Page 30 of Sapphire Nights
Chapter 12
Walker had started downhillthe minute he’d seen smoke rising behind the lodge. From his vantage point, he could see the crazy coven in a clearing farbelow.
He watched as, surrounded by the Lucys, Samantha raised a stick. In the flash of an instant, the circleexploded in an inferno oflight.
Save him from the effing crazies!Walker broke into a run. Arson was no laughing matter. Just when hethought—
Sam collapsed, screaming, while smoke rose around her. Her cry escalated his heart rate to terrormode.
He leapt over fallen trunks and skidded through debris, descending the hill at breakneck pace. Lodge personnel ran toward the clearingwith buckets and hoses, but he could only see Sam crumpled in the weeds. He barely noticed the women stomping out smoldering branches and chanting what sounded likeBlessed Be. It was his own damned fault for letting a mentally impaired female loose with the looneys. Sam’s lack of memory was definitely an impairment if she didn’t know better than to setfires.
He stumbled into the clearing,out of breath andfurious.
The women finished stomping on their smoking sticks and throwing dirt on their fire. Lodge security shouted curses and dumped buckets of water on hot rocks, exploding them in steam. Walker could see Carmel Kennedy and her chauffeur marching in this direction, steaming hotter than therocks.
His duty was to keep the townspeople from killing each other, butright now, the victim he’d sent into this brawl was his primaryconcern.
He scooped up Samantha and felt her wriggle. Good. She was alive. Now he was damned well taking her down for medical help, as he should have done in the firstplace.
“I’m fine, put me down,” she sputtered, wriggling to get free. “I was just a little overcome withsmoke.”
“Yeah, most people shriek andwave wands when they have smoke inhalation, right.” He marched on, taking the shortest unmarked path to the parking lot. Stones and rubble rolled beneath his boots, but he didn’t release hisgrip.
“Not a wand,” she muttered, pounding his shoulders. “Just one of Harvey’s walking sticks. I kept the Lucys busy, didn’tI?”
“You let them nearly set the mountain on fire! That is not whatI meant about keeping them busy. What thehelldid they explode on that fire? The place lit up like a ten-thousand megawatt magnesiumflare.”
“For all I know, itwasmagnesium.” She shoved hard, nearly toppling them both. “I do not need medicalassistance.”
“Pretend you do so I can get us both out of here. The sheriff has his homicide team up there and doesn’t need me. I’m supposedto be covering my rounds or giving assistance to the locals. You’re the local. I’m assisting. We’re getting off this mountain now, before Carmel rains fire and brimstone on ourheads.”
Even as he said it, he saw Kurt Kennedy crossing the parking lot and Aaron Townsend jogging up the trail, headed hisway.
“We can take Miss Moon down to the ER,” Kurt said with concern. “This happenedon lodge property, and I’d like to see that she’sunhurt.”
“I’m unhurt,” Samantha shouted. “And I’m not going anywhere with potentialmurderers.”
Kurt’s dark eyebrows shot up. Aaron looked amused. Walker keptwalking.
“She’s impaired,” Walker said grumpily. “The Lucys probably put pot on thefire.”
“We did not,” Aaron protested. “We released the spirit of the man whopassed this mortal coil last night. Miss Moon was not prepared for the impact. And I wish everyone would quit calling us Lucys. I am not female, nor isHarvey.”
“We could call you Looneys,” Kurt offered, following Walker across the gravellot.
Aaron was a big man, almost as large as Kurt. If they squaredoff...
Samantha yanked one of Walker’s fingers and pulled it back almostfar enough to break it. In retaliation, he dropped her. She had to grab his arm to steady herself once she was on her feet again, but she had everyone’s attention. “I am not going anywhere with any of you. I’m going back to town to play indirt.”
“Not with emergency vehicles flying up that drive, you’re not.” Walker caught her arm and kept marching her to his Ford. “I’ll take youdown.”
“I can go with one of the others.” She tried to shake him off, but he wasn’t allowing that finger trickagain.
“We offered rides,” Kurt reminded them. He crossed his arms and watched Walker open his door and fling Sam in. “Are you arrestingher?”
“Maybe. I’m thinking about it.” He slammed the door. When she opened it again, he removed his cuffs from his belt. “You stay putor I’ll lock youin.”
“You wouldn’t dare.” Her eyes were a challenging, long-lashed azure, and Walker could almost feel her ire cutting out hisheart.
