She’d just spotted smoke—metaphorically speaking. And she wasn’t going to hang around waiting to get burned.
You could cut the tension in the crew buggy with a butter knife. The crew was exhausted from their training in the hills. Baker was snoring in the far backseat—a deep, rattling, snorting sound that kept everyone else awake.
Not that Finn could have slept anyway. He’d called Lisa as soon as they’d gotten within cell phone range but gotten no answer. From Jill, he learned that Lisa had never checked into the hotel. He tried texting and calling Lisa several more times, but she never picked up.
He had no idea where she was. And a constant knot in his stomach made him want to rip someone’s face off.
Possibly his father’s. Or Annika’s. Definitely Gemma’s. How could they pull a stunt like this?
It was nearly nine by the time they reached the base. Finn worked his way past the other hotshots, who were waking and stretching and groaning from the road trip. He jumped to the ground and hurried to open the side door, where the gear was stored. He was probably sorer than anyone else, but he was also the least likely to complain. He didn’t want Sean booting his ass off the crew.
He flung open the door and grabbed a duffel in one hand, a gas can in the other. The quicker he could get this damn buggy unloaded, the quicker he could track down Lisa.
His phone rang. Will Knight, calling him back. He held the phone between his ear and his shoulder while he continued to unload the truck.
“Any news?”
“Got a lead on a suspect. Mrs. Murphy at the bookstore noticed a strange car idling on Constellation Way earlier.”
“Mrs. Murphy is your best lead?”
“She actually wrote down the license plate number on the book she was ringing up. I have someone tracking down that purchase now.”
Finn snorted. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“We’ll get him. This shit is getting on my nerves.”
Finn was way past nerves and onto “tearing shit apart.”
“How do you know it’s just one guy? What if there are more?”
“We haven’t noticed any other suspicious strangers in town. And by ‘we’ I do mean Mrs. Murphy.”
“Goddamn it, Knight.” He tossed an empty gas can into the storage area with a clang. “Why not fire the entire police department and hire Mrs. Murphy?”
“Why would we do that when she gives us tips for free?”
“I’m not laughing. And Lisa isn’t answering her phone. Have you heard from her?”
“Not since I picked up Merry. But Mitch at the Arco station spotted an early-model Mercedes heading north.”
“Keep me posted.” Teeth clenched, Finn hung up and slammed his fist into the side of the crew buggy.
He should have locked Lisa inside somewhere until he got back.
When he turned around, Sean was glaring at him, arms folded across his chest. “You just punched the buggy. Get out of here.”
“I’m sorry, man. I’m worried about Lisa, she’s—”
“I said get out of here.” Sean’s rugged face softened. “We got this. Go do what you need to do. We got a couple days’ downtime. Just keep your phone on.”
He pressed the heel of his hand into his forehead. The scars on his face throbbed, which meant he was tired. “Okay. Thanks man.”
“Call us if you need anything.”
After managing a sort-of smile, he practically ran for his car.
On the windshield, he saw a note from Annika. “Call me. It’s F-ing urgent. A.”
She’d also left messages on his phone, but if she was actually going old school and leaving a note, she really wanted to talk to him.
He got in his Tahoe and plugged his phone into the car’s sound system. “Did you do this, Annika?” he asked as soon as she picked up.
“You owe me. We had an arrangement and you messed it up. I had to get creative.”
Only in Annika-world did that make any sense at all. Finn rubbed his forehead, where a headache was forming with little midget hammer blows.
“It’s going great, Finn.” Her glee resonated across the phone line. “We’re one of the most searched on Google. Gemma’s dying, she’s so excited. I have some more ideas about how this can go. Can you come by my hotel?”
“You’ve gone too fucking far this time.”
“What are you talking about? It’s publicity. I’m sure that nurse understands. It’s for the good of the movie.”
He reached the end of the road that fed into the highway and jerked to a halt. “Just tell me this. Did my dad have a hand in this?”
“Why are you being so mean to me?”
“Do you know where Lisa went?”
“Oh, is she missing? That’s a great twist for the blogs.”
With a growl, Finn hung up on Annika and prepared to turn left, toward Jupiter Point. Then he hesitated, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. Lisa wasn’t there. He knew it. She’d probably decided that she was a danger to her friends, and that they couldn’t keep her safe anyway. She was probably back on the run. Going north.
But she had an old Mercedes, and he had a new Tahoe. And he was so jacked up on rage against everything connected to Hollywood that he could drive until dawn if he had to.
28
He finally spotted Lisa’s Mercedes at a gas station two hours out of town. She’d parked in the shadows and was inside paying for her gas. Even with her long hair tucked under a beanie, wearing a loose sweater that disguised the shape of her body, he recognized her. He waited until she emerged from the door, then stepped in front of her.
The shock on her face made him smile grimly.
“Surprised to see me? Have you forgotten your promise not to leave without telling me?” He took her arm and guided her to his car.
“I was going to tell you. I am going to tell you. I was just waiting until I got some distance between us.”
At least she was honest about it.
She didn’t resist as he opened the car door and ushered her in. Actually, she looked relieved, and let her head sink back against the headrest. “You know something? Maybe it’s because I’m essentially made of Red Bull by now, but I’m not even surprised to see you. You never give up, do you?”
“Do you want me to?” He slid the key into the ignition and started up the car. “Honestly?”
She rested a hand across her eyes. She looked almost as exhausted as he was—maybe even more. “I don’t know. It all seemed pretty clear when I left the base. Hit the road and don’t think twice.”
His jaw flexed with the need to tell her wrong she was. “Buckle up, babe.”
As they pulled away from the gas station, she craned her neck to look back at her Mercedes. “Wait. I can’t just leave my car here.”
“Your car is very recognizable. It’s not safe for you to drive it around.”
“Fine.” She gave in and buckled her seat belt. “I know that, by the way. I was going to find a different car as soon as I got a chance.”
“I’m sure your plan was completely foolproof.” He slid a wry glance her way and was satisfied to see her smile.
“Hey, it was the best I could come up with at such short notice.”
He picked up speed on the highway. The power poles slid past like a flip book, faster and faster. The rhythm was hypnotic, as was the scent of Lisa’s hair drifting from the passenger seat.
“In case you have any doubt in your mind, I knew nothing about this stunt. When Jill told me, I was fucking furious. I guarantee she’s never heard me rage like that.”
She let out a long sigh. “I didn’t think that, Finn. Even I’m not that cynical. But I’m totally out of my realm here.” Lisa dropped her head against the back rest and groaned. “It’s like something out of a soap opera. ‘Naughty Nurse Lures Hero Fireman Away from Tearful Annika.’”
“Naughty nurse, huh? I like the sound of that one.” He attempted a smile, but she didn’t answer in kind. Instead, she turn
ed her head and glared in his direction.
“She was crying over her new tattoo. Her tattoo. Not her broken heart. And I’m not cut out for this.”
“Not cut out for what?”
She clutched her head with both hands. “All this drama. I’m a simple person. I want to practice my profession, help people who need it, and go home to peace and quiet at the end of the day. Maybe take a few minutes to pet the turtle.”
“I know. I know, sweets.” He wanted to laugh about her mention of the turtle, but managed not to.
“Finn, listen to me. I’ve been thinking about this ever since I saw that headline.”
He knew what was coming. He knew she was about to say that his life would never work for her. That they couldn’t be together because of his Hollywood ties and the drama and whatever else she might come up with.
“Don’t say it, Lisa. I’m not that person. You know I’m not.”
“Do I? Do I really know you? Ever since I met you, there’s been one crazy thing after another.”
Now that pissed him off. “And all those things are my doing? The fire at your motorhome? The goddamn tranquilizer gun? Seems to me you have your own drama following you around.”
“Yes, and I’ve been trying to deal with that, but you keep interfering. Now I’m trying to leave town, which is what I should have done to begin with, and once again you’re interfering!” Her voice rose on those last words. In her voice, he heard all the exhaustion and frustration she must have been feeling since Merry’s attack.
He felt the same goddamn way—even more so, maybe. Because all he wanted to do was help her. Be there for her. And all she wanted was to push him away. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Okay. You win. I’ll stop interfering. After tonight.”
She gave a shaky, confused laugh. “After tonight? Why tonight?”
“Because we both need sleep, and you shouldn’t be making any big decisions when you’ve just been Annika-fied. And I have a plan for a safe place to sleep tonight.”
“Not that hotel. Sorry. I’d bet my last remaining possession that photographers are staking that place out.”
“Not the hotel. I think you’ll like this. If you don’t, I’ll drive you back to your car and you can go wherever you want.”
He took his eyes off the road to glance at her briefly. Lines of fatigue were etched across her lovely face. Even though he knew she was trying to kick him to the curb, his heart ached with love for her.
“Go ahead and close your eyes,” he told her softly. “I got this. I’ll wake you up when we get there.”
“Okay. But after that, we have to talk, Finn. I’m serious. My mind isn’t going to change because of a nap.”
“We’ll talk. I promise.”
Her eyelids flickered, as if she was struggling to stay awake. But the hypnotic movement of the car was irresistible, and within a couple of minutes she was asleep.
Lisa was so exhausted, she slept through the entire road trip. She was only vaguely aware when the car stopped. Strong arms wrapped around her and carried her like a child. She snuggled against the body holding her. She knew she should wake up. She told herself to. But it felt so good to be nestled right where she was. And she trusted those secure arms around her. So her eyes stayed closed and a delicious sense of safety stole over her.
Then she was being gently lowered into a comfortable bed whose familiar scent felt like a homecoming.
She dropped into a profound sleep.
She dreamed of stars and moons and flying. She dreamed she was flying from night to day, floating through high mountain air in her own private bubble, like the Good Witch of the East. Someone was with her, someone whose love surrounded her with golden light. She couldn’t see him, couldn’t hear him. But he was there, warm and constant.
She opened her eyes slowly, as if they were coated in honey. It took a moment for her to understand where she was. As soon as she did, joy lifted her heart. This bubble filled with golden morning light—that was the Breton lookout tower. She was curled up on the cot where she’d spent so many peaceful nights last summer.
Finn stretched out on a blanket on the floor. He was still asleep, his mouth open slightly, black stubble darkening his jaw. He lay on his back, his arms folded across his chest. She had the feeling that he was on guard and would wake up at the slightest sound.
She allowed herself a moment to trace the shape of his mouth, the swell of his biceps under his t-shirt, the strong line of his neck. From this angle, she couldn’t see his scars. He was all splendor and perfection. Pure male beauty.
But neither side—the scarred one or the dazzling one—told the whole story of Finn and his heart. Every time she tried to put him in a box, he burst out of it and swept her off her feet again. Flirtatious player—no. Just sex—no. Short-term fling—no. Even wounded, hurting, and lost, as he’d been the first time she’d met him at this very tower, he’d tugged at her heart. Now, every corner of her being was filled with him. His thoughtfulness, his generosity, his protectiveness, his vulnerability, his wit, his charm, his grit, his strength, his…
Oh Lord. She loved him. Her entire heart and soul belonged to him.
No. No no no. She wasn’t the kind of person who fell in love. She was too practical. “Love” never worked out, she knew that firsthand. She’d just have to get over this “love” thing. Like some kind of virus.
She made herself stop staring at Finn and sat up to survey the beloved interior of the tower room. Talk about peace and quiet—the space hummed with it. Rays of golden sunlight shone through the plate glass like silent songs of joy. Birds flitted past, riding the air currents to their first snack of the morning. They were probably singing to the morning sun, although she couldn’t hear them through the thick glass.
She quietly got out of bed and tiptoed past Finn’s sleeping body into the main room.
It was still too early in the season for anyone to be stationed here, and a light layer of dust covered the atmospheric measuring instruments she’d worked with last summer. Every hour, she’d tested temperature, humidity and barometric pressure, then marked down the readings in a ledger. The routine had kept her busy and fended off her worry about Maria. At night, she’d tracked the movements of the constellations and the planets with the help of a stargazing app.
Even now, a sense of deep peace came over her as she settled into the window seat and surveyed the wilderness that reached in all directions as far as she could see. An ocean of forest spread before her. She recognized each slope and ridge and valley. Last summer she’d become intimately familiar with every aspect of the topography here. Out of habit, she swept her gaze across the expanse of pine and birch trees. No sign of smoke anywhere, just fresh morning light captured between arching branches and sturdy trunks.
She sighed and let all the last traces of stress drain out of her body. How long had that stress been haunting her?
Ever since she’d seen Maria’s desperate expression when she’d pushed open the door to Exam Room 4 at Houston Memorial.
In a flash, the scene came back to her with complete clarity.
29
“You’ll still help me, won’t you?” Maria whispered as Lisa locked the exam room door. “The way we talked about?”
“Are you sure? There’s no going back. I have to break some rules to do this.”
“I don’t want you to get into trouble for me.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m going to switch your identity with someone else’s, just temporarily. I have another patient who just got released. For the next hour, your name is Margaret Whipple and you had a bad reaction to plastic surgery.”
Lisa grabbed a wheelchair from the hallway and settled Maria into it. She spent a heart-thumping few minutes bandaging her head with layers of gauze. They didn’t want any of the other hospital personnel to recognize her.
She took Mrs. Whipple’s clipboard and hid Maria’s behind a sharps disposal container.
“Don’
t look up,” she warned Maria. “Look like you’re out of it from the meds. Kind of slump over and stare at your lap.” She draped an extra blanket over her and wheeled her out of the room.
They took a circuitous back route, passing an orderly, a janitor, and two family members who had gotten lost. Lisa ignored them all, not wanting to interact with anyone who might remember her. Then, about a hundred yards from the red exit sign, she spotted a familiar looking figure. Senator Ruiz.
Maria drew in a sharp breath and flinched backwards. “He’s not supposed to be here. He said he had business.”
“Shh. Head down,” Lisa hissed.
When she was sure that Maria had a grip on herself, Lisa rolled the wheelchair forward. She schooled her expression into that of bored nurse who couldn’t wait for her shift to end. Senator Ruiz carried a rolled-up newspaper in one hand as he walked briskly down the aisle. He didn’t give them a second glance. In fact, he seemed more focused on someone behind them.
One of the hospital administrators passed her from behind, veering around her as if she were nothing but a roadblock. She wanted to protest, but bit her tongue instead so she didn’t draw attention to herself.
The administrator kept going. She recognized him as Dan Block, the one she and the other nurses called “Blockhead.”
“Excuse me,” Block muttered as he passed Senator Ruiz.
The senator grunted but gave no other response.
What a couple of jackasses, thought Lisa. But she kept her gaze fixed ahead of her, toward the door that led to the back exit.
Dan Block hurried around the corner out of sight. What the heck was he doing back here? And why did he too have a rolled-up newspaper in one hand?
Oh my God.
In the tower, Lisa jumped up so suddenly that the rolling chair went flying.
Senator Ruiz had passed something to Dan Block inside the newspaper.
Money? A bribe? She remembered the way all her notes about Maria’s case were ignored. What if the senator had been bribing someone at the hospital to erase any record of Maria’s injuries? What if he’d been bribing Dan Block?
Setting Off Sparks (Jupiter Point Book 4) Page 20
