Dakota Heat (Book 3 - Dakota Hearts)

by Lisa Mondello

  Disappointed, he decided to get in that shower and clean up before heading over to the motel. If she had gotten a rental, he might be able to catch her before she left.

  He thought back to the last few days, hearing her voice over the radio as they worked. Although she shared responsibilities with the other dispatchers, Summer had been on the radio a lot, keeping the team co-ordinated as they moved on the ground and through the area where’d they’d been doing prescribed burns all week.

  She was a natural at her job and Sam knew she’d be an asset to the crew this season. She had remembered every single Hotshot’s name, managing to recognize them by voice even over the radio and relay what they needed exactly when they’d needed it. Every time her voice came over the radio, he could picture her face as she said the words he was hearing. He could picture her lips moving, the raising of her eyebrows, the clicking of her nails on the table—a habit that surfaced every time she attempted to curtail her anxiety—the narrowing of her eyes as she enunciated the names of the locations that they needed to move towards, and every little nuance that he’d noticed every time he saw her.

  But more than that, Sam just liked listening to her smooth as silk voice. Even after a long day of work, he lay awake in the cot in the Crew Haul they used for the fire fighters while out in the field, he thought of her voice and how it soothed him.

  He finished his shower quickly. Seeing Summer was the very thing that he had been waiting for the entire day. He wanted to look into her bright blue eyes as they twinkled when she smiled. He wanted to hear her soft voice as she told him about her day. He wanted to discover every little thing about her and then he wanted to hold her in his arms and feel her against him as she’d been when he’d kissed her on the trail over the canyon.

  That kiss had kept him going this week when his legs and arms were tired from work. He wanted more of it. More of her. He wanted to see the intensity of her stare as she looked at him. He felt himself grow hard just thinking about it. And he suddenly couldn’t get to the motel fast enough.

  Twenty minutes later he was driving through town and spotted Ethan’s police cruiser parked in the space next to Summer’s car in the motel parking lot. Sam’s stomach dropped as he pulled into the parking lot and found an empty parking spot on the other end of the lot.

  As he rushed to Summer’s room, Ethan was just coming out the door and spotted him.

  Relief washed over Ethan’s face. “Good. I’m glad you’re here.”

  “What is it? Is Summer okay?”

  Sam took in the official look on Ethan’s face and knew it meant his brother wasn’t going to disclose anything he couldn’t. He knew Ethan well and knew what drove him to be a great police officer, and an even greater Navy Seal.

  “She’s fine.”

  But nothing about the sound of Ethan’s voice made Sam believe his words. Fear struck the core of him, leaving him cold. He tried to move past Ethan, but his brother held him back.

  “I think it’s best if we find her a place to stay that’s safe. I’m going to talk to Mom and Dad about Wade’s room. I think even Mom will understand.”

  “Safe from what?”

  “She’ll tell you. Let me talk to Mom and Dad first. I’ll call later when I know more.”

  * * *

  Summer sat on the floor, squeezed inside a gap between the wall and the bed. She was hugging her knees to her chest as she wrapped her arms around her legs trying not to hyperventilate. Her breathing was ragged and her eyes were heavy with unshed tears. But she knew they’d come eventually. Right now she was in shock.

  The door to the motel room opened and she saw the silhouette of a man. She blinked her eyes fast to focus, to squash down the panic filling her.

  “Summer?”

  The familiar voice filled her with relief and was all she needed to let go of her fear. The tears fell heavy along with sobs she couldn’t hold back. “Sam?”

  The look on Sam’s face when he ran to her was one of pure terror. He rushed inside and fell to his knees by her side. “It’s okay, baby. It’s all going to be okay,” he said, keeping his voice calm as he raised his hand to cup her cheek.

  Summer looked at him for a long, silent moment before throwing her arms around him. “Sam,” she whispered, burying her head in his chest as she began to shiver in spite of the heat. “He’s coming after me, Sam.”

  “Who?” Sam asked. He sat down on the floor and leaned his back against the bed. Picking Summer up as if she were a feather, he settled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her, encasing her with his warmth.

  Her warrior protector.

  “Tell me who’s coming after you?”

  “He’s going to find me,” Summer whispered against his cheek, as tears of fear spilled from her eyes again.

  “No one is going to find you, Summer. I’m here. I have you,” he said, his tone soothing, as he gently stroked her hair. “You’re safe here. I promise no one will hurt you.”

  A long moment passed as Summer stayed quiet. She was no longer crying. Slowly, with every passing second, her shivers subsided. She turned, laying her head against Sam’s chest as she took a deep breath.

  “I didn’t leave Providence because I wanted to be a fire dispatcher,” she finally said, her tone defeated. “I was forced to leave.”

  “What are you talking about? Who forced you?”

  “The chief of police in the precinct where I worked as a dispatcher. Matt Jorgensen.”

  She took a deep breath, wanting so much to release this burden that she’d carried for so long, wanting to share it with Sam.

  “About two months ago, the police found the body of a murdered woman. At that time, they treated it as a random act of violence and investigated it as an individual homicide. But then a second woman’s body was found. The MO matched the first murder.”

  Summer pulled back and raised her head to look at Sam. “I got involved when the third woman called into 911. She’d called and then hung up before I could get her information. I put through the information like any other call because the address comes up automatically when someone calls the 911 line. I tried to call back while the officers were on their way, hoping to get the woman on the phone so I could tell her that help was on the way.” She closed her eyes and took another deep breath. “But he answered the phone. He threatened to come after me.”

  Sam muttered a curse under his breath and squeezed her tighter. Fresh tears fell down her cheek.

  “When the police broke through the door, the woman was dead. Same MO except the killer actually talked to me on the phone and threatened me,” she said, a silent shudder running through her at the thought of the madman who was now targeting her.

  “So the police chief sent you here?”

  “Not at first. We didn’t think there was any way for the killer to know which 911 operator he’d spoken to. Being a city, Providence has a lot of 911 dispatchers. But to be safe, I stayed with my friend Bobbi. I mentioned last week that she’d become a police officer.”

  Sam nodded, recalling the conversation at dinner.

  “But a week later, a fourth body was found on the same morning a newspaper was delivered to my apartment doorstep. Sam, he knew where I lived. He put a picture of me coming out of Bobbi’s apartment inside the newspaper and put a red bulseye on it. They’d had a car watching my apartment and he still managed to get inside. That’s when Matt told me to leave. Matt went to college with Adam White. They arranged the whole thing.”

  “Adam knew about this?”

  Summer could feel the rise of anger in Sam by the way his body stiffened.

  “I didn’t want anyone to know. Adam thought it would be easier if no one in the crew knew. You all have a job to do that is bigger and more dangerous than—”

  “Than a serial killer coming after you?”

  “They all thought I’d be safe here. I began to believe it to until…”

  She pulled herself from Sam’s arms and stood. Sam did the same.
r />   “Until what?”

  “A woman’s body was found along the same route I took coming to Rudolph, just a few hours away from here in Montgomery.”

  “Was it him?”

  “Ethan is checking it out. Matt told him the MO was very similar and there have been no other murders in Providence since I left. It could be him. It might just be a random killing that is unrelated. But…I’m scared Sam. He was at the front door of my apartment. He got a picture of me. He knows what I look like. What if he followed me here? For all I know he could be in Rudolph right now.”

  * * *

  Sam felt as if he’d been hit by a truck. His mouth went dry as he took in each word Summer said. He felt an unbearable coldness spread through his entire body as he realized what everything she’d said actually meant. Someone wanted Summer dead.

  The helplessness and fear in Summer’s eyes made his body throb with restrained anger.

  “I’ll be okay,” she added. “But I’m better now.”

  Sam stared at Summer for a long moment, wanting to wipe away all that fear she felt. She was trying so hard not to be afraid. But how could she not be with a monster hunting her? And it terrified Sam just as much to know that monster was still out there.

  “I’m not going anywhere, Summer,” he said, pulling her close again. “No one is going to touch you.”

  “You can’t make that promise, Sam. You can’t be everywhere. You have a job to do. And you can’t be thinking about me while you’re out facing a wall of fire that’s out of control. I should just leave here. Go somewhere else where he won’t find me.”

  “You did that here. Look, we don’t know yet if that murder in Montgomery is from the same guy. I’m sure the police chief in Providence just wants to be cautious, which is good. Ethan will check it out. In the meantime, you’re safe right here in my arms. And I’m not letting you go.”

  It took about an hour for Summer to settle down. She’d gone from being quiet to jumping at every noise she heard outside her door. When she finally fell asleep in his arms, Sam called Ethan’s cell phone.

  “How is she?” Ethan asked.

  “Sleeping,” he said quietly, watching the rise and fall of Summer’s body against his to make sure he didn’t rouse her.

  “I talked it over with Mom and Dad. Logan and Hawk are coming over tomorrow to help clear out some of Wade’s things in the room over the garage. I’m sure you’d feel more comfortable knowing Summer is close-by while you’re out working a burn.”

  He closed his eyes. He didn’t want to leave her at all. But the reality of it was, he had to. He couldn’t be a man who would come home to her every night to sleep next to her and make sure she was safe. That was the reality of the job he loved and did well. It’s one of the reason he’d never settled down before now. It took a special woman to understand what it took to be a Hotshot and live that kind of life, never knowing where you were going or when you’d be home. Being gone for weeks on end, fighting a monster fire that threatened to destroy people’s homes and lives, was part of the normal course of his life. What woman wanted an empty bed every night?

  But he could be here for Summer tonight and God help him he’d make sure she was watched over when he couldn’t.

  “Sam?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I talked to Matt Jorgensen of the Providence PD. He’s going to keep me up to date on anything at all that happens with this case. Summer is going to be fine.”

  “How’d Mom take it?”

  Ethan hesitated. “She said Wade’s room has been dark long enough. It’s time to put some light back up there.”

  “Ethan?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thanks.”

  He hung up and put his cell phone on the nightstand by the bed. Pulling the blanket up over Summer, he snuggled next to her. She felt so right next to him. She was sleeping soundly, most probably because of emotional exhaustion. But Sam knew the last thing he’d get was sleep tonight. Not when a killer had put a bullseye on Summer.

  # # #

  Chapter 8

  Kate McKinnon was sitting the middle of the empty bedroom above her garage when Summer walked in carrying her suitcase. Summer had finally met the two remaining McKinnon brothers, Logan and Hawk, as they were leaving after helping their mother straighten the room of their eldest brother’s belongings.

  Kate glanced up at Summer and said, “Let me help you with that, dear.”

  “That’s okay. It’s just a few suitcases.” The sheen of moisture in Kate’s eyes showed how much emotion she was trying to hold back being in the room.

  “I’m sorry for forcing you to do this, Kate. I told Sam I’d be fine at the motel. He told me this was Wade’s room and how hard it was for all of you when you lost him. I don’t want to make things more difficult for you.”

  Kate waved her off with a weak smile. “Don’t be silly. There’s no safer place for you to be than fifty feet from that house,” she said, pointing across the driveway. “Sam has a very dangerous job and he won’t be able to do it safely if he worries about the woman he loves.”

  “Oh, I think you…Sam doesn’t…”

  “Love you?” Kate said with a chuckle. “Dear, I know my boys better than they think I do. And I know when one of them is in love. He may not know it yet, but he definitely is. Logan was always madly in love with Poppy. Now he’s happy and planning a wedding that should have taken place years ago. Hawk, well, I saw that one coming long before he did. It was if he and Regis were cut from the same cloth. It’s only a matter of time before the two of them will be announcing wedding plans and I couldn’t be happier. And Sam? I thought I was happy enough to have my son home for the season. But when I see him with you, I know he’s found someone special.”

  Summer started to protest as Kate lifted from her seat.

  “Don’t bother to deny it. I see the way you look at him too. He told you about Wade? Sam never talks about Wade to anyone. Not that I know of anyway. That’s something.”

  “I…don’t know what to say,” Summer said.

  “You don’t have to say anything. You’ll be safe here. Ethan and my husband, Donald, will be right across the driveway in the house every night. And Sam? Well, I know he spent last night with you.”

  Summer’s cheeks flamed.

  Kate chuckled at her reaction. “It’s none of my business. He’s a grown man and you’re a grown woman. And I’m just a mother who wants her boys to be happy. I think you make Sam happy and for that I’m grateful. I think even Wade would approve of giving up this room for you.”

  Summer wanted to cry. “That’s very kind of you.”

  Sam appeared in the doorway with her other suitcase. He looked at both of them. “Everything okay?”

  “What took you so long?” Kate said, winking at Summer.

  “I was talking to Hawk and Logan.”

  “Well, I’m not cooking dinner tonight. Daddy is taking me out for dinner and dancing. Who knows, maybe we’ll find a hotel room and have a little...you know.”

  “I don’t need to hear this, Mom.”

  Kate rolled her eyes. “Boys. Feel free to make use of the kitchen.” She gave Sam a squeeze. “Just don’t blow anything up.”

  “You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?” Sam said as Kate walked out the door, laughing.

  “What’s that all about?”

  “Ian and I did a little experiment in the kitchen when we were about ten years old and…let’s just say it didn’t exactly turn out as planned.”

  “Oh, no.”

  Sam shrugged. “As I recall the fire department did come to the house and there were some kitchen cabinets that needed to be replaced. But that was a long time ago.”

  Summer laughed. “I think I’m going to like it here.”

  She turned to look at Sam and instantly knew that staying here so close to him was going to be a mistake. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked into the gray eyes that gazed down at her. She wanted to be with Sam
. She wanted to feel the strength of his embrace again as she had last night when he’d held her. She wanted to feel him against her as he kissed her lips. She wanted him to hold her in an embrace that left only them as the world melted away.

  And she wanted to feel his warm breath on her skin as he made love to her.

  The realization struck her hard. She only hoped that when all of the drama of this crisis was over, she could return home with her heart still intact. Sam McKinnon was a man who loved his job and was always leaving, chasing another fire. She was a woman who loved her job, loved her city, and was now falling for Sam McKinnon. She was sure of it. But the decision to stay here or go home wouldn’t matter. Either way, Sam would be moving on to another town, another fire. It didn’t matter where. It would be without her.

  * * *

  The headlights in the driveway sent fingers of light stretching across the ceiling of his bedroom before it went dark again. Sam had passed the night tossing and turning, unable to forget the fact that Summer was only a few steps away from where he was.

  He heard his parents talking as they came into the house and then a few minutes later, as they climbed the stairs to their bedroom. Sam waited a few minutes before getting out of bed. He looked out the window toward the garage and saw that the light in the room above the garage was still on. Summer was awake too. Either that or she’d fallen asleep with the light on.

  He quickly pulled on his sweatpants and a tee-shirt and walked through the house barefoot to the front door and then across the driveway. For a second, he paused at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the room above the garage. Summer may be sleeping. If she’d managed to calm herself enough to sleep, he didn’t want to disturb her. He just needed to see for himself that she was fine.

  Having her in his arms last night and waking up with her this morning was the only thing that calmed his nerves. Watching her, taking in the rise and fall of her body against his, touching her full lips with his fingers as she slept…he needed that again. He needed to have that connection again.