Mindset (21 page)

He ran to her and grabbed the brick out of her hands and smashed the lock open on the first try.  By then the others had caught up with him and the firefighters were arriving on the scene.  The fire was out of control and had already begun licking at the right corner of the door.  The metal of the lock was hot to the touch, but he never felt it as he threw open the door and started inside the building, only to stop short when he saw the women collapsed on the floor near the entrance.

Josh and Jake were right behind him as he lifted Callie into his arms and carried her outside.  “Get Eva!  Hurry, it’s going to come down any minute!”

“I’ve got her!” yelled Josh.  “Jake, take care of Trish.”

Josh carried Eva out and joined Cade at a safe distance as the firemen took over and began to extinguish the fire.  He hadn’t even finished setting her down when the roof collapsed.  Both men were beside themselves as they tried to revive the women, who were not responding.

“Are they breathing?”  Jake yelled.

Cade was frantically trying to find the answer to that all-important question when the paramedics arrived at the scene.  Callie was breathing, but in very shallow gasps.  Josh had already begun CPR on Eva.

The paramedics took over and put Callie on oxygen immediately.  Eva had just begun to start coughing when the medical personnel reached Josh’s side and she was hooked up to oxygen as well.  Josh was still holding her in his arms when she started to regain consciousness.  “Callie?”

“She’s okay, sweetheart.  She’s waking up now, just like you.  Rest easy.”  She closed her eyes and leaned back against him, and he held on to her for dear life, kissing her forehead.

As both women were taken to the emergency room by ambulance with Cade and Josh following closely in their own vehicle, Jake stayed behind with Trish to sort everything out and talk to the firefighters.

“I don’t know how the fire started.  I was inside the main building.  I went outside to check on Callie and Eva and bring them some bottled water.  When I opened the back door, I saw the fire and I heard them banging on the door from the inside.  When I ran to the shed to open the door, I found the padlock closed.  I was still trying to break the lock when Cade came and was able to get it open.”  She started crying again, and Jake pulled her into his arms.

“I kept trying to break the lock, Jake, but I couldn’t do it.  When I first got there, I could hear them.  We were calling out to each other, but then they stopped talking.  I kept hitting the lock with that stupid brick, but I couldn’t get to them.”

“Everything is going to be okay now, honey.  The girls will be fine.  They’re on their way to the hospital, and they’ll be just fine, you’ll see.  You did great.”

“But I couldn’t get it open, Jake.  I kept trying, but I couldn’t do it.”  She turned into his arms and buried her face in his shoulder while he held her.  He rubbed her back until she quieted down.”

“Let me see your hands, Trish.”  He winced as he saw the raw, oozing cuts that covered all her fingers.  “Are you burned sweetheart?”

She sniffed and visibly struggled to pull herself together.  As she left his arms, he felt strange, like something wasn’t quite right. 
Weird.
  “No, I didn’t get burned.  It’s from using that stupid brick to try to break that stupid lock.  My fingers got a little scraped, that’s all.  They’re small cuts, no big deal.”

“Well, let’s clean you up before you get an infection.  Come on.”

“I have to wait for the office furniture!  They’re supposed to be here today.  I told the girls I would.”

“Alright, we’ll clean you up right here, ok?  I’ll stay with you while you wait.  The police are on their way to talk to you, too.  I even have some lunch in the car, ok?”  She nodded her agreement and walked with him to the main building while the firefighters finished up.

An observer would be hard pressed to decide which of the two men pacing in the hospital waiting room was more upset.  “What the hell’s going on here, Josh?  That door didn’t lock itself, and I’ll bet that fire was no accident.  What the fuck?  I think someone is after Callie.”

Josh considered the statement carefully.  “Eva was in that shed, too.  And the other day when we went truck shopping, someone nearly ran her over.  I had to move fast to get her out of the way.  I didn’t think much about it at the time, but now I don’t know.  Plus, there was the sideswiping incident up on Scenic Drive.  If you look at everything together, it’s hard to buy that it’s all coincidence, isn’t it?”

Just then, a doctor came into the room and approached the men who met him half way.  “Both ladies will be alright.  They’re both suffering from smoke inhalation.  Much longer and they would have succumbed.  Ms. Sandoval seems to be the more severe of the two, but they’ll both recover.  She said something about trying to break through the ceiling before she passed out.  They’re both lucky.  It could’ve been a lot worse.  You can see them now.  I’ll start the paperwork for their release.  They’ll have sore throats, a cough, and a difficult time speaking for a few days, but they’ll make a full recovery.  Lots of rest and fluids will speed up the process.”

Both men walked through the door towards the room where the women were recovering.  Neither knocked as they pushed through the door.  Eva wheeled around with panic in her eyes at their entry, trying to stand in front of Callie in a protective stance as their hands broke apart.  Both men came to an abrupt stop.

“It’s okay Eva, it’s just us.  We’re here to take you home.”  She tried to take a calming breath and only ended up coughing, but she was able to nod her head, as the men came further into the room.  “Come on, baby, sit down.”  Josh took her hand and led her to the bed she’d recently vacated to sit with her friend as Cade sat down next to Callie.

“Hey,” she croaked.

“Hey,” he responded.  “Are you alright?”

Callie nodded her head as tears welled in her eyes and her lips started to quiver.  Before any teardrops fell, Cade pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, kissing the top of her head.

“I thought I was going to die in there, Cade.  And I didn’t think I’d get to say goodbye to you.”

“Hush now.  You’re safe now, and you’re going to stay that way.  What were you doing outside alone, anyway?  I told you to stay inside.”

“Don’t yell at me,” she sobbed.  “I’m not up for a fight.”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry, baby.  I wasn’t yelling, or at least I didn’t mean to.”  He held her tighter.  “I was just scared, ok?  So scared I was going to lose you.”

Callie tried to smile through her tears.  “You’re not getting rid of me that easily, Cade.  You should know by now that I’m a tough Texas chick.  I’m not through with you yet.”

He cradled her head in his hands, drew her back, and kissed her gently.  “Even tough Texas chicks have to be careful, baby.  From now on, you’re never going to be out of my sight, do you hear me?  I’m not leaving you alone again, and that’s the end of the discussion.”

“Fine with me, baby.  Now, kiss me again.”

“I should never have left you alone.  If I hadn’t come back when I did and broken that padlock …”

“But you did, Cade, and I’m going to be just fine.  By the way, thanks for getting me out of there.  You’re my hero!”

“That was cutting it too close for me.  Shit, I barely got you out of there before the whole roof came down.  When I think about what could have happened to you …”

“But it didn’t.  You got there on time, you saved me, and I’ll be back to driving you crazy in a day or two.”

“What’s driving me crazy is all the shit going down here lately.  First the attack at the ranch house, and now this.  I can’t believe the two are not related.  I’ve got to find out who’s behind all this.  Maybe Eva’s right, and the Wesley’s are out to get you.”

“That was really hard to believe until lately.  I just don’t know who else it could be.”

“Callie, promise me you won’t go anywhere by yourself until we figure this all out.”

“Don’t worry.  Of course, you know what this means, don’t you?”

“No, what does it mean?”

“I’m afraid it means we’re going to have to spend more time together, and I know how you like your space.”

Cade smiled over her head as he held her close.  “I’m kind of getting used to you invading my space lately.  It’s not so bad.”

Callie smiled.  “I knew I would grow on you!  It’s only taken me fifteen years, but you know how I can be when I make up my mind about something.”

****

Josh sat next to Eva on the bed and couldn’t bring himself to let go of her hand.  She started shaking, and he tentatively pulled her into his arms.  “I’m just going to hold you for awhile until you’re a little steadier, ok?”  She nodded, laying her head on his shoulder clasping her hands together, tucking them  under her chin, while he rubbed her back.  After a few minutes, he could feel the tension begin to drain out of her, her body beginning to relax.

“Everyone thinks I’m crazy, but I think James and maybe Richard are trying to hurt us,“ she rasped through her smoke damaged throat.

“Maybe not so crazy, after all, Eva.  Something is definitely going on here.  There are too many things that have happened to chalk up to coincidence.  In fact, I’d already started a quiet investigation after the attack on my sister at the ranch.   You may be right, and I’m sorry I didn’t listen better.  We’re going to find out if the Wesley’s are behind this, and if they are, I promise you they’ll pay for it.  And nothing bad is going to happen to you or Callie again.  This was just a little too close to disaster.  I’m going to keep you safe, ok?”  She nodded, moving one of her hands to curl around his neck.  He closed his eyes and continued to hold her close, filing the moment away in his memory as the first time she’d truly trusted him enough to come to him for comfort.

Chapter 17

 “Well I guess it won’t come as any surprise to anyone to hear that the fire was no accidental fluke.  I just got back from seeing Trish home.  She was pretty shaken up after we stayed and answered the cops’ questions after the fire department confirmed that the fire was started with gasoline, I’m sure by whoever locked the girls in the shed.”  Jake poured himself a cup of coffee and joined the three men already sitting at the kitchen table.  “How are Callie and Eva?”

“Scared but holding steady”, Cade replied.  “We brought them home and put them to bed.  They were exhausted.  I think it’s time to consider that Eva might be right.  There have been too many close calls to believe they are coincidental, and today’s little episode confirms that someone is out to get them specifically and do them harm.  They could have been killed today.  We need to do something.”

“Actually, I’m a step ahead of you, “, Josh replied.  “I hired a P.I. to poke around in New York right after Callie’s attack here at the house.  He should be reporting back shortly.  Other than that, I’m not sure what we can do.”

“Oh come on, Josh.  We can’t just sit back and wait until another attempt on one of their lives is made!  When I think about how close they came today…I almost didn’t make it in time.  We almost lost them.”  Cade ran his hand over his face with a shaky hand.