Chapter 9
9
T he last thing Amber wanted to do was show a house today. But she needed to keep her promise to Garth and stay out of playing detective. If she did, she’d let her anger get the better of her and do something stupid.
She always did.
So, she might as well do what paid her bills.
She took the left into the driveway of an upscale home off Pineapple Avenue, stopping at the gate. Punching in the keycode, she waited for the gate to open. She pulled in, checking her rearview mirror, making sure the potential buyer followed her onto the property.
After parking in front of the detached three-car garage, Amber snagged her cell and let Garth know she’d arrived at the house.
It honestly felt way too good to have someone in her life care enough to want to know her whereabouts and she struggled to know what to do with that emotion.
In the past it had been her parents. But even they didn’t ask too much because they believed they had raised a strong, independent woman who didn’t need anyone. And Amber had gone through life not wanting to rely on anyone.
It had caused some grief because the men she dated wanted to be her rock. Wanted to take care of her in ways she wouldn’t allow. It had always been the reason her relationships ended.
With Garth, she had not only asked and welcomed his help, but now she leaned on him in a way she’d never done before. He’d become an emotional support system and that twisted her gut and sent her heart into overdrive.
She grabbed her briefcase and stepped from her sport SUV. Normally, she liked to get to a house a few minutes before a client, but Julia Hickey had been early and Amber later than she had intended. Since the house had been unoccupied for a few weeks now, she wasn’t worried about the condition. It would be as she’d left it three days ago.
“I hope you weren’t waiting long?” Amber stretched out her hand, taking Julia’s in a firm shake. “There was an accident on the other side of the highway.”
“Only about five minutes.” Julia had long blond hair that she had pulled back in a low ponytail. A gray streak lined the side of her head, but it blended nicely with her natural color. According to Julia, she and her husband were looking to upsize.
This particular listing, right on the Intracoastal, was three thousand square feet with a two-bedroom apartment over the detached garage. The owners were asking $1,749,000.
“I really like this area. Right now, we’re living in a gated community. It’s beautiful, but the house is just too small, and I want to live on the water.”
“You’ll love the view. Why don’t we go take a look?” Amber led the way, pointing out all the features on the outside. Once inside, she let Julia wander about. Amber had found that it was best to let the client touch, feel, and see for themselves, while occasionally pointing out the selling points they might have missed or seemed the most interested in.
Amber set her briefcase down on the kitchen counter before heading upstairs.
It took thirty minutes for Amber to show Julia the entire house. Julia acted as if this were the best house she’d ever laid eyes on, but Amber considered herself a good read of clients, and this house just didn’t have the shiver factor for Julia.
“I really love the location and the view, but there are some things that need to be updated. How firm on price are the sellers?” Julia asked as she stepped from the back door.
Amber secured the lock, tucking the keys into her purse. “They have had some quotes on some of the needed updates, so I can tell you they are negotiable, but they wouldn’t entertain an offer less than 1.5 million.”
“Good to know. I’ll need to talk to my husband. He’ll want to come and see it before we make an offer.”
“You have my number. I do have three other people looking at the property this week, and I suspect it won’t stay on the market too long.” Amber wasn’t lying, but it still sounded like a high-pressure sales pitch. “I’ll call you if I get any real interest or an offer.”
“I appreciate it. I’ve really got to run. Sorry.” Julia slipped behind the steering wheel. She waved as she punched the gas, taking off down the driveway a little faster than Amber approved of.
She took in a deep breath, dropping her purse in the passenger seat. Tapping the brake, she hit the start button. The engine tripped twice before turning over, which was odd, but the car was getting older and perhaps it needed a new starter. She reached in the back for her briefcase. “Shit,” she mumbled. Digging into her purse, she found the house keys and scurried off toward the back door. That briefcase not only had all her paperwork, but her brother’s laptop, something she didn’t want to leave behind.
She stuck the key in the lock and turned it.
Kaboom!
Boom!
Pop!
Clutching her ears, she dropped to her knees, falling forward as heat spread across her skin. She glanced over her shoulder as black smoke billowed from her car. Pieces of metal dropped to the ground inches from her body.
Her thigh seared in pain, and she gasped when she looked down to see blood flowing from an open gash. Panic gripped her heart as she searched for her phone.
Only, she’d left it in her purse.
Which was in her burning car.
She pushed open the door and stumbled across the tile floor. The ringing in her ears screamed like fingers on a chalkboard. She found the phone in the kitchen, thankful for the landline, and hoped the owners hadn’t canceled the service.
Her heart pulsed when she heard the buzz of a connection. She tapped 9-1-1 and crumpled to the floor.
Garth sat in the back of the conference room with Hawke on his right and Rex on his left. Arthur leaned against the windowsill while Rex, the lieutenant, went over the schedule for mandatory training along with shift changes while each team went through annual testing. The next month would be grueling with double shifts, classroom training, and fitness tests. But he’d been through it before.
He flipped his phone over, not only checking the time, but looking to see if Amber had called or texted again. She should be done with the showing by now. He’d turned it to silent mode because Arthur couldn’t stand listening to anyone’s phone vibrate on the table, but he never bitched about someone checking it. Half the men in the room had families, and today was technically a day off for most of the team, so if someone had to step out and deal with a problem at home, both Arthur and Rex would understand.
Nothing since her last text.
The sound of boots hitting the tile in rapid succession echoed down the hallway.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Chastity said as she skidded to a stop in the doorway.
“What’s wrong?” Duncan jumped up, racing to his wife’s side.
“It’s Garth’s friend, Amber. Her car exploded?—”
“Her what did what?” Garth pushed his chair back with such force it tumbled over. His stomach flipped as bile smacked the back of his throat.
Chastity stepped forward, putting her hand on his biceps. “She wasn’t in it, and yes, she’s going to be fine. She asked the first responders to call our fire station. She has a gash in her leg that needs stitches, and they are taking her to the hospital near your house.”
“Do you know what happened? How it happened? Cars don’t just explode.” His heart crashed into his rib cage. He ignored the tightness in his chest as he tried to take a deep breath. He pushed all his fears down into the pit of his gut and focused on what he could do.
And that was get to Amber.
“The call came in to the 9-1-1 center fifteen minutes ago, so I don’t know anything other than what I just told you.”
Garth glanced toward Arthur, who nodded. “We’ll fill you in on the rest. Report back to me as soon as you can.”
Chastity and Duncan stepped to the side.
Garth didn’t look back as he ran from the station. His fingers fumbled as he yanked his keys from his pocket, hitting the button to unlock his truck. He did his best to keep to the speed limit as he navigated the streets toward the hospital. It was only ten minutes away, but it seemed like forever. Twice, he pounded on his horn, and three times he slammed his fist on the steering wheel out of frustration, and he still had another five minutes before he’d be inside the hospital.
“Hey, Siri. Call Chastity Booker.” It concerned him that no one had called him with any information.
The phone rang twice.
“Are you at the hospital?” Chastity asked, not bothering to say hello.
“No. And Amber isn’t answering her phone.” He flipped his blinker on as he rolled to a stop three blocks shy of the emergency room parking lot. “Do you know who the first responders were? Who called you? I should have asked, but I was in too much of a hurry to?—”
“Stop talking,” Chastity said with a hint of a laugh. “Peters from Fire Station #5 called me directly. His EMTs took her to the hospital.”
“What about the cops?”
“I don’t know who the police officers were, but I can find out.”
“Do that. And if you don’t mind, ask Peters to do us a solid and keep us in the loop.”
“I’ve already asked him,” Chastity said. “Kaelie’s sent an investigator to the scene. She’ll be in touch.”
“Thanks.” Cars generally didn’t explode randomly. “Were you told where she was? How close to the car had she been?”
“All I know is that she called 9-1-1 from inside the house she’d been showing. Peters said she was alert and not injured other than the cut on her leg,” Chastity said with a reassuring tone. “He also said he’d call me if he found out anything at all.”
“All right.” Garth forced in a deep breath.
“And Garth. Don’t go getting all overprotective like the rest of your buddies. It really isn’t how to win over a woman. We pretty much hate overbearing, controlling men.”
Garth laughed. “Because we know who wears the pants in your family.”
The call went dead just as he parked. Shaking out his hands, he found his way through the waiting room and stopped at the window. “I’m looking for Amber Wolf.”
“Yes. She’s in exam room number three,” the nurse said, pointing down the hall.
“Thanks.” Garth rounded the corner with a tightness in his chest and a longing in his heart. He’d been tiptoeing around Amber since they’d first met. Their first few conversations he’d barely managed to keep from being tongue-tied.
And now that he’d slept with her?
He paused mid-step. Perspiration beaded across his hairline. Talk about being out of his league. Everything about him had changed in the last few days. He certainly wasn’t tripping over his tongue, except for maybe that aggressive comment, but he wasn’t wrong.
“Garth?” The sound of her sweet voice delighted his ears.
He pulled back the curtain. She lay on a hospital bed that had her torso tilted upright. A pillow had been placed under her knee, and a large bandage was wrapped around her thigh.
“Jesus,” he whispered. “What the hell happened?” Carefully, he sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing his thumb under a small cut on her cheek.
“I don’t know. I’m just glad I wasn’t in the car when it blew up.”
He leaned in and kissed her rosy lips. “Me too.”
“Do you know anything? The police haven’t been back to talk to me since the doctor stitched up my leg.”
He swallowed, glancing down at her thigh. Blood soaked through the gauze. “All I know is that Kaelie has one of her fire investigators on it.”
“Not to sound like a bitch, but I struggle to trust any of them at this point.” She dropped her head back and sighed.
“Kaelie is the best. You have to believe that.” Gently, he squeezed her knee. “Can you tell me what you remember?”
She threw her forearm over her eyes. “I said goodbye to my client. Got in my car and started it when I realized I had left my briefcase in the house. I got the keys, leaving my car running, and by the time I got to the back door, my car had exploded.”
For some reason, he needed to see Amber’s eyes. He lifted her arm and tilted her chin. “Had you met this client before?”
“No. She called me yesterday. Said she’d passed by the house and got my number from the listing.”
“I assume you gave the police her contact information?”
Amber nodded. “You’re a fireman. What would cause a car to blow up while it was just sitting in a driveway?”
“Nothing good.” He knew exactly where her mind had gone, and he didn’t see the point in trying to sugarcoat things, or worse, insult her by brushing his own fears under the table.
“Excuse me,” a male voice said from the hallway. “How are you doing, Ms. Wolf?”
“Not great. Can you tell me anything more about what happened to my car, Officer?”
“You were first on the scene?” Garth asked as he stood, letting out a sigh of relief.
“Yes, I was. It’s good to see you again,” Rusty said.
“You two know each other?” Amber asked.
“Yes. I’m an old friend of Arthur’s, Garth’s boss. Actually, we met when he helped pull Arthur’s wife from a burning car, but that’s a different story.”
“What can you tell us?” Garth asked.
“Nothing yet about why the car exploded, but we did find out that Amber’s client doesn’t exist. We can’t find anyone in the state of Florida with the name Julia Hickey.”
Garth rubbed the back of his neck. “So, it was all a setup to get Amber to that house.”
“Can’t prove it yet.” Rusty nodded. “Why would someone want to do that?”
“My brother.” Amber held Garth’s gaze.
Garth nodded.
“I need to get with the CSI unit. I want to see that car for myself,” Rusty said. “I’ll be in touch soon and we can chat about that case and how this might be connected.”
“Thanks, man.” Garth stretched out his arm. “You know how to reach me and please, keep Arthur and Kaelie in the loop.”
“I’ll be talking with the fire investigator shorty as well.” Rusty dipped out into the hallway, passing the nurse as she waltzed into the room.
“I’ve got good news.” The nurse waved some papers in her hands. “These are your discharge papers. All you need is a ride home.”
“That would be me,” Garth said.
“I’ll call for an orderly.” The nurse handed Amber the documents. “You’ll either need to come here to have those stitches removed, or your general doctor can do it. Outside of that, no soaking in a tub and you need to keep those dry, so wrap it in plastic?—”
“I have EMT training. I know the drill.” Garth nodded.
“All right, then. As soon as the orderly gets here with the wheelchair, you’re free to go.” The nurse turned and pulled back the curtain.
“When I wanted to be heard regarding my brother’s case, it wasn’t meant to be by those who killed him,” Amber muttered.
He leaned over and kissed her gently. “I’m not trying to diffuse your fears or say that’s not what’s happening, because my brain has gone there too. But until I see that report on your car, and we know more about whoever this Julia chick is, we can’t go jumping to conclusions.”
“Right, because you deal in facts. I kind of hate that about you right now.”
“Look. I’m not leaving your side because this shit just got real, but what we need is information.” He lifted her chin with his thumb and forefinger. “Any mission I’ve ever been on, whether that be in the military or with the Aegis Network, the old saying that knowledge is power applies. Making assumptions only gets people killed. Right now, my job is to take you home and protect you. We need to let the fire investigator and Rusty do theirs. Once I have those reports in hand, or a verbal of their findings, and it matches what we’re both thinking, we move forward.”
“Easy for you to say. Your car didn’t blow up seconds after you climbed out of it.”
He dropped his head to hers and let out an audible sigh. “No, but I would have died if anything happened to you.”