Page 1 of Smoldering Nights
Chapter1
The antiseptic sting of hospital air hit Mitch DeMario before he even opened his eyes.The rhythmic beep of the heart monitor was steady, but every beat pulsed against the tight pressure bandage across his ribs.He gritted his teeth, shifting slightly in the hospital bed, and regretted it immediately.
Pain flared through his side like a firework.His eyes squeezed shut tightly, and that sent a roaring pulse through the back of his head.
"Take it easy," a woman said gently, adjusting the IV in his arm."You’ve got a cracked rib and a mild concussion.You need to rest."
"I don’t rest," Mitch muttered, pushing the bed controls to sit upright."I recover.Fast."
He opened his eyes to a brightly lit room.It was painted a sickly tan and nondescript, with some ugly watercolor of flowers on the wall directly across from him.
The nurse who'd been administering to the monitor to his right gave him a look but didn’t argue.She was middle-aged, if he had to guess, maybe mid to late forties.Near his age, if he were honest.She worked efficiently and carefully as she recorded the numbers from his monitors into the laptop on a rolling stand in front of her.Her hair was cut short, and she wore a sparkly barrette on the right side.A few silver streaks caught the sunlight as she turned her head.
She opened her mouth to speak to him, but before she could say more, the door opened, and Izzy Payton stepped in, her expression a mix of guilt, fear, and something unspoken.Her shoulders were stiff, her arms crossed tightly, and her eyes went straight to Mitch.
"You look like hell," she said softly.
He managed a weak grin."Good to see you too."
Izzy hovered just inside the doorway, not moving closer."I shouldn’t have called you.If I hadn’t..."
"Stop."Mitch’s voice was firm despite the rasp."This wasn’t your fault.Someone targeted you.I walked into that willingly."Taking the breaths he needed to speak sent shards of pain through his ribs, though he tried not to show it.
Izzy's throat worked as she swallowed, nodding, but the tears shining in her eyes betrayed her composure.
"What exactly happened?"Mitch asked, cutting through the silence."I remember pulling up.Then a noise.Heat."
"A rock sailed through the window and hit you in the chest.You fell backwards and broke one of my display shelves.You smacked the back of your head on the floor.Then, the back of the shop exploded.A propane tank we use for outdoor arrangements.It wasn’t a leak, they said it was tampered with."
Mitch’s jaw clenched, and he slowly inhaled."Deliberate."
Izzy nodded.Her long blonde hair was a mess as if she'd been rolling in a hay field.It was strewn with bits of stems, a leaf stuck to the top of her head, and the ends that dropped over her slender shoulders looked as if they'd been burned.
He shifted again, trying to focus through the haze, trying to get comfortable."Has anything else happened?Before this?Anything strange?"
She hesitated, then looked away.Poor little gal looked scared as a rabbit in a trap."A few things.Missing deliveries.A smashed window.I thought it was bad luck.Now I’m not so sure."
Mitch met her eyes."Someone’s sending a message.And now it’s loud and clear.But I’ve got a message of my own: they don’t get to scare you.They don’t get to win."
For a long second, neither of them spoke.Their eyes met and locked onto one another.The nurse who stood by listening and watching finally nodded."I'll come back in a bit to check on you."
She silently left the room, but he and Izzy were frozen in place.He couldn't seem to make himself look away.
Then Izzy stepped forward, gripping the bed rail, her voice ragged and soft."You shouldn’t have gotten hurt."
"I’ve been hurt worse," Mitch said, holding her gaze."But I won’t let it happen again.I’m going to find out who’s doing this.And I’m going to stop them."
"How are you going to do that?You're hurt.And I'm responsible for pulling you into this."
He lifted his right hand and laid it over hers on the bedrail.Her hand was cold, and he saw goosebumps on her arms."You're no more responsible than that nurse who was in here.You had no idea anything like that would happen."
A tear escaped her eye and slowly tracked down her cheek.From that, he could see her face was dusty everywhere the wet tear hadn't touched.He lifted his hand slowly so as not to cause pain and pinched the leaf stuck in her hair.He grinned when he showed her what he'd pulled from her hair.
The corner of her mouth lifted slightly, "That's about the only part of a plant left in my beautiful little shop.The nursery in the back is all but decimated."
He nodded his understanding."We'll get it fixed."
"It's a crime scene now."
