“Get to a safe location,” the operator said. “Emergency personnel are on their way.”
Evie coughed. A thick black-gray cloud billowed into the living area. “Come on, Lisa. The smoke’s getting worse.”
When Lisa didn’t answer or appear, Evie barreled toward the back. She found Lisa holding a cloth over her lower face while frantically trying to save folders of paperwork, a large angry flame only a few feet away.
“What are you doing? We need to get out of here.”
“Just…need…another minute.” Lisa ducked her head to protect her face from the heat.
She grasped her friend’s arm. “We don’t have another minute. Come on!” Using all of her strength, she dragged Lisa from the burning RV and stumbled to a safe distance away.
Still holding the folders, Lisa dropped to her knees, overcome by a rib-cracking cough.
Sirens blared in the distance.
Every breath seared her lungs as she watched smoke and fire consume their beloved mobile home.
Rachel. “I need to check on Rachel.” She lifted her gaze to the Med Mobile parked behind the staff RV. “Gotta back up the Med Mobile or it’ll burn, too.”
When Lisa didn’t try to do it herself, she knew her friend was in bad shape. She hated leaving her, but she needed to get to Rachel.
Retrieving her phone, she scrolled through her Favorites and tapped Deke’s name. She didn’t even hear the phone ring before Deke’s clipped voice cut through the receiver.
“Conrad.”
“Hey, Deke. It’s Evie.”
“Everything okay?”
Where to start? She balked at telling him about her ice cream trip. But she couldn’t think of a pliable way to start without confessing.
“Is that an emergency siren?”
“Um, yeah. They’re responding to a fire.” She stepped onto the first stair leading into the Med Mobile.
Silence.
“Spill it, Evie.”
She grabbed the latch. “Someone set one of our RVs on fire.”
“Are you okay?”
“We’re fine.” She sucked in a bracing breath. “I think it was Creepy Guy.”
“The one you shoved out the window?”
“Yep. I didn’t get a good look at him, but he gave me the same heebie-jeebies as the guy on your landing.” She opened the door.
“Where are you now?”
“I’m checking on Rachel in the other RV.” She stepped inside. “And I need to move the Med Mobile back before the fire jumps.”
“Have you called the police?”
“Hang up the phone, Evie Steele.”
Her head jerked around to find Creepy Guy sitting on an exam table, holding a gun to Rachel’s temple.
Words coagulated in her throat like blood clotting an open wound, only this was no cool action her body had devised to save her life. In fact, her paralyzing fear might have just killed her—and Rachel.
“Evie, have you called the police?”
Creepy Guy cocked the hammer on his pistol.
Swallowing back her fear, she whispered into the phone, “I love you.” And disconnected.
43
“It’s not like your mama to disappear.” Blaze Harwood stepped into the kitchen. The screen door banged against the doorframe behind him.
Caleb’s fingers froze over his laptop’s keyboard, the mile-long spreadsheet forgotten in the wake of his father’s foul mood. He shot a glance at his wife drying the last of the supper dishes.
“She probably got caught up in town,” Caleb said. “I’m sure she would’ve called if she hadn’t left her phone on the coffee table.”
“Her car’s outside.”
“Maybe someone picked her up.”
“Doesn’t feel right.”
“Are you still hungry? It won’t take much for Amy to reheat the chicken casserole.”
“I’m full enough. Don’t think I could stomach more of that stuff, anyway.”
Amy stood with her back to them, unmoving, for several seconds before resuming her dish drying.
He hated how Daddy picked at Amy and her son Noah. If he tried to defend her to the old man, the consequences would be far worse than a few hurt feelings. He always attempted to make it up to her afterwards, but he noticed his lovemaking no longer had the power to release the tension from her body anymore.
His eyes narrowed on his wife’s back. At times like this, he wondered how he ever let a whore bewitch him.
“Let me have it,” Noah growled. “That’s mine.”
“Can’t make me! Can’t make me!” Five-year-old Tobias barreled into the kitchen, holding a dark object in his small hand. Head down, his compact body snaked around the table and chairs.
“Tobias!” Amy scolded. “I’ve told you—no running in the house.”
“Your son should stop chasing him,” Blaze said.
Noah skidded to a halt at the sight of his step-grandad.
“Move, Granddaddy.” Tobias tried to go around his grandfather, but Blaze had other ideas and hauled him into his arms.
“What do you have here?”
Noah’s eyes widened, and fear cut across his narrow face.
“Rrrow!” Tobias made a striking motion with the item in his hand.
“A bear claw,” Blaze said, his voice flat. “Where did you find it?”
“Under Noah’s mattress.” He lashed the air again. “Rrrow! Mine.”
“No, it’s not—”
“Noah.” Caleb kept his warning low and his attention on his father. “Go back upstairs.”
“Stay where you are, boy.”
“Daddy—”
“Keep your mouth shut, Caleb. I’ve got a question that only Noah can answer.”
Amy shuffled closer to her son.
Noah held his ground, though his gaze dropped to the tiled floor.
“Where’d you get the claw, Noah?”
He held his breath, hoping his stepson’s answer wouldn’t incite his father’s vengeful side. A pair of dogs barked in the distance.
Noah shrugged.
“What kind of answer is that, boy?”
“I don’t know.”
“Sir.”
“I don’t know, sir.”
“Are you, stupid?”
Noah’s face pinched. “No.”
Blaze stared hard at Noah.
“No, sir.”
“Then tell me where you got the claw.”
Tobias sucked on the curved, razor-sharp tip while watching his stepbrother fidget.
“From a bin,” Noah murmured.
“Where was the bin?”
Noah peered at him out of the corner of his eye. Sweat broke out of Caleb’s upper lip.
“In a building.”
“One of my buildings?”
“Guess so.”
“Who else was in the building with you?”
Again, Noah glanced at him.
Blaze noticed this time. “My son?”
Noah gave him one jerky nod.
“What do you know of this, Caleb?”
“Nothing, sir. This is the first time I’ve seen the claw.”
“Did you take the boy into one of my buildings?”
“No—yes. I mean…I received a phone call from a client wanting to deliver some merchandise. Noah and I were headed into town for baseball practice. Rather than taking Noah to practice and then backtracking to meet our seller, I allowed Noah to tag along.”
“What do you know of my business, boy?”
Another shrug. “Nothing much.”
“‘Nothing much’ isn’t nothing. What do you know?”
Amy placed an arm around her son’s trembling shoulders. “That’s enough, Mr. Harwood. My son meant no harm.”
Blaze focused his one-eyed attention on Tobias. “Your Mama’s telling me what to do in my own house.” He wiggled his finger into his grandson’s side. “Think I should let her get by with such disrespect?”
Tobias’s eyes sparkled as if it were all a ga
me. “No!”
The dogs’ barking intensified.
Setting Tobias on his feet, Blaze patted his behind. “Run upstairs. Your mother will join you in a second.”
A sliver of relief flaked off Caleb’s chest as he watched his son toddle off. Once he was out of hearing distance, Blaze stormed across the room, grabbed a hank of Amy’s hair, and bent her neck way back.
“Daddy, no!” He tried to loosen his father’s grip on Amy’s hair, but the old man was as strong as a mule. The back of his free hand slammed across Caleb’s face, sending him stumbling into the sink. His head caught the corner of a cabinet and he slid to the floor, dazed. He tried to stand, but his knee buckled.
“I don’t know what my son saw in a piece of white trash like you.” Spittle flew from Blaze’s white lips. “But I’ve tried to overlook your whoring ways.”
“I’ve never betrayed my husband,” Amy whispered, barely able to speak with her throat extended so far back.
“‘For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth … So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress.’”
“Let go of my mama,” Noah cried, pounding on Blaze’s back with his fist. Tears tracked down his flushed cheeks.
Blaze shoved the boy away, throwing him against the wall. A decorative plate hanging above jostled and fell, cracking against Noah’s head, knocking him out.
“Noah!” Amy screamed, clawing at Blaze’s face. His free hand wrapped around her neck, squeezing.
Caleb scrabbled to his knees, then his feet. He hooked his arms under his father’s, locking his fingers together behind the old man’s neck. Blaze released Amy.
She gasped for breath as she crawled toward her son.
“Let go of me, Caleb, or you’ll regret it.”
“Not until you’ve calmed down.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down. Let. Me. Go.”
The dogs outside went into a frenzy, catching both their attention. Without thought, he released his father. A boney fist slammed into his jaw. White spots blurred his vision for several seconds. Enough time for his dad to storm outside.
He followed, rubbing his jaw.
His father barked orders at the dogs. They scattered. Blaze stood over a large, misshapen form at the entrance to the barn.
Caleb’s jog slowed to a hesitant walk until he stopped a few feet from his father.
The dogs had found Mama.
44
Deke stared down at his phone.
Disconnected.
He redialed. Evie’s phone rang and rang and rang. He canceled and redialed again. Same result. He moved outside, thinking the metal building was blocking his signal. Still no Evie.
He scrolled his phone contacts. “Lisa?”
“Hey, Deke.” A rack of coughs followed her greeting.
“Everything okay?”
“Did Evie tell you about the fire?” Her breathing sounded exaggerated and muffled, at the same time.
“Yeah, but we got disconnected and I can’t get her back. Did you see who set it?”
“No, but Evie said someone was following her on the way back from the ice cream place.”
“Following her?”
“I didn’t see him. But a few minutes later the front and back of the RV l-lit up.” Her voice broke. “Everything’s burning.”
“I’m sorry.” He understood how shattering the loss was to her. Any other time, he would do what he could to lighten the blow. “Do you see Evie?”
“No, she went to move the Med Mobile and check on Rachel.”
“Dammit.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I don’t know.” He blew out a breath. “I’ve got a bad feeling, Lisa.”
A second of silence past. “Oh, God. I didn’t think. There was so much smoke. Couldn’t breathe. She insisted I stay put—”
“Calm down, ma’am. You need to keep the mask on.”
Lisa took another deep inhalation of oxygen. “Deke,” she said, ignoring the EMT’s orders. “The RV hasn’t moved.”
“Are the police there?”
“Yes.”
“Have them check on Evie and Rachel.” Deke returned inside. “I’m on my way.”
“Britt,” he called. “Will your staff be able to finish here and get the cubs back to Steele Ridge?”
“Shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Would they be able to drop off Dylan at the nearest urgent care?”
“Nobody’s dropping me off anywhere. After what Harwood did to me, I deserve to see this through.”
Deke ignored the urge to protect his brother. It was time they all let go of bad habits. Instead, he took off for his truck.
“Where are you going?” Reid demanded.
“To check on Evie,” Deke said over his shoulder.
As the storage unit’s door slammed shut, he heard Britt and Reid barking out orders. Dylan climbed into the extended cab and, before Deke could put his vehicle in drive, Britt slid into the passenger’s seat.
“Drive and explain,” Britt said, buckling up.
Deke punched the gas, and gravel spattered the undercarriage. They barreled down the narrow country drive and skidded out onto the highway, rocketing toward Niles…and Evie.
“The line disconnected while I was speaking to Evie.”
“We’re not driving like a bat out of hell for a disconnected line. What’s got you spooked?”
I love you. Evie’s whispered declaration spun through his head, over and over and over. “Someone lit up the RV with her and Lisa inside.”
“What?” Britt burst out. “Are they okay?”
“Evie’s fine. Lisa sucked down too much smoke, but she’ll recover.”
“Did they see who set the fire?”
“Evie thought she saw the guy who attacked her outside my apartment.”
“Got a name?”
“Eli Harwood.”
“The same guy who locked me in a cage.”
Britt glanced over his shoulder at Dylan before staring out the front windshield. “What’s going on, Deke?”
His grip tightened on the steering wheel.
“Explain,” Britt ordered in a low voice.
“I can’t. Not fully.”
“You’re family now. I’ll protect your secret to my dying breath.”
“Family,” he repeated.
“We all knew it was only a matter of time before Evie nabbed you. And given her state of dishevelment in your apartment, I recommend that you propose to my sister sooner rather than later.”
“I tried to do the right thing by her, Britt. I swear to you, I did.”
“A decade of purgatory is enough, don’t you think?”
The ache in Deke’s throat worked its way up into the back of his eyes. “You don’t mind?”
“Can’t think of a better man for my little sister.”
“My job. It’ll be rough on the relationship.”
“If you love her, don’t let anything stand in your way.” Britt held his fist between them. “She’s worth whatever challenges you might face.”
Don’t we at least deserve a chance?
Evie’s plea echoed in his mind, growing stronger on the tail of Britt’s counsel. She was worth it. They were worth it. Why continue denying what they’d both craved for years?
He wouldn’t. Not any longer. They did deserve a chance to see where this thing between them led.
Drawing in a shuddering breath, he bumped his fist against Britt’s. “Thanks, bro.”
Rolling his neck, he gave his passengers the Cliff Notes version of the past several days. By the time he’d finished, Britt and Dylan looked like they had a severe case of stomach flu.
“What’s your plan?” Britt asked.
“My only solid plan right now is to get a visual on Evie.”
A ringer blared through his truck’s speakers.
He hit the telephone button on his s
teering wheel. “What’d you got, Jax?”
“Not good news, boss.”
“Let me have it.”
“Rita Sampson’s dead.”
“How?”
“Someone beat her to death.”
Grief clamped around Deke’s chest. “Suspects?”
“No names. A neighbor saw a man—white, approximately thirty years old, medium build—wearing a ball cap. He walked head down through the neighborhood about two hours ago.”
“Harwood,” Dylan said.
“Who’s with you?” Jax asked.
“Britt Steele and Dylan.”
“Maybe you should take me off speaker.”
“Circumstances required me to bring them into the fold.”
“How much into the fold?”
“Enough for you to talk freely.”
“Britt, you don’t need Randi Shepherd. I’m your girl.”
“Not that freely, Jax.”
“Be more specific next time. I’ve been waiting years to talk to your big friend.”
He sent Britt an apologetic shrug. Jax was a damn good nerd, though her sensitivity chip shorted out on occasion.
“What else you got?”
Her voice turned solemn again. “Rae and Taj paid Gracie’s brother another visit to see if he knew why Harwood wanted access to his sister.”
“What’d they discover?”
“His tongue.”
“Jax—”
“Pinky swear. Found it floating in the toilet.”
“What kind of sick bastard would do that?” Dylan asked.
“The same one who slit Gracie’s throat and beat Rita to death.”
“Same one who might be with Evie.” Britt’s voice held a note of savagery.
Already clocking seventy-eight, Deke hit the accelerator, praying nothing entered his path. None of them would win that battle.
“Is the brother dead or alive?” he asked.
“Bullet to the head.”
“Everything’s pointing to Eli Harwood,” Dylan said.
“Did they find anything at the brother’s place to explain Cassidy’s betrayal of his sister?”
“Nada.”
“How many buildings did you say Harwood’s leasing?”
“Six or eight. Why?”
“Dylan led us to a warehouse owned by the Harwoods in Creede. It was full of wildlife contraband.”
“Let me pull up the list.” Several mouse clicks later. “What the hell?”
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