Stoking the Embers (New Adult Romantic Suspense): The Complete Series (28 page)

The evening became a lasagna and Walking Dead-a-thon. I made garlic bread and tossed together a salad while Beth scavenged dessert from her place. And beer, of course.

I told Beth and Gage about my run-in with Jerome at the hospital, and we made a firm commitment to not talk about any of that crap for the rest of the night.

The hours have flown by and before I know it, it’s eight o’clock. Ken is nodding off and I’m pretty beat myself. I still need to get Gage home and stop by Ken’s apartment for some of his clothes.

“Hate to break this up you two, but we need to head on out. I’d let you stay here, but…” Ken trumpets out a snore and rolls over, moaning as his leg drags across… “I only have one couch and this one appears to be taken.”

Beth and Gage get up off the floor where they’ve been crashing on every pillow I own. I write a note for Ken, letting him know where I’m going and the time we left. I kiss his forehead, instinctively testing to see if he’s warm. His arms snake around my waist and pull me down onto his chest.

“Where ya going?” He kisses the tip of my nose.

“Taking Gage home and then getting you some clothes. Anything else you need?”

“Just remember the travel kit under the sink, will ya?”

I laugh and lean down to smell him, the combination of smoke and sweat mixed with a scent that’s all him. I wrinkle my nose. “Don’t worry, I’m not forgetting your deodorant for sure.” I lean closer and whisper. “As soon as I get back, I’ll help you take a shower. You may need a sponge bath though.”

His hand curls around my neck and he pulls me down to his lips. “Nurse Stephanie, I like the sound of that.” Then his warm lips press onto mine and I open my eyes to watch him watch me. We both smile, mouths still touching.

I pull away. “The sooner I leave, the sooner I’ll be back. You sure you’ll be okay alone?”

“Yeah. Just drive safe, will ya?”

Another quick kiss and I’m following Gage and Beth out the door.

As I click the remote to unlock the doors, Beth opens the rear one for Gage. “After you, kind sir. It’s my turn to assert my independence.”

Gage bows and says, “God bless strong women,” before climbing in and over the center seat. Just before she slams the door behind him, he turns and says, “I have a fear of back seats. I need someone to hold my hand.”

Beth plays along. “Steph, what do you think of a big ole fireman being afraid of such a thing? Do you think it’s safe for me to get in the back seat with a known player?”

I join the game, feeling young and free for a moment. “I don’t know, Beth. He’s probably safe, he’s a firefighter after all. But I’ve heard they’re tigers beneath that Boy Scout front.”

I’m jostled forward as Gage shakes my seat from behind. “Hey now, play fair.” He looks back at Beth. “Come on, Beth. Just get back here and protect me from those evil backseat monsters. I promise not to bite. Maybe…”

“Maybe what?” Beth asks, looking as young and carefree as I feel. She climbs in the back seat, grabs his hand and looks at him expectantly.

“Maybe this…” He pulls her closer, giving her a kiss that Beth doesn’t reject. She sinks into him, and I turn back around and face forward, giving them a whole one foot of privacy. I start the car and turn up the radio, trying to cover the sounds of their make-out session, but my stomach does a little dance at thinking my own make-out session awaits.

Pulling out of my parking spot, I realize I have no idea which way to go. “Timeout you two. Gage, where am I heading?”

“Go down 215 to 95 towards Boulder City. I’m off Wagon Wheel.” The kissing noises start again.

“I know where that is,” I say, talking to myself. “A fellow student, Gina, lives down there. Beth, remember that party we went to at her house? You weren’t kidding when you said you lived far away from town.”

“Umm, yeah, Steph. I remember,” Beth answers, coming up for air. “Good party.”

“Guys, remember, no funny business in my car.” I sing-song the words, smiling into the rearview mirror.

A long pause. “We’re not laughing. All serious business back here.”

“Urgent matters,” Beth pipes in, the words coming between gasps. I wonder if that’s how Ken and I sound when we kiss. Well, I think sarcastically to myself, I could always play one of the videos and find out. Grrr.

Thinking of the videos sends my good mood into a nosedive and I’m suddenly tired and want to get back to Ken. Luckily, traffic is light on the 215, there’s hardly anyone going my way except the blue car that’s been trailing me for miles. As I turn on 95, the blue car turns behind me and suddenly, I’m paranoid.

My heart begins hammering in my chest and I fear I’m becoming tri-polar. Happy one minute, sad the next, and now I’m scared. We’re most likely not being followed; it’s probably my frayed nerves searching for threats where there are none. I slow down anyway and move over one lane.

I blow out a breath as the driver blows by me, blinking his high beams as he passes me on the right. I lose him when he crests the hill and the freeway turns to the left. I tap the steering wheel—I really need to calm down.

Gage grabs my headrest, pulling himself upright. Beth is cuddled up beside him. “When you get off on Wagon Wheel, hang a left.”

We’re getting close. “Okay, we’re passing College now. After the left, where to?”

“Just keep going straight until it ends, then you have to go left.”

As I pull off on Wagon Wheel, I make a left and cross over the freeway. I can’t believe my eyes.

“Gage, Beth.” More whisper than words, I hiss their names again before turning off the radio. “I think we may have a problem.”

As I slow down to well below the speed limit, I feel Gage tense up as he leans forward between the two front seats. “What’s going on? Is your car acting up?”

“No. It may be nothing, but there was a blue car behind us all the way until I started going up the hill on the 95. Then it blew by me and I figured it was all in my mind.”

Gage and Beth both look back. Thank God for the dark tint I had put on the windows to protect against the summer sun. I panic anyway. “Don’t look back!”

“Are you sure it’s the same car?” Beth asks, still looking behind us, her fingers gripping the headrest of the passenger seat in front of her.

“I’m not sure; cars have never been my strong suit, but I think so.”

“Jerome?”

“He doesn’t have that kind of car, and besides, it’s not techie enough for him.”

Gage’s degree of concern jumped a few notches. “Jerome? Asshole?”

“Yeah. Asshole.”

“Okay, make a quick left on Thoroughbred. Let’s test your theory.”

I wait until the last possible second, like I’m looking for a street in an unfamiliar neighborhood. “Now where?”

“Let’s see if the car follows. Keep going straight.”

“Do you think it could be the detectives?” Beth asked. “Didn’t they say the local police would be driving by regularly to check up on you?”

“Yes,” I say, “But they didn’t say anything about following me. You would think they’d let me know. Should I call and confirm?”

“Let’s give it a few more minutes,” Gage offers. “There’s still no one behind us. It could be coincidence.”

I loosen the grip on the steering wheel. “You’re right. I’m jumping at shadows now.”

Gage gives my arm a squeeze. “Nobody can blame you for that. You’re in the middle of some serious craziness.” He points ahead. “Just keep going to Equestrian and make a right. I’m on lookout.”

He sits back in his seat and I notice him and Beth scanning behind and around us. I make the right. “Take another right on Foothill and about half a mile down is Rawhide. You’ll go right there. My house is the third one on the left.”

I pull into the driveway of a small but very nice stucco home. The setting sun reflects off the large front windows, splashing the house with its red glow. I feel foolish now, sitting in the normalness around me. I wonder if I’m losing my mind, if the panic attacks I’ve suffered from for years will finally overtake me.

“Nice bachelor pad,” Beth says as she and Gage step out of the car. I stay inside, giving them a moment of privacy, but can hear their conversation through the open door.

“Thanks. I bought it a couple years ago. Had planned to flip it, but liked it too much. It took an ass ton of work, but it’s home now.”

I study the house and the landscaping neatly laid out in the front yard and have a sudden longing for a home myself. Apartment life isn’t bad. There’s something to be said for living among a large network of people, but I miss pulling weeds and planting flowers. I miss painting the front door or even having the option to do so.

I jump when Gage taps the window; I push the button to roll it down. He leans down, his arm resting on the door. “Can you find your way out okay?”

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll have any trouble.”

“Call if you do. Beth has my number. Don’t hesitate to hit me up if you need anything.”

I feel a rush of affection for him, although I barely know him. He’s always been nice to me the few times I’ve met him. Fun. Sexy, but not in the ‘look at my muscles’ kind of way. I can’t blame Beth for going nuts for him. They look adorable together, both dark haired, dark eyed and olive skinned. Even the twelve-inch difference in their height is sweet.

“Thanks. I’ll do that.”

I turn my head as he stands and faces Beth again. I hear her light giggles and his deeper chuckles and see their bodies press together out of the corner of my eye. Then the laughter ends abruptly and Beth’s fingers are digging into his shirt. I turn more fully away, feeling like an intruder, and gaze out my side window at the neighborhood around us. The blue car isn’t anywhere I can see.

Finally, long minutes later, Beth is back in the car and Gage is leaning down into the window again. “Why don’t you all come by tomorrow? Hit my swimming pool. I’ve got another day off. What do you say?”

“I don’t want to be a third wheel.” I say, glancing at Beth. “I’ll let Beth speak for herself… not that I don’t already know the answer.” I smirk at her smirk.

“Come on. Bring Ken. He can sit in the hot tub with his leg hanging out. We’ll throw some steaks on the grill. Good times.”

“I’m game,” chimes Beth. In the gloom of the car interior, I can’t tell if she’s giving me the ‘please come with me’ or the ‘don’t you dare come with me’ stare. My Beth radar is way off today.

“Can I call you in the morning? I’ll see if Ken’s up to it. If so, we’ll be here. If not, you two can enjoy a nice day alone.” There. That seemed neutral enough.

“Deal,” Gage grins and looks back at Beth. “See you tomorrow? For sure?”

For a moment, I think Beth’s forgotten how to breathe. Finally, a ‘yes’ slips out of her mouth in a whisper. I’ve never seen her like this. It’s fascinating.

Gage leans further into the window and touches his lips to Beth’s. Witnessing the soft exchange flutters my stomach and makes me miss Ken even more. But as much as I want to get back to him, I don’t want to rob Beth of this moment either. I press my head into the headrest and stare up at the sky through the sunroof, looking for the stars I can never see from my place.

After what seems like an hour, Gage pulls away and steps back from the car. We both wave and I pull out of his driveway, retracing my path.

At the end of the street, I turn and Beth is still fanning herself, grinning like a lunatic.

“Shall I turn up the AC?” I ask and she laughs.

“I don’t know if it will help. Whew. That man is hot.”

“I think he thinks you’re pretty hot too.”

Beth does a little happy dance in her seat. “I know I just met him, but, wow. It’s probably too good to be true…”

I shake a finger at her. It’s my turn to be the optimistic one. “Enjoy the wow. Don’t think about the past or the future.”

“Enjoy the wow now? Is that what you’re saying, Miss Philosopher.”

I lift my nose into the air. “Yes, grasshopper. Much to enjoy. Live well and prosper,” I say, butchering Yoda.

“Screw hard will I,” Beth butchers him right back and we laugh until her phone buzzes and rings, its strobe light nearly blinding me.

“It’s
him
.” Beth happy dances again and then grows still, swiping the screen to answer the phone. “Miss me already,” she purrs and then grows quiet. She taps another button and says, “Okay, you’re on speaker.”

“Steph,” Gage says over the speaker. “What’s the closest street you see?”

I look around. “Roan.”

“Okay, turn right there, then another right will have you back on my street.”

“What’s wrong?” I ask and have to brake hard to make the turn.

“The blue car is back. It passed my house, crazy fast, less than a minute after you left. I want you to come back here. We’ll figure out the next step then.”

“Should I call 911?” Beth asks.

“No, there’s no law against driving down the street. Just get back here and let me think about this. I know a couple of cops, but they’re way up by the station. Maybe they know someone though.”

“Gage,” I speak up; “I doubt whoever’s in that car is after you or even Beth. If this is what I think it is, it’s me he’s after.”

“Doesn’t matter. If he’s after you, he’s after me. Family, Steph. We take care of each other.”