Hearths of Fire
Red Starr, Book One
Kennedy Layne
‡
HEARTHS OF FIRE
Copyright © 2014 by Kennedy Layne
Nook Edition
E-Book ISBN: 978-0-9908860-3-7
Print ISBN: 978-0-9908860-4-4
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted
work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is
punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons
living or dead is strictly coincidental.
Jeffrey—My heart has found its home with you. I love you.
Mary Wright Miller—Your strength will never cease to amaze me. Thank you for being
such an inspiration.
‡
N
eal “Doc” Bauer
took two steps at a time as he made his way up the outside stairwell to his relatively
new condo. His keys jingled as he inserted one into the lock of a white-painted door
that matched the outside railing, which overlooked the parking lot of the small condominium.
It was a postage stamp compared to the house and land that his parents had left him
in Hearth, Missouri after they’d retired to Florida…but it would do for now. He’d
only been in San Diego for two months and the location from here to the San Diego
Port where the team’s massive operations center was located couldn’t have been more
perfect.
“Doc.”
Neal looked down to see Daegan Murphy, one of his teammates at Red Starr HRT, shading
his eyes with a hand. His fellow team members had become like family to him over the
last eight weeks, and considering they’d been in each other’s presence fourteen hours
a day, they were also lucky they hadn’t killed one another. Seeing as the two men
were the youngest of the group at twenty-seven and twenty-nine consecutively, they’d
naturally formed a closer bond. Daegan also rented out the condo next door and had
made a habit of inviting a different woman over almost every weekend.
“Don’t tell me that you can’t get rid of another lady friend, Einstein.” Neal leaned
his forearms on the railing, giving his body a much-needed break after having run
a five-mile stretch. His daily run had evolved into a loop around the east side of
the port. He took Harbor Drive down to the naval base and back up to south of the
airport. He circled around the Spanish Landing, past Red Starr HRT Operations Command
situated along the east side of the bay about three quarters of a mile north of the
base before returning home. It would seem his teammate’s morning workout routine had
been considerably more stimulating. Daegan’s mishap had only happened once before,
but one of the women he’d brought back to his place for a one-night stand hadn’t been
too keen to leave the following morning. “For someone so smart you sure lack a lot
of common sense.”
“You’re a douchebag,” Daegan replied with a laugh, shaking his head. He ran a hand
over his closely shaved black hair and down his face, wiping the sweat that had accumulated
from whatever activity he might have been doing. “I’ve got an appointment scheduled
at the Sweetwater Harley Davidson dealership this morning. Mind dropping me off on
the way into headquarters so I can pick up my new ride?”
“I’ll be ready in twenty minutes, but if your ass is late for block training at ten
hundred Starr will have you strung up from the yardarm.”
“Don’t you know? I’m Starr’s favorite.”
Neal pushed off of the railing and shook his head, not even bothering to reply. The
way Starr rode their asses he wasn’t sure there
was
a favorite. He walked into his apartment, manipulated the key out of the lock, and
then used his foot to shut the door. He grimaced at the heat that was settling inside
and tossed his keys onto a side table where he kept his mail. He walked through the
small living room that was partially furnished with a matching leather couch and chair
along with a large screen television. He hadn’t really had time to finish decorating
with all the hours they were putting into their training at Red Starr.
Stopping at the wall that separated the even smaller kitchen from the living area,
he adjusted the AC. This time of year the evenings were cool where the daytime rarely
varied from the low seventies, although today was an exception as the normal inland
Santa Ana winds had taken the day off. Without the breeze it always seemed a bit hotter.
At least the team wasn’t sticking to their usual schedule and they would be inside
for block training most of the day, going through hostage crisis maneuvers and situational
guidelines in the classroom. A glance at his watch told him that he now had eighteen
minutes and counting before he needed to walk out the door.
Neal had made it to his bedroom when his cell rang. It had been secured in an armband
that he used when running and his first intention had been to ignore the call, thinking
it was his mother checking in. When he ripped the fabric apart and saw the number
on the display he froze in his tracks. What the hell would Charlotte be calling him
for? She’d made it quite clear that she’d moved on with her life and she wanted nothing
else to do with him—which could only mean something happened in his hometown that
he needed to be aware of. Had someone close to his family been hurt—or worse, died?
Now that his parents had moved to Florida they weren’t in the small town circle of
chinwag…at least not the daily circle. He slipped the phone from the small pouch and
answered the call.
“Char?”
“I know I’m probably the last person you expected to hear from and I know you have
every right to hang up on me…but I really, really need your help.”
Charlotte Whitefall wasn’t a woman to ask for anything she could do herself. She was
independent, opinionated, obstinate, and the downright bane of his existence. He’d
closed his eyes the moment her voice had carried over the line and he tried his best
not to let the sound of her beautiful voice recall their past memories as if it were
yesterday. It was like holding back the tide. Visions of the curvaceous blonde with
blue eyes shimmered in his head and caused his heart to pick up the tempo just a bit.
“I’m not going to hang up on you.” Neal resigned himself a long time ago to the fact
that he would never turn her away. With that said he would also never place himself
in a situation where she could stick a stiletto in his heart like she had the day
she’d left him at the altar. “What do you need, Char?”
“It’s about Mandy. She’s okay, but—” Charlotte stopped there as if she needed to catch
her breath. Neal opened his eyes and listened intently to anything that might be going
on in the background. He’d never heard such desperation in her voice…not even when
he’d confronted her after he’d sent the guests home from the church that fateful morning.
She’d certainly been confident in her decision not to include him in her life back
then. What could possibly have happened to her little sister? “You need to talk to
her. You are the only one she has ever listened to, Neal.”
“Talk to her about what?” Neal sat on the edge of the bed and leaned forward, placing
his elbows on his knees. He was having a hard time believing that Charlotte would
ever call him over something Mandy had done. “You need to start at the beginning.”
“Ashes to Dirt,” Charlotte stated, as if that summed up everything. In a way it did.
When Neal had gotten out of the service last March he’d returned to his hometown with
every intention of settling down. He hadn’t realized how hard it would be to return
home and blend in with the small community. His first problem had been seeing Charlotte
around town and feigning that everything was fine. The second issue had been Ashes
to Dirt. The citizens of Hearth had thought they could force the cult that Charlotte
was referring to out of the area by shunning them. Apparently that was exactly how
they liked things. Neal had spoken to the leaders once but it had been enough to garner
him some enemies. “Mandy is dating the son of the spiritual leader, Neal. I’m losing
her.”
“You’re not losing her,” Neal stated, reassuring Charlotte the best that he could.
“Mandy is as stubborn as you are and no amount of indoctrinating by these lunatics
would ever get her to join them in whatever concocted turn of the century religion
they’re feeding their followers. In all honesty, I’m not so sure Mandy would listen
to me anyway. You’re talking about a pseudo-family relationship we had a long time
ago, Char.”
“When you came back for those few months all Mandy did was talk about you and the
advice you gave her about college. She
still
listens to you,” Charlotte argued, not surprising Neal in the least. When she felt
she was right she said or did what she could to get her way like a pit bull with an
attitude. “I’m begging you…please talk to her. You can judge for yourself if you think
I’m overreacting. I’m not. This boy has got her in his clutches and she’s starting
to act out of character. I’ve gone to her friends and even they are worried. She’s
not heeding anyone’s warning and I think it’s even pushing her closer to him.”
“Who is
he
?” Neal asked, not remembering hearing about a teenage son when he’d had discussions
with Robert and Patricia Ashe, the married couple who led this so-called cult. “What’s
his name and how old is he?”