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Chapter One

Seventeen Years Ago—September

Sixteen-year-old Logan Jackson ran down the dark hallway of the abandoned asylum, eyes set not on the flag he was supposed to be capturing, but on one of his best friends—AJ. Her long blond hair swooshed as she darted into one of the side rooms.

He followed. But she slipped out another door, a giggle giving her away. Zipping through the doorway, he expected to see her, but instead he ran into their classmate Miles.

“Dude. What are you doing?”

Logan needed to think fast. He wasn’t about to admit to the guy AJ had gone to homecoming with last week that he was chasing her, even if Logan and AJ had been friends since they were eight. “I’m sneaking through to get the flag. Will is across the hall.” His other best friend was on the opposing team.

“Have you seen AJ?” Miles asked.

“Why are you asking?”

“She denied me a kiss after the dance. Thinking tonight might be better.”

Logan tried not to swallow so loud Miles heard him. “I think she’s saving her first kiss for her wedding day.” A total lie. “So you’d better set your sights on the flag we’re supposed to be capturing. Or better yet, go keep an eye out for the cops.”

Logan didn’t dislike Miles. He was a great guy and a good friend, but seeing him dancing with AJ last Saturday had sparked something inside of Logan he couldn’t identify. No, he could. It was jealousy, but he didn’t want to admit it.

But maybe he was ready to admit he liked her a lot more than a best friend should.

Miles slapped him on the back and pointed in the direction Logan had come from. “I’m headed this way. I’m on defense. Go get the flag. I refuse to let Cooper gloat in my face again.”

Logan snickered. Will Cooper did like to gloat.

Miles left.

Glancing around the dark shadowy room littered with remnants of this being a mental hospital, Logan wondered where AJ had disappeared to.

A soft chuckle came from behind some old equipment. He lifted his flashlight and clicked it on. “AJ?”

“Get over here, you fool.”

He climbed through the junk. “How did you get back here without him seeing you?”

“He’s a dolt.” She grabbed Logan’s hand and tugged him down beside her where she crouched behind an exam table of some sort.

She wrapped her hand around his bare elbow. This must have been an electrical shock therapy room for the way the volts blasted through his arm.

“We probably should go find the flag.”

She pulled him close. “Why’d you get all tense when Miles said he wanted to kiss me?” She leaned so close he couldn’t breathe.

He couldn’t find his voice.

She licked her lips.

He looked away. “Gosh, AJ.”

She giggled. “I’m sorry I went to the dance with Miles.”

He relaxed a little into her nearness. “You don’t need to apologize for that. Like you said, I’m the fool.”

“Not hardly.” She leaned her head on his shoulder.

He dropped to the floor and drew her to him with his free arm. But what was he doing? This was his best friend. Did she understand what was actually going on inside of him?

A blood-curdling scream shook the ancient windowpanes.

Logan grasped AJ’s hand. They climbed out from behind the junk and darted into the hall, where they dropped each other’s hands.

Staying close, they ran to the end of the hall; the doors to the giant lobby were propped open.

In the lobby, they found Kristen lying on the ground beside the wide staircase that led to the next level.

“What happened?” one kid asked.

Another kid ran to Kristen. “Are you okay?”

Kristen jumped up and let out an equally terrifying laugh. “Ha. Gotcha! And your flag! We win.”

Someone stomped up behind AJ and Logan and shoved them apart. Daryl. He barreled toward Kristen. “That’s just wrong.” He snatched her arm and shoved her against the dilapidated plaster wall.

Logan started toward him. He wasn’t going to let some jerk hurt a girl on his watch. But AJ gripped his arm.

“Leave him. He’s not going to actually hurt her. And she deserves a good smack for scaring everyone like that.”

Will came up on AJ’s other side and hollered at Daryl. “Leave her alone. We won fair and square.”

Daryl let go of Kristen and turned to Will. “Was it your idea?”

“Nope. I simply found it and tossed it to her. What she did when she reached base was up to her. Let’s play again. The night is young.”

Will, always the negotiator and fun-seeker.

Daryl leveled a glare at Will. “Same teams?”

“I don’t see why we’d mess up what works.” Will’s grin was stupid big.

Logan groaned at his friend’s gloating. “Whatever. Let’s play.”

Everyone scattered. As Will walked away, he slapped Logan on the back. “You two are just going to have to try harder this time.”

AJ squeaked a giggle.

Will turned back around and raised his eyebrow. “You weren’t even trying.” He shook his head. “I won’t tell Daryl; don’t worry.” Will left.

Logan started to leave the lobby too, but AJ grasped his arm and went up on her toes. In his ear, she whispered, “Find me in the attic.”

She bolted up the wide staircase to the next level.

His heart thudded against his ribs in reaction to the way her hips swayed with each step she took. His body urged him to chase after her, and all his self-control was required to keep himself from following her. Hopefully, he’d have enough left when he found her.

He dashed down the hall where the teams were fanning out, hiding their flags. He went straight for the stairwell at the end of the building. Up the rickety stairs and into the long hallway that stretched the length of the building.

Without a doubt, AJ had made it up here before he did. He only had to find her.

The attic was dark. The moon hardly cast any light through the holes in the roof. He didn’t want to turn on his flashlight. Sneaking up on her would be so much more fun.

If he could, he’d come up behind her, snaking his arms around her waist. But he had to find her first without her seeing him.

With careful steps, avoiding the creaking boards as much as possible, he crept along one side of the hallway. Of course he didn’t trust that she wouldn’t jump out and scare the pizza out of him.

At each room, he slowly peeked around the corner. Nothing but dilapidated furniture, cobwebs, and rotting boards.

Halfway down, and he still hadn’t found her. He’d need to change tactics.

He stood still. Where was she? Listening intently, he waited.

A faint sound echoed farther down the hallway.

He crept toward it.

A bat swooped through the air by his head.

He gasped—nearly screamed. After grunting at the little creature, he was tempted to swing his flashlight like a baseball bat and knock the flying rodent into tomorrow, but he was the one disturbing its home. He advanced toward the sound he’d heard.

“Logan?”

AJ. Why was she calling for him? Was she throwing her voice again to try and trick him as to where she was? Will had taught her how to do that when they were about ten, which had led to some annoying rounds of Marco Polo.

“Logan?” A hint of panic etched her voice.

“AJ? Where are you?” He followed her voice as she called again.

He clicked on his flashlight and searched the remaining rooms.

“AJ!” He couldn’t find her.

“Logan.” Her voice was nearer.

“I’m coming.”

She whimpered. Closer. He had to find her. Was she hurt?

He turned into the room and swept it with his flashlight.

There. The floor had collapsed beneath AJ, and she had fallen through up to her armpits.

“Logan?” Her voice wavered.

“I’m right here. I gotcha.” He tested the boards between them, not willing to risk making it worse. They seemed secure. He dropped to his knees behind her and touched her shoulders. “Hey.”

“Logan!” She sniffed back her tears.

“What’s hurt?”

She shook her head. “Just scrapes. I might have twisted my ankle. But nothing more. It gave out from under me when I came into the room. I’m stuck.”

“Do the boards in front of you seem secure? It’s probably better if I go over there to pull you up.”

“They look fine. I can’t move my arms enough to test them.”

He stepped over her and knelt, grateful he was wearing jeans. He leaned down to her face. “I’m going to slip my hands under your armpits. Wrap your arms around my neck, and I’ll lift you out.”

She nodded.

As soon as her grip around him was tight, he lifted her by first pushing on the floor behind her, then by rising until he was nearly standing upright.

Logan held AJ tightly to his chest, all of her curves melding to him. If she had fallen all the way through to the floor below she could have died.

“Thank you.” Her voice cracked with residual fear mixed with relief.

“Of course. I can’t do life without you.”

She leaned back and cupped his face in her hands. “You mean that?”

“Yes.”

“But just like, as friends?”

He drew her back to him. “More.”

Her eyes gleamed in the light of the flashlight reflecting off the wall. “I was hoping so.”

He brought his hand to the back of her head and directed her face closer to his. “Please confirm that what I said to Miles was the lie I believed it to be. You aren’t saving your first kiss, are you?”

“I was saving it for you.”

He couldn’t get his heart to settle enough to make his voice work, but finally muttered, “Same.”

Leaning in, he met his lips to hers. He didn’t know what to do. Neither did she. They’d figure this out together. He moved his lips, and she responded in kind.

He released her lips and opened his eyes. Her bright blues shone back at him.

His best friend. His first kiss. His only love.

He was just a kid. It was foolish to think too far down the road. They had so much life ahead of them, but he didn’t want to do it with anyone else. He wanted to grow old with her. He wanted to promise her forever.

Present Day—Mid-August

Saturday afternoon, Officer Logan Jackson jumped from his squad car and ran toward the corner gas station at the edge of downtown Hazel Hill where two other squad cars were already parked. A man lumbered from the building. Daryl.

Logan stopped short of the slightly taller man. Every muscle in Logan’s body constricted, but he refused to let Daryl see it. How had he forgotten this was the station his former friend owned?

Daryl snarled at him. “You.”

“What’s the call? Where are the other officers?”

Daryl shook his head as if to break his train of thought. “They went that way. The thief ran out the door about the time the officers arrived.”

“Thanks.”

Daryl nodded.

Logan ran down the street, cut into an alley between the houses, and spotted Zara with her gun drawn. She pointed around the corner and motioned for him to go around from the other side.

He passed her and rounded the other corner. They nodded to one another and darted around the garage.

Logan’s heart thundered. The call had indicated the robber was armed. Logan was a cop; the reality was that at any time he could face down death at the end of a barrel. Some days he thought that would be easier than facing the rest of his life.

But at the same time he wasn’t sure he was ready. Life wasn’t what he’d dreamed it would be, not even close. And he wasn’t right with the Lord, even if he faked it pretty well for those around him.

He swallowed hard and turned the next corner.

Zara came around the opposite side. They both lowered their weapons to not point them at one another.

Will came out from around a fence, pushing a heavily tattooed man in cuffs. “I got him.”

“Well done.” Logan nodded to his friend.

The radio crackled and reported a motor vehicle accident only a few blocks from where their squad cars were parked.

“That’s really close. I’ll go, if you two have this under control.”

Zara nodded. “We got it. Go.”

After reporting in, he cut through some driveways and tried to avoid Daryl. But the man caught him.

“Well? Where are you going?”

“To an accident. Cooper got the suspect. It’s taken care of.” Logan got in, avoiding any further conversation with the man he detested.

He flipped his lights and siren on and raced to the accident.

He was first on the scene. A one-way street intersected with a two-way in a residential area where old houses and ancient trees towered. A green coupe appeared to have t-boned a brown sedan and pushed it into a black minivan. After radioing in, Logan bolted to the closest vehicle. The air bags had deployed.

The window was down. Logan pushed the airbag out of the way. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

A young man’s battered face appeared. He groaned. “Yeah, I’m fine. What happened?”

Logan reached in and turned off the engine. “That’s a question I want to ask you in a minute. Hang tight for a minute. Let me check on the others.”

“Sure.” The guy groaned again.

The middle car did not look good, but the driver was probably okay since the direct hit was to the back door. He hoped there wasn’t a child sitting behind the driver.

Logan snapped his mind away from the dark thoughts that threatened. Focus .

He knocked on the window covered by an air bag.

The airbag deflated, and a man’s profile appeared. Miles?

Too many familiar faces today.

Miles rolled down the window about four inches before it refused to go any further.

“Hey, Miles. Go ahead and turn off your engine.”

“Logan?”

“Yeah, dude. The engine.”

“Oh, yeah.” Miles blinked but turned the key.

“How are you feeling?”

“Doozer of a headache.”

“I bet. I’m gonna check on the other vehicle, okay? Don’t try to move. The fire department will be here soon.” Logan tried not to growl at the thought. There were plenty of teams of firefighters in the city. Maybe she wouldn’t be working right now. But a quick glance around reminded him the accident was in her house’s district.

He went around Miles’s sedan and found the minivan empty. Thankfully, it appeared to have been parked.

A fire truck’s siren echoed off the houses before it came into view. A block down, it turned the wrong way onto the one-way street and stopped near the end of the minivan. An ambulance pulled up too.

Sure enough, AJ and her crew jumped out of the fire truck.

Seriously ! He managed to keep any curse words that wanted to come out inside. This town wasn’t so small they’d both respond to the same call, right? Apparently, it was.

He sucked it up and went to Captain Ty Washington and reported what he knew. “Miles Blumetti is probably good and stuck.”

Logan accidentally made eye contact with AJ.

Their eyes stayed locked for a moment before she shifted and broke the connection.

Logan clenched his fists. He needed to focus on helping.

AJ took a deep breath as she strode toward the vehicles. Why was Logan here? And why did he have to look at her with such disgust? She didn’t want to admit how much she missed him. He surely wouldn’t understand.

It didn’t matter; she needed to work.

Brennan and Emily, the EMTs on their team, were already helping the young man out of his green coupe. So she went to the sedan.

“Miles!”

“Well, if it isn’t AJ! You going to save me from this mess?”

“That’s my goal. How are you doing? Other than stuck?”

“Can’t complain about life. Other than being stuck in this car.”

She chuckled with him. “We’ll get you out of there. Now that they have the young man out of the other car, we can get it out of the way and then see what we need to do to get you extracted. How are your legs?”

“Sore. I can feel everything and move my toes easily. I’m pinned but fine.”

“Good.”

Brennan would have to check him over, but it seemed Miles was not suffering from anything major. Perhaps a concussion but nothing worse.

The other car was towed away and Don, one of the firefighters, and the new guy, Seth, worked the Jaws of Life to get Miles extracted. There was nothing else she could do, so she went and waited near the truck with Ty and Emily.

Logan was there too. She ignored him and stood next to Emily. There’d be plenty more to do soon enough.

Between cuts of the roaring Jaws of Life, a young child’s giggle floated on the wind from the house next door.

She tried to see where the child was and spotted a little boy of about four on the deck of the house. He was adorable.

The Jaws ramped up again.

AJ took a few steps to keep an eye on the little boy, who seemed to be out back by himself. Where did he go?

On instinct, or maybe it was a Holy Spirit prompting, she wandered over. She seemed to remember that house having a pool, though she couldn’t see over the fence.

The Jaws took a break and a distinct splash met her ears.

She busted into a sprint and hurdled the fence. Where was the boy?

A little body floated face down in the middle of the pool. She reacted without a thought beyond saving the child from drowning. She ran and jumped in.

She came up beside the boy, but the pool was deeper than she was tall. She grabbed the boy and swam to the edge. But her boots and turnout pants weighed her down.

Why didn’t she take them off before she jumped in? She should have. She knew better.

AJ fought with all her might to keep the little boy above the water and get to the side. With one hand she tried to release her suspenders from her shoulders, but the boy began to sink without her holding him up with both hands, so she abandoned that attempt. She kicked. They had to get to the side or at least stay up. Her feet hit the bottom of the pool. She pushed off and burst to the surface. The edge was closer, but not close enough. They sank again.

A hand reached in and gripped her arm. The person at the end of that hand hauled her up and to the side of the pool. She found footing on a small ledge on the edge of the pool and lifted the boy onto the concrete.

Logan helped. Logan was the one who had grabbed her? He had saved her. That fact shocked her as much as the cool pool water had shocked her lungs.

But had they saved the child?

She lifted herself from the pool and the two of them assessed the boy.

He wasn’t breathing. She started chest compressions.

Emily appeared beside them. “AJ, I got it.”

She couldn’t stop. She had to take care of the boy.

Logan grasped her arm and drew her aside. She fell into his arms, and he held her.

They stood like that for what seemed like an eternity before the boy began to cough.

“Breathe, AJ.” Logan rubbed her back.

She finally looked at him, meeting his eyes.

They stepped back from one another, and AJ ran to the boy.

A woman came out of the back door. “What on earth? West!”

AJ stepped in and held the woman while Emily helped the little boy cough up as much as he could.

“He’s all right,” AJ reassured the mom. The processing of what might have been sank in, and the woman wept.

Logan said, “I recommend taking him to the ER to be sure his lungs are clear.”

Secondary drowning was just as scary and dangerous as first. The mother nodded, but AJ wasn’t sure she’d heard his advice.

As soon as Emily gave AJ a nod, she released the mother to go to her son. She scooped him up and held him close. AJ glanced at Logan, but he was already gone. She didn’t blame him. Never had.