Page 25 of Hot For You

“Damn.” Cody bit out the word as he paced his office. “This doesn’t sound good.”

“It sure as hell doesn’t,” Reese said. “I obtained a warrant to search her apartment and the living room was a mess, indicating there could have been a struggle. But it’s possible she could just be a messy person. Toiletries were in the bathroom, the clothes closets and drawers were full, there were suitcases in the coat closet, an almost full gallon jug of milk in the fridge, which was filled with groceries, and any number of other clues that tells us she wasn’t planning on an extended stay anywhere else.”

Cody pushed his hand through his hair in frustration. “What now?”

“We’re treating it as a missing person’s case and we’ve started a search,” Reese said. “We’ve started locally and if nothing turns up we’ll be searching the area where we found her car.”

Cody leaned back in his office chair. “Thanks for keeping me up to speed.”

“No problem,” Reese said. “I’ll be in touch if I have any news.”

When he’d disconnected the phone, Cody absently flipped the cell phone in his hands as he thought about what Reese had just told him. Did Janice Barnhart’s disappearance have anything to do with the arsonist? Were the other victims of the arsonist in danger, too?

He gritted his teeth. Damned if he was going to let anything happen to Carilyn.

* * *

Carilyn’s head ached so badly she thought it would split. She gave a low groan as she heard a voice calling to her.

“Wake up, Carilyn.” A male voice was speaking her name and a warm hand was on her shoulder. “I need to check on you.”

She didn’t want to wake up, but she was inclined to obey. She blinked her eyes to a dim room and looked up to see Cody bent over her.

He ran his knuckles along her cheek. “This might seem like a silly question, but what’s your name?”

It did seem silly but then she surprised herself when she hesitated. “Carilyn,” she said as she pushed through the fog and grasped the answer.

“Do you know where you are?” he asked.

She had to think for a moment. “On your ranch. Outside of Prescott.”

He gave a nod. “Do you know what happened to you?”

She frowned. “I…” She had to concentrate hard. Her thoughts seemed so elusive. “There was a rattlesnake and I was thrown from your horse. From Molly. I landed on the ground and hit my head.”

“Very good.” He raised a cup of water. “I’d bet you’d like some more Tylenol about now.”

“You’d bet right.” She tried to smile. It hurt.

He helped her sit just enough to swallow the tablets and she chased it down with sips of water. Her mouth and throat were dry and she was glad to have something to drink.

“You can keep on sleeping.” He checked her eyes, probably looking to see if they were dilated. Despite her confusion, she seemed to remember that much. “You need to relax and recover. A concussion is nothing to take lightly.”

“Okay.” She felt too foggy to argue with him. As much as she felt the need to get home and work on her laptop, she also realized the last thing she should be doing now was driving. She wouldn’t be able to concentrate on work, anyway.

He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed as he looked down on her. “Rest,” he repeated.

“I will,” she said before she drifted off to sleep again.

Chapter 9

He hadn’t meant to kill her.

Nathan stared at the body of Janice Barnhart, in the abandoned old warehouse, his stomach churning. He had only wanted to scare her.

Right?

But he had pushed too far and everything had gotten out of control.

---