Montana Fire (2 page)

After holding her in his arms, and feeling the tension in her body, this wedding seemed
to have taken a toll on her. He understood why. Between the men he worked with at
the police station and the firehouse, together with Jamie’s best friend, Max had learned
a lot about her. After years of struggling with his own demons, he’d finally gotten
closure over the death of his family. Jamie seemed to be at the stage where he’d been
before the arsonist’s capture. Max not only believed he could help her—he wanted to
help her.

When Jamie was speaking with Amber earlier, he’d caught the spark of life inside her,
and a sudden urge to put a smile back on her pretty face shot through him. But Jamie
was skittish. He had to be careful. He hoped he had the skill to make things better.

*     *     *

Four blocks from the free clinic, Jamie gathered the food sacks and a cardboard coffee
holder from the passenger side seat. As she slid out of her car, a cold wind blasted
her face.
Brr
. March in Montana was usually warmer—as in ten to fifteen degrees warmer.
Stupid weather
.

Jonathan, a homeless man she saw often, was slumped on the steps that led up to the
abandoned warehouse close to where she worked. Jamie couldn’t imagine having to live
outside. Even though both he and his occasional friend, Larry, had told her they weren’t
the indoor type, they couldn’t be happy about winter sneaking back in.

As Jamie drew near, Jonathan sat up straighter. “Hello, Miss Jamie.”

She scanned his face, not liking his color or the way he was rubbing his leg. During
a rare moment, Jonathan had confided in her that he’d served in the war and had a
piece of shrapnel in his calf. She’d offered to take him to the VA hospital to have
it checked out, but he refused to go. Said doctors freaked him out.

She lifted one of the white bags. “Stopped by for an early lunch on my way to work.”
He’d told her it made him feel like a charity case if she went just for him, so she
always showed him her bag, too. She handed him his meal, along with one of the hot
drinks. “For you.”

Jonathan grinned, and for a moment, he looked to be on the good side of sixty. His
teeth might be even, but they were heavily stained as if he’d spent his life smoking
and drinking coffee. Years ago, he might have been a handsome man, but exposure and
poor nutrition had dulled his hair and made his beard scruffy. He once told Jamie
that his daughter was her age, but that they hadn’t spoken in years. She wondered
if his daughter knew how lucky she was to even have a dad.

He guzzled the drink. “You’re a true angel.”

“Where’s Larry?” Jamie always brought a meal for him, too.

“You know him. He comes and goes. I’m sure he’ll stop by at some point today.”

Jamie nodded. “Larry always said Montana’s too damned cold, and he’d be right today.
Maybe he’s on his way to Florida.”

Jonathan’s lips tilted upward. “Talks about going all the time. That’s his dream.”

What’s your dream, old man?
She wouldn’t ask. Privacy was respected in this part of town.

He glanced up and grinned. “Knock, knock.”

She loved when he told her his corny jokes. When her dad had been alive, he used to
do the same. “Who’s there?”

He leaned forward. “Cows go.”

“Cows go, who?”

“No, cows go moo!”

She laughed. It wasn’t really funny, but the delight in his eyes made her feel warm
inside. “Good one.”

He never expected her to stay more than a minute or two, but they seemed to connect
when she stopped by. Because she’d never mentioned how Benny had gone crazy and murdered
some of her hospice patients, Jonathan was one of the few who didn’t look at her with
pity.

His brows rose. “I got more.” His glance shot off to the side, and a quick splash
of worry replaced his joy.

“I wish I could stay, but I don’t want to be late to work.” She bent over and set
down the other coffee and bag that contained a ham and cheese croissant. “In case
Larry comes.”

A strong gust of wind from behind forced her to take a step forward. When Jonathan
reached up to steady her, the strength in his fingers surprised her. She straightened
and smoothed out her coat, a bit embarrassed at him helping her. “Thanks.”

“Take care, missy, and thanks for this.” He raised his cup then nodded to the extra
food.

You, too,
old man
. With a bit more pep in her step, she walked the remaining three blocks to the free
clinic where she worked as a nurse, and ducked into the warm interior. Her good friend
and fellow nurse, Sasha Langley, breezed out of the hall door into the patient waiting
area. “Cold, huh?”

Jamie’s nose must be red. “What’s up with this weather? It was almost sixty degrees
yesterday.”

“I know, right?”

Sasha called a Mr. Talbot to the back, and Jamie followed them through the doorway
and down the hall. Sasha took her patient into Exam Room 3, while Jamie continued
on to the break room, where she stored her gear and spread out her early lunch.

Once she finished eating, she went to work, checking charts and handling more patients.
Person after person piled into the clinic and the day seemed to fly by. This was one
reason she loved this job. It kept her mind off the betrayal, and how stupid she’d
been not to see the signs of Benny spinning out of control.

Jamie’s last patient was an adorable little girl with a mean sore throat. Katie had
been in several times over recent months. Poor thing. Her immune system just couldn’t
keep up. A few times, Jamie caught her sucking on her toys, and suggested to Katie’s
mom that part of her daughter’s problem might be her chewing on unclean items. Her
mom explained that they always stopped at a particular fast food place before they
came here so that Katie could collect the free movie toys. Jamie never mentioned it
again.

Once she sent the family on her way, she headed to the front to put the file away.

Jamie’s boss, Dr. Yolanda Withers, stepped next to her at the desk. “Thanks for locking
up tonight.”

Most of the time, Yolanda closed, but she’d asked Jamie to do it this evening because
Yolanda had been fighting a migraine all day. “No problem. Put a heating pad on your
face and rest.”

Yolanda gave her a weak smile. “I plan to.” Yolanda lifted the lanyard from around
her neck, unhooked the key, and handed it to her. “I guess you’ll be needing this.
See you tomorrow.”

“Take care.”

The last of the stragglers left the clinic, and at nine on the dot, the rest of the
staff departed. Before Jamie could leave, she shut down the office computers then
made sure the Lab had picked up all the samples for testing. Fatigue had victoriously
climbed all the way up her body, and she couldn’t wait to collapse on her sofa with
a glass of wine and watch some reruns before hitting the hay. Her best friend Amber’s
wedding this past weekend hadn’t given Jamie a chance to rest.

Max Gruden’s words of advice were still swirling in her head. The astute observations
he’d made after dinner had unsettled her at the time, but the more she thought about
them, the more she realized he was right. Only she could take back her life.

Jamie slipped on her coat and grabbed her purse. “Time to go.”

She set the clinic’s alarm, doused the overhead lights, and locked the door. Yolanda
had asked the staff to park next to the vacant warehouse so the patients could have
the good spaces in front of the clinic. If only the city would install a few more
streetlights in this part of town, walking in the dark wouldn’t be such an issue.

While the temperature was above freezing, it was still damned cold. Jamie drew her
coat close, and hugged her purse to her side. Keeping her head down, she rushed toward
her car.

She’d walked about fifty feet when slow moving headlights coming toward her drew her
attention. Jamie might not have noticed had they not pulled to the side, stopped for
maybe ten seconds then started toward her again. Were they looking for an open store
at this hour? The street was all but deserted, and the shop windows were dark. This
part of town wasn’t the best place to be at night. Anxiety sped through her veins.

A couple hundred feet ahead of her, the van drove into the middle of the road, angled
toward her, and stopped. With the lights blinding her, Jamie squinted and looked away.
The driver and passenger side van doors squeaked opened and, seconds later, slammed
shut. Footsteps hit the hard pavement with thuds. Or was that her heart pounding hard
against her ribs?

Oh, shit. Her sixth sense told her something was about to go down, and she was caught
in the middle. Jamie swiveled her head right, then left, but detected no one else
nearby.

Act casual
. Jamie spun around to retrace her steps, pretending she’d forgotten something inside
the safety of the clinic.

“Hey you. Stop!” The man then shouted something else, but she couldn’t make out the
words.

Her pulse escalated.
Run!
Sprinting toward the clinic, she pumped her arms, her purse beating against her side.
Oh, God. Footsteps sounded behind her.

Her legs weakened as she drew near the clinic door. If she thought screaming would
help, she would have yelled her lungs out. When Jamie finally reached the front, she
grabbed the door handle, and tugged to open it. Locked. Fuck. Heart racing, she unzipped
her purse with shaking fingers, and fumbled for the elusive key. Damn it. She should
have hooked it on her own keychain.

“Come on, come on.”

She glanced down the street. Two men, wearing baseball caps tugged low over their
eyes, closed in on her. Her stomach churned. One continued in her direction, while
the other slid behind the building next to the clinic. What the hell was going on?

Hurry
. Cold metal contacted her now warm skin. She grabbed the key and shoved it into the
lock, but it snagged. “Shit.”

Her eyes teared from the cold, making it next to impossible to see what she was doing.
Jamie opened her mouth to gulp in air and pushed the key in harder. She wiggled the
metal back and forth. On the third try, it finally went in. Her heart lurched. She
turned the lock, yanked open the door, and rushed inside. She took one step when her
addled brain clicked into gear.

Lock the damn door. Leave the silent alarm on.

If she didn’t punch in the code within thirty seconds, the security company would
send help. After Jamie flicked the deadbolt closed, she ran toward the hallway door,
the glowing Exit sign providing the needed light. A tight band squeezed her chest,
making it damned hard to breathe, let alone to think.

Jamie was halfway down the hall, when shouts sounded from the front, and the door
rattled.
This can’t be happening.
To hell with the security firm. From the side pocket of her purse she extracted her
phone. A few quick swipes brought up the keypad, and she pressed 911.

Jamie had to find someplace to hide. She pushed open Exam Room 4, locked the door,
and plastered her back against the wall, her heart banging against her ribs. She didn’t
dare turn on the lights for fear they’d find her.

The phone seemed to take forever to ring. “911. What is the nature of your emergency?”

Finally
. Jamie strained to hear the intruders, but she couldn’t, not over the pounding in
her ears. “I’m at the free clinic on First Street,” she whispered. “Two men got out
of a dark van, and are now trying to break into the clinic.” Her tongue stuck to her
dry mouth.

The woman told her to stay calm, that officers were on the way, and to remain on the
line.

Stay calm? Really? “I’ll try.”

Jamie slumped back against the wall, her body shaking. Nothing made sense. Why were
they chasing her if they planned to break into the clinic? Why not wait until she
was gone before trying to steal something? Yolanda had told her that after a gang
had robbed them of drugs last year, she’d called the city and insisted they put in
an alarm. They had. A lot of good it was doing Jamie now. Hopefully, the cameras would
catch these guys in action.

“Ma’am?” The voice on the other end broke through her thoughts.

Jamie swallowed to wet her mouth. “Yes?”

“Where are you?”

She needed a moment for the words to sink in. “In the clinic.” Hadn’t she said that?

“I have two officers at the front door. They need you to open up.”

Relief poured through her, but her legs had turned to rubber. She straightened and
groped for the knob in the dark. After twisting it open, Jamie moved as quickly down
the hallway as her body would allow. She drew open the heavy wooden door that led
to the waiting room, and hurried to the entrance.

Red, blue, and white flashing lights spun around the room, creating a kaleidoscope
of color. Thank God, help was here.

Jamie unlocked the door and opened it. Standing in front of her was Thad Dalton, another
of her friend’s fiancés, and someone else she’d seen at this weekend’s wedding.

“Jamie?” Thad ran his hands down her arms. “Are you okay?” The second man, who Thad
introduced as Trent Lawson, turned on the overhead lights.

“Yes.”

Thad led her over to the chairs and had her sit down. “Tell me everything.”

In starts and stops, she explained about locking up then spotting the van that had
stopped in the middle of the street. Questions about why this was happening kept bombarding
her. Hadn’t she been through enough?

“Did you get a look at their faces to see if you knew them?” Trent asked.

“No. I’m sorry. They wore baseball caps and kept their heads down.”

Thad leaned forward. “Can you remember if they were close enough to see you lock up?”

She racked her brain, but no memory surfaced. “I don’t think so, but maybe.”

“Is the place alarmed?” Trent asked. “We spotted the cameras. That should help us
catch these men.”