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Another thought occurred to her. Somewhere in the darkness of the property was whoever set the fire.
A chill crawled under her skin. “I’m getting out of here. Got to go.” She ended the call without another word and ran, heading for her car.
Charlie bolted across the lawn, and as she came around the side of the cabin, she caught sight of the three-hundred-gallon propane tank used to heat and power the place. Her mouth went dry as dust. She veered away from the combustible tank, sprinting faster, heart pumping double-time as adrenaline surged through her veins. But by then, it was too late.
The house exploded. The blast concussion hurled her off her feet. Heat seared the air. Singed her hair.
Her back slammed against the ground, her head hitting something even harder. Pain spiked through her.
And the world went dark.
Chapter Two
“Will you help Charlie get to the bottom of things while keeping her out of trouble with your guys?” Rocco asked, referring to the police department.
“Are you sure you really want me on this, bearing in mind what I just told you?” Brian would understand if Rocco reconsidered, but it was important for him to know. “You can get someone else. Maybe Nash.”
Nash Garner was the FBI lead and supervisory special agent of their task force. The guy could be a bit brusque and taciturn, but he was fair. Too bad Becca, the other agent on their team, was on vacation.
“I’m sure. It needs to be you.” There was no hesitation in Rocco’s voice, which was encouraging. “I think you’re the only one who can get it done, even if it means a delicate balancing act on your part. Just don’t tell Charlie what you told me. She’ll panic if you do. Take care of her for me, won’t you?”
“Yeah, all right,” Brian said, realizing he had just made a promise that was going to be nearly impossible to keep.
The second he hung up the phone, he wondered what he was about to get himself involved in.
A sliver of unease wormed in his gut.
Helping out a buddy and coworker didn’t require a second thought. Much less asking too many questions. He was tight with Rocco, but this situation was tricky. Especially when it came to Charlie.
The woman was an enigma wrapped in ice. He longed to chip away at her permafrost. No matter how long it took. He estimated it was going to take a while because Charlie was cold, cold, cold. Completely unattainable. On every level unavailable.
Not that it deterred him from wanting to make Charlie his one day.
What could he say?
He enjoyed achallenge. That single word summed her up perfectly.
Last year, Rocco had been added to the special joint task force and had moved to Laramie. That was how Brian had met Charlie. Funny, she’d been living there for years, and before then their paths had never crossed. Almost as though she hadn’t existed. But once he had seen her, been introduced, it was like he kept getting sucked into her orbit. Running into her everywhere. His thoughts always veering back to her.
Charlie on the other hand wanted nothing to do with him. You would’ve thought he had the bubonic plague the way she steered clear of him. Every one of his attempts to get to know her she had stymied, despite his best efforts. His offer to teach self-defense classes at her school for free, to take care of a plumbing issue at her house—once again, no strings attached, to fix her flat tire when he’d once seen her broken down on the road, to buy her a cup of coffee, had all been met with stone-cold rejection.
When they’d bumped into each other at a charity gala for a women’s shelter in Cheyenne—both without dates—he’d sworn it had been fate. That things between them might change that night. For a couple of perfect hours, it had. The evening felt like the beginning of something.
Then she’d gone back to barely speaking to him while he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
It was maddening.
Doing this favor for Rocco might be the key to getting closer to her.
Or it could be the biggest mistake that he ended up regretting.
Either way, this was going to be problematic. He’d already explained the potential complications to Rocco. Nonetheless, his friend trusted his judgment and had given him the green light to assist since Rocco was busy out of town, doing some undercover work.
Brian set down his first beer that he’d been nursing outside on his porch while enjoying the balmy summer air, stargazing. Wyoming in general, but specifically, out here in the countryside, boasted some of the darkest skies. An ideal spot for spying constellations. Even the Milky Way.
Great for clearing his head, restoring his soul.
Fortunately, he wasn’t too far from the Olsen place. Or Charlie’s. About ten minutes to each, but in different directions. Seemed as though folks who lived out on the outskirts of town, close to the mountains, liked their space. Made sense to swing by the Olsen ranch first, take a look. Then he’d check on Charlie and have a chat.
