Love Inspired Suspense June 2015 - Box Set 2 of 2: Exit Strategy\Payback\Covert Justice (56 page)

TWENTY

W
hen Blake stepped aside, Heidi peered through the knob. No! The room on the other side of their prison gleamed with firelight. With the cement walls surrounding them, they would probably die of smoke inhalation before the flames came through the ceiling to claim their bodies. It was a very small comfort.

Heidi fought the tremors coursing through her. Proximity to open fire always triggered a panic attack.
Help me
, she prayed. She could not panic. Not now.

“Blake, get me up there,” she said.

Blake put his arms around her. “No. I'll do it,” he said.

“The hole isn't big enough and I won't be able to lift you up there,” she said. “I've got to do it.”

“But the fire! Heidi, the ceiling could crash in at any time. I don't know if I can let you—”

“We have to try,” she said. “I'll go through the ceiling and down into the other room and see if I can get the door open. You'll have to be ready to run with Maggie.”

The flames in the other room allowed light to seep into their prison from the hole in the ceiling and through the door. Not much light, but enough that she could see through his expressions the battle raging in Blake's mind.

“You have to let me do this, Blake.”

She saw the moment when he accepted it was the only way. He pulled her into a fierce embrace. One quick kiss. One whispered “Hurry.” Then she clambered onto his shoulders and into the tight space between the rafters.

The heat smacked her face and her body trembled. Every cell in her being wanted to escape the flames, but she forced herself to keep moving forward. The rafters had warmed, but weren't too hot to touch yet. She crawled, one hand on one rafter, one knee on another, and made her way past the cement walls. Once through, she sat on the rafter and kicked at the ceiling, over and over. Smoke had filled the attic space making each breath a commodity with a rapidly dwindling supply.

Finally, her foot broke through. “Yes!”

The heat engulfing her foot caused her to yank it back into the attic. Flames followed. Frantic, she went back to kicking the edges of the opening. Pieces fell to the floor below and more smoke billowed around her.

With one final heave, a huge piece of Sheetrock crashed. Heidi reached for the rafter with her hands, intending to use it to swing herself below. Her hands jerked back of their own accord as flames licked the freshly exposed fuel.

Father, help me
, she prayed again and again. She had to get down there. Into the flames. Or they were all dead. But jumping into that inferno would probably kill her. Images of Blake and Maggie filled her mind. She focused on the memories of their smiles and their laughter and their love. With one final prayer that God would help them move on, she jumped.

She landed hard, but managed to avoid catching on fire. If she could get them out...

“Heidi! Heidi! Are you okay?” Blake's calls helped her find the way to the barricaded door.

Katarina hadn't been playing around. Three four-by-four blocks fit snugly at various points along the doorframe. Four-by-four blocks that smoked as they threatened to burst into flame. She knocked them away, one by one.

Would flames engulf them the moment the door opened and gave the fire a fresh supply of oxygen?

“Blake, get Maggie. Hold her as low to the ground as you can. When I open the door, run straight ahead. I'll try to get to the door ahead of you.”

“Okay,” Blake said. “I'm ready.”

Heidi yanked the door open, then turned and ran for the door to the house. A wall of flame blocked it. She forced herself to run into it and threw the door open as Blake approached. He dove through and hit the porch, rolling Maggie and himself over and over on the ground. Heidi jumped to follow as a piece of ceiling crashed to the floor, burying her in its flames.

* * *

The pain woke her. Even before her eyes responded to her repeated command to open, the sounds and smells prepared her for what she would see. A hospital bed. An IV pole. An oxygen mask.

Panic fluttered on the edge of her mind.

Her eyes flew open and she tried to sit up.

“Hey,” Blake said. “Where do you think you're going?”

The panic dissipated. He was here. They'd made it out. She tried to smile, but her face didn't cooperate.

“You have a busted lip from where the ceiling collapsed, babe.”

Babe. Heidi didn't try to move again for a while. He'd called her babe. He was here. Alive. “Maggie?”

“Completely fine. Singed her eyebrows off, but no permanent damage.”

“Where is she? You should be with her. She's going to need—”

“Honey, she's in a bed asleep on the other side of that curtain.” He pointed behind his head. “And I know she'll need a lot of help processing what's happened. I'm going to rely on you to help me with that.”

Could she help? Maybe as a case study for how
not
to handle trauma. “I don't want her to be like me,” she said.

Blake pursed his lips. “I hope she's exactly like you. I hope she's tough and strong and courageous.”

“That's not what I meant. I don't want her to live afraid. Or angry.”

“She won't, honey. Not with you to help her understand and process everything. Sara came to talk to her yesterday. She thinks she'll make a quick and full recovery.”

“Sara's been here? What day is it?”

“Monday, um, no, Tuesday morning. A little after midnight. I've got a special FBI pass that says I can stay with you. The nurse isn't impressed.”

She'd been out twenty-four hours. How badly was she injured?

“Hey.” Blake leaned closer. “It's okay. You have three broken ribs and a concussion. They flew you out in a chopper. The biggest worry was the smoke inhalation, but you've been breathing on your own with no problems. You've got a few first-degree burns on your back and legs and arms. Your hands have some second-degree burns, but the doctor says they will heal nicely. You've woken up a few times, but my guess is you don't remember.”

No, she didn't.

“How did I get out?”

The last thing she remembered was the ceiling crashing and the heat.

He gulped and took a deep breath. “I got Maggie away and went back in after you.”

“You came after me?”

“Of course,” he said.

“Are you okay?”

“I'm fine. A few minor burns, smoke inhalation. No big deal.”

No big deal. This man had walked through fire for her. There was no bigger deal.

She wanted to keep looking at him, keep talking to him, keep convincing herself they'd made it out alive. But the longer she tried to stay awake, the worse she felt. This wretched combination of painkillers and pain was one she knew far too well. “What do they have me on?” She lifted the IV tubing.

“Morphine.”

She tried to find a way to turn off the flow.

“Hey!” Blake reached for her hand. “Stop it. You'll be in agony.”

“I need to be able to think.”

“Honey,” Blake said. “You need to be able to heal. There's no rush.”

Heidi wanted to argue with him. Something flirted around the edge of her memory, something she needed to do? Or something that was going to happen? It was there, she couldn't quite— Oh! “Katarina?”

“They caught her trying to catch a flight in Charlotte. She lawyered up, but Max says the evidence is overwhelming, especially with three eyewitnesses. And even the Kovacs will have a hard time finding a jury that will let off someone who tried to kill a little girl.”

“The anthrax?”

“Secured in some top-secret FBI facility. Our lines are being decontaminated as we speak, and I've been vaccinated and will be enjoying a sixty-day course of antibiotics to be sure I don't get it, since I did handle a bottle of the stuff. No one seems too worried.”

“So it's over?”

“It's over. Rest,” Blake said.

“Make them lower the dose,” she said as she fell back onto her pillow.

When she woke again, Blake sat in the same spot. The only light in the room came from an LED strip under a cabinet.

“You're still here.”

At her words, he stood and leaned toward her. The kiss he planted on her forehead couldn't have been more chaste. The effect on her was anything but. She wanted him to kiss her the way he had...how many nights ago?

The look on his face told her he wanted that, too. “I love you, Heidi Zimmerman.”

“I love you, too.”

He rested his cheek against her forehead for a second, then pulled back a few inches. His Adam's apple bobbed. “I don't know how this will all work out, but it doesn't matter anymore. I meant what I said before. I'll sell my shares and move to DC.”

“You don't have to—”

“All I need to know is that you're coming home to me. Maggie adores you, and she'll be far better off to have you in her life than she would be if she had to say goodbye because I'm too stubborn to pick up and move.”

Heidi couldn't stop the tears rolling down her cheeks. “Blake,” she said. “I don't want you to move to DC.”

Hurt and confusion etched his features and she hurried to explain.

“I want to stay here. I wasn't kidding about the Asheville office. I'm sure I can wrangle a transfer of some kind.”

“I don't know. Aren't you the Kovac family expert? Doesn't seem like you could do that from here. I don't want you to have to give up your job.”

“It will be fine,” she said. “I don't see it as giving anything up.”

He ran a finger across her cheek. “There is only one thing I want you to give up for me,” he said.

“What's that?”

“Your last name.”

“You like the name Heidi Harrison, do you?”

“No,” Blake said as he leaned in for a kiss. “I love the name Heidi Harrison.” His lips pressed against hers. “Don't you?”

“I do.”

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from SECURITY BREACH by Margaret Daley

Dear Reader,

I'm thrilled that you joined Heidi and Blake on their journey to find justice and love. I often find myself writing about God's sovereignty and wisdom, as well as His forgiveness and grace, probably because I frequently find myself struggling to rest in His plan for my life and I always need more grace!

His plan for this book was nothing I could have dreamed up on my own, and I have a pretty good imagination!
Covert Justice
is my first published novel and I wrote most of it during The Search for a Killer Voice contest the Love Inspired Suspense editors hosted in the spring of 2014.

I entered the contest even though I hadn't finished writing the book and didn't know exactly how it would end! As a busy mom of three young children, I had no idea how I would find the time to finish the story, but every time I made it into the next round of the contest God increased my time and my creativity. He always makes a way!

Covert Justice
is tangible evidence of God's wisdom, sovereignty, strength and power. I will never be able to see it without reflecting on how He held me and guided me through every step of the publication journey.

I'd love to hear your thoughts about Blake and Heidi's story. You can find me at
lynnhugginsblackburn.com
where you can sign up for my newsletter and receive an exclusive deleted scene from
Covert Justice
.

Grace and peace,

Lynn Huggins Blackburn

http://www.harlequin.com/harlequinexperience

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