Justice Burning (Hellfire #2)(15)

Part of her wanted him to stay away until she resolved what to do with her fiancé’s body. Hell, if she was smart, she would confess her crime of stealing the convertible to the authorities and face the consequences. Hiding her part in the whole fiasco only made her look even guiltier of killing Ryan.

If she relinquished the body, she would have to reveal her true identity. Her father would bail her out as usual, and she’d be forced to go back to her life as the daughter of a wealthy man. He might even choose her next husband.

Her father would consider her work at the Ugly Stick Saloon to be beneath the daughter of Jonathon Sinclair, but it had felt good. Well, her back and feet did ache, but in a good way. Like she’d earned the sore muscles rather than paid for a physical trainer to deliver the pain.

After spending time with Nash and getting a feeling of his anguish from his time in the military, Phoebe realized her life had been meaningless. While men fought and died for their country, she’d been more concerned about what shoes to wear with the latest outfit she’d purchased. Some of those outfits had cost more than what a soldier brought home in his paycheck in a month. Maybe two or three.

Shame washed over her. Maybe she wouldn’t join the military, but she could change for the better and become a contributing member of society, rather than being a society debutante. Going back to her old life with her family was not an option.

Phoebe yawned and stretched. The hard work weighed on her body and mind. Before she knew it, she’d slipped into a deep sleep, strangely empty of the nightmares she’d expected.

She didn’t wake until someone pounded on the door.

Light streamed into the little apartment around the edges of the closed blinds.

Phoebe blinked and rubbed her eyes, wondering what had pulled her out of the depths of her sleep. She rolled over and nearly fell out of the tiny bed. More pounding on the door made her sit up with a start.

“Phoebe!” Lola’s voice sounded from outside.

“Coming.” She leaped to her feet, tugged down the oversized T-shirt she’d worn to bed the night before and hurried the few short steps to open the door.

“Oh, good. You’re up.” Lola pushed her hair back from her made-up face. “I thought I’d have to let myself in to wake you.”

“What’s wrong?” Phoebe asked, crossing her arms over her middle.

“Just got a call from the sheriff’s office.” She drew in a deep breath and paused.

Her heart slipping into the bottom of her belly, Phoebe waited for what was coming next. They had to have found the body in the trunk. The sheriff would be there momentarily to arrest her. With an apology poised on her lips, Phoebe opened her mouth to beg forgiveness for getting Lola involved with a murder suspect.

Lola’s eyes gleamed. “Rider Grayson’s auto shop was broken into last night. The rental car he was working on for you was stolen.”



“What do you mean, your shop was broken into?” Nash balanced the telephone between his cheek and shoulder as he dragged on his jeans and zipped. He sat on the side of his bed and pulled on his cowboy boots.

“Someone broke a window and entered my shop. They lowered the rental car on the lift, opened the overhead door and drove away without anyone noticing. The sheriff thinks it must have happened between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. this morning.” Rider paused. “Funny thing is they didn’t take anything but the car. The cash box was intact where I’d left it in the office.”

“Has anyone checked on Miss Smith?”

“The sheriff was going to notify her.”

“I’ll be in town in a few minutes.”

“It’s your day off,” Rider said. “Let others handle it.”

“I want to make sure Phoebe is all right.” Whoever broke into the shop for the rental car might also have gone after the woman. Unless the woman was responsible for the break-in. In which case, she might have left town. To make matters worse, he’d had some pretty lusty thoughts about a potential criminal.

“I’m sure the sheriff would let you know if she wasn’t.”

Not in the mood to argue, Nash said, “I’ll see you in a few.” He ended the call and finished dressing. He hadn’t wanted to face an empty day. Well now, he wouldn’t have to. Finding a missing vehicle would keep him busy.

And checking in on Phoebe Smith would be purely part of the job. Purely.

Deep inside, he couldn’t ignore the hope Phoebe wasn’t the one who’d entered the shop and taken the vehicle. Now that he’d met her, Nash didn’t want her to leave town so soon. He still had so many unanswered questions. But that wasn’t all. He found himself drawn to the woman who had insisted on starting over in a strange town. What had she run away from? What did she hope to gain by moving to the small community of Hellfire?

The first question he intended to answer was, had Phoebe left Hellfire in the rental car?

Tugging a T-shirt over his head, he grabbed his belt and ran for the door.

Beckett stepped out of the kitchen, a coffee cup in hand. “Where are you going?”

“Town.”

“I thought you might help me repair the fence in the northeast pasture today.”

“Rain check. I have something I need to check on in town.” Not something, but someone.

“I guess Kinsey can help. She’s better looking, anyway.”

Kinsey stepped up beside him. “And I can swing a hammer.” She slipped an arm around Beckett’s waist and leaned against him.

Nash retrieved his cowboy hat from a hook on the wall and left the house. He was halfway to town when his cell phone rang in the cup holder. He checked the number and recognized it as Lola’s. His pulse hammering, he clicked the talk button. “Lola. Tell me Phoebe’s all right.”

“This is Phoebe.”

Her warm voice filled his ear and spread heat throughout his body. He sighed.

“I guess you’ve heard,” she said.

“I have,” he responded. “I’m glad you’re still in town.”

“Why would I leave?” She paused. “Oh, wait. You thought I might have been the one to break into your brother’s shop. Fair enough. I haven’t given you much to go on. But we need to talk.”

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

“Good.” She sighed. “Just keep in mind, I’ve never been in trouble with the law before. And I didn’t ask for it.”

The connection ended before he could question her more. What did she mean by she’d never been in trouble with the law before? Was she now?

A thousand questions bubbled up in his mind. He pressed harder on the accelerator, impatient with the amount of time it took to get from the ranch to town. By the time he pulled into Lola’s driveway, he’d broken a few of the speed limits he was sworn to uphold as a man of the law.

Lola stood near her Mustang with a crooked smile on her face. “Where’s the fire, cowboy?” She tipped her head toward the garage apartment. “Wish it was me you were in a hurry to see. Phoebe’s in her apartment. Nothing like a little excitement to stir up things in Hellfire, huh?”

“Thanks for letting her use your phone,” Nash said as he passed Lola and loped the rest of the way across the drive. He took the stairs two at a time and entered through the open doorway.

Phoebe stood with her back leaning against the tiny kitchenette counter, a cup of tea in her hands. The liquid sloshed over the sides because her hands shook so badly.

For a long moment, Nash stared. Her cheeks were pale, her green eyes dark, surrounded by shadows. As he crossed the room, her gaze sought his and her bottom lip trembled like her hands. She caught it between her teeth and her eyes filled.

Nash did the only thing he could. He took the cup from her, set it on the counter and then pulled her into his arms.

She rested her cheek against his chest, her fingers curling into his T-shirt. “I don’t know how this all happened or why.” A shiver shook her body, despite the heat already building outside.

“Tell me about it,” he encouraged.

“I was supposed to get married yesterday.”

“Already got that part.”

She turned her face into his shirt and pressed her forehead to his chest, not looking up as the story spilled out. “The ceremony was about to begin when I realized I didn’t love him. I almost married a man my father picked for me. Not one I loved.” She waved a hand and then clutched his shirt again. “I don’t know how I let the wedding plans go that far. Stupid, I guess. Gullible and stupid. I was about to go to him and tell him I couldn’t marry him when the best man showed up and said they couldn’t find the groom.” She laughed.

The mirthless sound made Nash’s heart contract. He stroked her curly auburn hair, wondering how any man could walk away from this woman. “He must have been a fool.”

“I thought he’d jilted me. The irony wasn’t lost on me, but I was angry. With myself. With my father. With Ryan. I looked for him. When I realized he wasn’t in the church, I went outside, thinking he might be in the garden. He wasn’t. And there it was. The convertible he should have been driving away from the church with me inside.”

She leaned back and stared up at him, a film of tears making her eyes shine brightly. “For the first time in my life, I did what I wanted to do. Not what my father or mother wanted me to do. I got into that car and drove away from the church, from my life and from everything I knew. I was tired of being something I wasn’t. Someone I didn’t know or care to be.” She smiled as the first tear trailed down her cheek.