Hot as Sin (Hot Shots: Men of Fire #2)(48)
Author: Bella Andre

She wanted to listen to his words, rather than all of the voices in her head telling her that they were too late, that she was never going to see April again. But letting herself believe that everything was okay after April’s phone call had been her biggest mistake.

Having hope ripped away had shattered her beyond repair and she felt broken inside.

“How can you have that kind of faith in me?” she whispered. “I’m failing her, Sam.”

“You sure as hell aren’t failing her. You’re pushing yourself to the limits to help her. And trust me, April knows you well enough to know you’re not going to give up. You’re tenacious. And you love her. So even if she can’t escape again, she’s going to hold on and wait for you. She knows you’re coming. She’s always known it.”

Dianna could hardly swallow past the lump in her throat. “I’m just so scared, Sam.” God, she hated tears, hated feeling weak and completely out of control. “I hate that I don’t know what to do next.”

“Of course you’re scared. She’s your sister and you love her. But you’ve got to see that this isn’t much different from fighting to pull April out of the foster system.”

“It is,” she protested.

“Not really. You didn’t know much about the people she was living with back then. But you knew she was unhappy, so you fought and fought and fought and fought for her. You won, Dianna. You won.” He closed his eyes and bowed his head against her hands before looking back into her eyes. “You’re going to win again. And I’m going to be with you every step of the way.”

A flash of lightning crackled overhead and thick drops of rain began to fall.

She was still silently digesting his optimism, his faith that they’d find April despite this crushing blow, when he pulled her to her feet.

“I know you want to stay here in case she comes back, but we don’t have our gear and I’m not going to risk you getting sick in the wind and the rain tonight.” Before she could protest, he added, “And if she can get to a phone again, she’ll know where you are. She’ll call the Farm first.”

She knew he was right, but even as she let him take her over to the dirt bike, she hated leaving the campground without having gotten one step closer to finding April, hated thinking that the person responsible for all of this pain could be standing in the forest watching them right now.

———

As they drove the dirt bike on the trail back to the Farm, Sam’s heart went out to the incredible woman holding him tightly from behind. He thought he’d been through hell with Connor, but not only had he been able to immediately rescue his brother, he’d had the satisfaction of personally wiping out the fire responsible for melting Connor’s skin. Whereas Dianna was moving forward with no clues, only more disasters, more misfortune.

There was none of the exhilaration of their ride in the other direction, none of the laughter. Even the blue skies were now gray, spitting cold rain at them as a final insult.

She shivered against him and all he wanted was to get her out of her wet clothes and settled in a warm, dry spot with some food and water. When they came to the first of the wide tree trunks in the middle of the trail, Sam made a spur-of-the-moment decision to try to carry the bike over the barrier.

Dianna’s teeth were chattering as she got off the bike and Sam didn’t have to think twice about hoisting the bike over to the other side of the trail. She’d easily scrambled over the tree trunks on the way to the campground, but now, between her fatigue and her despair, he knew she needed his help.

The fact that she let him assist her without protest worried him more than anything. He’d do anything to see the spark in her eyes return.

After what seemed like an eternity of grinding through mud and bumping painfully over endless rocks on the trail, then getting off and carrying the bike over to the other side, they pulled in through the Farm’s gates. Sam parked the bike next to an ancient tractor.

Dianna’s lips had a faint blue tinge to them, and he was so worried about her that he bent down, lifted her into his arms, and headed for Peter’s house.

“I can walk on my own,” she protested, but her voice sounded weak, wavery, utterly unlike her.

“I know, sweetheart,” he told her. “Let me take care of you.”

Again, it worried him that she didn’t fight him on it. He needed to get her warm and dry as quickly as possible.

At least she noted, “Our tent is in the other direction.”

“You need a hot shower,” he explained, “and I figure Peter may be the only person here who’s got one.”

A short while later, after pretty much running across the meadow with Dianna in his arms, Sam pounded on Peter’s door. The Farm’s owner immediately ushered them inside the blessedly warm space looking concerned when he counted only two of them.

“You didn’t find April.”

“I’ll explain everything soon enough,” Sam said, cutting off any further discussion. “Right now, I need to get Dianna into some warm water.”

Peter nodded. “Follow me.”

Sam was surprised when Peter took them out a back door, down a short gravel walkway, and into a surprisingly nice little guest house, complete with a kitchen, bathroom, and fireplace in the living room.

“I’ll have your bags, clean dry clothes, and food put out for you on the covered deck,” Peter said before closing the door.

Tracking mud across the cement floor, Sam headed for the tiled bathroom. Still cradling her tightly against his chest with one arm, he turned on the shower with the other. Quickly, the water went from cold to hot and he carried her under the spray, both of them fully clothed.

The look on her face when she finally stopped shivering was breathtakingly beautiful. Telling himself that his job was done, he gently put her down on her feet.

“Are you feeling better now?”

A part of him hoped that she’d say no, that she’d beg him to stay.

Instead, she nodded, her big green eyes holding his captive.

“Thank you for everything, Sam.”

Even though every cell in his body screamed at him to kiss her, he knew he couldn’t. She’d been through enough already without having him paw at her while her every defense was down.

He forced himself to step away from the water, away from the way her clothes were plastered to her curves, outlining every delicious inch of her body.

“I’m going to grab our things and lay some dry clothes out for you on the bed.”