Take the Key and Lock Her Up (31 page)

He shoved his pistol in the holster and pulled out his latest burn phone. What he
was doing was stupid, foolish, a mistake. He knew it. But he couldn’t
not
have made that call, no matter what. Because this wasn’t just about him, or Kelly,
or even Emily anymore.

He punched in a landline number he rarely called but knew by heart, and rested his
forehead against a pine tree. One ring. Two. Three. In the middle of the fourth ring,
a bitter, raw voice came on the line.

“Gage Thomas.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your sister,” Devlin whispered, his own throat raw even though
he hadn’t been crying.

“You bastard. Why did you do it? Why Nancy?”

“It wasn’t me, Gage. I swear it. I didn’t kill Shannon. And I didn’t kill Nancy. You
know I adored her. I would never, ever hurt her.”

“You beat her, stabbed her, nearly fucking cut her head off with that damn wire you’re
so fond of. And you left her lying on my front porch like garbage. Don’t tell me you
adored
my baby sister.” He broke down, crying into the phone.

Devlin blinked back the answering moisture in his own eyes. He could feel his friend’s
pain just as if it were twelve years ago all over again and Devlin was jogging around
the corner of the dorm only to see the police crime-scene tape around Arianna’s car.
Her long blonde hair hanging out of the driver’s side door, brushing against the pavement.

“I let you escape yesterday morning even though I had an EXIT order for you,” Gage
snarled. “And until I found out about Nancy, I’d done nothing,
nothing
about that order. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t go after you. But all of that has
changed.”

Devlin stilled. “It’s all changed? What do you mean? What have you done, Gage?”

“What I’m
going
to do is kill you. Right now, I have a funeral to plan, but once I explained to Ace
what you’d done, he was more than willing to assist me in a little quid pro quo. Turns
out, he doesn’t care about the rules any more than you do, especially rule number
one
: Enforcers’ families are not to be harmed in any way
.” The line clicked.

The blood drained from Devlin’s face. Gage had just sicced Ace on his family. He took
off toward the car in a sprint, punching numbers into his phone as he ran.

E
MILY CLUTCHED THE
armrest as Devlin took another sharp curve going way too fast. The Charger tilted
dangerously to the right, the wheels wobbling and lifting off the pavement.

“Devlin,” she squeaked, her stomach plunging like a roller coaster going over a steep
drop.

He eased up on the gas and the wheels dropped. Another tight curve and then the road
straightened out before them. Devlin punched the accelerator. How fast was he going?
Eighty? Ninety? On a two-lane rural road on which anyone could pull out in front of
them at any moment.

“Please,” Emily tried to reason with him, speaking calmly, slowly. “Please slow down.
You’re going to get us killed.”

He didn’t seem to hear her. If anything, he sped up. He held the phone to his ear
and slowed for another curve, barely. The wheels screeched but held.

“Devlin, please. You’re scaring me. What happened back there? Slow down.”

“Pierce,” he barked into the phone. “What took you so long? Forget it. Where are Maddie
and Nikki?” A few seconds later, “Get them somewhere safe. I’ve got some bad people
after me, and they’ve threatened to go after my family.” His hand tightened around
the phone. “What? No, right now. Now! Okay, okay. I’ll explain later. Just do it.
And watch your back.”

The fingers of Emily’s right hand ached from holding on to the armrest so hard.

Devlin repeated the same series of warnings over the phone to his brother Matt, telling
him to get his wife, Tessa, somewhere safe and to hide with her. Then he made yet
another call but hung up a few seconds later. Whoever he’d called hadn’t answered.

The rural areas faded away and they roared into Savannah’s Historic District. Devlin’s
jaw tightened as he was forced to slow down drastically to avoid early morning church
goers and tourists.

“Where are we going? Does this have something to do with Nancy Thomas?”

He weaved around a car and made another call.

“Judy, it’s Devlin. Yes, hi. I need to speak to Braedon. It’s urgent.” He listened
for a few seconds. “No, I tried his cell. He’s not answering. Is he on a construction
site?” Another pause and he suddenly slowed, turned right. “I’m a few blocks from
there. Thanks.”

“Devlin, for the love of God, please tell me what’s going on.”

“I don’t have time, Emily.” He jerked the wheel and pulled to an abrupt halt in front
of a big white house. Emily’s seat belt locked as she was thrown against it. Her breath
left her in a rush. She struggled to draw in some air. Finally, her lungs expanded
again. She drew several deep, gasping breaths.

And reached for her gun.

Devlin leaned forward, peering past her through the passenger window. A Dumpster sat
in front of the house. Tools and lumber sat in the yard beside it, but there wasn’t
anyone around. He grabbed his phone again. “Yes, Judy, Devlin again. Braedon’s not
here. No one’s here. Yes, yes. Lunch? At my father’s house? Got it. Thanks.”

Emily shoved the muzzle of her gun against his rib cage.

Devlin froze.

“We’re not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on. I mean it, Devlin. If
I have to shoot you, I will. It won’t kill you with your vest on, but it will damn
well hurt. Might even break a rib or two. Start talking.”

His eyes narrowed.

“I swear, if you try to grab this gun like last time, it’s not going to work. I’ve
got a tight grip on it and I’m—”

He swiped the gun away from her with a quick twist that sent a sharp jolt of pain
from her wrist to her shoulder. She cried out and grabbed her arm.

His expression immediately softened. “I’m sorry, Em.” He shoved the pistol in his
waistband on his left side, where she couldn’t reach it, and took off again, racing
down the street.

He lifted the phone but hesitated. “Are you okay?”

She rubbed her arm. “Yes, if you don’t wreck the car and kill us.”

He slowed, just a little, but it was enough to make her realize he was listening.
He called another number, but no one must have answered because he didn’t say anything.
He turned the car down a two-lane road that led out of town and picked up speed. Two
calls later, he tossed the phone into the console and shot Emily an apologetic look.

“I can’t slow down,” he said, as if knowing she was about to ask. “Ace is after my
family now. Alex, Austin, and Braedon should be at Alex’s house, but no one’s answering.
Everyone else is accounted for.”

She picked up the phone and scrolled through the last dialed numbers.

“What are you doing? We can’t call 911.”

“I know that. But we can call your FBI brother again; Pierce, right? Don’t you think
he could help us? You wouldn’t have to worry about protecting him, and I’m sure he
could be an asset in this kind of situation.” She paused with her hand over the redial
button. “Or do you have a better idea?”

His lips pursed, but he gave her a quick, sharp nod. “Go ahead.”

Keeping her explanation as vague as Devlin had on his earlier calls, she got Pierce
to agree, then put the phone in the console.

“He’s dropping his wife and daughter off at Matt’s lab. That’s where Matt’s going
with his wife, Tessa. Since it’s Sunday, no one else will be at the lab to get in
harm’s way. Plus your brothers think the lab is a good, defensible position, with
concrete block walls. They should be okay there. Pierce will meet you at Alex’s house.”

They were well outside of Savannah now. At the pace Devlin was driving, assuming they
didn’t wreck, they’d be at the house in just a few more minutes. When they topped
the last hill before his father’s house, Devlin punched the gas pedal all the way
to the floor.

Emily stared in horror at the thick, black clouds billowing up into the sky.

Alex’s house was on fire.

Chapter Nineteen

D
EVLIN BARRELED UP
the long driveway and slid to a stop at the edge of the front lawn, twenty feet back
from Braedon’s truck and his father’s Escalade.

“Lock the doors, Em. Keep your gun close. Ace could still be out there.”

He didn’t wait for her answer. He slammed the driver’s door and raced for the porch,
which was already half-obscured with thick, black smoke. As soon as he reached the
front door, it flew open, and Braedon staggered outside with Alex draped over his
shoulders.

Coughing violently, Braedon dropped to his knees. Black soot covered his nose and
mouth. Devlin cast an anxious glance at Alex. His eyes were closed, and Devlin couldn’t
tell if he was breathing or not.

“Come on,” Devlin yelled over the roar of the fire. “You can’t stay here. The whole
house is going up.” He lifted Alex off his brother’s shoulders and hurried away from
the house, laying Alex down on the cool grass a safe distance from the fire.

Braedon stumbled after him.

“I can’t find a pulse. What happened? Was he shot?” Devlin pinched Alex’s nose shut
and covered his mouth, blowing three quick breaths before starting chest compressions.

“Shot?” Braedon coughed. “Why would he be shot?”

Devlin rushed to cover his mistake. “Why isn’t he breathing?”

“Don’t know. Heart attack maybe? Smoke inhalation? I was in the kitchen when I smelled
smoke. The alarms never went off.” He coughed again and wiped his mouth, smearing
black soot across his cheek. “I found him lying in his bedroom doorway.”

“Where’s Austin?” Devlin performed more chest compressions.

Braedon looked around as if he expected his little brother to be right behind him.
“He was supposed to follow me. He was right—” Another violent coughing fit wracked
his body.

Devlin gave him a sharp look, worried that Braedon’s airway might close soon from
the soot. He blew three more quick breaths into Alex’s mouth. The throaty sound of
a powerful engine had Devlin jerking his head up. Pierce’s Pontiac GTO was coming
up fast, kicking up gravel as it raced up the road toward them.

“I’ve got this.” Emily was suddenly standing beside him. “Go, Devlin! Find Austin.”
She cast a worried glance at Braedon. “I called 911.” Her dark eyes pleaded with him
for understanding. “I didn’t have a choice.” She dropped down beside Alex and pushed
Devlin’s hands away so she could take over the CPR.

“Thank you, Em.” He squeezed her shoulder and took off in a sprint. The front porch
was engulfed in flames, making entry impossible through the door. He ran through the
yard down the length of the house, desperate to find a way in, but flames poured out
of every window, including Austin’s room at the end, across the hall from Alex’s bedroom.

He tore around the end of the house to the back, but the deck was an inferno. He couldn’t
even see the sliding glass doors because of the flames and thick, black smoke. Despair
threatened to send him crashing to his knees on the ground. How could anyone survive
in there?

“Austin!” he yelled. “Austin!” He ran to the last window on the end—Alex’s room. The
flames here weren’t as bad, licking at the glass from only one side of the bedroom.
He jumped up and kicked the glass. Flames immediately leaped up to fill the opening,
fed by the fresh air from outside. Devlin ducked down from the searing heat, forced
to move back several feet. The left side of the bedroom was dark, filled with smoke,
but so far untouched by the flames. If there was any chance of saving his brother,
he had to get inside, now, before the entire bedroom was engulfed.

Damn it, Ace. You are not taking my family away from me!

Whirling around, he ran to the pond behind the house and dove in. He jumped out and
ran toward the house, water dripping from his clothes and hair. The only thing he
knew to do was to jump through the window and hope he didn’t land in any flames. He
hoped the water would keep him from becoming a human torch.

He ran full tilt toward the bedroom, holding his arms up to protect his face from
the flames and diving toward the broken window.

Suddenly, someone slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. He automatically reached
for his gun but stopped when he saw who was on top of him—his brother Pierce.

“Damn it, Devlin. You idiot. Are you trying to kill yourself?” Pierce shoved him,
then hauled him upright. “You have to knock the flames back first.” He tossed a fire
extinguisher to Devlin and ran with his own extinguisher to the window casing.

Thank God for overprepared, overprotective brothers who had the sense to bring fire
extinguishers; Pierce had probably grabbed them from the back of Braedon’s B&B Construction
truck out front.

Together they blasted the windowsill, temporarily knocking the flames back.

“You or me?” Pierce yelled over the dull roar of the burning roof above them. But
Devlin had already stepped back a few feet to get a running start. He clutched the
extinguisher and ran forward, diving through the opening, rolling across the floor.
The heat was so intense he could barely breathe. He shot a spray of retardant at the
closest flames, making a path to the hallway.

“Hurry, the roof’s about to come down,” Pierce yelled from outside.

He could hear short bursts from Pierce’s extinguisher as he beat back the flames to
keep the path to the window clear.

“Austin, where are you?” Devlin ducked beneath the thick, black smoke that was already
making his eyes tear up. He got down on all fours and scrambled forward as fast as
he could crawl toward the hallway. Fire licked at the walls. It was like a damn oven.

“Austin?” He reached the hallway and almost fell on top of his brother, lying facedown,
unconscious or worse. His wheelchair was overturned. Part of the ceiling in the hallway
had caved in already, making it impossible for Austin to get out that way in the wheelchair.
His clothes were charred, probably from when he’d escaped from his room. He’d had
the sense to close his door behind him, which was probably the only reason the flames
hadn’t shot out into this area yet.