Rescued Read online

  “As soon as the crew cleans up, we’re taking food over to the evacuation center.”

  “You going as a group?”

  “Yes. We’ll be fine.”

  Diego tugged on her hand to lead her to the side street where he’d parked his truck. He pulled her in front of him and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Be careful. I don’t trust Lancaster.”

  “Okay, I’ll be careful.”

  His dimple flashed, and he bent his head. The kiss started with a brief brush of lips, then his thumbs stroked under her jaw as he dived deeper, mouth angling over hers. Eva grabbed onto his belt to pull him closer, parting her lips to allow his tongue to slide along hers. The kiss ended before she thought either of them wanted it to.

  “I’ve got to go.”

  “Yes, you have to go.”

  “I forgot to water my African violet this morning. Will you take care of it?”

  The images of what she’d seen when she’d attempted that task that morning burned through her mind. “You going to be naked in your bed when I get there?”

  He groaned. “God, I wish. But it will likely be several days before I catch a break again.” He pressed a hard kiss to her lips. “See you later, Eva.”

  She saw his truck disappear down the road, and gave a shiver, looking over her shoulder, the uncomfortable feeling of being watched making her jumpy.

  Chapter Six

  The only way Diego could describe firefighting over the next few days was akin to being in the furnaces of hell. With containment at only fifteen percent and the northern flank edging uncomfortably close to the Loss, crews were working furiously to stop its forward advancement. His crew was manning the lines to defend a cabin nestled among tall pines and with a woodpile too close to the structure. They managed to save the structure, and he hoped the owner would be cited for not clearing around his property.

  A roar louder than the forest burning around them had Justin Trainer letting out a whoop of enthusiasm. “Look at that sucker.” He pointed skyward, and between the billowing clouds of smoke a 747 Supertanker swooped impossibly low for such a large plane, strafing its load of Phos-Chek ahead of the fire line.

  The days since he’d kissed Eva good-bye were starting to blur together. He thought he’d slept a grand total of ten hours, and the gallons of water he’d consumed couldn’t seem to quench his constant thirst. Thunderstorms forecast for late afternoon could bring a welcome dampening of the fire, but the news was tempered with the potential for lightning strikes sparking more blazes.

  He lifted his helmet to empty a water bottle over his head, then twisted the cap off another to take a swig.

  Justin pointed at him. “You’re bleeding, dude.”

  “Where?” He looked at his hands and arms, but with his gloves and turnout gear, he didn’t have any exposed skin. Justin pointed and Diego swiped at his chin, leaving a smear of red on his glove. “Fuck. How’d that happen?”

  “Who the hell knows? Maybe a splinter from that tree we brought down.” Justin peered closer. “Doesn’t look deep, but it’s making a mess of your already messy mug.”

  Their captain yelled at them, motioning to the truck. “Guess we’re out of here,” Justin said.

  With practiced moves, they stowed their gear and took their seats on the engine. They drove onto the highway that snaked through the mountains before dropping in elevation as it entered Hangman’s Loss. The lower slopes of the mountainsides were charred black, smoke still rising from hot spots. But it was the orange-tinged clouds billowing from behind a ridge that had Diego worried. If that flank couldn’t be contained, it wasn’t only the folks with mountain cabins who’d have to be evacuated—all of Hangman’s Loss would be in jeopardy.

  They approached town, and a group of women and kids holding signs thanking the firefighters waved and applauded as they drove past. The captain’s voice came through headsets they each wore. “Good work. You’re all off for twenty-four. Once you’re cleared back at camp, go home, get some sleep, rehydrate, and eat a lot of calories. Report back at seventeen hundred tomorrow.”

  “Praise Jesus,” Justin muttered.

  In less than an hour, Diego was turning into his driveway. Shower, food, sleep—that’s what he needed, in that order. A glance at Eva’s house showed her car parked in front of her one-car garage. Maybe she’d keep him company while he ate. He unlocked the front door to his house and was struck by the strong odor of rot.

  He stepped into his kitchen to find the refrigerator and freezer doors open, the contents strewn across the floor. “What the fuck?” The African violet his mom had given him when he’d moved in lay in a pile of dirt amid the broken shards of the clay pot she’d painted. The door to the back deck stood ajar while the air conditioner pumped out cool air to compensate. He went to the thermostat and found it set to fifty-five degrees. He turned it off, anger beginning to overlay the shock of finding his house trashed. Too exhausted to deal with the mess, he stepped out onto the deck and dialed nine-one-one, then shoved his phone in his pocket and trudged across the yard to Eva’s house.

  ###

  Eva pulled the tray out of the oven and set it on the cooktop, the smell of chocolate chip cookies filling the air. Maddy and her employee and friend Lulu were at the café assembling sandwiches and preparing fruit salad while Eva had chosen to come home to bake the cookies they planned to add to the food being prepared for the evacuation center. Being home meant Finn wouldn’t be left on his own, and she could do some laundry while baking.

  The knock on her door had her wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. Shooing Finn aside, she opened the door and her heart gave a hard jolt. “Diego.”

  “Can I come in?”

  “Of course.” She tried to keep the alarm from her voice, but she didn’t think she’d ever in her life seen a more exhausted man. The t-shirt he wore looked like it had been soaked through with sweat, then dried to leave salt stains. His hair was matted, probably from his helmet, and his face was streaked with soot and blood from a cut on his chin. With Finn circling his legs, she reached out a hand to pull him into her house. “Come in.”

  Inside her door, he stooped to unlace his boots. “The cops are on their way to my house.”

  “Cops? Why?”

  “Because someone is fucking with me. My fridge is emptied all over my kitchen floor, the African violet my mom gave me is dead. The bastard set the AC at fifty-five and left the back door open so it’s probably been running twenty-four/seven. I didn’t even look in the back rooms.”

  “Oh no. I’m sorry, Diego. That’s horrible. Who would have done that?”

  “Lancaster, maybe. That’s for Brad to figure out.”

  Diego stood in his stocking feet looking dirty and disheartened, and all she wanted to do was pull him into a hug. Sensing he was too angry for that, she instead stood on tiptoes to lay her lips briefly on his, then took his hand to lead him down the hall. “Use my shower. Once the cops are there, I’ll get clean clothes for you.”

  The door closed behind him, and a moment later she heard the water running. With an eye out for the police, she tidied the kitchen. With the dishwasher humming, she set out the plastic containers she would use once the cookies were cool, then wiped down the counters. When an HLPD vehicle pulled into Diego’s driveway, she left Finn inside and went across the yard. She intercepted Brad and Officer Jack Morgan. “I have a key so I can let you in. Diego is using my shower.”

  Brad put out a hand. “Give me the key and stay out here until we give you the all-clear.”

  The two tall men, Brad with his lean, rangy build, and Jack with the bulk of a linebacker, stood on either side of the door, then entered the home with practiced moves. Eva chewed on her bottom lip. What if whoever had trashed Diego’s house was still there? What if more than one person had broken in? Even now they could—

  Her journey down that rabbit hole was cut short when Jack’s large frame filled the doorway and he motioned her inside. Brad had his phone out, taking photo
s of the chaos in the kitchen. “Jack, call Warren to bring a print kit.”

  With Jack on the radio, Eva entered the kitchen. “Diego said the A/C was set at fifty-five, so the food probably isn’t as spoiled as it would have been otherwise.”

  Brad crouched to examine once frozen steaks, bagged French fries, and boxes of frozen waffles. “Do you know how long since he’s been home?”

  “Three days. And I’ve been either at the café or the evacuation center, so I haven’t been around much either. I guess our absence gave whoever did this plenty of opportunity.” She spied the sad-looking African violet in its clump of soil. “I want to try to save his plant. That okay? I don’t want to destroy evidence.”

  Brad waved off her concern. “That’s fine.”

  She found a plastic container in a drawer and scooped up the potting soil, carefully placing the plant in the dirt and then dampening the soil with a dribble of water. Fortunately, the intruder’s destruction appeared to be confined to the kitchen. As she walked to the back of the house, Eva pushed aside the feeling she was invading Diego’s privacy. Once in his bedroom, she pulled open a dresser drawer where she located cargo shorts and a maroon t-shirt. In another drawer she found plaid boxers and in the closet a pair of black slide sandals. She chewed her lip, trying to think what else he’d need. Not that he couldn’t come get whatever he wanted, but she had the feeling he wasn’t ready to face the mess in his house. She stopped in the bathroom and picked up deodorant and his toothbrush.

  With her hands full Eva walked back to her house, elbowed open her door, and was surprised Finn wasn’t there to greet her. The house was quiet, the smell of chocolate chip cookies sweet in the air. She set down the pile of Diego’s things and moved to the hall, stopping in the doorway to her room. When she’d caught him asleep in bed before, her response had been smoking-hot lust. This time she felt the warm, soft pull of something stronger, deeper.

  Diego lay face down on her bed, his head nestled into the decorative pillow, the sage green towel from her bathroom wrapped around his waist. He’d looped a long arm across her dog where he’d sprawled out beside him. She stepped into the room and Finn followed her movement with his eyes but didn’t so much as twitch, as if he understood that the man needed sleep. Eva didn’t know how long she stood watching him, but now recognized that what she’d felt for Bruce hadn’t been even close to love. Her feelings for Diego were evolving with head-spinning speed. She wasn’t sure where those feelings would lead, but she was looking forward to finding out.

  ###

  Diego returned to consciousness slowly. His first thought was oh yeah, when he felt a warm body snuggled against his. He shifted, frowned, then opened one eye. Finn stretched out beside him, his nose in Diego’s armpit. Not exactly who he was hoping for. Diego rolled onto his back and, when he realized he was buck naked, snagged the still damp towel to drape over himself. He hadn’t intended to crash on Eva’s bed. He remembered sitting there to wait for her to bring him clothes, thinking her bed looked mighty inviting. Exhaustion must have grabbed him because then it had been lights out.

  The sounds of movement coming from the kitchen suggested Eva’s location. He spied a neatly folded pile of clothing on the corner of the bed, with his deodorant and toothbrush on top, his sandals on the floor. Taking everything to the bathroom, he emerged minutes later feeling better than he had in days. He still had to deal with what the fucker had done in his house, but at the moment he was clean, the leading edge of exhaustion had been blunted, and he thought there might be food in his immediate future.

  Not much beat stepping into a kitchen where freshly baked chocolate chip cookies were cooling on a rack. A pot bubbled on the stove and Eva stood at the sink washing dishes. When she spied him, she pulled gloves from her hands and stepped toward him. Those beautiful sea green eyes, warm and with a shine that had his heart rolling over, studied him, and Diego thought he could be happy for the rest of his life if she always looked at him exactly like that.

  “You and Finn looked cute cuddled together.”

  “I’d rather be cuddled with you.”

  She went onto her toes to kiss him briefly on the lips. “Sounds promising. Do you feel better?”

  “Yes. Do that again and better will edge over into excellent.”

  Eva’s attention did what it always did, it made him feel like he was the luckiest guy on the planet. She smiled and gave him a smacking kiss. “I thought you could use a manly meal, so I have meatloaf in the oven and I’ll mash potatoes as soon as they’re ready.” She paused. “Do you want to stay for dinner?”

  “Do I look stupid? Of course I do. I get to spend time with you and rate a manly meal to boot.”

  Her grin flashed and she turned back to her chore at the sink. “Good. And when we’re done, I’ll help you clean up the mess in your house. Brad said they’d be finished over there within the hour.”

  “You don’t need to do that.”

  “Are we friends?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay then. Friends don’t let friends clean up horrible messes by themselves.”

  ###

  Diego ate his last bite of mashed potatoes and pushed back his plate. “That’s the best dinner I’ve had in ages. Feel free to make me a manly meal anytime you get the urge.”

  “Sure thing. Oh, I rescued your plant.” She rose from the table and crossed to the living room, returning with a small ceramic pot. “You said your mom had given it to you. It’s looking kind of sad, but maybe it will pull through.”

  “Hey, thanks. Mom always had plants, and she says a house isn’t a home unless it has living plants.”

  “Does your mom live in the Loss?”

  “Yeah. She has a cabin on the other side of the lake. She has a boyfriend, which is a big deal for her. They’re on a trans-Canada train trip, something she’s always wanted to do.”

  “Good for her. Why is a boyfriend a big deal?”

  He shrugged. “It took her a long time to get over my dad’s death. He was a firefighter with Cal Fire and was killed fighting a monster blaze near Yosemite.”

  Her hand went out to his. “Oh, I’m so sorry. How old were you?”

  “Fifteen. It was awful. My mom’s strong, but that about broke her.”

  “How does she deal with you being a firefighter?”

  “That was a difficult decision. I almost didn’t do it because I didn’t want to cause her worry. Then she sat me down and told me to stop being an idiot, that she’d always known one day I’d be a firefighter, and that she would deal with it.”

  “She sounds like a good mom.”

  “The best.” Diego rose and began clearing the table. Working together, they stowed the leftovers and loaded the dishwasher.

  “Okay, let’s tackle your place. Do you have trash bags?”

  “Yeah.”

  Diego was glad to see the police vehicles gone from the front of his house. While Eva confined Finn to her front yard, Diego walked to the end of the driveway where their mailboxes stood side by side. The smell of woodsmoke hung in the early evening air and added an orange pall to the sun beginning its descent behind the western peaks. He grabbed the mail, handing Eva hers, and began rifling through the flyers and junk that constituted the majority of his mail. He paused when he noticed Eva staring at a postcard in her hand.

  “I think you should see this.” The hollow tone of her voice warned him something was wrong as she handed it to him.

  The postcard was the kind you could buy at about any store in town. The aerial photo showed Hangman’s Loss, the lake, and the surrounding forest, with a caricature of a cowboy with his noose looping around the words “Come hang with us”. Someone had used a marker to draw blood-red flames over the forest and engulfing the town. He flipped it over. It was addressed to Eva Gallagher, and large scrawling letters read, “I did it for you.”

  Chapter Seven

  “What do you think it means?” Eva asked Captain Jack Morgan. Having Diego’s arm drape
d across her shoulder was the only thing that kept her from melting into an emotional mess. The idea that somehow the fire had something to do with her was too frightening to contemplate.

  In his careful, thoughtful way, Jack placed the postcard in an evidence bag, then focused his steady eyes on her. “I should keep a lid on it, police business and all that, but seems obvious.”

  “Somebody started the fire for me?” Horror mixed with nausea to make a greasy knot in her stomach. She rubbed her forehead with the heel of her hand. “Bryan Lancaster is the only person I know of who is unhinged enough to burn the town down and say it was for me.”

  Jack’s phone buzzed, and when he turned away to answer it, Diego pulled Eva into his arms, pressing a kiss to her forehead. He tipped up her face, his touch centering her. “I want to stay with you tonight. I’m back on the line tomorrow afternoon, so you’ll need to take Finn and stay with your aunt or one of your cousins when I’m gone. I don’t want you here by yourself until this fucker is locked up.”

  As much as she hated the idea of having to leave her home, she wasn’t too excited at the thought of Lancaster showing up at her door.

  Jack shoved his phone back in his pocket. He never gave much away, but he looked more tense than he had five minutes ago.

  “Brad went to the Lancaster home. Bryan isn’t there, but the parents allowed a search. Apparently, he left hours ago without word as to where he was headed. Another fire has been spotted north of here.”

  “God dammit,” Diego swore.

  “Cal Fire hopped on it so hopefully it’ll be managed quickly. They’re pretty certain it’s arson.” His serious gaze rested on Eva. “There were dozens of photos of you on his laptop.” Eva could feel the blood drain from her face. Diego tightened his grip on her hand as Jack continued. “Brad put out an APB for Bryan Lancaster. Every agency from Tahoe to Barstow will be looking for him. He’ll turn up eventually.”

  As the object of Weird Guy’s bizarre infatuation, Eva didn’t find much comfort in Jack’s assurance.