by Linda Conrad
Chapter 2
It had been a couple of days since Nina’s nearly fatal encounter with the fire tornado, and Josh’s pulse still pounded whenever he thought of how close she’d come to dying. The mere thought of her death unnerved him. He couldn’t lose her. Especially since he had not yet been able to break through the frosty shell of reserve she always held to her like an oxygen mask. What if he’d never gotten the chance to loosen her up? Or to find out what kind of relationship he could build between them?
By this afternoon, she would be off the ventilator and able to talk and receive visitors. He wanted to be first in line. There were so many things he needed to say.
A nurse stopped him at the desk of ICU. “Ms. Martinez’s visitors must be limited, Dr. White. But you were the first person she asked to see. Her doctor has added you to the approved list, but do you know the basic rules?”
“I do.”
“Good. I don’t think you’ll be able to have much time with her anyway. The sheriff and several others have requested to see her today. They have a lot of questions.”
“Has her doctor approved all these visitors—in her weakened state?”
The nurse smiled, but the look was pure steel. “Ms. Martinez is much stronger today. She’s already sent word to the sheriff that she doesn’t remember getting caught in the fire tornado. I’m afraid she won’t be able to give them many answers. And I’ll be here to make sure no one overstays their time.”
“Mind if I stick around, too? Just to be sure she’s okay? I’ll stay out of the way.”
The older woman gave him a half scowl, half knowing smile. “Seeing as how you’re a doctor—and you did save her life out there—I guess it would be all right. Just don’t say or do anything that I’ll regret.”
“Never.” He gave the nurse a wink before walking into Nina’s room.
He stopped just inside the door. She looked so vulnerable lying in the big hospital bed with an IV fluid drip in her arm. He’d always thought of her as mentally strong and tough. She kept herself in tip-top physical condition, the kind of woman who could outthink, outrun and outwork just about any person on the Hotshot crew—male or female.
She was curvy in all the right places, too. Maybe a little tall for a woman, but he liked that about her. Come to think of it, he liked everything about her.
But today, today she looked rather small—or maybe it was because she was lying there so still.
“Hi.” He moved closer to her bedside when she opened her eyes.
Her smile grew wide and she reached out a hand to him. He didn’t waste any time but took it in both of his.
“How are you feeling?”
“The doctor says I shouldn’t talk too much.” Her voice was raspy, weak and thready.
“He’s right. Does it hurt?”
Shaking her head, he could tell she was putting effort into getting the words out. “Thank you for saving my life. You’re my hero. I had to say that much if nothing else.”
Her thank-yous were not the sort of words he wanted to hear. He’d just been doing his job.
His background snapped into his conscious mind without warning, reminding him that for the rest of his life he should never accept any accolades for saving a life. There had been a time in his past when his own survival meant someone else could not. From then on, nothing else that happened, nothing he did or didn’t do, would ease his conscience.
He pushed the rough thoughts back out of his mind and eased down to sit at the side of her bed. “You’re welcome. But it was you who did everything right to save yourself. You’ve worked over the years to make your training and equipment the best there is.”
Grinning at her, he went on, “Are you doing as well as you look?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Your pulmonary specialist believes you probably won’t be bothered by the asthma that’s usually a by-product of this kind of event. I’m hoping that’s true.”
“You’ve been checking with my doctors?” Her eyes were wide with curiosity. “Hanging around the hospital?”
Not sure how much of his true feelings to reveal so soon, Josh tried to sound casual. “I was the one who brought you in. So I needed to make sure no one screwed up the job and lost you after all my hard work.”
She graced him with a smile before turning serious again. “What about the Hotshot team? Don’t they need you?”
That was an easier question. “Our California crew packed up and returned to base yesterday. It was time for them to rotate out of this particular fire. But Superintendent Ralston didn’t want to leave you behind without someone here to watch over your recuperation. I was elected.”
Actually, he’d lobbied hard to be the one to stay.
She looked as if she wanted to say something more, but put a hand to her throat instead.
“Don’t say too much if it hurts.” But he did need a couple of answers and hoped he could get them without hurting or frightening her. “Just nod yes or no if you can’t talk. The local lawmen apparently plan to question you today about what you saw. Do you really not remember?”
Her mouth formed a tight line and she blinked without answering.
“My guess is you saw who killed that woman. Can you identify him?”
Nina drew in air. “Yes, unfortunately I can. And he got a good look at me, too. But I’m afraid to talk to anyone local. This is Texas and I don’t want to… Never mind. I’m just afraid to say anything to people I don’t know.”
Smart. She was ahead of him already.
“You saw a murderer. You could be in danger.” He’d been afraid of that right from the get-go. “What are you going to tell the sheriff when he shows up?”
“I can’t lie to his face. But, I don’t want to talk about it.” The moment those words were out of her mouth her expression changed. Her eyes lit up like she’d just thought of something brilliant.
“What?”
She put her hand to her throat again and whispered, “Can’t speak. Doctor’s orders.”
That wouldn’t be enough to keep her safe.
“That’s a good idea. But you can’t stay here and silent forever. Not speaking won’t stop the danger if the murderer knows who you are.” Her photo had been in the local papers.
She looked pointedly at the IV drip in her arm. “How soon can I get out of the hospital?”
“Let me check with your pulmonologist.” It didn’t really matter what her doctor said. If she was in more danger in the hospital than out of it, he would find a way to make her safe.
She nodded but gripped his hand tighter. “Thank you…for everything.”
He wanted to take her in his arms and tell her things would be all right. Nothing…no one would hurt her. They would have to go through him first.
But she was trying hard to stay strong, he could tell. So he went against his gut feelings, left her side and temporarily walked away—leaving her to handle the lawmen on her own.
*
Sheriff Lacie Chance edged around Sheriff Hunt from Jim Abbott County as she walked into the wounded female firefighter’s hospital room. It appeared Sheriff Hunt was just leaving. He looked frustrated, and as he left he muttered something about the young woman not yet being able to speak.
Lacie figured the woman could at least nod her head. That was all she needed her to do at the moment.
“Good afternoon, Ms. Martinez. I’m Sheriff Lacie Chance from Chance County. That’s the next county over. I won’t keep you long. And I understand you can’t speak yet, but I need to have a few words with you. Would you mind giving me some signal if you understand?”
The beautiful young woman lying in the bed blinked a couple of times and then nodded her head. She was younger than Lacie had thought she would be. Probably in her early twenties. Much too young to be such a fierce firefighter.
And much too pretty. Lacie gave her the once-over. The light brown hair with copper highlights and cornflower-blue eyes gave her the appearance of a typical girl-next-door. It was the eyes that
were her most memorable feature. At least they were to Lacie. And at this moment those eyes were giving Lacie the once-over right back. They seemed to see to her very soul.
“I hope it’s okay for me to call you Nina?”
The young woman nodded. Her eyes narrowed to tiny slits as though she was concentrating on every word.
Somewhere. Lacie was sure she’d seen this girl somewhere before. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it yet. But she would. She was good with faces.
“Okay, you stay quiet. Let me do the talking.” Lacie came closer to the bed. “The murdered woman you found was the wife of one of my deputies. Even though the murder did not take place in my jurisdiction, to my mind that makes it my crime to solve.”
Nina was watching her so fiercely, so obviously full of apprehension that Lacie nearly backed off to give her space. But she’d come for a valid reason and refused to leave until she’d finished what she started.
“That particular day I had sent Deputy Jonas to Austin to testify on a case we’d solved a few months ago,” she began. “He believed his wife was staying with her sister in New Orleans and was well out of danger from the fires.”
Nina pressed her lips together as if she would like to say something to that. But still she remained silent.
“We were all surprised to learn Mrs. Jonas had stayed at home. That was their house—the one where you found her. It burned to the ground.” Lacie straightened, drew in a deep breath. “You saw who did it, didn’t you?”
Those wide blue eyes grew wider. But Nina didn’t signal yes or no to the question. Instead she drew her shoulders up and froze in place.
“You don’t have to answer. But for your info, I’m sure the man you saw could not have been my deputy. There are courtroom photos of him testifying during that same morning. He couldn’t have been at both places at one time.”
Still not getting much acknowledgment from Nina, it occurred to Lacie that the young woman must be scared.
Good thing. She had reason to be.
Lacie moved to stand directly beside the bed so she could keep her voice down. “Did you know him?”
Still no sign that Nina understood the words.
“If you saw the murderer, you might be in danger. You would do right to keep quiet with most strangers. And I understand. But since the victim was my deputy’s wife, I very badly want to catch the guy. I can help you. Keep you in protective custody until we get our man.”
Still no sign of acknowledgment came from Nina. Lacie needed this woman’s help. Perhaps if she could get through to her, the young woman wouldn’t mind talking to a police forensic artist so they could obtain a drawing of the murderer.
The idea of a police artist’s sketch suddenly made another drawing of a young woman with wide blue eyes come to mind. Somewhere recently Lacie had seen an artist’s rendering of Nina. She was sure of it. And not that long ago. Was this pretty young woman firefighter wanted for a crime somewhere?
Shaking her head to rid it of the crazy notion that Nina might’ve had something to do with the murder, Lacie tried again. “I know you’re scared.” She also knew for certain this woman had not had the time to kill the victim herself due to the GPS time stamps on her communications to her crew. “I don’t blame you. But I can help. Really.”
A blank expression on Nina’s face was all the response she received.
Lacie took a card from her breast pocket and handed it over to the girl. “If you need anything. Anything at all. I promise to give whatever help is in my power, no questions asked. Just call.”
There was something about Nina that seemed so familiar. It brought out the protective instincts in Lacie.
Turning and walking out of the hospital room without getting one single yes or no reply, Lacie’s mind raced. First off, she knew she would drive herself crazy until she figured out where she’d seen Nina’s face before.
Second, Lacie hated leaving someone so helpless in danger like this. It went against everything she stood for.
She could almost feel a net of menace closing in around the young woman. And it gave her such chills to the point where she vowed to help Nina until the killer was captured. Lacie straightened her spine and headed back home to Chance to do some good old-fashioned police investigating.
*
Something awoke Nina. A noise. Someone in her room?
Sitting up in bed, she pressed the bedside buttons for the light and the nurse at the same time. The nightlight blinked on, revealing no one there.
A shift in the air. A subtle smell of the outdoors. All the signs told her that somebody had just left the room. Someone unannounced had come into her room while she’d been sleeping. A nurse? She doubted it.
The reality of who it might have been made her body begin to quake.
She hadn’t meant to fall asleep. She’d been waiting for Josh to return. He’d told her to get ready to leave. That tonight they’d be sneaking her out of the hospital. And she was ready to go. But it had been so quiet in the room that her weakened body had betrayed her by giving in to her ongoing need for sleep.
Now she was wide-awake. She threw her legs over the side of the bed just as the door opened again.
“What’s wrong?” Josh hurried into the room, closing the hallway door behind him. “I was on my way in when I heard your call. Why’d you call the nurse? Are you okay?”
Her pounding heart began to settle at the sight of him. “I’m okay. But there was someone in my room while I was asleep. Who do you suppose…?”
Josh had his arm around her shoulders and pressed her close to his warm chest. “Maybe it was nothing. Just someone with the wrong room.”
Nina felt pretty sure that was not possible. “Oh, Josh, it’s like the warning that nice lady sheriff gave me is coming true.” She shook her head, trying to fight off the sudden terror of the unknown. “Someone doesn’t want me alive to identify the murderer?”
“Easy there. That’s why we’re leaving. We can do a better job of hiding you than any local lawman can.”
Nina wasn’t so sure of that. “You didn’t meet her. Sheriff Chance seemed pretty tough and determined. I hated not telling her the truth.”
There had just been something about her that seemed trustworthy. Nina felt as if she’d known the young female sheriff all her life in only a few minutes.
Of course, truth be told, she didn’t know Josh all that well either. Only the rumors and stories she’d picked up from the other guys in their unit. But he’d saved her life once and she was ready to give him a second shot.
“We had a plan,” he reminded her. “We’re better off sticking with it until we can get you out of the area.”
He stepped back and held out a hand. “Do you need help standing?”
She slowly came to her feet under her own power. Josh had removed her IV hours ago. Nothing stood in the way of leaving now.
“No, thanks. The nurses have been getting me up since the day I arrived. I’ve walked down that hall to the inhalation therapy room more times than I can count.”
“We’ll be going the other way. To the service elevators. It’s break time, so there’s only one nurse at the desk. We can get around him easy enough. Let me take your things.”
She didn’t have much with her. Just a few personal items. Her super had packed her other clothes and computer and left them with Josh to return to her when she got out of the hospital.
“We’ll need to be quiet until we reach the SUV. Okay?” The grim set of his mouth reminded her of how difficult their situation could become.
She swallowed hard and nodded at him. She was too scared to say anything anyway. The idea that someone might be out there—in the night—waiting for her, made her too shaky to think straight.
For as long as she could remember, she’d been living a lie. Hiding from the world. Now, just because she’d seen a murder committed shouldn’t make any difference at all to the way she went about her business. She needed to recapture her composure. To find h
er center and return to the masquerade that had become her life.
Digging deep for fortitude, she took Josh’s hand and walked with him down the hall.
A couple of hired men stood in the shadows of the hospital building, watching the back as the girl and the man helping her came through the doors and climbed into an SUV.
“I knew he would be sneaking her away soon enough,” said the man in a dark denim jacket. “Our boss’ll be happy that I figured out who it was that would be coming for her.”
The other man fidgeted, fingering the .38 in his breast pocket. “I don’t understand why we didn’t just kill the bitch while we had the chance. In her room—or right now, for that matter. Why let her leave the hospital alive?”
“She isn’t going anywhere we can’t follow.” The man in the jacket elbowed his comrade with a wide smirk on his face. “We do what the boss says. He says ‘follow,’ then we follow. Don’t be stupid.”
“But…”
“Shut up. Get in the truck. They’re pulling away. We’re out of here.”
*
Josh wasn’t sure how long he should drive before he found them a place to rest for the balance of the night. He didn’t want to overtire her for the first time out of the hospital. But he wanted to be sure they were clear of the danger that he’d felt lurking around the hospital.
He’d only driven for an hour but felt certain that he’d lost whoever might have been following. He wouldn’t take any chances, however. Turning to her, he noticed how pale and worn-out she looked.
“How are you feeling?” he asked gently. “I think we should stop for the night. How about it?”
Instead of answering she asked a question of her own. “Where are we going? I mean, I thought we were going to an airport.”
He didn’t want to tell her that he’d been driving in circles trying to lose whoever had been following them from the hospital. Someone had been back there at first. But he hadn’t seen anyone for the past half hour.
“We are flying home. Soon. But it’s a long way to a public airport in this part of Texas.”
“I can’t wait to get out of Texas.” She closed her eyes and leaned back against the seat.
