“Oh . . .” his mother trailed off.
“Yeah, Mom, the situation’s almost exactly like it was with her. I needed to hear your voice to help me calm down.” Smoke was finally able to take his first deep breath since stepping into that room. Just hearing his mom’s voice calmed him, as he knew it would.
“Well, that means you need to see me. I’m going to fly out there.”
“You don't need to do that, Mom. I have a lot going on,” Smoke said, knowing he was going to lose that argument.
“Don’t you dare say that to me, young man,” his mother huffed. He hid the smile trying to break through as he pictured his mother with one hand on the phone, the other on her hip, and her front toe tapping the ground. If he spoke a single word, she’d hear the smile in his voice and he’d surely get an ass whooping when she arrived. “I do need to know where you are so I can come kick you in the butt for trying to stop me from coming to see you,” Laysha finished sternly. He could also hear the fondness in her tone. She missed him, just as he missed her. It had been three months since he’d seen her, and that really was too long, the longest they’d gone without seeing each other since he’d left the military.
“I miss you too, Mom,” he finally said, no longer trying to hide his smile.
She giggled, the sound taking years from her deep voice. Smoke and his mother had spent years laughing. She’d always told him if you laughed when you wanted to cry you could chase the demons away. It had worked more often than not. No matter how serious life got, his mother’s words of wisdom and her voice could always calm him. Once calm, the laughter always flowed.
They cemented her plans, and Smoke hung up with a much lighter weight on his shoulders. He’d need to warn the team of her arrival, as she was going to blow in faster and harder than a category five hurricane. He’d also have to spin the message of why she’d be visiting.
Smoke knew if he didn’t get ahead of this, his mom, as well as the men on his team, would have a constant barrage of ammunition on him needing his mommy. He didn’t know which would be worse, the things his mom would say to his team, or the things the team would say to his mom. It was a toss-up. There were four men and one of her, and she’d definitely say the odds were in her favor — and he’d place his money on his mom every time. When she wanted something, she dang well got it, including embarrassing him with terrible stories of his misspent youth.
Smoke looked to the cloudless sky, gave a vast exhale, took a moment to refocus, then turned back to the Veteran’s Center. McCormack had stepped outside, looking around. When he saw Smoke and Green were on the premises, he seemed relieved. Smoke and McCormack arrived at Green at the same time.
“I’m not going to make you read through this,” Sheriff McCormack said, glancing at Smoke before continuing. “Here’s a letter talking about him going to have his new mom go meet his birth mom. There’s plenty of evidence showing the attack was premeditated and his absolute intent to take her life.”
“Why would he want to take her life if he supposedly loved her?” Smoke snapped.
“Who knows how crazy people think?” McCormack said with a shrug. “I certainly wouldn’t be surprised to find out he’d started using drugs again. He became obsessed with Katherine, and sometimes the insane need to keep the person they’re obsessing over with them . . . alive or dead,” the sheriff finished.
“I guess nothing on earth really surprises me anymore, Sheriff,” Smoke said with a deflated sigh. He looked at both men. “Sadly enough, not even when it comes to the outright depravity of some humans,” Smoke added with a mixture of irritation and sadness.
“In my line of work, I have to agree,” McCormack said.
The men nodded as they bowed their heads, lost in their own thoughts. What would come next? Did Travis have accomplices? Was Katherine out of danger? Or was she in more danger than before? They didn’t know anything with certainty . . . but they’d soon find out, that was for damn sure.
Chapter Three
Smoke found himself oddly nervous as he parked his SUV in front of Amira’s house. What in the world was wrong with him? She’d tried denying him her address by saying she’d meet him at their date location, but he’d insisted on picking her up, even upping the ante by saying he’d tell Mrs. Clemens she wasn’t allowing him to be a gentleman if she refused. She’d been none too pleased when she’d finally conceded.
Of course, he already had her address, but he couldn’t tell her that. She might be slightly freaked out if she knew the information he was capable of getting at the simple flick of a few fingers on a keyboard.
Smoke couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt the slightest bit of nerves about going on a date. He knew who he was, knew he was a catch, and also knew he’d give the woman a good time, and then he’d move on.
Why was it so different with Amira? Why did he seem to be so consumed with this woman? He wasn’t sure he wanted to delve into that and figure out the answers. It might scare him enough to run away, and that was the last thing he wanted to do when he was so close to holding her against him.
They’d dance that night, but not until later. He wanted to impress this woman, so he wasn’t holding back. Their first stop was dinner at an exclusive comedy show. Then they’d finish their evening with dessert and dancing . . . and he could always hope for an extra special dessert when he took her back home, all safe and sound . . . and thoroughly romanced.
After another moment of hesitation, Smoke pulled the large bouquet of flowers and the box of chocolates from his vehicle and walked with confidence to her quaint home with a bright red front door.
He rang the bell . . .
Smoke waited, not hearing a sound from inside the house. He started to grow nervous. Had she skipped out? He hadn’t thought that was a possibility. Just when he was getting ready to ring the bell again, he heard a noise and waited . . . his finger hovering in the air above the doorbell. And then it was music to his ears when he heard locks unclicking. He smiled when she had to undo three of them. He liked that she was a smart and cautious woman.
When the door opened, Smoke lost his breath at the sight of Amira standing before him in a short red dress, the sparkling black heels on her feet making her legs look a mile long, no stockings to mar the view. His eyes trailed up her slender hips, over her flat stomach, and slowly across the modest cleavage teasing him. He finally made it to her face, and he smiled at the exasperated look in her eyes.
“Did you get a good enough look?” she asked with that irritated sigh that did funny things to his body.
“I could never get a long enough view,” he assured her. “No doubt I’m going to be the envy of every man we pass tonight. You’re absolutely stunning,” he told her, his tone filled with awe.
A slight blush stole over her cheeks, making her more appealing. He’d like to do many, many things with Amira that would put a blush over her entire body. He just had to have patience, he told himself.
After a few moments of reverent silence, Smoke finally remembered he held the flowers and chocolates, and he presented them to her. “These don’t come close to your beauty, but since I already bought them, I guess I’ll give them to you.”