Where There's Smoke... Read online

  * * *

  May’s menu

  BARONESSA GELATERIA

  in Boston’s North End

  In addition to our regular flavors of Italian gelato, this month we are featuring:

  Espresso laced with Irish Cream

  Shane was proud of his heritage as a firefighter in his Irish immigrant family. He approached his work the same way he did his life—fearlessly. That is, until he found himself unsettled by the feelings he had for Emily Barone….

  Angel food cake

  Whether Shane’s kiss was her first, Emily didn’t remember. She did know it was the only one that mattered. When he took her in his arms, her virgin heart had never beat so fast, never yearned so much….

  Cherries flambé, made and lit at your table

  Despite their differences, Shane could not douse his desires, nor could Emily deny her burning need to be with him. Their passion threatened to blaze out of control—hot and dangerous….

  Buon appetito!

  * * *

  Dear Reader,

  Let Silhouette Desire rejuvenate your romantic spirit in May with six new passionate, powerful and provocative love stories.

  Our compelling yearlong twelve-book series DYNASTIES: THE BARONES continues with Where There’s Smoke… (#1507) by Barbara McCauley, in which a fireman as courageous as he is gorgeous saves the life and wins the heart of a Barone heiress. Next, a domineering cowboy clashes with a mysterious woman hiding on his ranch, in The Gentrys: Cinco (#1508), the launch title of THE GENTRYS, a new three-book miniseries by Linda Conrad.

  A night of passion brings new love to a rancher who lost his family and his leg in a tragic accident in Cherokee Baby (#1509) by reader favorite Sheri WhiteFeather. Sleeping with Beauty (#1510) by Laura Wright features a sheltered princess who slips past the defenses of a love-shy U.S. Marshal. A dynamic Texan inspires a sperm-bank-bound thirtysomething stranger to try conceiving the old-fashioned way in The Cowboy’s Baby Bargain (#1511) by Emilie Rose, the latest title in Desire’s BABY BANK theme promotion. And in Her Convenient Millionaire (#1512) by Gail Dayton, a pretend marriage between a Palm Beach socialite and her millionaire beau turns into real passion.

  Why miss even one of these brand-new, red-hot love stories? Get all six and share in the excitement from Silhouette Desire this month.

  Enjoy!

  Melissa Jeglinski

  Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire

  Where There’s Smoke…

  BARBARA MCCAULEY

  Books by Barbara McCauley

  Silhouette Desire

  Woman Tamer #621

  Man from Cougar Pass #698

  Her Kind of Man #771

  Whitehorn’s Woman #803

  A Man Like Cade #832

  Nightfire #875

  *Texas Heat #917

  *Texas Temptation #948

  *Texas Pride #971

  Midnight Bride #1028

  The Nanny and the Reluctant Rancher #1066

  Courtship in Granite Ridge #1128

  Seduction of the Reluctant Bride #1144

  †Blackhawk’s Sweet Revenge #1230

  †Secret Baby Santos #1236

  †Killian’s Passion #1242

  †Callan’s Proposition #1290

  †Reese’s Wild Wager #1360

  Fortune’s Secret Daughter #1390

  †Sinclair’s Surprise Baby #1402

  †Taming Blackhawk #1437

  †In Blackhawk’s Bed #1447

  Royally Pregnant #1480

  †That Blackhawk Bride #1491

  Where There’s Smoke… #1507

  Silhouette Intimate Moments

  †Gabriel’s Honor #1024

  BARBARA MCCAULEY,

  who has written more than twenty novels for Silhouette Books, lives in Southern California with her own handsome hero husband, Frank, who makes it easy to believe in and write about the magic of romance. Barbara’s stories have won and been nominated for numerous awards, including the prestigious RITA® Award from the Romance Writers of America, Best Desire of the Year from Romantic Times and Best Short Contemporary from the National Reader’s Choice Awards.

  Meet the Barones of Boston—

  an elite clan caught in a web of danger, deceit…and desire!

  Shane Cummings—He has no attachments, no commitments. Even his sailboat home isn’t grounded. This firefighter’s a loner who lives life for today—and he wants to keep it that way….

  Emily Barone—She personifies stability. Warm and secure in her big, loving family, she’s got the powerful Barones behind her. Emily wants permanence—at least she would if she could remember who she was….

  Derrick Barone—He looks out for Emily, as older brothers do. But does he have only her best interests at heart?

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  One

  Emily Barone stood in the small back office of Baronessa Gelati and watched the single white piece of paper slowly roll into the copy machine tray, then lie flatly on top of the three other copies she’d already made. Light flickered on the dimly lit walls; the machine shuddered, then clicked to a stop.

  It’s not true, she told herself for the hundredth time. It can’t be.

  But Emily knew in her heart that the evidence she’d found against Derrick was true. There was no other explanation, nothing that could absolve, or forgive, what her brother had already done.

  Or what he still planned to do.

  Her hand shook as she reached for the incriminating piece of paper that proved Derrick’s crime: he intended to sell secret recipes from the family gelato business to a rival company.

  He’d been careful not to raise suspicion, Emily knew. Even as Derrick’s secretary, Emily might not have ever noticed anything amiss if earlier today she hadn’t accidentally overheard a few whispered words of a phone call on his private line, words that had made her uneasy. When he’d left his office a few minutes later, she’d gone in and pushed redial, only to hear a receptionist for Snowcream, Inc., Baronessa Gelati’s biggest competitor, answer the phone.

  She’d had to wait until the plant had closed this evening and everyone left before she could search for evidence to confirm Derrick’s betrayal. It had taken her nearly an hour to jimmy the lock on his desk, another fifteen minutes to find the file containing detailed notes from his conversation with Grant Summers, CEO of Snowcream. The file also contained dates and times Derrick had met with Summers, listed the amount of money to be exchanged for the information and the Swiss bank account the money would be transferred into.

  Emily swallowed the lump in her throat and blinked back her tears. She knew she was naive. At twenty-four, she still tried to see the good in people, still hoped that in the end a person would do the right thing. She’d prayed she’d been wrong about Derrick, hadn’t wanted to believe that her own brother would steal from anyone, let alone Baronessa Gelati.

  She was glad her father, Paul Barone, had chosen to become a lawyer rather than go into the business Grandfather Marco had started over a half century ago. Just the thought of taking this damning information to her parents made Emily sick to her stomach. It would kill her mother to learn that her son was capable of such a betrayal.

  But it was possible her parents might never have to know, Emily thought as she turned off the copy machine. Her father’s brother, Carlo, ran Baronessa. She knew she couldn’t look the other way, that she had to take this evidence to her uncle. She knew h
e would have a solution that would quietly remove Derrick from his position as VP of Quality Assurance Department and possibly even cover up any potential scandal to the company or the family.

  Uncle Carlo would know what to do; Emily was certain of it. With his booming, deep voice, he was a little intimidating at times, but he was a good man, a fair man who loved his wife and children and was fiercely protective of the entire family.

  At the sound of a door closing in an outer office, Emily froze. Quickly she reached across to the single table lamp she’d turned on when she came in. She stood in the dark, listening, heard a quiet shuffling sound, then nothing. Slowly she moved toward the closed blinds over the small copy-room window and peeked out through the side. She’d left the outer lights off, but she could see the outline of a tall, thin man at one of the desks.

  She gasped as the man turned. Dear God! It was Derrick!

  When he glanced in her direction, Emily jumped back. She’d never been a good liar. If he found her here, she knew she’d never be able to talk her way out of this mess. He’d only have to look at her face to know what she’d discovered, and he’d be furious. She couldn’t confront him yet, not until she talked to Uncle Carlo.

  Pressing her back to the wall, she waited, then finally heard the outer door close. Slowly she released the breath she’d been holding. To be sure he’d left the plant, she’d wait a while before she came out. She could take no chances that he might return and find her putting the file back in his desk, or discover her on her way out with the copies she’d made.

  After several minutes, there were still no sounds, except for the soft ticking of the copy-room wall clock and the beating of her own heart. The office was quiet. Thank goodness. She breathed a sigh of relief. She’d wait two more minutes and—

  Once again she froze. And sniffed.

  Smoke?

  She flipped on the lamp again and glanced down. Thin ribbons of wispy gray smoke curled up from underneath the door.

  Oh God, no…

  She shoved the blinds apart and looked out. Flames shot up from the middle of the office and were spreading quickly across the room.

  Why hadn’t the alarm gone off? And why hadn’t the sprinklers come on? Unless Derrick—

  No! She couldn’t believe that he would do such a terrible thing. Selling secret formulas was one thing, but arson was another. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—commit such a heinous crime.

  She grabbed her purse and both files. There’d be no time to replace the original back into Derrick’s desk, but she couldn’t think about that now. She had to get out quickly, before the fire completely engulfed the office. Since there was no window to the outside from the copy room, she had no choice but to make a dash across the outer office and hopefully skirt the flames. If she could get to the windows overlooking the street two stories below, she could attract someone’s attention. If worse came to worst—and she prayed it wouldn’t—she would have to jump.

  She gulped in air, then threw open the door and ran. A blast of heat made her stumble, but she recovered and kept going. In the distance she heard the wail of sirens and the sound gave her hope. They’re coming, she thought as the wail and the deep sound of horns grew louder. They’re almost here.

  The fire crackled around her, sparks flew, singeing her face and bare legs. The smoke burned her throat and her eyes. But she made it to the window, was reaching for the handle when the sound of a loud crack from behind her made her whip her head around. She watched in horror as the heavy steel bindings that supported the dropped ceiling gave way. Like a giant zipper opening, the ceiling ripped apart, raining metal and plaster tiles. Frantic, Emily turned back to the window, but the crack overhead rushed toward her like a hideous, furious monster.

  Helpless to stop it, she went down.

  “This is Hemming Taylor from KLRT.” The pretty blond reporter held the microphone close as she spoke to the television cameraman. “First on the scene and reporting to you live from Brookline, Massachusetts, where behind me a fire rages inside one of the buildings that make up the Baronessa Gelati manufacturing plant. It appears that flames have already consumed the third floor of the plant’s main offices, and as you can see—” Hemming pointed with one hand and the camera swept up to catch a full shot of the building “—the fire seems to have spread to the second floor, as well. Firefighters already on the scene are working valiantly to douse the flames, and an unconfirmed report of a woman inside the building has heightened the tension among the firefighters and onlookers alike. We’re told that the call came in approximately ten minutes ago and—”

  An explosion from the third floor had the reporter and crew running for cover. Car alarms blared from the streets, and firefighters working outside the building dropped to protect themselves from flying debris.

  Inside the building, in the smoke-filled stairwell between the first and second floors, the blast from overhead threw Shane Cummings to his knees. He recovered quickly, stood and glanced back at his partner, Matt.

  “You okay?” Shane yelled over a second, smaller explosion.

  Matt lifted a hand, gave Shane the go-ahead sign, then pointed to the door leading to the second story.

  As a unit, Shane and Matt moved up the stairwell. Shane knew they were quickly running out of time, that they should get out now, but the security guard working the building across the street had insisted he saw a woman in a second-story window that faced the street. Two minutes, Shane told himself as he kicked the door open with his boot. Two minutes and they were out of here.

  “We’ve entered the second story from the stairwell.” Shane had to yell into his radio headset over the crackle of flames and crashing debris. “The room is approximately forty by fifty, charged with heavy smoke, the ceiling is down. Female reported at east window and we’re heading there now.”

  “Negative, Cummings.” Chief Griffin’s raspy voice crackled over the radio. “The third floor is engulfed. Get your butts out of there now.”

  “Five minutes.” Shane glanced back at Matt, who nodded. “Then we’re outta here pronto.”

  “No heroics, Cummings,” Griffin barked. “That’s a command, dammit. Get your ass out of there now.”

  “Two minutes,” Shane negotiated. “Get a ladder at the window and we’ll come through there.”

  While Chief Griffin erupted into a litany of expletives and threats, Shane hunkered down under the cloud of smoke and pressed forward. Matt moved with him.

  Adrenaline pumped through Shane’s blood as he edged around a wall of flames, then spotted the windows across the rows of desks in the office. Between the rubble and the smoke, it was impossible to see if anyone was lying on the floor. He made his way across the room, then spotted a pair of long, bare legs protruding from under a pile of ceiling tiles.

  “Found her,” Shane yelled back to Matt, then spoke into his headset again. “This is Cummings. I’ve located the female approximately six feet from the east window. She may be unconscious. Do you copy?”

  The hiss of static came back, then Griffin said, “We copy, Cummings. Get her and get the hell out of there.”

  “My plan exactly. Over.”

  Dropping to the pile of rubble on the floor, he pitched broken tiles and chunks of plaster until he finally uncovered the woman’s still body.

  She was young, probably early twenties, Shane noted as he scooped her up into his arms, and he doubted she tipped the scales past a hundred pounds. Though dust and soot covered her, he saw no evidence of burns on her clothes or her bare arms and legs.

  When he stood, her hair fell away from her face and her eyelids fluttered open. He saw the confusion and fear in her eyes as she looked up at him.

  “I’ve got you,” he yelled. “Is there anyone else in here?”

  He couldn’t hear what she said, but he hoped like hell her answer was no. Another explosion from somewhere overhead made him stumble backward. Shane gritted his teeth and held the woman close while debris rained down on them. She buried her h
ead against his chest.

  “We have to go out through the window,” he yelled over the thunderous roar of the fire. “Can you hang on?”

  She nodded, then slid her arms up and circled his neck tightly.

  Holding the woman in his arms, Shane stepped to the window and opened it, felt his own lungs burn from the cloud of smoke that poured out into the crisp night air. He heard the din of men and women working below, saw the flash of red lights spinning from the trucks. There were shouts, then the ladder appeared.

  “Here we go.” Shane shifted the woman to one arm so the upper part of her body draped over his shoulder. He held her tight, then backed out of the window. Matt was right behind him.

  Shane had barely stepped off the ladder when another explosion blasted through the second story, blowing out the windows. He dropped to the ground, shielding the woman’s body with his own. She shuddered against him, held tightly to his jacket while glass and pieces of brick crashed down on them.

  Shane quickly glanced behind him to make sure Matt was all right, then breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of his partner picking himself up off the sidewalk and giving him a thumbs-up.

  None too gently, Shane scooped the woman back up into his arms and made a dash to the waiting paramedics, who slid her onto a gurney and slipped an oxygen mask over her face. As they carried her away, Shane watched the woman lift her head and hold his gaze. She looked so small lying there, shivering. The sight of blood trickling down her soot-smudged forehead made Shane’s stomach constrict. He started to follow her, but was stopped short at the sound of Chief Griffin’s bellow.

  “Cummings!”

  Griffin, five foot ten and built like a bull, came charging at him. “I told you to get the hell out of there,” the chief roared. “I oughta suspend your ass for such a stupid stunt.”