I ran my fingers through my hair and began pacing. It was not my day.
“How long has she been doing this?”
“When Arlo, her dad, lost his wife, the poor guy went off the deep end. Drinking, gambling, you name it. The guy’s always been a bit eccentric and into art, but he started getting into the black market of stolen art. Buying one-of-a-kind pieces for his properties. You see, when people steal something valuable, they realize they don’t know what to do with it because the authenticity of the art is dependent on the appraisal with it, a simple piece of paper that is rarely stolen with the object. Arlo, being the businessman he was, would knowingly purchase stolen art, forge the paperwork, then sell it for triple what it was worth, conning people out of thousands of dollars. This went on for a while, until Sunny found out someone from an insurance company was secretly investigating him. Arlo was one piece of art away from being arrested for larceny with intent to sell, a class B felony, with a sentence of more than a year in federal prison. The agent on the case had been gathering evidence against Arlo for months before Sunny entered the picture and secretly cut a deal to keep her dad out of prison.”
“Let me guess, that agent is Briana Morgan.”
“Yep. Deal was if Sunny recovered the stolen art, Briana would tear up her evidence on Arlo and close the case. Briana got the praise and money for recovering the scrolls and Arlo stayed out of jail. Sunny is the one, the Black Bandit, who recovered the first three Cedonia scrolls. Two weeks later, Briana offered her a job. Sunny’s been an undercover agent for Harold and Associates almost a year now, her primary focus recovering the fourth scroll that I happened to stumble upon at a thrift store.”
Holy.
Fucking.
Shit.
“Hold on.” I held up my hand. “Sunny did all that for her dad? He’s an asshole—forgive me. And they’re not close. Hell, she doesn’t even seem to like men at all. Why put her neck out there like that for him? Especially after what she went through?”
Hazel shook her head. “Boy, I’d slap you in the forehead if not for this counter between us. Don’t you get it? Sunny put her neck on the line because of what she went through. She’s fiercely loyal because of what she went through. Because she was betrayed so badly, Sunny will cling onto anyone she truly trusts with bloody fingernails. And I have a feeling she trusts you. Or trusted maybe.”
My heart sank.
Hazel continued, “Sunny didn’t leave Dallas until the deal with Briana was solid, and Arlo had sobered up and started therapy. To this day, Arlo doesn’t even know what Sunny did for him. She is, without question, the most selfless and loyal woman you’ll ever meet.”
“When did she tell you all this?”
“This afternoon, when she came looking for that compass she gave you. Poor thing. I could see the torment written all over her face. She hated deceiving you. I’d never seen her like that. The look in her eyes when she spoke about you. It’s deeper than just like or lust, Detective.”
“If that’s true, why the hell didn’t she just tell me she was the Bandit?”
“Because you were so damn sure the Black Bandit murdered the Lieutenant. On top of that, she’d just been attacked, for the second time, and the entire town was calling her a murderer and a liar. She was scared. She didn’t think you’d believe her that she had nothing to do with shooting that cop… hell, I genuinely think she thought you’d arrest her.” Hazel tilted her head to the side. “You’re not the kind of guy that exactly screams, ‘hey, you can open up to me.’”
The guilt I was feeling was an iron fist in my stomach.
“Close your mouth dear…” I didn’t even realize it was hanging open. “… and go get her. It’s my guess you’ve got a lot of apologizing to do and I’m guessing—”
Her words were cut off by the sound of sirens blasting through the air.
That fist in my gut? Twisted ten times over, an instinct sending a chill up my spine.
Hazel’s eyes widened.
Another siren, then another, a chorus of sirens wailing in the distance.
My phone rang.
“Jagger.”
Shouts and screams filled the other end of the call. “It’s Colson.” His voice was panicked. He was running. I could hear the footsteps and the hitch of his breath.
“What’s going on?”
“There’s a fire at the festival. At Devil’s Cove. The mountain is going up in flames.” He jerked the phone away and shouted orders to someone before continuing. “The entire town will burn down if we don’t get it under control. I’m calling in everyone I know. Trucks are headed to the festival, but the fire didn’t originate there. We don’t know where yet. I’ve got—”
Panic seized me as I shoved the phone into my pocket and sprinted out the door.
I knew exactly where the fire originated.
And I knew who started it.
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Jagg
Clouds of red smoke barreled into the night sky, fading into a black mass that blocked the moon. A line of blazing orange highlighted the mountain peaks in the distance. The forest was on fire.
I skidded around a corner, my tires sliding on loose rocks. Dust swelled around my Jeep as I dialed with one hand while gripping the wheel with the other.
“You alright?” My brother’s voice was clipped. He already knew about the fire.
“Ryder, we need your help.”
A horse whinnied in the background. “I’m on it.”
“Is the fire close to your ranch?”
“Not yet and I’d like to keep it that way. I’m locking up the horses, the dogs.”
“Are Sunny’s dogs safe?”
“She came by a few hours ago. Got her dogs and left without a word.”
My heart skipped in my chest. Sunny had left the bungalow and everything that kept her safe. It was my fault. My fucking fault.
“Where was she going?” My voice desperate. “Did she say where she was going?”
“No. Sorry, I—”
“Shit. I need you to get to her house. Now. I’m almost there but I have a feeling I’m going to need backup. Get every fire extinguisher from your house.”
“Text me the address. I’m on my way, brother.”
“Thanks.”
“Hey, Jagg? Take a deep breath. Follow your instincts.”
With that, we disconnected.
The normally desolate road to Sunny’s cabin was filled with cars, trucks and SUVs packed with festival goers barely escaping the flames. While they were running from it, I was driving directly into it.
Trees blazed around me, flames spreading in waves across the parched dead grass on the mountainsides. Embers spun with the dust in the air that was blowing up from my tires.
I pressed the gas, my heart pounding like a sledgehammer the deeper into the fire I drove. Sunny had left the bungalow and gone home, where Kenzo Rees had been waiting on her.
Fucking mother fucker.
I was shaking with rage by the time I turned down Sunny’s driveway.
The pine trees were ablaze.
Half of her house was in flames.
I skidded to a stop and sprinted across the driveway, screaming her name as I jumped onto the porch. The heat from the flames coated my body like a stinging blanket. Sweat rolled down my temples.
“Sunny?”
I ripped off my shirt, wrapped it as a glove around my hand and turned the doorknob, but the door wouldn’t budge. I jumped back and slammed my boot against the wood. Again, again, until finally, against the heat and my weight, it buckled. I kicked open the door, the blast of fresh air sending a burst of flame above my head. Black smoke barreled out of the top of the doorway. I dropped to the ground and covered my nose and mouth with my shirt.
“Sunny!” I screamed, using my elbows to shimmy over the threshold on my stomach. Blinking away the tears, I scanned the room. The furniture was on fire, the rugs, the curtains. Black smoke prevented me from seeing into the loft, but from what I co
uld see, there was no Sunny.
Movement had my head whipping to the side.
Athena, Tango and Max huddled in the corner, shaking like leaves.
“Come. Come!”
The dogs didn’t move.
“Come, I said! Come on, you fucking crazy mutts!”
Athena moved slowly, clawing across the floor on her stomach much like I was. The other dogs followed suit.
I backed out the front door. Once the dogs crossed onto the porch, they went ballistic.
“Settle, settle!” I yelled, then turned back to the house.
Was Sunny in there? Burning to death? Listening to me scream for her but unable to respond?
I swear to God, right then and there, I had a mini heart attack. I looked down at the dogs, bouncing like monkeys and then it hit me—the dogs would have been by her side. If Sunny was in that house, they would have been huddled next to her. There was no doubt in my mind.
Trust your instincts…
I took one last look at the house. “Dammit!” I screamed, then turned back to the dogs. “Where is she? Take me to her. Where’s Sunny?” I frantically looked around for anything that carried her scent. I leapt off the porch, jogged to her truck and grabbed the purple baseball cap she’d been wearing at our lunch from the seat. I shoved it in Max’s face. “Take me to Sunny. Search! Go! Search!”
The dog took off like a bullet, the others on his heels. Clutching Sunny’s hat, I took off after them, sprinting through burning woods around me. Sweat poured like water down my face, my back, my skin so hot I kept looking down to see if it had ignited or not.
The thought that I was going to die actually entered my mind.
Then I’d die trying to save the woman I loved.
Swiping away the sweat from my face, I pressed on, blinking away the tears, trying to focus on that ball of sable fur sprinting through the woods.
Farther, farther, the dogs stretched ahead of me, until the smoke engulfed and they disappeared. They were too fast. My old, disabled ass couldn’t keep up.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Distant screams had me planting my feet and whipping around. A group of teenagers wearing flowing dresses sprinted through the woods, ten feet from me, screaming and crying. More festival goers running from the flames.
“Wait!” I yelled. “Did you see anyone running this way? Dogs? Wait!” But my voice was lost in the hissing and crackling wood.
I turned back on course just as a branch engulfed in flames fell in front of me. I stumbled, the pain in my back crippling. Gritting my teeth, I straightened and pressed on, chest heaving, wheezing in and out. My vision began to waver. It wasn’t the heat. It was the smoke. I couldn’t damn breathe.
I’d lost the dogs, the trail.
I’d lost her.
I stumbled onto the tree next to me, covered my nose and mouth with my T-shirt and took several deep breaths. Embers rained around me, a few hitting my shoulders like little bee stings.
Keep going, Jagg. She needs you. Do not die here.
With my shirt over my mouth, I pressed on, running, stumbling, running, stumbling, aimlessly, until finally, I burst out of the trees onto the riverbank. I propelled myself into the water, the shock of cold nearly paralyzing me. I gulped, splashed it into my open eyes, snorting it to clear the smoke from nose.
“Holy shit,” I breathed.
When I pulled myself out of the water, I was face to face with a pair of silver eyes.
“Brute. Oh my God, Brutus.” I fell to my knees, gripping the dog’s head. He licked my nose. I looked over at the cages, his door on the hinges. Bastard had busted out. Hell yeah, he did.
“We need to find Sunny. I lost the other dogs. Did they come by here?” I realized I was talking to a dog. “Shit… just… Brute, I need you. Sunny needs you.” I grabbed the baseball cap I’d chucked when diving into the water and shoved it against his nose. “Search. Go. Search.” He didn’t move. I pulled his face to my jeans where the dogs had jumped all over not five minutes earlier. “Follow their scent. Go. Search!”
Brute spun around and took off like the others, but because of his shoulder injury, his sprint was slow enough for me to keep up. There we were, two injured former fighters, with the world burning around us, risking their lives for their master.
“Thank you.” I blurted out to him, so freaking grateful I could keep up with him.
We sprinted down the riverbank—best we could. I had no clue if we were going the right way, but I decided to trust Brute. He was all I had, and all I had was blind faith.
Trust your instincts…
“Faster, Brute!” Adrenaline burst through my veins. “Let’s go. Faster. You can do it. I can do it. Faster, Brute.”
The creek grew narrower and narrower, the woods beginning to close in around us. I swiped the tears from my eyes and focused on the black fur just ahead of me. A line of flames outlined the top of the bluff that marked the end of the cove. The creek stopped, tall bluffs enclosed around us.
There was nowhere else to go.
We’d reached Devil’s Cove.
Frantic barks came into ear shot.
Sunny.
Brute’s speed suddenly tripled, as did mine.
The orange glow of the fire shimmered off the wet rocks of the bluff, illuminating three dogs at the base and a swath of black hair climbing midway, and about six feet below that, a bald, tattooed head.
Sunny and Kenzo Rees.
Fury hotter than the flame around me lit my veins. I didn’t think, didn’t plan, didn’t consider the consequences or risks as I bolted to the bluff and began climbing. Hand, foot, hand, foot, my teeth grinding against each other with every inch. The rocks were wet and slick with moss, and although I didn’t look down, I knew that a bed of jagged rocks lined the base. Sunny was high enough that if she fell, she’d be dead in an instant. Embers spun around Rees and his fucking white sneakers.
Dead. Dead. Dead. Those were the only words that penetrated through the all-consuming rage.
Dead. Dead. Dead. Kenzo Rees was a dead man.
My foot slipped, my body falling a few feet before I caught myself on another rock, ripping my fingernails off. Blood ran down my hand, my arm, the pain igniting a fresh blow of adrenaline.
Then, she screamed.
I looked up. Sunny dangled with one arm, her foot in the grasp of Kenzo’s tattooed hand.
Her eyes met mine. Everything around me stopped.
There were no more options. I was staring Sunny’s death in my face.
“Fight, Sunny!” I screamed. “Fight!” I tore my eyes away and climbed up the bluff with a carelessness like I had nothing to lose. Because if I lost her, I didn’t care. Death, take me.
I could smell him. The sweat. The body odor.
I planted my foot, gripped a ledge, and using all my body weight, I propelled my arm above my head—and connected.
My bloody fingers gripped the bottom of Kenzo’s jeans. I tugged, pulled, yanked, but the fucker didn’t lose his grip.
I took one last look at Sunny, trying to kick out of his hold, fighting to the death. Tears streamed down her face.
My love.
The love of my life.
Our eyes met again.
I love you, I thought, I love you.
And with that final thought, I released my two-hundred-plus pound weight and dangled in the air with one hand around Rees’ ankle. As planned, his grip slipped from Sunny.
We fell together, two bodies tumbling down the side of the cliff.
This is it, I remember thinking. I was going to die.
I desperately grasped at the rocks until my hand found the only root on the cliff. I still, to this day, don’t know how I gripped onto the thing, or how it held my weight.
My body jerked to a stop as Kenzo’s hands grabbed my foot. I planted my other foot and tightened my grip on the root.
I bent at the waist and wrapped my hand around his throat. I stared into his eyes as I squeezed with everything
I had in me, staring into the soul of the devil himself, his eyes bulging, lips turning blue. Finally, his grip released and I watched his body shatter on the rocks below.
“Jagg!”
I don’t remember the climb up to Sunny but I’ll never forget her face when I’d finally made it.
“I love you, Sunny. I’m sorry. I didn’t say it. But I do. I love you.”
“I know.”
I gripped the back of her head with my bloody hand and kissed her.
Just then, a rope bounced off the rocks next to us.
I looked up to see my brother’s silhouette outlined against a pair of headlights.
“Better get a move on, bro!” He yelled down from the top of the bluff.
“She secure?” I yelled back, yanking the rope.
“Yep. Go.”
“Wait!” Sunny jerked away. “My dogs.” Her eyes rounded in terror.
I looked down the bluff where four balls of fur paced back and forth.
“Swim!” I yelled down. “Get in the water! Swim!”
Brute faded into the shallow water, followed by the others.
“They’ll stay there. They’re smart. We’ll come back for them. I promise. They’ll be okay in the water. The rocks won’t light. They’ll be okay.”
Sunny hesitated, tears filling her eyes.
I grabbed her chin. “Baby. Listen to me. You’ve got to get out of here. I’ll climb back down and stay with them until help arrives. We’ll be safe in the water—”
“No.” Tears streamed down her face. “No. Nothing can happen to you. You’re right. They’re smart. We’ll come back. God, promise me we’ll come back.”
“Yes. Go, Sunny.” I shoved the rope to her. “No time to waste.”
She gripped the rope and looked at me. “You saved my life.”
“No.” I kissed her head. “You saved mine.”
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Jagger (Steele Shadows Investigations) Page 30