Chapter Twenty #2
Nevertheless, he remained drawn to her, had witnessed some of those walls breaking down in the few weeks he’d known her, and he’d liked the glimpse of the real Summer he’d seen below the surface.
She had a wicked sense of humor and could light up a room with her presence when she finally let herself go.
Her determination and grit were a sight to behold—the way she was dogged in her pursuit of excellence in her triathlons, and how she had used her passion to build her own successful videography business.
But there was also a vulnerability, a heartbreak she buried so deep.
He’d detected it more than once, and he wanted to know more, to plumb the depths of Summer and find out what made her tick.
To explore whatever was developing between them; it had the potential to be something great.
Lifting a hand, he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
“Do you need to go home so soon? Why don’t you stay in Sweden for a while?
You can live in my house, recuperate there.
We can heal together.” The words came out even as the notion formed in his head.
It was a good idea, now he thought about it. A great idea, even.
She made no reply, lifting her dark gaze to stare at him, confusion flitting across her face. He took hold of her good hand, and she tensed at his touch. How could he convince her to stay? Perhaps he needed to tell her the truth.
“I think we have something good. I think…I might be—” the shrill jangle of his mobile cut over the top of his words.
They both stared at M?rten’s cell as it vibrated on the table next to them.
“Shit.” M?rten didn’t hide his disgust. It was the worst timing ever, but it was Jacob, and he knew he should answer. Jacob must’ve just landed in Stockholm, and he’d need an update. But this conversation with Summer was important. Maybe the most important he’d had in a long, long time.
“I’ll call Jacob back,” M?rten said, determined to finish their talk. But Summer was already scrambling off the bed.
“No, no, you go ahead,” she replied, retreating, gaze averted once more.
Shit, he’d lost her; she was withdrawing behind her high walls all over again.
Had she heard him? Has she realized he was about to declare that he was falling for her?
Because she was acting like a frightened rabbit about to bolt.
This wasn’t the reaction he’d been expecting.
What had he done? The last thing he wanted to do was scare her away. Damn bloody Jacob.
“Summer, I…”
“Take the call,” she replied, voice deadpan. “I want to hear what he has to say.”
For a few more long moments, M?rten ignored the shrill ringtone. But he knew there was no point in pushing her, so all he could do was try to read her features as he picked up the phone and pressed it to his ear.
“Hi, Jacob,” he said, not taking his eyes off Summer, who’d retreated to her chair in the corner.
“M?rten, I’ve got news.” Jacob was almost yelling down the line.
“I’ve got news too,” M?rten said, pulling himself together. “I found Summer. She’s safe with me now. We’re in the hospital.” He was being as succinct as possible, trying to get his words out before Jacob butted in.
“I know, I just heard,” Jacob confirmed. “Congratulations, dude, you did good.” Normally, Jacob’s praise would’ve helped allay some of M?rten’s fears that he’d fucked up on the job. But the thought that he’d fucked up even worse with Summer just now was overriding everything else.
“But I think I might know the motive behind the abduction.” Jacob continued, his tone tight with excitement.
“Wait, can I put you on speaker? Summer is here with me, she might want to hear this.”
“Yes, sure,” Jacob agreed, but he was talking again even before M?rten had time to press the button.
“I just got word there’s been an arson attack on the gold mine at Yellowstone.
The whole fucking place has been destroyed.
One person dead, two others injured. There’s a huge forest fire raging on the outskirts of the national park. ”
Summer stood, the light of something unreadable in her expression. M?rten was sitting upright in bed now, the hand not holding the phone clenched at his side. That fucker! M?rten knew immediately what’d happened.
“Let me guess, it was Tyrone King,” he said, locking his gaze with Summer’s. She nodded in agreement, her one good eye going wide with shock.
“That’s what we suspect, yeah. They were using Summer as a decoy so he could carry out his plan while our focus was fixed on finding her.”
“Wow,” M?rten breathed. That was why Tyrone had tried to make them believe he was no longer in America. So he could continue planting incendiary bombs while the FBI searched for him outside the country.
“We don’t believe their intention was to kill her,” Jacob continued. “Just hold her until the arson attack went through, perhaps even long enough for Tyrone to then flee the country.”
“So I was sort of like a hostage, and the price of my freedom was a successful burning of the mine site?” Summer had stepped forward, her poor battered face looking more animated than he’d seen all night. “And so Paige was right; she never intended to kill me. It was Nathan who changed the plan.”
He could see relief in her one good eye. Relief that Paige had been telling the truth, at least about that part. He could understand why Summer wanted to redeem the Paige in some small way.
“Yes, that’s probably accurate,” Jacob replied. “Although we can’t be sure until we interview Nathan. I’m hoping to catch the next flight to Lule? and be there in a few hours. I want to get you as many answers as we can, Summer.”
While this was all good information, and M?rten wholeheartedly agreed, he didn’t want to get sidetracked and so he interrupted with another question.
“Where is King now?” Because that was the next most critical item.
It was important for them to know if he yet held a grudge against Summer.
Because if he did, then Summer wasn’t safe until they had the bastard behind bars.
Jacob’s silence was all the answer M?rten needed.
He must still be at large somewhere. There was absolutely no chance of his letting Summer go back to America with that lunatic on the loose.
But when he opened his mouth to tell her this, the same stubborn look settled on her face as if she already knew what he was going to say.
The one he remembered when he’d first met her in Seattle.
She wanted to go home, and she would fight him every step of the way.
His heart sank. All he wanted was to protect her, but it seemed everything he did alienated her even further.