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PROLOGUE
SAMANTHA
Two years ago
“Lis, are you okay?” I ask as soon as I walk into the hospital room and see her lying on the bed.
“Yes, Sam, I’m okay. The doctor says I won’t have any scars, but I could have faint lines for a while.”
“I’m just grateful you are alive. I hopped on the first plane out when I received the call from Matt. By the way, where is your bodyguard? I want to kick his ass for not protecting you like I hired them to do.”
"He did protect me, and he saved me.”
“You are in love with him.” It’s not a question but a statement and she nods her head.
“I have something to tell you, that I learned,” Alisa says.
I sit down on the bed, “Are you pregnant?” I ask.
“No,” she says with a look of disbelief that I would even ask that. “I know what happened to mom.”
“Huh?” I ask, not expecting this.
“Mom didn’t leave us. The bastard who took me, saw us in the park with mom one day. He took mom and killed her. He always planned to come back and kill us; in fact, he was hoping to draw you out with my funeral to follow you back to where you are living.”
“Oh my God, mom didn’t walk out on us like dad said?” I ask, with disbelief in my voice.
She shakes her head, tears in her eyes, and I can feel my eyes stinging with unshed tears.
“Do you think dad knew?” I ask.
“I don’t know. I don’t want to believe that if he knew, he would allow us to believe she just left us.” She chokes back a sob.
I think about her words, and I would like to believe he wouldn’t allow us to think that either, but since he’s gone, we may never know. However, there is one person I can ask, but being in his presence causes my body to react in a way that never reacts to anyone else. Chief Connor Yates.
The man is twenty years older than me, and he was my father’s best friend. My feelings for him are wrong, I know this, but I can’t help the way my body reacts when I am around him. It’s one of the reasons I didn’t apply to be a firefighter here, the other was I didn’t want it to look like favoritism since my father died in the line of duty from the same firehouse.
Just then, her hospital door opens, and in walks a gorgeous specimen of a man.
“Hey, I brought you some coffee,” he says, handing Lis a coffee.
“Where’s mine?” I ask.
“You must be Sam,” he says, and I nod, “I’m Matt.”
“Oh, you are the one responsible for NOT keeping my sister safe,” I say, and I can see the guilt in his eyes as he looks down at Alisa.
“Sam, that’s not nice. I already told you; this was not Matt’s fault.”
“I know, I know.” I wave my hand, “but you are my little sister, and they were supposed to protect you.” I wipe the tears from my face.
All the emotions hit me at once, knowing I lost my mom to the same killer who almost took my sister from me.
“I’m sorry for not protecting her,” Matt whispers as he looks at me, then down at her with so much love on his face.
“No, she’s right, it’s not your fault, I’m just an emotional case right now with very little sleep. If you are okay with it, I’m going to go to your house and get some sleep, then I’ll be back.”
“Okay,” Alisa says while nodding her head.
