CHAPTER FORTY

I T WAS JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT . T HEY'D HAD A LATE SUPPER IN HIS SUITE , then gone to bed, both of them feeling restless and uneasy in some inexplicable way.

Cain kept thinking of what Jenny had said about Anna Hobbs, and his mind swirled with possibilities, discarding some, reviewing others. He remembered the first time he had seen Anna in Jerome. It wasn't long after he had slept with her in Scottsdale. He'd been surprised to see her in town. He'd thought he'd made it clear he had no interest in continuing the relationship, such as it was.

The Grandview remodel was well underway at the time, and he had begun coming up to supervise the final stages. Anna had stopped by the hotel a couple of times, but he had always been busy, and she had left after just a few minutes.

He remembered another occasion, remembered seeing Anna at the Copper Star. He had begun stopping by for a beer with Jake Fellows or one of the guys in Jake's crew. He'd liked the atmosphere and been intrigued by the pretty little bartender. He'd talked to Jenny a few times, eventually remembered her from high school.

He'd been attracted to her almost from the start.

At the time, they'd been remodeling part of the Copper Star, getting ready to open a new batch of rooms. He'd been laughing at something Jenny said when Anna sat down on the barstool beside him.

Cain had chatted with her politely, then excused himself and gone back to the Grandview. After that, she'd shown up several more times, even gone out to the ranch. Now he wondered . . .

He'd know more after he heard from Nick. Until they figured things out, he would just continue to keep a close watch over Jenny. Not an unpleasant task, he thought.

That was when he heard someone banging on the door to his suite. At this time of night, whatever was happening couldn't be good.

Jenny stirred as he climbed out of bed, grabbed his white terry robe, and shrugged it on.

"What's that noise?" Jenny sat up in the bed.

"I don't know. Someone's banging on the door. I'll go find out."

But Jenny was already up and pulling on her robe, following him into the living room. They were both bar owners, a business that stayed open late at night. Problems were a barkeep's constant nightmare.

The pounding came again, harder this time. Cain jerked open the door. "What the hell—"

"There's a fire at the Copper Star! The whole town is pouring into the streets!"

The color leached from Jenny's face. "Oh, God! Summer and Dylan are in there!" Turning, she raced back to the bedroom.

"We're on our way," Cain said to the guy in the hall, closing the door and hurrying to catch up with her.

In minutes, they were dressed and rushing down Hill Street toward the Star. With fire and police vehicles blocking the streets, parking would be impossible. Faster just to run, so they did.

Even from a distance, they could see the flames spreading rapidly through the upper story of the building, the glass panes in the rooms upstairs starting to explode from the heat.

He could hear Jenny praying as they ran. Cain thought of the people in the hotel, thought of Summer and Dylan. Dylan's a firefighter , he told himself. He'll know what to do. But as the flames leaped and grew, Cain started praying himself.

* * *

Summer could see flames eating through the ceiling of the room. "Oh, God, Dylan, we're trapped up here! What . . . what are we going to do?" She was shaking all over, more terrified than she'd ever been in her life.

Dylan was in the bathroom, wetting down a couple of towels. He draped the soggy fabric around her shoulders.

He caught her arms. "Listen to me. I'm getting you out of the hotel. Then I'm coming back for anyone who hasn't gotten out already."

Smoke was seeping into the room from every direction, and the roar of the fire in the hall was so loud she was terrified of what would happen when Dylan opened the door.

He draped the other towel around his own shoulders, pulled Summer's towel up over her head, and handed her a wet washcloth. "Put that over your face. You ready?"

Summer clutched the towel together in front of her. "No, Dylan. We get everyone out who is still on the second floor. You might not have time to come back for them if we don't."

She could see by the look in his eyes it was true. He gripped her shoulders and kissed her quick and hard. "Hang on to my belt. No matter what happens, don't let go."

She nodded and grabbed hold of the leather band around his waist, pressed the wet rag over her nose and mouth. Dylan did the same. He checked the door for heat, then opened it into a blazing inferno. It took every ounce of courage Summer possessed to keep from fainting and remain on her feet.

Her fingers tightened around the back of Dylan's belt as they ran through the flames around the doorframe, Dylan in front as they moved down the hall. Both sides were on fire, flames climbing the walls and licking down from the ceiling overhead. Dylan kept moving, pounding on doors as he made his way along the hallway, dodging spouts of fire that erupted here and there.

It seemed impossible they would make it to the staircase.

A door swung open. A young woman and a little girl, their eyes huge in their faces, stared out into the smoke-filled hallway. The little girl was crying, tears streaking down her face.

Dylan grabbed the child and swung her up in his arms, while Summer grabbed the woman with her free hand. Their fingers linked, and the small group hurried on down the hall.

Another door opened, closer to the lobby stairs. A young Hispanic couple raced out.

"Stay low and head for the stairs!" Dylan shouted.

Bent over and coughing, the couple hurried to join the fleeing guests.

Dylan continued pounding on doors, and another door swung open.

"Get out now!" Dylan shouted. "Stay low and head for the staircase!"

A heavyset man and his wife stumbled into the hall in their nightclothes and followed them, but Summer could see it was too late—the staircase was engulfed in flames. The bottom half fell away as the terrified group approached.

"What . . . what about the emergency exit in the new wing?" Summer shouted, her voice shaking so badly she hoped Dylan could hear her. She was covered with soot, her skin hot to the touch.

Dylan looked toward the far end of the hall, but it was blocked by a wall of flame. "Can't get through!"

Even as he said the words, Summer turned to see the thick wall of flames that now blocked the way.

"We're all gonna die!" the heavyset man screamed into the roar of the fire.

"We're all getting out!" Dylan promised, determination in every word. "We'll use the old wooden stairs!" Dylan rounded up the desperate little band, turning them back the way they had come, moving toward a door Summer had never really noticed.

When he opened it, Summer could see an old wooden staircase she hadn't known was there, probably the original exit out of the hotel. It was just beginning to burn, but the wood was dry and rotted and would quickly flash into flames.

With the little girl over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, Dylan urged the older man and his wife down the rickety stairs. The young Hispanic couple followed. Summer felt Dylan's hand cover hers on his belt and squeeze as he herded the little girl's mother ahead of him; then Dylan and the little girl led Summer down the rickety wooden stairs.

The entire hotel was in flames. A group of firefighters working on the back side of the hotel spotted them and started spraying water on the old staircase.

One of the firemen helped the other couples, while another took the little girl from Dylan's arms.

Just when Summer thought they had made it, just as Dylan reached back for her, the bottom dropped out beneath her feet. Summer screamed. She heard Dylan's roar, then everything went black.

* * *

Jenny gripped Cain's hand as they reached the street in front of the hotel.

"Get back!" one of the firemen warned. "This whole place is coming down!"

Windows shattered overhead, spraying shards of glass down on top of them. "All of you get back before you get hurt!" In unison, the crowd moved backward. Cain forced Jenny back out of danger.

She looked up at him. "My brother's in there—and Summer! We have to do something!"

When she would have moved forward, Cain stepped in front of her. "I know you'll probably hate me for this, but, honey, there is nothing we can do. We have to hope Dylan knows enough about fire to keep the two of them safe."

She glanced around wildly, desperate to find them. It seemed the entire town of Jerome was on the street in front of the burning hotel, but there was no sign of Dylan or Summer.

"How many people in the hotel tonight?" Cain asked.

"I'm not . . . not sure. Fewer than usual, thank God. And the new section is empty."

The fire chief walked up just then, tall, silver-haired. Jenny searched her mind for his name but couldn't remember. She hurried toward him, Cain at her side.

"I'm Jenny Spencer. I own the Copper Star. Did . . . did everyone get out?"

"The bar had just closed. We're sure all the customers got out of the saloon. We're pretty sure the staff had all left for the night."

"What about the guests in the hotel?"

The chief shook his head. "Looks like the fire started upstairs. By the time we got here, the place was already engulfed. We're hoping they got out, but we aren't really sure."

A little sound came from Jenny's throat.

"Her brother and his girlfriend were in there," Cain said.

"His name is Dylan Spencer. He's a firefighter." Jenny glanced around, desperately hoping to see them.

"I know Dylan," the chief said. "I haven't seen him. I'm sorry. At the moment, we aren't sure of anything." The chief hurried to join his men, who were shooting huge streams of water up at the burning structure.

Jenny looked at Cain and couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. "Oh, God, Cain. What if they . . . didn't get out?"

Cain gripped her shoulders. "Dylan's smart, and he's good at his job, right?"

"He's . . . he's the best."

"And he knows his way around the hotel, right?"

"That's right. We both spent a lot of our childhood up here."

"So if he can't come down the front stairs, how does he get out?"

Jenny looked up at him, trying to collect her thoughts. "Through the new section. We installed a new emergency exit when we remodeled. The stairs come out behind the Liberty Theatre."

"Let's go!"

Clutching each other's hands, they raced around the corner, skirting the flames, then ran down Jerome Avenue, past the theatre, heading toward the back to the building complex that covered most of a city block. Firefighters from Jerome, Clarksdale, and Cottonwood surrounded the blaze, fighting the flames, working frantically to keep the fire at the Star from spreading to the businesses around it.

When they rounded the rear of the building toward the emergency exit behind the hotel, there was a sea of firefighters, but no sign of Dylan or Summer.

Cain pulled Jenny into his arms, but she couldn't control the trembling. "They aren't here."

Cain gave her a little shake to gain her attention. "Okay, he couldn't get out through the main entrance or the emergency exit in the new section. What's he do next?"

She tried to think, but she was petrified, her brain scrambled and foggy.

"If there's a way, Dylan knows it," Cain said. "What's he do, Jenny?"

Smoke burned her eyes. The tears kept coming. So did a vague memory from her youth. "The original fire escape. An old wooden staircase in the old section. It was rotten, a hazard that needed tearing down. I meant to do it. I-I just hadn't gotten around to it."

His grip tightened on her shoulders. "So it's still there, and Dylan knows about it?"

"Yes." Cain took her hand, and they started moving again, heading farther around behind the main brick structure. The staircase was close to the far end of the old section. But when they reached it, the stairs were no longer there. Instead a crumpled pile of smoldering ashes lay on the dirt where the stairs should have ended.

Jenny's legs went weak, and Cain scooped her up in his arms. He started striding farther along the block, and she realized he was heading for a cluster of people gathered around an ambulance.

Jenny's heart seemed able to beat again. "I see them!"

Cain set her on her feet, and she raced toward her brother, threw herself into his arms. He was covered with soot and sweat, but he was alive.

"I'm okay," Dylan said. "We're both okay. When the outside stairs collapsed, Summer dropped the last few feet and broke her leg, but she's going to be all right."

"Oh, thank God." She swayed a little, felt Cain's arm go around her waist to steady her.

"Your brother saved us," a woman said, coming forward. "Me and my daughter and the others. We'll never forget how brave he was."

Jenny smiled at Dylan, then turned back to the woman. "He's a fireman. That's what firemen do."

Dylan grinned, his teeth flashing white in a face black with soot. The firemen were still working hard to contain the blaze, but the hotel continued to burn.

Jenny spotted Summer sitting on a stretcher at the back of the ambulance and hurried over.

"Oh, Summer, I'm so sorry. Dylan told me some of what happened. I know you broke your leg, but I'm just so glad you're both alive."

"Your brother was amazing," Summer said. "None of us would have made it out of there if it hadn't been for him."

Dylan walked up just then, reached down and took hold of Summer's hand. He brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them.

"Summer was brave, and she was smart. She did everything I told her." He flashed her a grin. "Well, almost everything."

"I feel like this is my fault," Jenny said. "I should have closed the hotel when the trouble started."

"We don't know what happened yet," Cain said, but Jenny caught her brother's glance, which locked with Cain's.

"You both think it was arson," Jenny said.

"There's no way to know until the arson team goes in," Dylan said.

"But if you had to guess?" Jenny asked.

Dylan rubbed a soot-covered hand over his face, leaving a black streak along his jaw. "I could smell gasoline. I'd say the fire was set."

Jenny turned away, her chest clamping down. Between the smoke, the worry, and now this, she could barely breathe.

"You gonna be okay?" Dylan asked.

"I wanted the truth, but in my heart I already knew the answer."

"What we don't know," Cain said, "is who's responsible. But I promise you—we're going to find out."