Flames Of Deceit (2 page)

Mia leaned against the wall and listened as the firefighter spoke to someone outside the door. His deep voice sent shivers along her spine. Unexpected emotions slithered through her veins. Even if he had saved her life, she couldn’t react to this man. Firefighters were her enemies until she proved she hadn’t set this blaze.

The firefighter believed she was the arsonist. She had seen the doubt in his eyes and felt his distrust as if he had spoken the words aloud. So why help her? Was this some elaborate trick to get her to confess to arson? 

If she wanted to save her brother, she had to get out of this building on her own.

Shoving to her knees, she crawled toward the voices outside the door. Looking through thick waves of smoke, she watched as the group of yellow suited firefighters glanced back, and then turned away from the building.

Needing to escape, she eased out the door, ducked behind one of the tall evergreen shrubs growing along the side of the building. The night air hung heavy with smoke as thick as San Francisco fog, but the eerie curtain saved her from detection as she scrambled from shrub to shrub.

When she reached the corner of the building, she bent double with the need to cough and gasped lungs full of air. Squinting into the dimness, she scanned the area, and realized she was upwind from the blaze. The smoke was thinner, the air easier to breath.

Now, if she could find her car.

She had parked on a side street, but which one. With the dense smoke, and people crowded along the sidewalks, watching the blaze, she couldn’t identify street corners. Time was running out.

Her firefighter would come back.

After saving her once, he wouldn’t leave her in the building alone. He would search for her, and she had no guarantee he wouldn’t contact police. She needed to get out of sight. Mingling with the crowd seemed her best option.

Crouching, she ran across the courthouse lawn toward the nearest group of spectators pushing against the barricades. Once she eased through the group, she realized someone might ask about the soot covering her, but so far, people were watching the flames shooting out the roof.

Anguished cries ripped through the crowd. She turned in time to watch flames shoot high in the dark sky, then quickly consume the clock tower on the roof. Moans sounded around her as a crackling roar sent black smoke spiraling upward.

Seconds later, the flaming tower collapsed.

Amid groans from people standing around her and the roaring blaze, Mia heard a helicopter. To the right of the billowing plumb of smoke, she spotted the craft hovering over the scene. The familiar logo of a news channel was visible and tension twisted her insides.

The enormity of the situation she had escaped hit a blow to her chest. Realization of how close she had come to dying made her feel faint. She leaned against the brick wall of the building behind her and forced in slow, smoke tinged breaths.

“Have a cup of water, hon, it’ll make you’ll feel better.” A woman carrying a tray of paper cups, stood at Mia’s side. “It’s sad seeing that courthouse burn. I got married there, you know.”

“Thank you.” Mia grabbed a cup of water as the woman shoved the tray toward her, and looked into kind brown eyes filled with disappointment and loss. “I-it’s so sad.”

Gulping the water, she silently admitted her reasons were different from this woman’s, but her words were sincere. Swallowed the refreshing liquid, she glanced back at the building. Ice clinked in her blood as she watched yellow suited firefighters moving in every direction. One firefighter came out the same door she had escaped from, and stopped. His head turned toward the crowd.

Feeling his gaze bore into the group, Mia swallowed a cough.

“Here, hon, have another cup.” The woman pressed another cup of water into Mia’s hands. “You look like you’ve been here awhile. You must be parched.” Reaching in a pocket of the apron around her waist, she pulled out a cloth napkin and offered it to Mia. “Use this to clean your face. The restaurant won’t miss it.”

Mia mumbled her thanks and wondered how she could get away from this warm-hearted woman, but like the answer to a prayer, someone in the crowd called the waitress, asking for water.

As the woman moved away, Mia looked toward the tall firefighter. He stood there, staring at the crowd, his head turning slowly as he checked each group. He was searching and she was his target.

How could she avoid him? Hiding behind the people in front of her, she dipped the napkin in the cup of water and scrubbed her face. When the water was gone, she pulled out the scrunchie holding her hair at the back of her neck, and fluffed the long strands to change her appearance. Moving to the other side of the crowd, she headed down a side street.

Where had she left her car? With early darkness of the March evening and the cloud of smoke, the streets all looked the same, defeating her rush to get away. Really, there was no need to panic. She could have been staring at the wrong firefighter, for all she knew. Between the eerie light from the blaze and spotlights from news cameras, she could face her own brother, dressed as a firefighter and not recognized him.

With chills chasing along her limbs, she moved faster, searching frantically for her black Honda Accord. She had taken the exit off Hwy 64 to drive into town, but she couldn’t remember how many different streets she had turned on after that.

Without her vehicle, she couldn’t escape.

“Going somewhere, little firebird?”

Mia gasped as the firefighter’s drawling voice sounded behind her. His hand touched her arm, sending ripples of awareness chasing along her nerves, quickly followed by guilt. Her thoughts should be about clearing Phil’s name, not how her body reacted to this man’s touch.

Turning to face him, intending to blurt any excuse to distract him so she could leave this town, she forced a clam tone. “Excuse me? Have we met?”

Any words she might have added, escaped her as she saw the firefighter without his goggles and hat. She forgot to breathe as his green eyes stared from a dark stained face. The heat of his gaze burned as intense as the fire behind them as his glance roamed her face. Even covered by soot, his firm jaw and chiseled lips were appealing.

Her firefighter was obviously a man to die for…

Wait
.

She had almost died for one man today. Trying to clear her brother’s name had proved more dangerous than she anticipated. Responding to this stranger, adding more complications to the situation would not be wise.

Ignoring the energy racing though her veins, she held the firefighter’s steady gaze. If she had met this man in a less questionable situation, she would have enjoyed his attention, but he suspected her of being an arsonist. And she had no proof she wasn’t.  She’d been in the wrong place at the worst possible time.

All she had gained from her efforts to clear her family name was the possibility of adding charges of arson to the offenses aimed at the Clark family. She had lost her integrity, risked her life and her career. For what? The risk of being thrown in jail and grilled by police?

Staring at this firefighter, who put his life on the line to save others everyday, made her realize she couldn’t look into her brother’s eyes and see the honor and dignity shining in this man’s gaze.

Why was that
?

Because Phil was a politician and they were famous for kissing babies and stealing their candy at the same time. Or did it go deeper? Phil came up short in comparison with the firefighter. This man’s willingness to protect people from the dangers of fire earned her respect, but it also made him her enemy.

Anger flared inside her. Leigh Anne Saddler’s claims to reporters had hurt more than Phil’s political career. Mia had staked her reputation on her belief in her brother and spurred her efforts to clear him. She wouldn’t back down now. But if this firefighter hadn’t saved her, things could have ended differently. She owed him her life.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Fireman,” Mia clutched a hand to her chest and fluttered her lashes as she looked up at him. “You scared me, jumping out of the dark like that. Did you put the fire out? Is that why you’re walking the streets?”

“I’m out here searching for a certain little firebird who is trying to escape.” His words dripped charm, but the look in his eyes said he was serious.

“Firebird?” Mia arched a brow and tried a puzzled expression. “Is that the name of a car? I can’t remember where I left my car. Would you help me look?”

The firefighter’s laugh barked loud in the chilly night air as he took her arm. “So you can run away again? I don’t think so. You’re coming with me.”

“Excuse me. I don’t go off with stranger men.” Mia tugged her arm.

His grip tightened. “My name is Jake Stone. I live and work in this town. Who are you?”

“Mia Clark.” She angled her chin high and fought to keep her feet stuck to the sidewalk as she stared in his eyes. “How do I know I can trust you?”

“You’re safe with me, Ms. Clark. Come quietly, or I’ll skip the friendly questions and turn you over to police.”

Desperate to get away, Mia tried to reason with him. “Why would you turn me in to police?” She waved a hand toward the billowing smoke a block behind them. “I came to check damage from the fire. What’s wrong with that?”

Mouth tilting at one corner, Jake Stone traced a line down her cheek and held his finger out for her to see the black stain. “You don’t get this much soot by standing on the sidelines at a fire scene.”

Resisting shivers caused by his touch, Mia tensed her body and glared. “I’ve been watching for a while. And you’re out of line, Mr. Fireman.” She gave another tug on her arm. “Is this how you pick-up girls in Courtney County, because I’m not interested?”

A snort of disgust was his only response he propelled her back down the street, toward the crowds watching the fire.

“I want to find my car and go home.” Mia dug her heels in the concrete and pulled back.

“Fine,” he glanced down as she stumbled. “But I want answers, first.”

“Who do you think you—”

“Hey Judge,” a man crossing the street in front of them smirked. “Too bad your courtroom burned.” Malicious laugher trailed after him as he disappeared in the dark.

“If he thinks destroying a courtroom will keep him out of jail if he breaks the law,” the man beside her snapped, tightening his grip on her arm, “he’d better not hold his breath.”

The man’s taunting words and Jake Stone’s response hit Mia up the side of the head. The facts came so fast her feet stuck to the sidewalk. Her blood chilled in the night air. Dread robbed her of breath as the blanket of smoke had done earlier.
This man was a judge
?

She’d been caught snooping around the courthouse by a judge.

“Judge?” She stared at Jake Stone as if he had suddenly grown an extra head. “Are you really a judge?”

“Rethinking your game plan, firebird?” He tugged on her arm and continued walking.

Marching her closer to…what?

Suddenly, the overwhelming odor of smoke and memory of being trapped in that closet filled her with panic. She staggered. Her chest tightened. She couldn’t breathe. The pungent odor of smoke filled her nostrils and robbed her of the will to breathe.

Hand to her throat, her limbs stiffened, offering enough resistance so Jake stopped. He swung around, leaning down to peer into her face. “This pretense won’t help you. I need answers, firebird.”

Mia fanned a hand in front of her face. “I-I'm...not acting. I smelled smoke. It all came back. I-I can’t breathe.”

Placing a gentle hand at the back of her neck, Jake eased her head down, and spoke in a calm tone, close to her ear. “Calm down. Take deep breaths.”

The warmth of his hand distracted her from thoughts of the dark closet, of burning alive. Tension eased. Her lungs filled with air. “I’m okay, now.”

She stood upright and took a couple steps, but head swimming, she slumped against the brick wall next to the sidewalk to keep from falling on her face.

Being this close to Jake Stone was enough to make her dizzy without memories of the danger she had escaped. Who was he? What was different about him that allowed him past her usual reserve?

“Keep breathing deep. You should feel better in a minute.”

Gulping a breath, she coughed. “All I can taste is smoke. How do you do fight fires all the time?”

“Air tank helps,” Jake shrugged. “You get used to it.”

“I’ll never forget that smell.” Mia closed her eyes, pressed against the wall, and suppressed a shiver. Or the sound of footsteps, following me.

“You had a close call. Try to forget about it. Focus on breathing.”

“Someone tried to kill me.” Mia chewed on her bottom lip as she looked at him, but the instant she heard the words aloud, she wished she hadn’t allowed them to escape. Lifting her chin, she watched his startled reaction. Surprise, then disbelief broke the stern composure he’d maintained to this point.

He glanced around as if looking for the guilty person and stepped close. “What are you talking about? You said it was memories of the fire that scared you.”

Mia flung out a hand. “I never want to smell smoke again, as long as I live.” She blinked moisture from her eyes, hating the moment of weakness. Hated admitting her life might have ended already, if it hadn’t been for this man. “It wasn’t just fear of the fire. I could have run out of the building when I smelled smoke. Why did you think I was still there?”