This time they moved slowly, exploring each other’s bodies, indulging in a sensual foreplay that had been absent when they’d made love before. Bare skin sought bare skin and his mouth slid down her neck to capture one of her nipples. It leaped to attention in his mouth as she moaned.
She enflamed such a fire inside him the smoke from that fire choked in the back of his throat. He coughed...and tried to focus on their lovemaking. But he coughed again and suddenly awakened. Smoke filled the air.
Smoke... Fire!
The alarm finally registered in his brain, casting dreams away as fear sizzled through him. Something was burning. He jumped off the sofa. He pulled on his jeans, stepped into his boots, grabbed his gun from the coffee table and then went in search of the smoke source.
He didn’t have to go far. The back porch was burning. Hungry flames ate the wood from the ground up and moved steadily toward the back door and the dining room area of the house.
They had to get out.
He had to get them all to safety.
He turned and rushed down the hallway and met Halena there. She held Joey in her arms and appeared like a ghostly wraith in the thin layer of smoke.
“Mary!” Tony turned into her bedroom, where she was apparently still asleep. “Mary, wake up!” He raced to the side of her bed, grabbed her by an arm and shook her.
Her eyes flew open and she shot up. “Tony, what’s happening?”
“The house is on fire. Get some shoes on. We have to get out.” At that moment the smoke alarm in the kitchen began to shriek.
She flew out of bed, threw on her robe and stepped into a pair of sneakers at the foot of her bed. “Let’s go.”
They all headed to the living room, where Mary took Joey from Halena’s arms and then gestured toward the front door.
“Wait,” Tony said before she could reach the door. His brain whirled frantically. There was no way this was some sort of an accidental fire. There was nothing flammable on the back porch.
It had to be Ash.
Tony’s blood ran cold despite the growing heat in the house. Ash had obviously set fire to the back porch, effectively leaving them no exit except for the front door.
He’d be waiting for them out there in the dark. Tony felt it in his gut. “Follow me,” he said urgently. He led them back down the hallway and into Halena’s bedroom at the back of the house.
He grabbed Mary by the shoulders. “I want you and Halena to get out the window and run for the woods in the backyard. Hide there until I come to get you, and if I don’t come, then make your way to a neighbor’s place and get help.”
“Wait...what are you going to do?” she asked frantically. “Tony, aren’t you coming with us?”
He opened the bedroom window and punched out the screen, a frantic fear torching through him. Was this the right decision? Was he sending them to safety or into a murderer’s arms?
“Go,” he said. He had nothing to trust but his instincts. He only prayed they were right.
“Come with us,” Mary cried to him.
“Go,” he repeated.
Halena ran over to the other side of the room and grabbed her naked-man wood carving off the wall and then stepped out of the window. She set the thick piece of wood onto the ground outside and then reached back in to take Joey from Mary. Mary gave Tony one more beseeching look and then she went outside.
The moment they were out of the house Tony raced back down the hallway and to the front door. His eyes burned from the thickening smoke in the living room and his heart pumped with adrenaline.
He held his gun tightly, unlocked the door and then opened it and somersaulted outside. Gunfire met him. He ran for the cover of the front of his truck in the driveway as bullets pinged all around him.
He reached the front fender and leaned against it, catching his breath as he tried to pinpoint Ash’s location. He thought the man was hidden behind a bush across the street. Tony needed to keep him there until he was certain Mary and Halena had enough time to reach the woods and hide in the darkness.
He leaned out and fired off a few shots, shots that were met with return fire. Definitely behind the bush, he thought. The crackle of flames and the acrid scent of smoke in the air enraged him.
What the hell kind of man set fire to a house where there were two women and a baby inside? What kind of a monster went to such lengths?
Rage shortened his breaths as he once again leaned out and fired into the bush, hoping like hell that a bullet found the black heart of Ash.
There was no return fire.
The silence was more horrifying than the gunfire. Was he still behind the bush? If he wasn’t, then where was he now? Had he realized that somehow the women had left the house by other means? Had he left his cover to run after them? Dear God, don’t let him find the women!
Drawing a deep breath, Tony left the truck and ran toward the side of the house. He could only hope that Ash had realized his plan had failed and he had given up and left the area.
Still, Tony’s heartbeat thundered in his ears as he ran toward the woods. Sirens filled the air, a welcome sign that somebody in the neighborhood had called for help.
The fire still burned, illuminating the area around the house in the back. He saw no sign of Ash. He’d just reached the dark woods when a fire engine and several police cars pulled up at the house.
He didn’t care about the house. He didn’t care about anything but getting to Mary and Halena and Joey and making sure they were okay. He still hadn’t drawn any gunfire and his gut instinct told him Ash was gone, but he didn’t want to take any chances.
If Ash hadn’t left over his failed plan, then he surely would have fled at the first sign of the police. At least that was what Tony hoped.
Still, he wouldn’t calm down until he found the women safe and sound. “Mary!” he cried. The woods were so dark and he had no idea what direction they might have run.
They had to be okay. If anything happened to any one of them, Tony would never be able to forgive himself, but he’d had no other option than to shove them out the window. Inside was the risk of fire and smoke inhalation and outside the front door had been a hail of bullets.
“Mary,” he screamed.
And then she was there in front of him, Joey cradled in her arms and Halena by her side. He ran to Mary and threw his arms around her, unable to hide his relief.
“Thank God,” he said and took a step back from them.
“And thank God you’re okay,” she replied with tears shining in her eyes. “We heard shots. We were so scared for you.”
“I’m fine,” he assured her. “The police have arrived, along with firefighters. We should be okay to head back to the house. Ash has to be gone now.” He led them out of the trees.
“Tony? Mary?” Dillon stood in the backyard. Several firemen shot water from hoses on the last of the flames and the air felt heavy and oppressive with the lingering smoke.
“We’re here,” Tony shouted back.
Dillon met them in the middle of the yard. “I’m glad to see you’re all okay. We got some calls about the fire and gunshots being heard. Several of my men have checked the area and as you can see the fire is almost out.”
“It was Ash,” Tony said grimly.
“The man is the worst kind of shadow being and he won’t be satisfied until we’re all dead and he has sucked out our souls,” Halena said.
Tony didn’t know anything about shadow beings, but a chill, a deep fear he’d never known before, raced up his spine at her words.
Chapter 10
As Tony continued to speak with Dillon about what had happened, Mary stared at her home. The porch was nothing more than a pile of blackened screen and smoldering wood. She couldn’t even imagine what the inside of the house might look like.
Mary couldn’t even begin to process the loss, or what measures would have to be taken to put things right again. She reminded herself that she held the most important thing in her arms.
The other things were just stuff, and stuff could be replaced. She was just grateful that they’d all gotten out of the house and were safe.
“We can’t stay here,” Halena finally said, stating the obvious. She held her wood carving as tightly to her chest as Mary held Joey. “We could go to Mabel’s. She has plenty of room for us.”
“No, I don’t want to bring this danger to anyone else,” Mary replied. “We’ll go to the motel. Unless you want me to give Joey to Tony and tell him we’re out of all this.” She gazed at Halena. Joey fussed and Mary quickly rocked him in her arms to soothe him.
Halena drew herself up and lifted her chin. “We’ll see this through together. Our little warrior needs all the help he can get.”
Mary breathed a sigh of relief. Despite the danger, in spite of the carnage that the night had brought, she still wasn’t ready to walk away. She was in this until the bitter end.
Tony left Dillon and walked back to where Mary and Halena stood. “We can’t get back in the house tonight,” he said. “Dillon is going to post a couple of men here so that there’s no possibility of looting until we can get the back door replaced.”
His features were shadowed, but his body radiated tension. “Mary, now is the time for you and Halena to walk away from all this. I never meant to involve you in something so dangerous. I had no idea what Amy was getting us into. We’re lucky that the only casualty tonight was your porch and nothing worse.”
“Listen...do you hear the leaves on the trees?” Halena held a hand to her ear. “They’re telling me that it’s not time to say goodbye to Tony Nakni and his son.” She dropped her hand back to her side. “You aren’t in this alone. We stand beside you.”
Tony was silent for several long moments, as if their commitment to him and Joey left him speechless.
“We can go to the motel,” Mary offered as a solution to where they’d stay.
“No, I’ll take you to the ranch until we get this place cleaned up. You’ll be safe there and we’ll have all the cowboys there to make sure of it. I’ll just make a quick call to Cassie.”
He stepped aside as Jim Browbeck, the chief of the volunteer fire department, approached Mary and Halena. “As you can see, the fire is out. It was obviously arson and I believe the accelerant was nothing more complicated than gasoline poured on the porch and then lit.”
“How bad is the damage?” Halena asked.
“It was mostly contained to the porch, but the kitchen and living room have some smoke damage.”
“Is there any way to get into one of the bedrooms to grab some things for the baby?” Mary asked. There wouldn’t be any stores open at this time of the night. Joey needed diapers and his formula.
“Tell me exactly what you need and where it is in the house and I’ll send one of my men in,” Jim replied. “It’s still too hot for either one of you to enter.”
She told him where the diaper bag was located and asked for whatever bottles were in the refrigerator. All they needed to do was make it through the rest of the night until the stores opened in the morning.
By the time Jim returned with the requested items, Tony had called Cassie and they were all set to head to the ranch. Dillon joined them at Tony’s truck.
“I’ll have Officer Goodall follow you out to Cassie’s place,” he said.
“Thanks, I appreciate it,” Tony replied.
“Tony, this guy is obviously escalating,” he said in a low voice. “I’ll do everything on my end to catch this guy and I’ll let the Oklahoma City authorities know what happened here tonight, but you need to continue to watch your back.”
“We’ll have lots of people watching our backs at the ranch,” Tony replied.
“Can we get to this ranch now? This old woman has had enough excitement for one night and now just longs for a bed,” Halena exclaimed impatiently.
Mary looked at her worriedly. Halena always appeared so strong and capable, but she wasn’t a young woman anymore and now she’d been uprooted from her home under horrible circumstances.
“I’m fine,” Halena said as if reading Mary’s mind. “I’m just tired, as I’m sure we all are.”
“Let’s get moving,” Tony replied.
Within five minutes they were all loaded into his truck and on their way to the Holiday ranch. Mary had no idea what to expect. She’d never officially met Cassie Peterson, although she’d occasionally seen the pretty blonde in town.
How long could they stay at the ranch before Cassie got tired of them? What had to be done to get the house back in order so they could all return home?
And when would Ash Moreland strike again?
The ride was silent. Halena sat in the back with Joey, while Mary was in the passenger seat. Her gaze kept going to Tony. His mouth was a thin slash, a deep furrow rode his forehead and his broad shoulders were rigid.
She hadn’t really processed until now that he was bare-chested. He hadn’t taken the time to pull on a shirt. Thank God he’d awakened when he had, otherwise they might all have succumbed to smoke inhalation or Ash might have entered the house and killed them all and taken Joey.
As he drove, he kept his attention divided between the road before them and the rearview mirror, where the police car followed them.
She stared out the passenger window. At this point it didn’t matter whether Joey was his biological son or not. Joey was an innocent baby who needed to be protected. So far, according to Dillon, Amy wasn’t in any of the hospitals and she wasn’t in the morgue. So, where was she?
Was Ash Moreland really Joey’s biological father? Had Amy lied about Tony being the baby’s daddy? Certainly if Amy loved Joey, she wouldn’t have wanted a man like Ash to raise him.
A headache blossomed across her forehead with all the gnawing questions pounding without answers. She sat up straighter in the seat as they drove through the entrance to the ranch.
A huge two-story house beamed light from all the windows despite the lateness of the night. Tony drove down the driveway around to the back of the house and parked.
Cassie Peterson stepped out on the back porch, her blond hair gleaming in the artificial porch light and a smile of welcome on her pretty face.
Despite the smile, nerves suddenly jangled inside Mary as they all got out of the car. They were definitely a motley crew. Halena wore a pair of neon-green sleep pants and a bright purple T-shirt advertising beer and clutched a piece of wood with a naked man on horseback. Mary was in her nightgown and robe and Tony wore only his jeans and his gun belt.
It was a wonder Cassie didn’t run back into her house and lock the door. Instead she stepped off the porch to greet them.
“Come inside,” she said, and to Mary’s surprise she wrapped an arm around Mary’s shoulders. “You’ll be safe here.”
Halena carried her carving and Tony grabbed the diaper bag and together they all entered the back door into a large kitchen. Official introductions were made as Cassie gestured them to sit at the round oak table.
“We can’t thank you enough for allowing us to stay here,” Mary said.
“I’d love to sit here and make nice conversation, but I’d love it even more if you’d point me to the nearest bed,” Halena said to Cassie.
“Of course.” Cassie jumped up from the table and gestured for Halena to follow her. “I’
ll be right back,” she said over her shoulder.
“I should have seen this coming,” Tony said darkly when the two women had left the kitchen.
“How could you have known that he’d be crazy enough to set the house on fire?” Mary shook her head. “It was a dangerous move that might have killed the baby he seems to want so desperately. There was no way you could have seen this coming.”
Tony looked down at Joey, who was peacefully sleeping in his car seat. When Tony gazed back at her, his eyes were narrowed and dark. “I don’t care who his father is. Ash Moreland will never have him. I’ll do whatever necessary legally or illegally to see that he doesn’t spend a minute with Joey.”
How far he’d come from the man who had professed that he never wanted children, she thought. He would go to the ends of the earth for the little boy who had been dropped at his doorstep. His commitment to Joey nearly stole her breath away with its intensity.
Cassie came back into the kitchen. “Your grandmother is in the first room on the right when you go up the stairs. The room across the hall has a queen-size bed and a crib is set up and ready for the little guy.”
Tears suddenly blurred Mary’s vision. The stress of the night slammed into her and raw emotions pressed against her chest and burned behind her eyes. Cassie’s kindness and thoughtfulness only made her more emotional.
“I’m sorry,” she said as she swiped the errant tears that trekked down her cheeks. “I guess I’m more tired than I realized.”
“Why don’t I go ahead and take you upstairs where you can get settled in. Tony can fill me in on anything I need to know and you and I can talk more in the morning.”
Fifteen minutes later Mary was in the beautiful bedroom with Joey asleep in the crib and a fresh nightgown of Cassie’s laid out at the foot of the bed for her use.
When she went into the bathroom to wash away the night’s horror, she could hear Tony’s and Cassie’s soft murmurs drifting up the stairs.
Cassie was a petite little thing and the nightgown barely covered Mary’s behind. However, it smelled of fresh-scented fabric softener and Mary was grateful to get out of her own clothes. She didn’t know if her clothing really smelled of smoke or if she just imagined it.
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