Blazing Hotter (Love Under Fire Book 2) Page 5

  He shrugged. “Yeah. I’ve been a pain in the ass, I know. I couldn’t see my way out of the misery, thinking I’d never be useful again. When I saw that note and realized some asshole was after you, I knew nothing would stop me from doing whatever I needed to do.” He reached out, bumping his hand against hers. “I won’t let anyone hurt you. I promise.”

  She nodded, caressing his hand softly with the back of hers before stepping away. “I’d better put the chair in the trunk and get this show on the road. We don’t want the florist to close before we get there.”

  Within a few minutes, Cassie hopped into the driver’s seat, buckling her belt before starting the car. “Do you think they’ll tell us anything? What if there’s some sort of confidentiality thing?”

  Frankie chuckled. “We’re asking about flower delivery, not medical records. It’ll be fine. I actually think you should go in by yourself, tell them that you’re dying to find out who sent them so you can thank them, that sort of thing.”

  “So, you’re just along for the ride?”

  He nodded. “Pretty much, unless you run into problems, then I have no issues with going in and doing the talking. While you deal with that, I’m going to call my dad and ask him to meet us at your place with my gun and some stuff from the hardware store. He can help do security detail on your place. I’m going to do whatever I can, but I’ll feel safer if we get some good locks on your doors and a security light outside, that sort of thing. What’s your address?”

  Cassie rattled it off as she pulled up to The Flower Shoppe. “Are you sure we need the gun?”

  “Go inside and get a description or a name for us. Let me handle the rest, okay? My grandpa was a police officer. My dad will know what to do to help make your house more secure. The gun is just in case everything else fails.”

  Deciding it was pointless to argue further, Cassie turned off the engine but left the keys in the ignition. “Lock the doors. I left the key if it gets too hot and you need to crack the windows.”

  As much as Frankie wanted to help her, Cassie still feared he was at greater risk than she was if Kenneth was the person after her. The doctor wouldn’t like her spending time with Frankie and might try to take him out of the equation.

  Cassie walked into the store, an old-fashioned bell over the door heralding her arrival. Lush plants and fragrant flowers filled every available surface, and Cassie picked her way through the vegetation until she spotted a counter in the back corner.

  The woman standing behind it smiled widely. “Good afternoon. Can I help you find something? Gardenias are on sale, and I have some arrangements already made if you’re in a hurry.”

  “Actually, I’m hoping you can help me figure out who sent me flowers earlier today,” Cassie said, coming to a stop in front of her. She glanced at the nametag on the woman’s shirt. “I tell you, Tammy, it’s lovely to have flowers delivered, but I’m dating a couple different people right now. The card wasn’t signed, silly man. I don’t know who to thank.”

  Tammy gave a knowing smile and nodded, bending beneath the counter to pull out a book. “Where were they delivered?”

  Cassie gave the address to the rehab center. “I’m a physical therapist there.”

  With a nod, Tammy flipped through the book. “Oh, I see it here. Red roses. No name attached. Paid cash.”

  Darn. They had the right florist, but it still wouldn’t help them. “Is there anything you can tell me about the man? Do you remember him at all?”

  Tammy looked up. “I actually remember this order quite well. It wasn’t a man, it was a woman.”

  “A woman?” That definitely wasn’t the doctor. Frankie had sounded so sure the person who killed those two women recently was a man, but that would be the natural assumption, wouldn’t it? What if it was a woman? “Can you tell me anything about her? Maybe I know who it is.”

  “Tall, blonde. Super skinny.” Tammy squinted as though it would help her see the woman. “She had huge boobs, and I immediately thought she must have had them modified. They didn’t fit at all with her tiny body.” Tammy opened her eyes to their normal size and shrugged. “Honestly, I thought she had to be a stripper with those boobs and the way she dressed. Also, I remember her because she insisted on putting her own card on the flowers and not using one of ours.”

  A stripper? That didn’t make any sense. Cassie had nothing against the women who worked at the two strip joints in Sayle, but she also didn’t know any of them. There was no reason one should be threatening her. She needed to get back out to Frankie and find out more about the murders. Maybe this stripper was the killer and had targeted her for some reason.

  She forced herself to smile at Tammy. “Doesn’t sound like anyone I know. Weird.”

  “Well, I guess just be happy someone thought of you and sent flowers. Plants always brighten up a day.”

  Yeah, sure. Threats of being cut always brightened Cassie’s day.

  ***

  Frankie breathed a sigh of relief when they pulled into Cassie’s driveway. His dad’s old pickup truck was already parked out on the road. His dad was at the far corner of the house, standing near the top of a ladder as he drilled a black bracket into the corner of the roof.

  “What is he doing?” Cassie asked, turning the car off. “I didn’t expect him to be attacking my house with a drill.”

  “It’s probably the holder for a security light. I asked him to pick up a few.” Determined not to be a burden on Cassie, Frankie struggled to open the small latch handle up near the top of the door and the dashboard. It wasn’t easy and pain flared through his right hand making him suck in a loud breath to keep from groaning. “If someone is after you,” he hissed through clenched teeth, “it’ll be a lot harder to get into the house unnoticed by a neighbor or one of us if he trips motion-sensed lights.”

  “Don’t we need an electrician to wire that in?” Thankfully, she didn’t call attention to his discomfort, acting like everything was fine.

  Frankie was grateful for that. It was difficult to feel like a complete man when he needed help for the simplest of tasks. While his right hand and a portion of his arm would be amputated in a couple weeks, that didn’t mean he should stop trying to improve other things. He had to get back to his feet, at least partially. The more he could manage to handle with his left hand, the better.

  “We don’t need to hire anyone. My dad and I have done lots of home improvement projects. The lights are no problem.”

  She stopped looking out the window at Frankie’s dad and looked at him, noting the partially open door. “I’ll grab your chair from the trunk while you get your feet on the ground.”

  There was a no-nonsense sound to her voice, as though Cassie truly expected he could do it by himself. For the first time in weeks, hope flooded through Frankie. When Cassie gave up on him a while ago, obviously deciding he couldn’t improve more than he had, he’d given up on himself. It was nice to have her support again.

  If he was fair, she probably gave up on him because he had insisted he couldn’t do things, but she was the one in charge. It was up to her to push him past the point he thought he could go. A new therapist definitely wasn’t a bad idea. While it was necessary, given the change in their association to friends—and maybe eventually more—Frankie also thought someone who didn’t know him or care about him as much as Cassie would do a better job. Not that he’d ever tell her that. He owed her a lot, and it was nice that he now had a way to repay her by helping to protect her.

  Turning his body sideways and bumping into the door until it swung open, Frankie struggled to put his feet on the ground.

  Realizing that he had just thought it was nice someone threatened Cassie so he could feel useful again, he couldn’t help but grimace from more than pain. It wasn’t that he wanted her threatened, but he did want to help her since it had happened.

  “Here we go.” Cassie wheeled the chair up the driveway. “Do you want me to ask your dad to help?”

  He shook his hea
d. “I’ve got this, Cass. I know I said before that I couldn’t do it, but I really think I can. I just need to go for it and stop whining.”

  She giggled. “Maybe I should have told you that more in therapy.”

  “Might have helped.” Scooting as best he could to the very edge of the seat, Frankie pulled himself up using the door and twisted awkwardly by pulling himself around with his left hand on the car’s roof. His legs could support him, even if they weren’t real functional. It was more than he’d hoped for. Cassie wouldn’t have to do everything for him. Besides, the more he did, the more he realized his left hand was at nearly normal capacity.

  “You’re in position,” Cassie advised. “Go ahead and sit.”

  He did as she instructed, jubilant triumph flooding him with energy despite the fatigue in his trembling legs. This was entirely possible.

  “Hey, son. Good to see you out and about finally.” His dad had climbed down the ladder when they weren’t paying attention, and now crossed Cassie’s small yard toward them. The hot afternoon sun shone on his broad forehead, showing off his black curls with streaks of bluish highlights. Well into his fifties and having lived a hard life as a firefighter, Frankie’s dad was still a handsome man.

  Before the fire covered so much of his body with scars, Frankie used to think he was the spitting image of the man. Now, his hands and arms painted a different picture. Unfortunately, it wasn’t real pretty.

  “Thanks for coming over, Dad. You remember Cassie Flick, my thera...” He looked at Cassie, at a loss as to how to explain what she was now.

  Cassie stuck her hand out, shaking his father’s hand. “Mr. Hernandez, so good to see you again. I’m Frankie’s former therapist. He’s getting a new one soon. He and I are good friends.”

  “Friends, huh?” Mr. Hernandez looked between the two of them, a knowing gleam in his eye. “My Frankie hasn’t had many women in his life who were just friends.”

  “Dad!” Frankie protested. “We don’t have time for this. I told you, someone threatened Cassie. Did you bring the stuff I asked for?”

  Big Frank Hernandez chuckled. “Sorry to offend, I’m just so happy to see my boy out of that rehab center.”

  “I was out last week,” Frankie grumbled.

  “Birthday party at the fire station,” Cassie hurried to explain.

  Big Frank nodded. “Wish I could have been there, but they don’t give us time off for parties and I work at a different station.”

  “It’s fine, Dad,” Frankie hurried to assure him. “I knew you were working and Mom...” He shrugged. His mom couldn’t handle looking at him now that he wasn’t the hulking beefcake he’d once been. It had been months since Frankie saw her, and he didn’t expect that to change anytime soon.

  “Your mom is down in New Mexico, visiting your sister,” Big Frank said.

  “Sure, I knew that. She’s there all the time lately.” Frankie looked up at his dad, for the first time noticing the gleam of emotion behind the man’s eyes. “Is everything okay with you guys? I’ve been so wrapped up in myself, I never thought about it before.”

  Big Frank glanced at Cassie before looking back at Frankie and smiling. “Now’s not the time to worry about all that. Let’s get the lady’s house all set up and make sure no one can get to her. I have a buddy who works down at the electronics store, and he gave me a great deal on a few security cameras. I’ll set them up with the motion lights. They only record when they sense movement, so if anyone comes sneaking around your place we’ll know. I also have one to put at the front door so you can see anyone who comes to it.”

  “Security cameras?” Cassie shook her head. “This is all sounding like a bit much. It was a threatening note, sure, but this is overboard.”

  Frankie reached behind him, catching Cassie’s hand in his. “Until we know what we’re dealing with, no measures are too much. I told you, I’m keeping you safe.”

  “And,” Big Frank added, “Frankie reminded me that someone in this town has already killed two beautiful young women around your age, Miss Flick. They were both slender blondes who lived alone. Frankie says you think you know who sent that note, but if you’re wrong, you seem to fit what this sicko is looking for.”

  Cassie’s fingers tightened beneath his, and Frankie spared a few seconds to wish his father hadn’t told her that much. She had been unaware of the killer’s preference for women just like her. Frankie didn’t want her completely terrified.

  Then again, she said the lady working at The Flower Shoppe hadn’t been able to identify who bought the flowers. Frankie was troubled to find out it was a woman, not the asshole of a doctor. He still had some hopes that the man had simply hired someone to pay for the flowers to cover his tracks, but he hadn’t had a lot of time to talk to Cassie about it. She lived close to the shop so there wasn’t much time for questions or explanations.

  However, all questions could wait until he and his father installed the cameras and lights.

  Giving Cassie’s hand another reassuring squeeze, Frankie looked back at his dad. “Did you bring my gun?”

  “Sure did, but I’m afraid a forty caliber might be a bit much for you to handle with your injuries. I also threw in my nine millimeter. It wouldn’t hurt to have them both.” Big Frank nodded in Cassie’s direction. “Do you know how to shoot?”

  “No, sir,” Cassie replied. “I’ve never been around a gun in my life.”

  “That’s okay,” he said. “I made an appointment for you both out at the shooting range tomorrow morning at nine.”

  Cassie’s weight shifted behind Frankie and he had the feeling she shook her head.

  “I have to work,” she protested. “I can’t just blow people off that need my help.”

  Frankie looked up at her, tugging her hand to get her attention. “This is important. Tomorrow’s Friday anyway and you take the weekends off. Call in and let your clients know you can’t come. I’m sure by Monday we’ll figure this all out, but right now, I need to know you can take care of yourself if someone comes into this house.”

  Her eyelids fluttered closed and worry lines creased her forehead. “I’m scared, Frank.” Her thumb stroked against the inside of his palm. “I didn’t know that I look like that guy’s victims.”

  He pulled her hand to his face, tucking it between his cheek and shoulder, trying to give her support without being overbearing. “We could go to the cops right now, let them handle it. If you don’t think it’s your doctor, there’s really no reason to wait.”

  She let out a long breath but then shook her head. “Set up all the security stuff with your dad. I’ll go call off work. We’ll spend tomorrow seeing if we can figure out who the woman is that sent the flowers and talk to her. If that still doesn’t lead us to Kenneth, we’ll go to the cops.”

  “What about the firing range?” Frankie asked. “I told you I needed to go practice, but I really think you should too. I’ll use my dad’s gun and you can learn on mine.”

  Her eyes opened, the clear blue rimmed with red as though she tried not to cry. “Sure. A single woman should know how to protect herself.” She slid her hand away from his face slowly. “If you boys need anything, let me know. Otherwise, I’ll fix dinner while you work on this. How long will it take?”

  Big Frank shrugged. “Probably an hour or so.”

  She looked back at Frankie. “You’re okay to help him? I mean, do you need me or...?”

  She trailed off and Frankie had the impression she didn’t want to point out that he might be a liability to his father, considering his limitations. However, her front patio had no steps up to it and the cement landing spread around the entire front of the house. Although her patio furniture might get in his way a bit, Frankie was sure he could use his legs and one good hand to help scoot himself around. He’d never tried that before, but earlier in the day he’d been convinced he couldn’t stand. It was time to test his limits instead of saying he couldn’t do something without even trying.

  If he could
move along the patio, he’d be a big help to his dad. He could run wires and hold tools, almost the same as he used to do when he was a kid helping with home improvement projects.

  “We’ll be fine, Cass,” he promised. “But I think we’ll work up an appetite, so I hope you have plenty of food. Besides, I’m sick of hospital slop. I hope you’re a good cook.”

  That brought a real smile to her face. “Is that the only reason you wanted to help me?”

  “Maybe.” He winked. “There’s something to be said about a woman who can cook.”

  “Well, I’ll do my best to excite you. Your taste buds, I mean.” She crossed the yard toward the house, unlocking the door.

  Frankie couldn’t help the way his eyes were drawn to her hips when she moved. She’d featured in plenty of fantasies for him lately, but she was always simply on top of him. He’d never really noticed how damn sexy the woman was when she walked.

  As Cassie disappeared into the house, his dad let out a low whistle. “That one seems like a firecracker. Scared out of her mind and still able to flip you shit. You sure you can handle that much heat?”

  Frankie grinned. “For the first time since the fire, Dad, I’m looking forward to the heat.”

  Chapter Six

  Cassie had rosemary roasted potatoes and lemon chicken finally in the oven. It had been quite a challenge, what with the guys coming in and out of the house, flipping the breaker to turn off all power while they wired the lights and cameras, and the general chaos associated with having people in her house when Cassie was used to being alone. Her house was her sanctuary, now an invaded sanctuary with no peace for her.

  Granted, she appreciated the fact that the invaders were trying to protect her from possible harm. The alternative would be much worse.

  Setting a timer to remind her to turn the potato slices halfway through cooking, Cassie then kicked off her shoes and padded from the kitchen to her living room. Sitting down in her overstuffed recliner, she took a moment to breathe, trying not to think about anything else. Everything had happened so quickly after the flowers were delivered, what with Frankie taking charge and telling her what she should do, that Cassie hadn’t had a lot of time to absorb the situation.