by Lowe, Anna
Her heart swelled at the thought. A date. A real date — with Chase! She’d been pining after the calm, quiet man with dark, mysterious eyes for weeks.
Coco tilted her head, and her ears flopped as if to say, Weeks?
Sophie sighed. Okay, so it had been more like months. She’d been trying to work up the nerve to ask Chase out, but as it turned out, he’d beaten her to it.
Sophie, would you like to go out with me? he’d asked, shifting from foot to foot and looking a little flushed. His hands had been shoved deep into his pockets, and he’d bitten his lip in hope.
The man could go from muscled warrior to shy and innocent in the blink of an eye, and neither persona was for show.
That would be very nice, she’d managed to say in the wave of euphoria that made her cheeks burn and her heart thump.
She hugged Boris, reliving the joy of that moment. Chase wanted to go on a date — with her!
So, yes. It was going to be a great day. Maybe the best of her life. Because honestly, she wasn’t just crushing on Chase. She was head over heels in love and had been from day one. The very first time she’d seen Chase, she’d gone warm all over. His hazel eyes had locked on hers, and he’d stopped in his tracks to stare at her from across the park. She’d stared back while her heart hammered and her breath grew short. Someone might as well have lined up dozens of magnets and caught the two of them in their powerful field. So, wow. Maybe there really was such a thing as love at first sight.
In her head, Sophie could imagine a dozen different ways to start a sparkling conversation with Chase. But sadly, she wasn’t like the heroines of her favorite books, who always found something clever to say. In real life, her mouth would go dry, her tongue would twist, and she couldn’t so much as peep. As it turned out, Chase wasn’t the slick talker some of her book boyfriends were either. In fact, he barely uttered a word, though his eyes had lit up and shone as he took her in. A damn good thing for her job at the smoothie truck…
Hi, he’d said, coming up that first day.
In truth, he’d been shoved in her direction by Dell, but every step after the first was of his own free will. Quick, eager steps that said more than his words.
Hi, she’d replied, grateful for the counter that hid how much her knees were shaking.
They had just stood there for a while, gazing into each other’s eyes. Falling deeply, desperately, hopelessly in love.
Hi might have been as far as they’d ever gotten if it hadn’t been for Chase’s friend Dell, who’d stepped up beside him and ordered a smoothie. All relaxed and casual, as if it had been any other day and not the most amazing moment in Sophie’s life.
I’d like a tropical swirl, please. What do you want, Chase?
Which was how she’d learned Chase’s name. Lord knew she never would have had the nerve to ask him. Even then, it took her another three weeks to work up the nerve to say, Hi, Chase.
Two syllables instead of one. That was progress, right?
Chase had grinned from ear to ear and whispered back, Hi, Sophie.
So yes, they’d been taking things slowly, because she’d learned the hard way about the mistakes a girl might make. A mistake like David.
She shoved her phone — and the ugly memories — deeper into her pocket and concentrated on the good instead.
She’d been wary of Chase at first, as she was of all people. But the more she got to know him, the more she trusted her feelings. Just being around him made her happy, and every time he smiled, she felt like doing somersaults. He worked a few blocks away from the smoothie truck, which meant she got to see him nearly every day. And the days she didn’t…well, she dreamed about him. A lot.
She might not be the bold, assertive type. But neither was Chase — except in the times she’d seen him and his friends in one of their darker moments. The dog tags around their necks spoke of a military background, and it showed in their watchful eyes and muscular physiques. Most of the time, they were fairly laid-back, but occasionally, something would put them on red alert. A raw, simmering something would hover around their shoulders, making passersby hurry aside.
But once whatever had set them off passed, they would go back to being the nice, normal guys everyone loved. Dell was the wildly popular bartender at the Lucky Devil. His Hollywood smile and leonine good looks were all part of the draw, and women practically swooned at the sight. Chase worked security at the front door, and he was just as handsome, but in a totally different way. His draw came from his quiet, unassuming manner and rugged good looks — not to mention that lean, chiseled body. He always looked like he’d just wandered back into civilization from a long, edge-of-survival expedition in the wilderness. His brown hair was slightly mussed, and his hazel eyes appeared startled at the hubbub all around. Sometimes, his speech was a little clunky and his manners painfully careful, like he was terrified of messing up.
“He’s so sweet,” most women said.
“Adorable,” others would coo.
Like a modern-day Tarzan who was slowly adapting to civilization after years in the jungle, Sophie thought.
Thank goodness he didn’t fall for the fluttery eyelids of women who tried to flirt their way into his bed. Chase didn’t seem interested in anyone — except her.
Sophie’s cheeks flushed. Kind, polite, sweet Chase liked her — plain old her! — and she had a date with him that very afternoon.
“I have to get back to work,” she murmured to the dogs. Then she straightened and tipped her head back, drinking in the sunlight while rubbing the heart-shaped locket she always wore around her neck. Life could be beautiful, and she was the luckiest woman on earth. She stepped toward the smoothie truck, smiling.
But the hair on the back of her neck stood in alarm, and a deep, dark voice whispered in her mind.
Stop. Don’t.
Don’t what? she wanted to ask. She paused, studying the truck. Sunlight glinted off the silver sides and shone in the curves of the propane cylinders at one end. Nothing looked wrong, but something certainly felt wrong.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she muttered. She’d come to Maui to escape the constant fear and suspicion she’d grown up with. She was on a mission to banish all negatives from her head.
But Coco was whining, and Boris grabbed her pant leg to drag her back. Darcy stretched his muzzle forward and bared his teeth at an invisible foe.
“Silly dogs,” Sophie sighed.
Well, she had been planning to say that. But halfway through silly, an explosion ripped through the air. The smoothie truck heaved, and thunder boomed in her ears. A heat wave rushed through the air, knocking her back. She flew backward then hit the ground hard. The dogs broke into hysterical barks as her world dimmed.
Woof woof woof woof, they went, making her head spin.
“Sophie? Sophie!” someone yelled.
But all she saw were stars, and all she felt was pain.
Chapter Three
A wave of heat buffeted Chase’s body, and a slew of horrifying images flooded his mind. He’d witnessed plenty of explosions, and none of them was good. Not even the ones set off by the good guys.
But, shit. Those had all been in war zones. How the hell could it be happening here?
A woman screamed. Footsteps rushed over the ground. Every mynah bird in the nearby banyan tree took to the air, chattering in alarm.
“Sophie,” he called, rushing forward.
Moving in awkward jerks, she climbed to her feet, but her knees buckled. He caught her arm and held her steady.
“Chase?” she whispered, gripping his arm.
His heart pounded halfway out of his chest. She was alive! He’d never seen her eyes go so wide or her hands shake so violently, but she was alive.
Sophie stumbled toward the flaming wreckage of the smoothie truck. “Oh God. The cash register. I should get the money.”
He pulled her back. No way. If her favorite book had been in danger of burning, he’d go after it for her. A dog, no question. But m
oney? Absolutely not.
One of the dogs was tucked into a terrified bundle, while Darcy raged on. Flames swirled around the truck, making evil, crackling sounds. From what Chase could tell, the smaller, reserve cylinder of propane had blown. The larger, primary cylinder was still there, engulfed in flames.
“Whoa,” he murmured, pulling Sophie back.
“Wait,” she protested.
A wall of heat reached out toward them like the hand of death. That second cylinder was going to blow, and when it did…
Take cover, a voice yelled inside his head. Now!
He spun and knocked Sophie to the ground, covering her body with his.
“Cha—” she started, but the second explosion drowned her out.
It flattened Chase, and he closed his eyes, telling himself the pain didn’t matter. Not the hot trickle of blood in his ears, nor the awkward angle of his arms as he covered as much of Sophie as he could. Little explosions flashed in his mind. Slowly, the pain ebbed away, and other than the sound of his own breath, there was nothing.
He blinked a couple of times and heaved a deep breath. Whoa. What had just happened?
“Chase,” Sophie whispered. Or was she screaming? He couldn’t tell. She was crying, for sure, and that gutted him. A slobbery tongue lapped at one side of his face, and he fended it off.
All in all, he ought to have been miserable, but with Sophie there cradling his head — well, it felt pretty good. Really good, in one way, even if his body didn’t agree. She had her hair up in a braid that circled her head like a crown, and he longed to reach out and touch it.
“Are you okay?” Sophie asked, cupping his face.
He nearly smiled, because he was in heaven, or pretty close. He could have gazed into her eyes for eternity. But then again, those had been some hellish explosions, and he couldn’t lie around waiting for blast number three.
Someone ran in with a fire extinguisher and started spraying wildly. In the distance, sirens wailed. If Chase could have covered his ears and crawled away, he would have. Supposedly, sirens were good because they meant help was on the way. He’d learned that the first season he’d come out of the wild to live with his half brothers. But sirens were right up there with flashing lights to a mind wired like a canine’s, and Chase wanted to howl, like one of the dogs was doing just then.
He rolled over, got to his knees, then stood with Sophie’s support. “I’m okay,” he croaked. “What about the dogs?”
Sophie squeaked and ran over to hug the closest one. “Oh, Coco. Are you all right?”
Coco whimpered, though Chase couldn’t see any sign of injury, and when he tuned in to the dog’s thoughts, all he found was terror, not pain. The second Sophie hugged Coco, the little dog exhaled and calmed down.
Chase smiled faintly. Yeah, he knew that feeling, all right.
“My poor baby,” Sophie cried, leaning over Boris, the newest of her growing pack.
The greyhound whimpered too, but mostly, he was eating up the attention. Darcy, on the other hand, snarled murderously in the direction of the truck.
Wolf shifters could read dogs’ minds to a certain degree. At least, whatever there was to read, which wasn’t much once you took away the basics like I’m hungry, I’m happy, and That bush is the best bush because I marked it with my pee. Chase had an advantage, having a purebred wolf as a mother, which made it easier for him than most. Still, Coco and Boris were fairly useless at the moment. All he could get from them was fear mixed with the bliss set off by Sophie’s attention. But Darcy was a tough little bastard — as tough as the most hardened soldiers Chase had met, and his mind was a little clearer.
Bad man. Bad man, Darcy barked and barked.
Chase kneeled and followed the dog’s eyes, but all he saw were flames.
Come on, buddy. Tell me, he urged, petting Darcy.
Darcy bared his teeth and glanced up with a spiteful expression that said, I’m only telling you because it will help my nice lady.
Chase gave him a stern look, reminding Darcy he was top dog. In truth, though, he admired the Jack Russell’s devotion to Sophie. Obviously, the little guy had suffered a lot of abuse in the past — or, as Chase was starting to think, he’d witnessed another nice lady be abused by some asshole of a husband. Whatever Darcy had experienced, it was enough to make him burn with anger and hate. But Sophie was Darcy’s hero, his shining angel, and he’d do anything for her.
So tell me, Chase insisted. You want to be a good dog, right?
Being a good dog was the pinnacle of life’s purpose as far as most canines were concerned, and Darcy gulped as if taking the world’s most solemn oath. Darcy is a good dog. Darcy loves the nice lady.
So, help me help your nice lady. What did you see?
Darcy’s eyes darkened, and a series of staccato images raced through his mind.
Bad man.
Chase saw a figure leaning over the propane cylinders while Sophie worked, ignorant of the danger she was in.
Mess.
The figure fumbled with something. A detonator? Chase couldn’t tell, because Darcy’s eyes only caught things a dog could understand.
Hurting my nice lady.
Flames swirled, and Darcy grumbled under his breath. If the little guy had been big enough, he would have covered Sophie with his body the way Chase had.
Chase was desperate for more information, but that was all he could get. He reached down to rub Darcy’s ears, and it killed him when the dog winced and skittered away. Why couldn’t the dog understand he didn’t mean any harm? He sighed, giving Darcy some space, and settled for rewarding him with the ultimate praise.
“Good boy.”
Darcy grumbled until Sophie came over and scratched his chin.
“My poor sweetie,” she murmured.
Chase touched her back, assuring her Darcy was all right.
“Whoa. Are you two all right?” Dell asked, rushing up to Chase’s side.
“Gas explosion. The cylinder just went,” one bystander yelled to another as a fire truck pulled up. “Some kind of malfunction.”
Dell glanced at Chase and shot a question directly into his mind. Malfunction? What do you think?
Chase started shaking his head, but that made his ears ring, so he stopped. That cylinder hadn’t blown on its own. Someone had tampered with it or planted a detonator.
Dell’s brow furrowed. Who? Why?
Chase scanned the growing crowd. That was what he wanted to know. But firemen were running around, gesturing for him, Sophie, and Dell to step back, and he still couldn’t think straight.
“Wait. The dogs,” Sophie protested, fumbling with their leashes. Dell helped, and before long, they were all huddled over by the seawall while the firemen sprayed foam over the inferno consuming the smoothie truck.
“Oh my God,” Sophie breathed.
Chase didn’t have to read her mind to know she was picturing what might have happened if she hadn’t stepped out.
She turned toward him at exactly the same moment he turned to her, and within the space of a heartbeat, they were hugging. Chase rocked back and forth a little, fighting the sting in his eyes.
You okay? Dell asked, using the mental connection closely bonded shifters shared.
Chase squeezed his eyes shut. Yes, because Sophie was okay. No, because it had been close. What if he’d lost her?
He hung on without saying a word. The dogs clustered around their feet, forming a furry wall.
“Hey, guys,” Dell murmured to the dogs. “Give them some space.”
But the dogs didn’t budge, and even a feline like Dell had to understand why. They were protecting the woman they loved. Ready to lay down their lives for Sophie if that’s what it took.
Just like me, Chase murmured, holding her close. Just like me.
Chapter Four
Sophie’s heart hammered, and her mind raced with terrifying thoughts. What if she’d been in the truck when the cylinder blew? What if the dogs had been hurt?
“Uh, guys…” Dell murmured.
Chase didn’t move, and Sophie didn’t want to either. But the police rushed up, and she reluctantly pulled away.
“Miss… Miss…” a police officer called.
Chase stepped forward, blocking the way. The dogs did the same, baring their teeth, and Sophie’s heart warmed. For so long, she’d been alone. A nobody with no one to care whether she existed or not. Now, she was surrounded by love. A solid wall of it, showing her just how special she was.
The police officer stepped back, looking nowhere near as confident as he had a moment before. “Take it easy, everyone. I need you to move to a safe distance, miss. Then I need you to call off your dogs.” His eyes dropped briefly to the trio, but mostly they focused on Chase. “I’d like to ask you a few questions, please.”
Sophie glanced at the raging fire and bit her lip.
“Of course,” she managed, keeping firm hold of Chase’s hand.
They moved a few steps away. More police and firemen arrived, erecting barriers and keeping the growing crowd back. The first officer recorded her name, address, and her account of what had happened. But a few questions turned into a barrage — not just from one officer, but a second and then a third. Sophie had to repeat what had happened over and over, and she found herself tearing up. Coco had jumped into her arms, shaking with fear, and Sophie could relate all too well.
“Did you notice any unusual activity this morning?”
She nearly snorted. Other than the explosion that could have killed her?
