the weekends. I’m praying that my sister recovers, but I don’t want her to be there alone.”
“Totally understand. Let me just get Saint turned around. I’ll be right back.”
“You done already?” Saint turned his head when Blaze entered the cockpit.
“We are.” He dropped into the co-pilot seat.
“Is that a good thing or a bad? You writing her off or signing her up?”
“It’s complicated. At first blush, this doesn’t seem like a Galaxy case, but the more she talked, the more pissed-off I got at the way she’s been treated.”
“Yeah? You taking up for the downtrodden?”
Blaze snorted. “That hardly describes her. She’s feisty and angry and rightfully so. I think she’s been screwed over by people more powerful than she even realizes. Digging them out will be a challenge.”
Saint chuckled. “You always did have a Sir Galahad complex.”
“Maybe.” Blaze winked, but then sobered. “I’m telling you, Saint, something smells here to high heaven. The police don’t write up a one-page report on a hit and run and leave out practically all the details unless something is cooking. No one saw anything, can’t even identify what kind of car it is and they basically want to make it all go away. I listened to everything she said and the whole thing shrieks of cover-up.”
“So it’s a go.”
“It is. Let’s land this thing so I can get hold of everyone else and brief them. This is all that’s on our plate right now, so I want to get the others involved for as long as we can.”
“Got it.”
Peyton hadn’t moved from her position, sitting erect in her seat and holding her wineglass. Blaze dropped to the couch again and leaned forward.
“We’ll be making our descent shortly. You going back to the hospital from here?”
“I am.”
“Okay. I’ll say prayers for your sister.”
A tiny smile curved her lips. “Thank you.”
“We’ll find out the truth,” he promised, knowing suddenly that he wasn’t going to rest until he did. “Would you like a refill on the wine?”
She shook her head. “One will have to do it for me. I want to be alert when I get to the hospital.”
“I can only imagine the emotional stress you’re under. In the SEALs, it was tough enough watching your friend severely injured or dying, but your sister? That’s a killer.”
“And something you never expect to do,” She rubbed her thumb against the stem of the empty wineglass. “My sister was a wonderful woman. Although we each went our own way as we got older, we always stayed close. We both had interests in what you’d call the arts. I became a writer and Brianne became a respected commercial photographer. She did stuff for brochures and magazines. The last year or so, she was branching out into landscapes and wanted to do a coffee table book.”
“Two smart, talented women,” Blaze observed.
“Even though we lived pretty far apart, we were still close. And we always managed a girls’ weekend, just the two of us, once a year.”
“Sounds like you two are friends as well as sisters.”
“We were. Are,” she corrected herself. “She’s still with us and will be, whatever it takes.”
He understood that kind of fierce connection. Although he was an only child, his Galaxy partners had been his friends since they were teenagers. Closer than some people were with blood relatives. He definitely could relate to what she was feeling.
“How long were she and Dane married?”
“Six years. They were beginning to think about children.”
That saddened him, for a life to be cut short for what seemed like no reason.
“We can’t bring him back, but we can certainly get some answers, for you and your sister both.”
At that moment, the plane began to bank. Blaze made sure Peyton had fastened her seat belt before clicking his into place.
Peyton glanced out the window. “I guess we’re on approach.”
“We are. I’ll be getting to work on this as soon as we land.” He wanted to say something that would ease the strain running through her, but he knew only answers to her questions would do that.
“Thank you.”
When they landed and the stairs had opened, he helped Peyton descend then walked with her to where her car was parked. He couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off the sway of her nicely rounded ass or the way her thick ponytail swished as she moved. When they reached her car, she turned and held out her hand to him. Her palm was soft against his and he wondered if her skin was soft all over. Worse