“I’ve been shot,” she managed to say.
Declan jumped from the ground and raced to her. He got to her just as she was collapsing, and she landed right in his arms. Cursing and praying, he scooped her up and ran back to cover.
“God, she’s hurt,” Kirby said, and he just kept repeating it.
Declan kept watch around them, knowing this would be the perfect time for an ambush, but he also kept glancing at Stella. She was pale. Her breathing was thin, and there was too much blood.
While Kirby cradled the woman in his arms, Eden called an ambulance. Of course, she had to tell the medics about the shots being fired, and that meant they wouldn’t come close until the danger had passed. That couldn’t happen soon enough or Stella might bleed out.
“Hold on,” Declan told Stella, and he leaned out from the tree, trying to listen for any signs of those gunmen. He had to stop them, and that meant killing them.
“Go,” Eden said to him, obviously figuring out what he had to do. “I’ll protect them.”
And she would. He had no doubt about that, but that didn’t mean the gunmen couldn’t get off some lucky shots. Still, it was an offer he’d have to take.
“Thanks.” Declan brushed a quick kiss on her mouth and hoped he got the chance to give her a real thank-you later. She was putting herself in further danger to protect his family.
Declan stepped out of cover. Lifted his head. And he heard something. Not footsteps or voices. But some kind of crackling noise.
And then he smelled the smoke.
It seemed to come right at them in a thick wave.
“Fire!” Wyatt shouted. “Get the hell out of there now, Declan.”
Declan saw the flames. Orangey red and thick in the treed area to the right of them. It wasn’t an ordinary fire. No. Not this. The flames shot up toward the sky.
Someone had set off a firebomb.
“This way.” He helped Stella and Kirby to their feet and was about to head straight ahead to the truck.
But there was another of those bursting, crackling sounds, and the fire shot through that part of the woods. And worse, toward the truck. If the flames got to the gas tank, it’d explode.
No doubt what their attackers wanted.
“Change of plans,” Declan said.
With Eden on one side of Stella and Kirby on the other, they started to the left. Toward the fence and the general area where they’d last heard Eden’s father. If he was still out there, maybe he would decide it wasn’t a good time to settle an old score with Declan.
However, they’d only made it a few steps when he heard a familiar sound that he damn sure didn’t want to hear.
Another blaze roared up on their left.
And worse.
There was a fourth fire. The flames burst up behind them, and the smoke came at them from all sides.
They were trapped.
Chapter Eighteen
Eden looked all around them, and the terror rushed through her. The fire was everywhere. So was the smoke. And there was no visible escape route.
Sweet heaven.
Her father was out there somewhere, and he was no doubt in the middle of this, too. All of them could be killed, and they might never learn the reason for their deaths.
“Come on,” Declan said. He hauled Stella into his arms and tried to help Kirby.
“I’ll do it,” Eden insisted. Declan had his hands full, and if they stood any chance of surviving, they had to move fast.
But in what direction?
There didn’t seem to be a way out.
Worse, the smoke was rolling all around them. Smothering them. Eden choked back a cough, but Stella and Kirby weren’t so lucky. Both of them started coughing.
Eden looped her arm around Kirby’s waist. She couldn’t carry him the way that Declan was carrying Stella, but she could help support his weight so he could move faster.
“This way,” Declan ordered. “We have to get away from that truck before it explodes.”
Oh, God. She hadn’t considered that yet, but with her heart bashing in her chest and the adrenaline spiking through her, it was hard to think straight. Thank goodness Declan didn’t seem to be having that trouble, even though she could see the terror on his face.
“Keep close,” he added, “so we won’t get separated.”
The smoke would make it easy for that to happen. However, it wasn’t so easy to keep up with him, either. Declan bolted toward the fence area. Where her father had been. There seemed to be just as much fire and smoke there as everywhere else, but maybe he’d seen some kind of opening.
Declan maneuvered them around a large tree. Then another. With each step the smoke thickened, making it harder to breathe. Kirby’s coughing got worse, and he practically sagged against her.
“Leave me,” Kirby insisted.
“Not a chance.” If she couldn’t save her own father, then she would save Declan’s, though it broke her heart that she couldn’t do both. Maybe, just maybe, her father had managed to get away before the firebombs had exploded.
Declan hurried, cutting through the seemingly endless line of trees. Did he know where he was going? Possibly. After all, he’d lived on these grounds when he was a kid, so maybe he knew a way out of all of this.
Stella moaned and dropped her head against Declan’s shoulder. He mumbled something that Eden didn’t catch, but she thought it might be a prayer.
“Declan?” someone shouted. It was Wyatt. He’d no sooner called out when there was another shot. Not a firebomb this time.
But a bullet.
And it’d been fired very near the sound of Wyatt’s voice.
Now she prayed. Over half of Declan’s family was in these woods, and heaven knew how many gunmen there were, ready to kill them if the fire didn’t do that first.
Declan cursed but didn’t answer his brother. No doubt because it would pinpoint their location and cause someone to fire at them, too. That was the last thing they needed.
Kirby stumbled, his legs giving way, but Eden caught him before he could hit the ground. She tried to get moving as fast as she could, but when she looked up, the thick smoke made it impossible to see Declan.
No!
She couldn’t call out to him for fear of the gunmen. So she hurried. Or rather she tried to. But what remained of Kirby’s strength was fading fast. Still, she didn’t give up. Eden adjusted her arm around him, trying to keep her shooting hand free in case they were attacked, and she trudged forward.
With the smoke, she had no sense of direction, but she simply used the trees for cover and took it one frantic step at a time.
But that ended much too soon.
The flames shot up directly in front of them.
She pulled Kirby to the side, barely in time before the fire could burn him, and they ducked behind another tree.
“Gasoline,” Kirby mumbled.
Yes, she smelled it, too, and she suspected it’d been poured on the ground. That would account for why the fire was moving in such a straight line. Of course, that line wouldn’t last long because the fire would eventually burn through the dead leaves and limbs that littered the ground. It was freezing cold but dry, and that would only fuel the flames. The wind would, too.
They didn’t have much time to get out of there.
She kept moving, though her lungs were burning, starved for air, and the muscles in her arms and legs were knotted.
“Eden?” she heard Declan say. Not in a shout but a rough whisper.
Despite their circumstances, the relief flooded through her, and she felt it even more when she spotted Declan just ahead. He caught her arm and pulled all of them behind an oak.
“You should save yourselves,” Stella told them.
Kirby echo
ed that, but Declan obviously had no plans to listen. Good. Eden couldn’t live with herself if she survived this ordeal at their expense.
Declan got them moving again, and they skirted along the lines of fire. Their attacker had obviously used a lot of gasoline, because she could smell it over the thickening smoke.
The sound blasted through the air, and even though Eden had tried to brace herself for pretty much anything, she hadn’t braced herself nearly enough for that jolt that went through the entire woods.
“Stella’s truck,” Declan said.
It had obviously exploded, and she hoped no one was near it. Well, except for the gunmen. Maybe it had taken one or more of them out, but she doubted they would get that lucky. No, whoever was behind this attack had almost certainly planned an escape route.
Declan had to dodge another fire line, and they came out into a clearing. Except it wasn’t very clear because of the smoke. He moved faster now but kept checking over his shoulder to make sure Kirby and she were keeping up.
They were.
Barely.
Her muscles were more than knotted now. They were cramping to the point of excruciation, and just when she thought she couldn’t take another step, Eden saw some hope.
The white wooden fence.
She remembered it from their drive to the facility and thought it rimmed the entire property. But more important, it was next to the road. Maybe they could follow it back to Declan’s truck and escape.
A howl of sirens cut through the other noises. The ambulance was already there. Nearby anyway. It couldn’t approach until it was safe.
Whenever that would be.
Declan hurried to the fence and laid Stella on the ground. Eden did the same, and they both looked around to get their bearings. Not much to get, though. The smoke wasn’t as thick here, and there was no sign of the fire. Good. It was a break they needed.
But then, Eden heard the sound.
Not the crackling flames. Not Stella’s labored breathing. This was footsteps, and not just one set of them. Two or more.
Eden lifted her gun and tried to take aim. But it was already too late. The three men wearing dark clothes stepped out from the smoke. Like demons. Except those were real guns they were carrying. And they aimed those guns right at them.
“You can drop your weapons now,” one of them said. “Or die right this second. Your choice.”
* * *
DECLAN FROZE, BUT only because he couldn’t get his weapon turned on all of the gunmen at once. He could take out one of them. Maybe even two. But that would leave a third one to start shooting.
That was a huge risk to take.
Of course, surrendering his weapon could be an even bigger risk, since he doubted these guys were just going to let them live.
So why hadn’t the gunmen just opened fire?
Declan didn’t know, but he figured that meant their boss had other plans that didn’t involve a quick death. Maybe a slow, painful one so he or she could get the revenge they wanted.
He glanced around, looking for any way to escape. There were some more trees just to their left and near the fence. There was a ditch, too. Both might provide some cover if bullets started flying.
“My mother’s hurt,” Declan said to whoever could hear him. It was the first time he’d ever called her that, and the timing sure sucked, but maybe they’d be more receptive to what he was about to suggest if they thought of her as a mother and not their hostage.
Declan tipped his head to the end of the road. He couldn’t see the ambulance, but judging from the sound of the sirens, it was there. “Let the medics come in and take both my father and her.”
Again, it was the first time he’d called Kirby that, and he saw the tears in both Kirby’s and Stella’s eyes. Later, Declan would tell them that he no longer held a grudge for the secret they’d kept. Nearly dying put a lot of things in perspective.
Including Eden.
Here she was, her gun still aimed while she kept her arm around Kirby. Protecting him. Just as she’d done on this entire nightmarish trek through the fiery woods.
And it could cost Eden her life.
Declan wasn’t sure he’d get the chance to make that up to her, but he’d try. Yeah, he had things he needed to say to her, and somehow he had to create the chance for all of them to get out of this alive.
“Let the medics come and get my parents and Eden,” he bargained. “Then we can talk and try to work this out.”
Of course, letting the gunmen walk away from this was out of the question, since the trio could already be charged with multiple felonies. Also, none of them were wearing masks. Not a good sign. Because that meant they wouldn’t want to leave any witnesses behind. Federal marshals and a P.I. would be huge loose ends.
“No way,” the gunman in the middle said. “Just put down the guns.”
“And then what?” Eden asked. “You shoot us all in cold blood?”
Declan didn’t want her egging them on. Hell, he wished he could dig a hole and shove her in it. But he doubted Eden was going to let him do this by himself.
Nope.
She stood, slowly, and positioned herself arm to arm with him.
“Put down the guns now!” the man yelled. He took aim at Stella. “Or she gets another bullet. This one might not kill her, but she’ll wish she was dead.”
Declan had no doubt that the guy would shoot. Hell, maybe he’d been the one to shoot Stella in the first place. That didn’t help quell the anger that rose hot and bitter in his throat.
“Go ahead,” Kirby said. God, his voice was weak, and this stress wasn’t going to help matters. “Declan and Eden, do as they say. Put down your guns.”
He glanced down at Kirby and saw the barrel of the backup weapon he’d given him. Kirby had it hidden under the edge of his coat.
Declan wanted to curse.
Normally, he would have liked having Kirby cover his back, but he doubted the man’s hand was steady enough. Besides, if Kirby fired, those goons wouldn’t waste a second shooting him.
“Do as they want and surrender your gun,” Declan said to Eden. “But try to keep it close,” he added in a whisper.
She gave a shaky nod, and she stooped to lay the gun on the ground just a few inches from her feet. Declan figured the guys would tell her to give it a good kick, but all three just looked at him.
“Your turn,” one of them said to him.
Declan repeated Eden’s movement, keeping his gun within stooping distance. Of course, that was way too far away if these guys started shooting.
“Anybody else got a gun?” someone called out, and it wasn’t one of the goons.
It was Leonard Kane.
He stepped from the trees and drifts of smoke, and despite his earlier collapse at the hospital, he no longer looked weak and sickly.
Just the opposite.
He looked like a man pleased with himself.
And Leonard wasn’t alone. He had another big, hulking gunman by his side. His, no doubt.
“You bastard,” Stella said, and despite her injury, she tried to get to her feet, but thankfully Kirby kept her on the ground. At least that way they could scramble into the ditch if necessary.
And Declan figured it would become necessary.
He only prayed that Kirby, Stella and Eden could move fast enough when the bullets started flying again.
“Your lover there is the bastard,” Leonard argued. “He killed my son.”
“And hurting Declan won’t bring him back,” Eden snapped.
“No, but it’ll make me feel a hell of a lot better.” He sounded amused that Eden would give him an argument at a time like this. “Killing you will, too, because I know it’ll get back at Zander for being such a jackass and trying to ruin my business. It
’s not enough for him to face attempted-murder charges for that witness.”
“You set that up,” Declan challenged.
“Yeah, I did. So what? Zander’s still not behind bars, and that means he didn’t get the payback he deserves.”
Eden just shook her head. “You’re dying. What good would revenge do now?”
“Well, for the short time I got left, it’ll do a hell of a lot of good. Don’t want to go to my grave without settling these last scores.”
“And that score’s with me,” Kirby offered. He didn’t get up, probably because he was still hiding the gun, but he did face Leonard head-on. “Let everybody go, and you and me will settle this. Here’s your chance to finish me off.”
“Too easy,” Leonard answered. “Like I said, I want you to suffer. Besides, if I’d wanted you dead, I would have killed you a long time ago when I had Declan’s parents killed. Oops. I guess that would be his adoptive parents, since he’s your brat.”
Stella cursed him again, and inside, Declan felt much more than profanity. He’d spent a good deal of his life thinking about how he’d deal with the man who’d killed his adoptive parents.
And now he had the chance.
Except he couldn’t take it without risking another set of parents and Eden. It cut him to the core that he couldn’t just lash out at this SOB. But somehow, he would get that chance. Leonard was going to pay for all the misery he’d caused.
“I covered my tracks,” Stella said. She was crying now. “There was no way you could trace his adoptive family to Kirby and me.”
“Well, you sure didn’t make it easy. I’d heard rumors that you’d had a kid, and I just kept digging. Didn’t find anything for years, and then Beatrice stumbled onto the passport you thought had been destroyed. She did all the legwork for me.”
“Beatrice was in on the murders?” Declan asked. Because if so, she’d pay, too.
“No. She’s all talk, always whining about the money that she doesn’t want to share. She found you, but all she’d planned to do was make sure Jack never located you. He was looking, too. So Beatrice set out to make sure no one ever found the passport or any link that would come back to Jack.”
JUSTICE IS COMING Page 17