Trial by Fire

Trial by Fire
Cara Putman

Литагент HarperCollins EUR

Her mother's house was first. Then her brother's.County prosecutor Tricia Jamison is sure she's next on the arsonist's list. But who is after her family? And why does every fire throw her in Noah Brust's path? Noah can't forgive Tricia. Her failure to protect him on the stand the previous year meant his father's reputation was ruined.Yet every time the firefighter is near her, he's drawn to her again. The vulnerability she hides under her confident veneer surprises and moves him. Torn between Tricia's safety and his own bitterness, Noah belatedly remembers the first rule of firefighting: don't get burned.

Report to fire–Jamison’s home.

The odds were too remote to have these fires be random. Noah needed to get to the scene stat.

There, a woman’s dark hair swirled around her face in the wind. Time slowed when he realized who it was. Tricia Jamison’s smile evaporated as he stared.

She crossed her arms. “Why are you here?”

“I save people and property, you know.” Bite he hadn’t intended colored his words.

Tricia stepped back, as if assaulted by his words. “Don’t let me stop you.”

He fought the urge to take her into his arms. Instead, he left her standing there, feeling like a heel as he walked away. But he couldn’t do what he wanted. Kiss her delicate lips. How could he walk away from a year of anger at the flash of beautiful brown eyes?

He’d better focus his attention on something he understood. The roar of flames ahead provided the answer. But then an explosion had him ducking as windows shattered outward.

CARA PUTMAN

Since the time she could read Nancy Drew, Cara has wanted to write mysteries. For years she asked God if this dream was from Him. Her life was full. She graduated with honors from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Go, Huskers!), moved to the Washington, D.C., area, married the man of her dreams, worked in the non-profit world, went to George Mason Law School at night while working and then started having children. While her life was far from empty, the dream wouldn’t die. Then she followed her husband to Indiana. Talk about starting over! In 2005 she attended a book signing at her local Christian bookstore, where she met Colleen Coble. The rest, as they say, is history. With prompting from her husband, Cara shared her writing dream with Colleen. Cara’s been writing ever since. To learn more about Cara and her books, please visit her at www.caraputman.com.

Trial by Fire

Cara Putman

He has showed you, O man, what is good.

And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

—Micah 6:8

To Abigail, Jonathan and Rebecca. My kiddos put up with one crazy fall where this was the last of three books turned in on very tight deadlines. I enjoyed celebrating “the end” in this book by going to Madagascar 2 with you. But most of all, I am humbled that God entrusted each of you to me.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Krista Stroever and Tina Colombo. Krista, for buying this book, and Tina, for helping me make it better. Thanks to Karen Solem for constantly pushing me to slow down and find those stories that resonate.

Thanks also to Patrick Grimes, fire investigator with the Lafayette Fire Department, for his willingness to share his experience and expertise. And thanks to my colleague Greg Loyd for answering some strange and pointed questions about what he’d seen as a domestic violence prosecutor that complicated cases, while helped me make Tricia’s life miserable.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN