Blazing Hotter (Love Under Fire Book 2) Read online

  “About Laura and the wedding.” Familiar guilt ate at Frankie’s stomach. “Is she truly okay with me being there? I wouldn’t blame her if she hated me for getting you injured. Cassie says that’s not the case, but I want your wedding to be perfect and if I—”

  “Shut up, probie,” Thayne warned. “Don’t ever blame yourself for that fire. Not only are you my surrogate brother and the only real family I have, Laura loves you too. You are part of us, bro. Don’t ever think anything different.”

  Although he had yet to apologize to Laura, it made Frankie feel better to get further reassurance from Thayne. They weren’t angry with him.

  “What about your job?” Frankie asked, unable to leave it alone. “Are you truly happy working with the medic crew and no longer fighting fires?”

  Thayne looked over his shoulder, stopping Frankie from avoiding eye contact. “You know how screwed up I was when I had to go back to fighting fires and how much I wanted out. I never wanted to fight another fire after losing my last partner, let alone become partners with a pain in the ass probie like you.”

  “But you started to like it again. I know you did.”

  Thayne turned back to watch the road, driving in silence before they came up to the florist’s shop. “I wouldn’t say I liked it again,” he admitted. “I wanted to keep those I cared about safe, and that mostly included you, Laura, and our brothers at the station. I’m not sorry that I can’t walk without a limp. I’m not sorry that my legs aren’t quite up to speed so I can’t haul those fire hoses anymore. I like what I do now, and Laura’s happier because she knows I’m a lot safer. Besides, going through our recovery together helped you and I form this unbreakable bond. I wouldn’t give that up either.”

  “Okay, bro.” Frankie leaned forward to grip Thayne’s shoulder. “I won’t mention it again, and I’m glad I get to stand up for you at the wedding.”

  Thayne hopped from the front seat, rounding the van to open the back door and help Frankie get down the lift. “Speaking of standing up for me, I haven’t asked how you like that chair.”

  Frankie pushed the button to exit the lift and grinned. “I stood to piss yesterday for the first time since the accident. It’s a damn miracle.”

  Thayne chuckled. “I remember that freakin’ bedpan before I could walk. Hated that damn thing.”

  Frankie nodded, knowing that even though Thayne was able to get most of his function back, the man totally understood everything Frankie was going through and knew how much it meant to get places under his own power. “It’s a miracle. I was even able to stand and hold Cassie in my arms yesterday. I never expected something like that.”

  “Speaking of Cassie, I want you to keep on holding that woman but we need to get answers to make sure that happens.” Thayne jerked his chin toward the shop. “Let’s get inside and figure out who’s after her.”

  After Thayne locked the door to the van, Frankie pushed the joystick control of the chair to roll alongside him and into the shop. Upon entering the lush green aisle of vegetation, Frankie realized his wheelchair wasn’t suited for all situations. The piles of greenery around the doorway of the shop made it impossible for him to do more than enter the space. If he tried to push forward any further, his chair was certain to take out big patches of plants and crash them toward the ground.

  He glanced at Thayne, who seemed almost as uncomfortable as Frankie. “Why don’t you find that Tammy woman and bring her out here to talk?” Frankie suggested. “It’s not a good idea for me to go in there.”

  Thayne walked deeper into the store without comment but obviously agreeing.

  While waiting, Frankie wondered if he’d ever have reason to come to a flower shop again if he could get Cassie to fall for him. He couldn’t imagine her wanting flowers after all this. If Frankie had his way, she’d be the woman he spent the rest of his life with. That meant he’d have to find something different to do for her during the inevitable times he upset her.

  Laura didn’t even like flowers. Thayne had a hard job right at the start of their relationship. Luckily, she also didn’t like cooking terribly much and was delighted to learn what a great cook Thayne was. A batch of chicken with Thayne’s special sauce blend was enough to earn her forgiveness no matter what transgression Thayne committed.

  Frankie would never be able to do something like that, but even one handed he should be able to find something that would show Cassie he cared about her. Perhaps Laura would have an idea of what could help him win her friend’s heart once and for all.

  Before long, Thayne came back from the interior of the store, the brunette Cassie had described trailing behind him.

  “You’re Tammy, right?” Frankie asked.

  She nodded. “And from what this big guy says, you’re friends with that woman who received flowers from the stripper the other day.”

  Frankie exchanged a glance with Thayne before nodding encouragingly at Tammy. “I know my friend lied and said the roses were from an admirer, but she was actually threatened. Have the police contacted you?”

  Tammy shook her head. “I haven’t heard from police. What kind of threat was it?”

  Not sure how much he should tell her without Rogers’s approval, Frankie decided honesty was the best policy. “We think that sicko killing women is after her. The cards that came with the flowers had threatening notes in them.”

  “Cards, as in more than one?” Tammy asked, shaking her head. “The only flowers I had for delivery from that stripper were the ones that went to the rehab center. I didn’t have anything else strange.”

  “What about a lot of orders for red roses?” Frankie asked.

  Tammy shrugged. “Red roses are always popular. People buy them all the time. It’s my biggest seller.”

  Which was probably the reason the killer used them. It wasn’t necessarily a sick play on Cassie’s emotions, sending her a gift symbolizing love that promised death. They were something that could be ordered without raising eyebrows.

  “What about that woman?” Frankie asked. “I know you said you thought she was a stripper. Do you actually know her? I promise I won’t spread it around that you go to the clubs, but this is important. My friend is in real danger.”

  Tammy stared out the glass storefront, as though fearful someone on the street might be watching them talk. Finally, she met his eyes again. “If you bring my name into this and it is the killer after your friend, he’ll come after me for helping you.”

  “No. I don’t think he will.” Frankie attempted to give her a reassuring smile. “He’s only going after blond women. Besides, I won’t tell anyone, although I can’t promise the cops won’t question you later since we had already told them about the flowers.”

  Tammy raised her hands to her face, pulling against her bottom lip as she thought. Finally, she shrugged. “I can’t keep quiet if it might catch a killer. I do know the woman who bought those flowers and I thought it was strange at the time, but I wasn’t sure I should tell your friend since she seemed so happy to get the roses. The stripper works at a club called Guy’s Nite Out and her name is Bambi.”

  “Well, shit. Isn’t Bambi why I had to pick you up in that alley, beaten to a pulp and drunk as hell?” Thayne shook his head. “Never thought she could be a killer, but maybe you’re the reason she’s after Cassie in the first place.”

  “That doesn’t make sense,” Frankie protested. “I haven’t even seen her since the night she had me beat up. That was a long time ago. These murders can’t be about me.”

  “So you guys know her?” Tammy asked.

  Thayne nodded. “Frankie had some issues with her back before he landed himself in this chair. Don’t worry, Tammy. We won’t need to bring your name up since they have a history.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Cassie had to admit that wearing the long, curly auburn wig made her feel daring and sexy. Not to mention Laura had helped do her makeup in a way Cassie would have never applied it. Thick black lines outlined her eyelids,
drawing even more attention to her baby blues than normal. Fake eyelashes Laura bought extended out in movie star fashion. Cassie had never looked more like a sex kitten that she could remember. Hopefully, Frankie would be pleased.

  The effect was somewhat spoiled by blue jeans being the only clothing she had, but the jeans were tight and showed off her backside to advantage. Things could be worse.

  “Frankie’s going to freak when he sees you,” Laura said as she drove Thayne’s truck across town to meet the guys at the nightclub. “I hardly recognize you, and I’m the one who helped get you ready. Your disguise is a hit. We probably could have gone with them to the florist as different as you look.”

  Cassie flipped down the visor and checked her bright red lipstick in the mirror. “No way would they have agreed to that. They needed to feel like macho men and protect their women. I have to admit, it’s kind of nice that someone wants to do that for me, no matter how short a time it lasts.”

  The grunt from Laura’s side of the truck was enough to let Cassie know her friend disapproved. “Why did we stop and buy those condoms if you’re going to be such a defeatist?”

  “I’m being a realist,” Cassie argued.

  “As my maid of honor, I order you to stop being pessimistic about love.” Laura flashed a triumphant grin. “You can’t sit there and say true love doesn’t happen when I’m about to get married, so there.”

  Cassie nodded her agreement, flipping the visor back into place and staring out at the dark road. “I know it exists. You and Thayne found it. I’m not saying I’d be opposed to having what the two of you have, but I don’t believe I’m the woman for Frankie.”

  “Then break it off before you hurt him. He’ll help protect you whether or not you sleep with him. You have to know that.”

  Cassie did know that. So why was she still looking forward to getting Frankie back to the hotel room tonight and making mad, passionate love to him while she still wore the sexy long-haired wig? It didn’t matter what her brain knew to be the truth. Her heart wanted something entirely different, despite the repeated warnings she gave that it would end up broken in the long run.

  “I can’t stop being with him,” she admitted. “No matter what I say, there’s a large piece of me hoping against hope that I’m wrong about his feelings fading once the stress is over. The only way to find out for sure is to wait for the killer to be caught and then see what happens.”

  “I think he’ll prove that your heart is right to want him,” Laura said. “I have to admit, though, he’s been quite the jerk and player in his day. How do you feel about seeing Bambi?”

  Cassie shrugged. “She had him beat up, so I can’t imagine he has any feelings for her. It sounds like she wouldn’t be open to anything even if Frankie tried.”

  “And he has no reason to try now that he has you.”

  Cassie twisted her hands together, suddenly nervous as she really thought about what they were trying to find out by visiting the club. “Do you think she’s the one trying to kill me? No matter how good my disguise is, if she’s the one, she’ll recognize me.”

  “That’s why Frankie and Thayne want us to leave before they do and take a different route back to the hotel. She’ll follow them if she follows anyone, and Thayne can warn us away from joining them.” Laura turned onto the road where the club was, speeding down the half mile into the dark countryside. “I had no clue this was so far away from the main part of the city.”

  “Can’t let our average citizen rub elbows with this kind of establishment.” Cassie shrugged. “They’re within the laws and just trying to make a living, but you know how uptight people get about this stuff.”

  Laura glanced over, biting her bottom lip lightly. “I’m sort of one of them. My folks didn’t even allow alcohol in their house. If they knew their daughter was going to a strip joint, they’d be mortified.”

  Cassie narrowed her eyebrows, torn between laughing at Laura and being shocked. “You’ve never been to a strip club? Not even on ladies night when the guys dance?”

  “I spend my time taking care of sick animals and loving my fiancé. I don’t need to watch half-naked men dance.”

  “But you learned to dance erotically,” Cassie protested, landing on the side of shocked. After all the discussions she and Laura had over the past year and a half, she’d assumed her friend had seen and done it all. Who would have guessed she’d been so sheltered?

  “I learned to dance for Thayne. No one else will ever see that.” Laura pulled into the parking lot of the club, which was nearly empty. “Guess the people who usually come out here are busy with family stuff Sunday nights.”

  Cassie nodded. “That will make it easier to talk to Bambi.”

  Hands moist and trembling, Cassie rubbed them against her pants before reaching for the door latch. While she wanted to stop whoever sent those flowers and killed the other women, the possibility of coming face-to-face with the killer had her shaking and sick to her stomach.

  “The guys are already here.” Laura pointed to Frankie’s van parked beneath one of the dim yellow lights in the lot.

  Grabbing her courage with both hands, Cassie led the way to the club, opening the door and stepping into a different world. Thumping music accompanied flashing lights focused on a raised platform stage extending into the center of the room. Currently, one of the women Cassie recognized from her picture on the internet spun around a pole, wearing a lot less clothing than she’d worn for her promo picture.

  “There are the guys,” Laura said, grabbing Cassie’s hand and pulling her toward the back of the room. “I’m not sure I like how at home they both look.”

  Cassie couldn’t help herself and laughed. “You seriously are uptight about this. I think we should get some dollar bills before we leave and let you make it rain on the stage. These women are working hard. They provide a fantasy. It’s not like Thayne would ever really want one of them, not when he has you.”

  Knowing Laura still sometimes felt insecure despite the fact that she was marrying her dream guy in a few short days made Cassie feel better about her own situation. Laura had absolutely no reason to worry. Thayne had eyes only for her. Perhaps that meant Cassie was making too big of a deal over worrying about Frankie and his feelings. Laura might be right about them having a future.

  If the look on his face as she crossed toward him was anything to judge by, Frankie was unimpressed by the scantily-clad women dancing right in front of him. As soon as he noticed her his eyes never wavered from hers, and warmth rushed through Cassie when she saw the open hunger on his face.

  She came to a stop in front of him, bending down and flashing a wink. “Hey there, stud. You looking for a date?”

  Frankie licked his lips and swallowed hard enough to visibly shake his Adam’s apple. “Uh, huh. I am if the woman is you.”

  “What would you pay for a lap dance?” she asked, momentarily forgetting the gravity of their situation and why they were there.

  “All the money I have,” he said and held out his arms. “Come here, sexy.”

  “That’s enough, you two,” Thayne said. “Did you forget why we’re here? We need to talk with Bambi.”

  A little disappointed that Thayne recalled them to their purpose, Cassie glanced around the room. “Have you guys seen her yet?”

  “Yeah,” Frankie said. “She looked pissed about having a reunion with me, but she’s agreed to meet us in the back room in twenty minutes after her turn on stage.”

  “The back room?” Cassie raised an eyebrow, not sure she liked the sound of that.

  “It’s where they take their VIP clients for special dances.” Even in the low lighting of the club, Frankie’s dusky face reddened at admitting this.

  “And have you been a VIP?” Cassie asked, being careful to keep the jealousy she felt out of her voice.

  As though sensing his friend’s danger, Thayne waved his hand between them to get their attention over the beat of the music. “Why don’t we go back and wai
t? It’s a slow night, and she said there isn’t anyone in there right now.”

  ***

  It seemed like an eternity waiting for Bambi to join them. Frankie knew Cassie tried to be mature about things, but he could tell she hated the idea of him being in this club. In some ways, that made Frankie happy. It wasn’t that he wanted a super possessive and jealous girlfriend, but if she cared about where he went and where he used to spend time, that had to mean she was coming around to the idea of them in a relationship.

  Not that he wanted to make her insecurities any worse than they seemed to be if judging by her reluctance at sex was any clue. He waved to get her attention, then patted the red-cushioned bench next to his chair. “Come talk to me while we wait.”

  With a slight shrug of her shoulders, Cassie swung her fake reddish tresses over her shoulder and made her way to him, sitting gingerly on the edge of the couch. “Not sure I want to think about what goes on here. Is this safe to sit on?”

  Frankie chuckled and reached across the space to hold her hand. Luckily, she twined her fingers around his, not shying away like he’d half expected due to her jealousy. “As far as I know, it’s just lap dances and expensive liquor. Nothing more.”

  She wrinkled her nose, looking dubious. “I guess at least the cushions are vinyl and can be disinfected if anyone gets too excited and loses his wad.”

  It seemed she was a bit more critical than usual. “Are you nervous about talking to Bambi?” he asked.

  Cassie nodded. “What if she’s the one after me? The last few minutes, I’ve been wondering if I was smart to insist on coming along. I know you and Thayne have a plan to get me safely away from here and you’re both packing guns right now in case she tries anything, but I could have been a little smarter and let you handle this.”

  Surprised was too mild a word for what that made Frankie feel. In all the time he’d known her, Cassie came across as an independent woman who didn’t rely on others for anything. Thayne had further supported that idea when he told Frankie more about Laura and Cassie’s friendship throughout the day as they traveled. Cassie liked being in charge of her own life, and she didn’t appreciate people telling her what to do.