Fatal Threat
Author
Valerie Hansen
Reads
19.6K
Chapters
1
EPILOGUE
There was a celebration of sorts in the hospital ER, with Adam as guest of honor. Four others were also treated for smoke inhalation. Will and Helen were in separate rooms. Kurt and Sara had been allowed to join Adam for debriefing.
Adam sat up and attempted to talk. He ended up coughing, so Sara stepped in to explain to Sheriff Caruthers. “Helen Babcock set the fire,” she said. “Will had left her out in the truck while he came inside to show us Vicki’s journal. She’d fooled him into believing she was mentally okay because she was willing to let him bring it over and share it.”
Caruthers frowned. “What caused her to get so irrational all of a sudden?”
“That’s the key. It wasn’t sudden. Remember the vandalism the Texans denied? They were telling the truth. Helen was behind most of it. Will only came along to try to keep her from really hurting anyone. He was the one who lit the flare out at the accident, but it was Helen who got it away from him and threw it at my car.”
“The red paint, too?”
“Helen,” Sara said sadly. “Will got there too late to stop her. That was how his boot print ended up in the apartment. She’d flattened my tires already so he hustled her out of there as fast as he could. He’s not sure how she managed to sneak back and leave the threatening note on my windshield at the repair garage, but we assume that was her doing, too.”
Caruthers was shaking his head. “I don’t know where she got the strength to break up the furniture in the second place,” he said. “Did Will do that?”
“To keep her from setting it on fire, instead,” Adam choked out, triggering another spate of coughing.
“He was trying to get professional help for her,” Sara interjected. “She refused to see a doctor and he kept hoping he’d be able to handle her himself, especially if he could convince her that the journal proved Vicki didn’t die due to my negligence. I guess he was wrong.”
The sheriff closed his notebook. “Okay. That’ll do for now. You folks take it easy. I’m gonna go talk to the Babcocks.”
Kurt followed him out, leaving Sara and Adam alone. She sat down next to him and reached for his hand, relieved when he didn’t pull away. “The next time I ask you to do something for me, feel free to refuse. You almost got yourself killed rescuing that kitten.”
He gave her a lopsided smile. “Hey, I’m a sucker for a pretty face and big blue eyes.”
Blushing, Sara chuckled softly. “It’s about time you paid the right kind of attention to me.”
Adam laughed, turned away to cough, then laughed some more. “I was talking about the kitten but you’re not bad to look at, either, sweetheart.”
Her grin widened. “Thanks, cowboy. Does this mean you’re through pushing me away?”
“That was for your own good. You were an emotional wreck. I couldn’t be sure your feelings weren’t being influenced by everything else that had happened.”
“Of course they were,” she shot back. “I realized how short life can be. I wanted to make the most of every moment.”
“Oh, yeah?” He brought her fingertips to his lips and kissed them.
Sara practically melted from the tenderness, from the look in his glistening eyes. The closest he had come to that same expression before was when he had kissed her as a pretense. No amount of imagination could have created the affection she was seeing now. It was time to speak up.
“I love you, Adam.”
He gave her a lazy, crooked smile. “I love you, too. I hope you’re not saying that just because I risked my life to rescue your helpless kitty.”
“It’s definitely a good start,” she replied, leaning closer.
“I’m only a regular guy trying to do the best he can with the skills he was given,” Adam said. “Will that be good enough for you?”
Sara moved in until she was whispering against his lips. “More than good enough. It always has been.”
And then he kissed her.
If you loved this book, be sure to pick up these books from Valerie Hansen’s miniseries The Defenders
Nightwatch
Threat Of Darkness
Standing Guard
A Trace Of Memory
Small Town Justice
Available now from Love Inspired Suspense!
Find more great reads at www.LoveInspired.com
Keep reading for an excerpt from Taken in Texas by Susan Sleeman.
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