On Fire

He pulled up short and turned on her.

She watched him clench his teeth, then relax, saw the minute beads of perspiration dotting his upper lip. A wisp of desire zinged through her, throwing her thoughts into a jumble. But were they her thoughts? Or his?

The desk offered a physical barrier between them, but she couldn’t shut out his mental chatter. She could feel his determination churning like an unrelenting sea against the rocks. Or was it desperation?

“You think I set those fires, don’t you?”

His gaze locked on to hers, warning, searching, penetrating. Her heart skipped a beat, and the air in the room thickened.

“You’re free to leave, Dr. Dawson, but there’ll be more questions, and a search warrant.”

Fear tickled along her spine. She raised her chin in defiance. “You can search until they hand out ice picks in hell. It won’t change a thing. I’m no arsonist.”

“Then you don’t have anything to worry about, do you? But if you’re lying, I won’t stop until I put you away.”

She could only stare at him from across the desk, feeling his certainty about her guilt. The sensation was crushing, powerful. Her emotions imploded.

“I’ll call my attorney.” She straightened and walked to the door with as much moxie as she could manage.

Detective Brandt showed up with a glass of water and a frown on his face.

She sidestepped him and moved into the hall, taking a couple of strides, but the men’s conversation radiated through the open doorway.

“What did you say to her, Decker?”

“Nothing really. She’s in a hurry, her ten o’clock is waiting.”

Savannah stopped short. Fear laced through her veins, but turned to curiosity. She hadn’t told him about her ten o’clock patient. Could the psychic connection she’d felt between them really work both ways?

She took off at a brisk walk, anxious to get as far away from Kade Decker as possible. As far away as physical movement would allow, but in her heart she knew she’d see him again…in her nightmare, chasing through the flames after her.

“I PRESSED HER about the fires.”

“And?”

“And, nothing.” Kade edged out into the corridor, hoping to catch another look at her. His nightie-clad fire angel was even hotter in the flesh, but she was long gone, a fact that intensified the hollow sensation in his chest.

He stepped back into the room, irritated with himself for going primal in the first place.

“Don’t worry. I didn’t cross your departmental line, but I’d bet she lawyers up.”

“Thanks. You’ve turned her into a hostile. Makes my job harder.”

“Take it easy. I like her for this, and if she’s our firebug, she’s just getting warmed up. It’s a compulsion that won’t be put out until she’s caught. Let’s get a search warrant. There’s enough probable cause, with the videos and her lack of a reasonable explanation for showing up on scene. I’d also like a copy of her juvenile file. I’ve got a hunch we’ll find something. This compulsion starts early.”

“You’re sniffing in the wrong direction. Her juvie file is clean. Checked it myself.” Nick shrugged his shoulders.

Kade studied his friend, and his hard-line attitude softened a bit. “It would be a shame to lock up a woman like that. She’s intelligent, easy on the eyes, has a sense of humor.” He paused. All attributes he admired in a woman, but a combination he’d yet to find in his thirty-four years of life.

“On that happy summation—” Nick smacked his shoulder “—I’ve gotta go. There’s a pile of reports on my desk that have to be processed, today, or the chief is going to blow a gasket. How about we get together tonight for a drink? We can ruminate over the reasons why neither one of us is holding the girl of our dreams.”

“I’d like that, but I know why I’m not holding mine.” He sobered. “Besides, I’m still helping my mom get settled in her new apartment.”

“Rain check then?”

“Yeah.” He stared after Nick and sank into the chair trying to make sense of the last half hour.

He’d felt a physical jolt when he’d touched Savannah Dawson’s hand, like making contact with a bare wire and having electricity burn through his body to the ground.

It hadn’t been an unpleasant sensation, but he wasn’t sure what it was.

And then there were her eyes—the eyes he’d somehow imagined were ice-blue were brown. The whole meeting was strange, but stranger still was the feeling of familiarity, as if he somehow knew her.

“Bunk.” He stood up, shaking off all the mumbo jumbo in his brain. He’d never seen her in his life. Besides, people were nothing but a compilation of facts. Nothing mystical, unworldly or unobtainable. He’d have the goods on Ms. Dawson. All of them. And when he did, she’d go down easy.

He stepped into the hallway, moving back to the watch room where he’d left his briefcase and cane. But before he reached the door, pain knifed into him, stealing his breath.

Sucking up against the wall for support, he waited for the pain to subside.

Taking a couple of deep breaths, he pushed away, gritted his teeth and put one foot in front of the other. He made it into the tiny cubicle, cursing the Chicago arsonist who’d destroyed his body and his life.

Chapter Two

Kade’s fire pager went off in the dark. A series of repetitive beeps signaled an alert and forced him awake in an instant.

He bolted out of bed, looking for his boots, bunker pants and turnout coat, but they weren’t there.

Orienting himself in the room, he brushed his face with his hands as reality set in. You could take the fireman out of the station, but instinct would always be a part of him, embedded in his DNA.

A range of emergency tones sounded, right behind the beeps.

Kade stilled, waiting for the information to come over the airwaves.

“Engine Company 44, Ladder company 10, Medical unit 6, Incident Commander Fisk. Please respond to an apartment fire, 816 Forrest Grove Road.”

Kade dressed, grabbed his cell phone and dialed 911.

“Montgomery 911, what’s your emergency?”

“Fire Investigator Decker, I’ll be responding to the apartment fire. Can you repeat the location?”

“Copy that. Eight-One-Six Forrest Grove Road.”

Forrest Grove…

Terror sliced into his comprehension.

He closed the phone, adrenaline pumping in his veins, sending his heart rate through the roof.