Igniting the Flame (Firebrand Series) (15 page)
Read Igniting the Flame (Firebrand Series) Online
Authors: Sandra Robbins
Tags: #Mystery, #Suspense, #Inspirational Romance, #Romance
She waved her hand in dismissal. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve lived here all my life, and there aren’t too many people worth knowing.” Her gaze raked him from head to toe. “Present company excluded.”
Her sincere tone made him smile. What would it hurt if he enjoyed some female company for a change? At least he’d have someone to talk to for a few hours. “Then maybe it’s time we got to know each other better.”
“What do you have in mind?”
He studied her for a moment—long blonde hair pulled into a pony tail, blue eyes that reminded him of summer days, and a body that could easily grace a fashion runway in New York. Getting to know Eve might help keep him from thinking about Lainey tonight.
“What time do you get off work?”
She glanced at the clock. “Actually I was supposed to get off at twelve. I told the boss I’d wait until he had his smoke break before I left.”
He leaned forward. “I hear they have a new band in the lounge over at the hotel. How would you like to mingle with the ski crowd for a while?”
Her eyes lit up. “That sounds great. Let me get my coat and clock out.” She rose from her chair and started to walk away. With a shake of her head she stopped and came back to the table. She pulled her order book from her pocket and tore off the top copy. “I forgot to give you your check. You can pay me at the cash register when I come back.” She cocked an eyebrow at him and leaned over to pick up his coffee cup. She was so close he could feel her breath on the side of his face. “I might even let you have your meal free if the boss isn’t looking. I’m just full of surprises.”
Ash didn’t respond as she walked away, but he watched as she sauntered across the dining room. She stopped at the swinging door into the kitchen and waved. When the door closed behind her, he scanned the room once more. Nothing had changed. He was still the only customer. It had been a quiet night at the diner. He stood, shrugged on his overcoat, and picked up the ticket Eve had laid face down on the table.
He turned it over and inhaled quickly. His fingers tightened on the paper, and he cast a wild-eyed glance to the kitchen door and back to the ticket. The sheet contained no itemized food order. Instead a message written in a scrawling hand filled the page. His heart slammed against the wall of his chest at the words. Lainey is in trouble. Call her right away.
He crumpled the note and stuck it in his pocket. What a fool he was. The diner was quiet, all right. Too quiet, and he should have noticed. He’d been played by a blue-eyed pro in a tight T- shirt. He only hoped Reese and Colt never found out how he’d let his guard down.
But he couldn’t worry about that now. He had to find Eve. She had some explaining to do, and he intended to get the answers. He slipped out of his overcoat and hung it on the back of a chair. Keeping his hand on his holstered gun, he stealthily crossed the dining room but stopped before approaching the kitchen door. He stood still and listened for movement. Nothing.
Eve said the cook and the waitress had gone outside for a smoke. But in the weeks he’d been coming here, he’d never seen either one take a smoke break. And there was always the sound of a country music radio station mingling with the rattle of pots and pans in the kitchen.
Tonight no sounds at all came from the kitchen. Something was wrong here. He should have been suspicious from the beginning, but he’d fallen for the oldest trick in the book. Eve had held out her apple, and he’d taken a big bite. Now it was payback time.
He needed to proceed with caution. There was no telling what he might find in the kitchen. He glanced out the window and noticed the snow was falling harder. Nobody would stand outside and smoke in this weather, which left him dreading the answer to the questions on his mind. Where was Eve? And where were the owner and the shy young girl who’d waited on him when he first sat down at the back table? And the most important one of all—what waited for him behind the closed kitchen door?
Ash took a deep breath and pulled out the Sig.
Author Note
Since the beginning of the War in Iraq, media news reports have been filled with exploits of professional security providers and paid mercenaries who provide services to government agencies. As the American public has become more educated about the individuals who provide added assistance to the military, interest has grown in knowing more about the individuals who choose to live such a life of danger. This series provides a glimpse into the lives of three men who served their country by planning and executing covert missions and how their exploits put themselves and those they loved in danger.
Thank You To My Readers
Thank you so much for reading
Igniting the Flame
, the novella that sets the stage for the three books in my Firebrand Series. I wrote this story to let you see the struggles that arise when two people who love each other are faced with choices that are so much about who they are that they can’t see the needs of the person they love. I hope you enjoy this beginning and will follow Ash and Lainey’s story in the first book of my Firebrand Series.
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Igniting the Flame
is a novella that introduces the members of the Firebrand Brotherhood and the love story of Ash DeHan, one of its members, and Lainey Simpson. Their story will continue in Book 1 of the Firebrand Series.
Sandra Robbins Published Books
If you want to read some of my other romantic suspense books, here are some suggestions:
Ocracoke Series
Book 1, Dangerous Reunion; Book 2 Shattered Identity; and Book 3 Fatal Disclosure
Cold Case Files
Book 1 Dangerous Waters; Book 2 Yuletide Jeopardy; and Book 3 Trail of Secrets
Bounty Hunters Series
Book 1 Fugitive Trackdown, Book 2 Fugitive at Large, and Book 3 Yuletide Fugitive Threat
Standalones
Final Warning, Mountain Peril, and Yuletide Defender.
Igniting the Flame
Copyright 2016by Sandra Robbins
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