wouldn’t have kissed you if there was someone I cared about.” He caught her face in his hand and tilted her face up so that she met his eyes. “And I’m sure you wouldn’t have kissed me back if you had someone back in Houston. So I asked a dumb question.”
“What if I’d been lost in the moment?” she whispered as she looked at his moonlit features.
He shook his head. “You wouldn’t have done it.”
Her lips parted and the stirrings in her belly grew more intense. Her breasts felt heavy and she ached between her thighs, a need so great for him that she wanted to beg him to kiss her again. And more. So much more.
He lowered his head and slowly brought his mouth closer to hers. “I’ve missed you so damned much.”
His kiss was slow and gentle, his lips moving over hers. He nipped at her lower lip, causing her to gasp. She remembered him being a good kisser, but now he kissed like a man with more experience, a man who took what he wanted.
A spike of jealousy shot through her at the thought of him being with other women. It was an irrational thought, but she felt it just the same. Even though she didn’t deserve it, she still wanted to be the only woman he’d ever loved, just like he was the only man she’d ever loved. Every man she’d dated over the years had paled in comparison to her memories of this man, even back when he was so much younger.
She slid her fingers over his cheek and moaned against his lips as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. He tasted so good, of the milkshake he’d been drinking and of the flavor that was uniquely Dylan.
His scent was so familiar, filling her like nothing ever had before. He smelled earthy and masculine, and she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed him until now. No, the truth was she hadn’t let herself think about how much she’d missed him, but her heart and soul always had.
A groan of need swelled inside her. She felt the dampness between her thighs, the ache growing ever more powerful.
He shifted, picking her up and settling her on his lap as he continued to kiss her. He slid his hand into her hair and pulled back so that he could kiss her neck. She gasped at the dominant move that was unfamiliar, but felt so right with him. It was like he was claiming her all over again.
Her chest rose and fell, and small sounds of need escaped her as he moved his mouth to her ear. He rubbed his stubble along her soft skin as he slid his lips to her throat and kissed his way to the hollow.
She inched her hands up his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck as she tilted her head back, finding it harder and harder to breathe.
His hand eased beneath the jacket, pushing aside her blazer, and then cupping her breast. She squirmed on his lap, tingles running from her belly straight between her thighs as she felt the length and hardness of his erection. His cock seemed even bigger than she’d remembered it.
He circled her nipple with his finger through the soft material, and she grew wetter, wanting so badly to have him inside her.
The thought of sliding his cock into her mouth, licking him, tasting him, sucking him, was overwhelming. She slid off his lap and off the tailgate so that her feet hit the ground, and moved between his thighs.
He grasped her ass and pulled her close for another kiss. She leaned into him, sighing and sliding her hands to his huge biceps before skimming her fingers over his pectorals and then down the hard plane of his abs.
She liked the way he had filled out over the years, and loved touching him again. She moved her hands further down to his lap. A shiver of desire ran through her as she traced the outline of his erection before finding his belt buckle.
He captured her hands so quickly in his that he caught her off guard. He broke the kiss and braced his forehead against hers. “Don’t play with fire, sweetheart.”
She swallowed. “What if I want to?”
“No.” He said the word firmly. “When I take you, it’s not going to be out in the open at a teenage make out location. You deserved better than that.”
A warm flush traveled through her at his words, “When I take you.” But she’d wanted to give him something before telling him her secret. Once she told him, there no doubt wouldn’t be a next time.
With a sigh she broke free of his grip and wrapped her arms around his neck. “You always were the gentleman.”
He snorted. “Your memory is a little faulty. I seem to remember quite a few times when we went farther than we should have right here.”
She couldn’t help a laugh, but then she sobered. It was time—it wasn’t right to hold back any longer. He might not forgive her for hiding what she’d learned, but somehow she would convince him not to go after Harvey and kill him in retribution for his part in Dylan’s father’s death.
“I—I have something I need to tell you.” She bit her lower lip. “You are going to be so angry with me that you probably won’t want to see me ever again.”
His brow furrowed as he studied her. “You can’t imagine all of the things I’ve seen and heard, and even done over the years. I doubt you could say anything that would make me that upset with you.”
“You’ll change your mind.” She took a deep breath, trying to fight back tears that suddenly burned at the backs of her eyes. “My—”
An explosion rocked the night.
The ground trembled as a brilliant orange glow split the darkness.
Belle whirled around as a fireball reached for the sky.
CHAPTER 9
An electric charge swept over Dylan and he cut his gaze to Belle. “Get in the truck.”
He grabbed the blanket as
Belle snatched the two bags of garbage, and then he slammed the tailgate shut. He rushed with Belle to the passenger side, helped her up into the truck, then ran to the driver’s side. In moments they were tearing down Juniper Road and on down, off of the Divide and onto the road that went through Tombstone Canyon.
When they got closer, he saw that it was a house on the hillside that had gone up in flames. Bisbee No. 2 Fire Station was five minutes from the home and he heard the sound of sirens even as he drove toward the explosion.
He spotted the road that led up the side of the canyon to the house and swerved onto it. Behind him came the flashing lights of a fire truck, the siren growing louder. Bisbee fire trucks were specially made to order to navigate the narrow one-lane streets to reach homes on the sides of the canyon.
Dylan stepped on the gas pedal, putting distance between his vehicle and the fire truck. When they reached the fiery home, he parked far enough to be out of the way. He backed into his parking space so that he was facing downhill and wouldn’t have to maneuver the truck to drive away from the area, if for some reason he was in a hurry to leave.
He left the truck running, the heater on. “Stay here,” he ordered Belle before he jumped out of the truck and ran toward the home.
Before he even got to it, he knew if anyone had been inside, they wouldn’t have survived. Nothing could be done for the house that was not much more than flaming rubble. The danger now was to the homes on either side of the one aflame—the firefighters would concentrate on saving those houses.
The heat was tremendous, flames still licking the sky. The fire crackled, hissed, and popped, and smoke roiled and rose. What had happened? A gas leak?
Neighbors were out of their homes and staring at the fire. Dylan started to go to the next door neighbor’s house to make sure everyone was out, when he saw a newer model black Honda CR-V SUV in front of the destroyed home.
His gut clenched. Tom Zumsteg had been driving the same model when they’d left the memorial for Nate. Was his home the one that had been blown to hell?
He didn’t have time to think about that as the fire truck cut its sirens. It pulled up in front of the closest fire hydrant, blue and red strobes flashing over the scene. Firefighters jumped off the truck in full bunker gear and proceeded to hook up a pressurized hose to the hydrant. The crowd was ordered back, but they didn’t move as far as they should have.
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