Montana Fire (18 page)

M
ax clasped Jamie’s hands, and the warmth of his touch shot straight to her heart.

“For starters, the clinic will most likely be closed for a few days. Trent and his
men need to do some cleanup, as well as finish processing the scene.”

Jamie was having a hard time understanding why this tragedy had happened in the first
place if no drugs had been taken. “Will the staff be notified?” she asked, her voice
shaky at best. “I can’t imagine coming to work only to be met by police cars and unanswered
questions.”

“Trent said he’d contact Dr. McDermott, who’s supposed to be back at work tomorrow.
He’s hoping the doctor will help him make the calls. The terrible news might be better
coming from someone they know.”

“It would.” She squeezed his hand and looked up at him. “I want to do something for
Yolanda’s family.”

Pain crossed Max’s face. “That’s nice of you. Does she have children?”

“Not that I know of. She’s divorced.”

“I’m sure her family will appreciate anything you decide, but until we know who was
responsible and what they want, I don’t want you to be alone with her family. I can’t
guarantee you’ll be safe.”

“I don’t want to be alone either. I’ll invite Sasha over here, or else go to her house.”

Max let go of her hand, picked up his coffee, and brought the mug to his lips as if
he needed a moment to figure out how to respond. “I was thinking more along the lines
of you staying with me. You can come to the firehouse during the day. That way, I
can make sure nothing will happen to you.”

“I appreciate the offer, but is that really necessary?” She huffed out a breath, sorting
through her options. “I guess you can’t know what these killers will do next. What
about Becky? Her man could be involved somehow.”

Max nodded. “I’ll see what Trent can do about offering her protection. If she’s at
the hospital, and stays with a friend, she should be safe. Trent might suggest she
leave town.”

How terrible. “Just so you know, Zoey was at her office in the hospital when one of
her clients nearly killed her.”

Max looked off to the side. His thoughts were probably as jumbled as hers. “Christ.
I wish I had the answers. It’s driving all of us crazy.” He told her about the men
having LED lights under their visor caps, making identification impossible.

“Did one of the men limp? He couldn’t have hidden that.”

Max’s jaw hardened. “You saw someone who limped?”

She explained about one of the men who ran after her. “I told Trent.”

“I’ll follow up with him.” Max set down his coffee. “Look. I understand that you want
to be with your friends tomorrow. Hell, I’ll invite them all to the station if you
want, but I won’t let you out of my sight.”

She appreciated he cared about her. “What about Sasha, Layla, Nathan, Hannah, Donna?
Could they be targets, too?”

He pulled out his phone. “I’ll suggest to Trent that he ask them to go someplace safe.
I know that RHPD doesn’t have the resources to protect all of them.”

This was more depressing by the minute. “What is to prevent these from coming to my
house tonight?”

“It won’t matter. You’ll be with me. Go pack a bag. While you’re doing that, I’ll
call Trent and see what he can do about protecting the others.”

The independent side of her wanted to say she’d be fine, but her intelligent half
said she was way out of her league. “Thank you. I would feel safer being with you.”

*     *     *

Jamie woke the next morning to an empty bed. She was in Max’s bedroom. Because she’d
barely slept, her brain was still a bit groggy. Adding insult to injury, she had a
headache. Sleep had been fleeting because she’d kept replaying that first night at
the clinic when the men had chased her. As hard as she tried to jog her memory, no
other details surfaced. She desperately wanted to put a reason behind everything.

Max was puttering around in either the living room or kitchen. It was Saturday morning,
but she bet he’d go into work. Crimes needed to be solved. Poor Max. She bet he didn’t
get much sleep either. Every time she rolled over, she bumped into him and woke him
up. He’d been so sweet, never complaining. He’d kiss her, and then tell her to go
back to sleep, that no one was going to get past him.

Frustrated and deeply sad by the two senseless murders, Jamie sat up. When the pain
in her head lessened, she stood. Whoa. Her world spun. She sat back down and grabbed
hold of the blanket. She inhaled deeply to get the blood flowing again.

She couldn’t stay in bed. If Max went into work, she’d have to go in with him. He
said he wouldn’t let her out of his sight. That meant she needed to get dressed. Jamie
eased out of bed and stood for moment to make sure she wouldn’t falter. When she was
confident she was steady, she got readt. No telling how cold the men kept the fire
station, which meant layering was her best option.

Once she washed up, she headed to the kitchen. The aroma of coffee filled the air.
Max stood at the sink. His beard growth was substantial, and his eyes were bloodshot,
proving she’d kept him up all night.

“Good morning,” she said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.

“Is it?” His normally even temper seemed to have vanished.

She rushed to his side. “I’m sorry I tossed and turned. I know you didn’t get much
sleep.”

His face softened. “Oh, honey. My restlessness had nothing to do with you. I swear
I kept hearing sounds outside.”

She lightly punched him. “Way to calm me down. I’m devastated over Yolanda’s death,
and I’m petrified that I might be next. You really think they’d find me here?”

Max yanked her to his chest. “Shh. Nothing is going to happen to you. I promise.”

He was too wonderful. She didn’t even want to think about why he had such a strong
protective streak. He still might feel guilty about his wife’s death.

She lifted up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”

She then stepped over to the counter and picked up the lone coffee cup. Max had his
in his hand.

He nodded as if he understood this was equally hard for her. “I’m going to take a
shower, and then we can hit a drive-through for some breakfast.”

“I’d like that.” She sipped her coffee. She wasn’t sure how long he wanted her to
stay with him. Was last night it? Or would she be here until this case was solved?

“You want me to pack my things?” She held her breath, hoping he said no.

“It’ll be safer if you stay here until we figure out what’s going on.” With that,
he went back toward the bedroom.

That made her feel better. Max was so much more experienced than she was.

He rushed down the hallway, and Jamie took a moment to look around. Last night, she’d
been too upset to notice much. His kitchen wasn’t any bigger than hers, but it was
a lot neater. Maybe it was because he didn’t fix many meals in there.

The shower turned on, and Jamie wandered back into the living room. She expected to
see some pictures of his wife and child, but there weren’t any. What a shame if his
photos had burned in the fire.

Not wanting him to think she was snooping, she plopped down on the sofa. His place
wasn’t overly big, but there was enough room to enjoy a movie and have friends over.
She liked that the furniture wasn’t the typical black-leather-bachelor style stuff.
The colors were muted and serene, almost as if a former girlfriend or sister had chosen
the furniture. Jamie didn’t see Max the type to take the time to pick out pieces that
matched. He was too much of a guy. No artwork was on the walls either, which she found
curious. Why did only some parts of the house look like a decorator had a hand?

The water stopped less than five minutes later, and she cut off her musings. He hadn’t
been kidding when he said he’d be quick. Two minutes later, Max emerged with wet hair,
looking like he’d come from a photo shoot. In the short time he’d been gone, he’d
managed to shave. Max had on a black button-down shirt, dark jeans, and cowboy boots.
The man certainly wore clothes well.

“Ready?” he said.

Jamie jumped up. “Yes.”

She slipped on her coat that she’d tossed on the chair last night, and slung her purse
over her shoulder. Once he locked up, she trudged behind him to his car. The wind
was whipping hard through the trees, but the cold wasn’t affecting her like it normally
did. She was too numb to feel the biting chill. It was as if she was a drone, moving
in whatever direction Max told her to.

She knew the symptoms. She could feel herself sliding into the abyss of despair. Between
Jonathan’s injury, being chased by two bad men, having her friend scared out of her
wits because of a stalker, and then two people she cared about be murdered, Jamie
was losing the battle to keep in control.

She forced herself to remember the last time her anger had grabbed hold. That had
been a good feeling. It had meant she was alive. Damn, but she couldn’t find that
emotion. Fear and confusion were now her constant companion. But she couldn’t give
up. She had to claw her way to the surface, one breath at a time.

“Jamie? Get in, please.”

Max had opened the door, and yet, she hadn’t realized he’d even touched the handle.
Not being aware of her surroundings could be her downfall. She had to keep focused.
“Sorry.”

Not that she had any intention of even trying to solve Yolanda’s murder, but if she
could help in some small way, she wanted to try. Max climbed in the car and started
the engine. As he pulled away, she took the time to study his house. It appeared to
be situated on a couple of acres backed up against a forest. The one-story, wood-framed
house had a wide front porch, but there were no chairs to make it look cozy. The grass
was winter brown, but the evergreens along both sides gave the place life.

Once he turned onto the main road, his gaze darted between the side view and rearview
mirrors. While she understood he was only trying to protect them, it wasn’t helping
to calm her stomach.

As promised, Max stopped at the fast food place for some breakfast, and he insisted
they dine inside. Jamie tried to eat everything, but her stomach wasn’t in the mood.
Fortunately, Max didn’t bug her about her lack of appetite. It was if he’d been in
her shoes before.

Once they arrived at the station, the hustle and bustle of the place helped settle
her wild thoughts. The men’s laughter sounded good to her ears. They were joking with
each other as they cleaned their truck, seemingly oblivious to what had happened at
the clinic last night.

“Do you want to sit in the break room, or at a desk next to my office?” Max asked.

The men might feel self-conscious talking if she were there. “Near you.”

“Come this way.” With his hand on the small of her back, he led her toward the rear
of the building.

Her worry eased knowing so many men were around to keep them safe. When they stepped
through a door, silence surrounded them. A glassed-in room lined the back wall with
two desks in front. One had a ton of paper on it, the other sat empty.

Max nodded toward the empty desk. “Make yourself at home. This was my old desk, but
Brandon Caulfield will be arriving next Monday.”

She’d forgotten about the interview. “Rich must have liked him.”

“He did.”

Jamie sat in Max’s former chair. It was too large for her, but she enjoyed that it
swiveled and rocked.

He slid a hip on the edge of the desk. From his relaxed posture, it was as if he wanted
to talk about something other than what had transpired last night. “Since you asked
about the new hire, I thought you’d like to know that Brandon played pro ball for
one season before he blew out his knee.”

Jamie wanted to lose herself in the story—anything to forget why she was there. “I
can’t imagine working that hard all through school, only to have your hopes dashed
in one second.” Amber told her that Max had taken a bullet to his leg when he’d been
a cop, and yet he hadn’t let his injury stop him from pursuing his second career.
She didn’t know what a football injury had to do with being a fire inspector, but
she was happy Max was willing to share. “What happened then?”

“After Brandon rehabilitated his knee, he quit the team. Decided to take a different
career path—that of being a firefighter. Said his dad had been one, as well as had
his father before him, so he wanted to join the ranks. It was in his blood.”

“He sounds perfect. I bet you’ll be glad for the help.” When she changed jobs from
being a hospice nurse to working in the clinic, there had been an adjustment. Max
was probably going through the same thing.

“You can’t imagine.” His cell rang, and he stiffened. Max eased off his old desk.
“Gruden.”

He nodded then walked into his office where she couldn’t hear the conversation.

“Damn.”

Chapter Fifteen