Shamrock: A Linear Tactical Romantic Suspense Standalone

by Janie Crouch

There was a knock on the open door. Sheriff Nelson stood in the doorway. “I couldn’t help but overhear. And I might be able to assist you with that question.”

  “Sheriff, come in. Do you know my brother, Gabriel? And this is Edward Appleton. He also works at Collingwood Technology, although he’s more of a family member than he’s ever been an employee.”

  The sheriff made his greetings, and everyone shook hands. “I just come from Fancy Pants. The firefighters are finished and out. The fire didn’t do as much damage as you might have feared. Bryan Lindsey is the fire marshal for Teton County. He thinks you’ll be up and running again in two or three weeks.”

  That was fantastic news and definitely better than what she’d been expecting.

  “So soon?” Edward asked. “Is that even safe?”

  “Do you agree with Violet’s theory that this might be foul play?” Gabe asked.

  The sheriff stepped inside the room and closed the door behind him, taking off his hat. “Should be safe, yes. And, yes, I have no doubt there was foul play involved. Someone threw a Molotov cocktail through the bakery’s back window.”

  “A bottle bomb?” When Violet looked over at him in confusion, Gabe continued, “When I was in Afghanistan, they were used all the time. Basically, it’s just a bottle full of kerosene or something flammable with some sort of lighted cloth. The cloth burns, then ignites the accelerant. The bottle explodes and sprays accelerant and flames everywhere. Cheap and easy boom.”

  Sheriff Nelson nodded. “And the door leading from the kitchen to the front of the shop was blocked with one of the large cabinets you use for decoration.”

  She just stared at this news. No wonder she and Jordan hadn’t been able to get out the door.

  “But why would anybody do this to my bakery?” A sudden thought sent fear chasing down her spine. “Do you think this has something to do with Stellman? That he’s trying to get to me from prison?”

  She saw a look pass between Gabe and Edward.

  “What? What do you know?” She hopped down from the examination table.

  “Stellman was killed in prison two days ago,” Gabe said. “I should’ve told you right away. I’m sorry.”

  Violet tried to process it all. “He’s really dead?” He hadn’t even gone to trial yet. At first she’d been dreading facing him in court. But recently she’d almost been looking forward to it, the chance to look Stellman in the eye, the man who’d tried to destroy her, and make sure he knew he hadn’t succeeded.

  “You never have to worry about Stellman again,” Edward said, tone gentle.

  She must be more exhausted than she thought because Stellman being dead was not reassuring her the way it ought to. “Then who threw the Molotov cocktail into the bakery?”

  “How well do you know your employee Jordan Reiss?” Sheriff Nelson asked.

  Violet rolled her eyes. “I know her well enough to know she didn’t do this. Especially since she was standing right next to me when it happened.” She glared at Gabe before returning her gaze to the sheriff. “And before you ask, yes, I know that she used to be in prison.”

  The sheriff held his hands out in front of him, palms up. “Whoa. I’ve got no problem with Jordan. And actually, I’m glad to see you defending her so adamantly.”

  “Why are you even asking me about her at all?”

  “Because I think that fire was meant as a message for her to get out or for you to get rid of her as an employee.”

  That didn’t make any sense. “Why would you think that?”

  “As much as I don’t like it, and I’ve spent considerable time trying to stop it from happening, Jordan has problems with some townsfolk from time to time because of what happened with her father. He made off with a lot of people’s money, and her coming back to Oak Creek is a constant reminder of that.” He let out a sigh. “Her place has been vandalized more than once since she got out of jail, and I think this is someone taking it to the next level.”

  Gabe muttered something foul under his breath. Violet wasn’t sure if it was because of what the townspeople were doing to Jordan or because those actions were now linked to Violet.

  “Anyway,” the sheriff continued, “it might be in your best interest not to keep her as an employee. I’ve tried to talk Jordan into just moving along. But she doesn’t want to leave the house her mother left her.”

  Silence fell over the room.

  “I think we’re hoping Violet might decide to close down Fancy Pants for a few months and come back to Collingwood Technology,” Edward said. “At least until things settle down a little bit.”

  It was Gabe she turned and glared at after Edward’s words. “Seriously?”

  Her brother shook his head and smiled. “I told you it wasn’t going to happen, Edward. This is where she wants to be. She’s not coming back to CT.”

  The sheriff put his hat back on. “I’ll let you guys discuss this. If you’ll excuse me, I need to go question Jordan.”

  “Can I come too, Sheriff? Jordan doesn’t have any family, and I just want to make sure she’s okay.”

  “I think that might be a good idea.”

  His response didn’t reassure Violet, given what she’d just found out about how the citizens of Oak Creek had been treating her friend.

  Because that was what she was, Violet’s friend. Jordan tended to keep to herself—now Violet understood much better why—but she was more than just an employee.

  “I’m coming too,” Gabe said. “If there’s trouble, I want to know about it. And that woman is the epitome of trouble.”

  Edward agreed to return to the office when Violet told him she would make sure her brother got a ride back to Idaho Falls.

  And she would, if he was nice.

  If not, a fifty-mile hike would give her brother a chance to think about his choices.

  As soon as they entered the room where Jordan was receiving care for her injuries, Violet knew something was very wrong. First of all, this could hardly be called a room. It wasn’t even a curtained-off section of the emergency room, which would also be understandable.

  The place they’d stowed Jordan was barely one step up from a goddamn supply closet.

  Jordan was sitting on a hard chair near the corner, quietly crying.

  “Jordan?” Violet rushed over to her side. “Are you okay, sweetie?”

  The other woman immediately tried to pull herself together. She was making a weird gesture with her face against her shoulder, but Violet didn’t understand what she was trying to do.

  Gabe did. He pulled a tissue from the box sitting on the counter, then walked over and wiped Jordan’s face gently. He crouched down next to her.

  “Blow,” he said as he held the tissue over her nose. She did. Gabe turned to Violet. “Her hands are burnt. She can’t do it herself.”

  “You burned yourself when you picked up the fire extinguisher, didn’t you?”

  Jordan nodded, her head resting against Gabe’s hand as he wiped her face again.

  “I-I’m sorry.” She was obviously still fighting tears. “It just hurts more than I thought it would, and I can’t drive, and I’m not sure what to do.”

  “I’m sure the pain medicine the doctors gave you will kick in soon,” Violet said, rubbing her friend’s shoulder.

  Gabe was still crouched in front of Jordan, now gently turning her wrists over so they could see the burns.

  Violet didn’t know a lot about medical stuff, but it seemed like those angry-looking blisters ought to have some sort of ointments or covering on them. “Or maybe they need to give you something stronger if it’s still hurting you this badly.”

  “No, I just want to go home.”

  “They haven’t given you anything at all, have they?” Gabe asked in a low voice.

  “I—I . . .” Her big gray eyes blinked at them.

  Gabe stood and tucked a strand of Jordan’s hair behind her ear. “You hang in there a few more minutes. I’m going to handle this for you.”

  H
er brother was every bit the Navy SEAL as he walked out of the room.

  “They haven’t given you any pain medicine? Why didn’t you tell them how much it hurt?” Violet asked. She hated to see her friend in pain.

  “I haven’t seen anyone.”

  Violet didn’t understand. “You haven’t seen anyone since your hands started hurting so badly?”

  “No, I haven’t seen anyone since they brought us in. They took you to your room and brought me here.”

  “They did what?” Violet turned to stare at the sheriff.

  He shook his head. “This is the sort of thing I was talking about. The staff will come in here and eventually treat her, but there will be all sorts of excuses about limited space and emergencies if anyone even bothers to ask why she wasn’t treated right away.”

  “Oh hell no.” Violet was about to go use some of her favorite tae kwon do moves on the nearest medical professionals.

  “No, you stay here,” the sheriff said. “I have no doubt your brother is taking care of this and that heads are rolling quite efficiently right now.”

  Just a few minutes later, Anne came rushing down the hallway and into the room.

  “Jordan, my God, I just got here for my shift and found out what happened. I’m so sorry. We’re going to get you to a room right now and get you started on some pain medication.”

  Anne dropped down in front of the other woman and began looking at her wounds and taking her vitals. A few minutes later, a sullen-looking nurse showed up with a wheelchair and gestured for Jordan to get in.

  Anne spun toward her and poked a finger right in the nurse’s face. “I don’t care what your problem is, but if you expect to continue working at this hospital, you will treat this patient just like we treat all patients: with care and respect.”

  “Her father stole all my parents’ money.” She sneered over at Jordan before returning her gaze to Anne. “My dad still hasn’t been able to retire because of what happened, and he’s nearly seventy.”

  “I don’t care if this woman pulled a gun on you this morning, much less something she didn’t do and has no responsibility for. As long as she is in this hospital needing care, she will receive it. You and everyone else who worked the shift today, whether they had a part of sticking her in this closet or not, can consider themselves on disciplinary probation.”

  The nurse’s eyes got big and she began blustering. “You can’t do that.”

  “Oh, I damn well can. No one comes into my hospital needing medical attention and doesn’t get it because of a ten-year-old grudge. Now do your job or consider yourself fired.”

  Violet and Jordan both just stared at Anne. Violet had never seen her quiet friend speak to anyone like that.

  The nurse assisted Jordan, with great care, into the wheelchair. Anne was already calling out orders for preparation as they wheeled Jordan into an actual room. Within minutes Jordan was in a bed and hooked up to an IV. She still looked like she was in pain, but at least she wasn’t distraught.

  Gabriel was back, standing guard at the door, arms crossed over his chest. Violet was at Jordan’s side, leaving room for all the hospital staff hovering around the woman. Anne kept watch from the foot of the bed.

  Gabriel looked like he couldn’t decide whether to come in closer or not. Indecision wasn’t something she was used to seeing on her brother’s face. Neither was the helpless anger that crossed over his features every time there was a hiss of pain from Jordan as they tended to her wounded hands.

  He looked like he wanted to fight everyone in the room to protect Jordan. Which was interesting, considering last time Violet had seen them together, they had looked like they were going to fight each other.

  Once Jordan was more comfortable, and her wounds had been wrapped, Anne turned to Violet, searching her face. “Are you okay?”

  “I’ve already been checked out and will be leaving as soon as someone signs the paperwork.”

  Anne nodded. “I’ll do that and leave it at the nurse’s station. Sorry I can’t stick around with you. I’ve got some asses to kick.” She walked up the side of the bed so she could touch Jordan on the shoulder. “Again, I’m so sorry, Jordan. How you were treated was completely unprofessional. If you’d like to write up a formal complaint with the state, I would understand.”

  “No,” Jordan said softly. “I’ll be fine. I just want to go . . . I just want to get out of here.”

  “There’s no reason for you to stay overnight. I’ll give you a prescription for pain medication and an antibiotic ointment. But you’re going to need someone to drive you. You won’t be able to drive with your hands like they are.”

  “I’ll have someone bring me a car, and I’ll get her home safely,” Gabriel said from the doorway. “I’ve set up triage care for burns before. I’ll make sure she has everything she needs and is able to access it before I leave.”

  Jordan looked like she might argue for a moment, but then frowned down at her bandaged hands. “Okay, um, thank you.”

  Anne nodded and left. Violet almost felt like she should leave also, give them privacy even though there was very little privacy in the emergency ward. Gabe and Jordan were opposites in every way, but she’d never seen her brother look at anyone outside of family with such protective fury. Like he would tear apart anyone who tried to hurt Jordan.

  Violet didn’t need anyone to look at her like that, but she wanted someone to. Wanted Aiden to. Wanted him to burst through the door and sweep her off her feet.

  Not because she needed him to, but because she wanted him to.

  “I’m going to go check myself out at the nurse’s station. I’ll call you later, Gabe, after I get my stuff and—”

  As if her thoughts had conjured him, Aiden walked through the door—hazel eyes laser focused on her.

  “Aiden,” she whispered.

  He was here.

  Chapter 25

  Word travelled fast in a small town.

  When Aiden got a text that there had been a fire at Fancy Pants, but no one had been hurt, he bolted out of bed, ready to fly over there and take care of it all but stopped himself at his front door.

  This was exactly the sort of thing Violet wanted to be able to handle on her own. She didn’t need someone rushing in to fight her battles for her.

  He forced himself to walk back into the kitchen and make coffee and breakfast with fists that kept clenching and feet that kept turning toward the door of their own volition.

  When he found out an hour later that the fire had been deliberate, and that Violet had been trapped in the kitchen as it was burning, he didn’t give a flying fuck about independence or strength or her ability to fight.

  He wouldn’t fight her battles for her, but he would damn well be by her side as she was facing them.

  He was scheduled to travel to Greece next week for Linear. That would not be happening. He texted Zac as much as he ran out the door toward the hospital, thankful he was close enough not to need to take a car.

  He slowed himself to a walk by the time he got to the entrance of the emergency room, forced himself to calm down as he asked at the nurse’s desk about where he could find Violet. The temptation to just blow right through was strong, but he resisted. That would just get him kicked out anyway.

  He wasn’t getting far with the person at the desk, since he wasn’t really anything to Violet. Not a family member, not even her boyfriend.

  That, he planned to rectify immediately. Even if he had to beg her.

  It was only because Anne walked up, looking more pissed than he’d ever seen her, and told the nurse to let him back that he made any headway at all. Anne gave him a brief wave, then turned, calling for a meeting in the back for anyone who wasn’t actively working with a patient.

  She looked like she was about to unleash hell. Aiden didn’t know what had happened, but he was glad he wasn’t being called into that meeting. The nurse grimaced, then gave him Violet’s room number before muttering something to another nurse about Jo
rdan Reiss.

  He wanted to ask what was going on but honestly didn’t care. At least not nearly as much as he cared about getting to Violet. He was rushing down the hall toward her room when he heard her in another room.

  He immediately turned inside. He’d already known she wasn’t seriously hurt. But she could’ve been. Trapped in a fire? No amount of training prepared somebody for that.

  He stopped and just stared at her.

  No injuries. She was filthy, that gorgeous red hair tangled and matted, clothes ruined, and soot and dirt streaking every inch of available skin, but no injuries.

  She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

  “Aiden.”

  His name slipped out of her lips, like he was the answer to a prayer, the exact same way he felt about her. He crossed over to her and didn’t stop until he had her pulled up against his heart, where she belonged.

  Gabriel cleared his throat from the far side of the room, but Aiden didn’t care.

  “Are you all right?” he whispered.

  Before she could even answer he caught her lips in a kiss, mouth plundering hers, one hand rooting itself in her hair, the other gripping her hip. When her arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him even closer, he took advantage of every bit of her hot, wet, open mouth.

  When Gabriel cleared his throat even louder, Aiden finally eased back, leaning his forehead against hers.

  “Are you even going to let her answer the question, asshole?” Gabe muttered.

  Aiden could only vaguely remember what the question was.

  “I’m fine.” Violet smiled up at him. “Jordan was hurt, but I’m fine.”

  “I’m okay too,” Jordan said from the bed. “No need to kiss me.”

  Gabriel muttered something about how he better not kiss Jordan, but Aiden ignored him once again.

  “Take me home,” Violet whispered. “I know things are weird with us right now, but I just need to be with you.”

  “Yes.”

  Yes, he would take her home with him. Yes, he would do his damnedest to convince her to never leave there again.

  Yes, this woman was it for him, and there was no way he’d ever find the strength to walk away from her again, even temporarily.