Page 4 of Once Removed (Blackhawk Security)

Chapter 2

Panicking, Lainey spun around, searching for something to break the window. There. A chair, upended on the floor. Curling her fingers around it, she dragged it to the window, hoisted it up and smashed it into the glass. Pointed shards fell to the floor, glittering with the reflection of the flames.

She swung at the window again and again, her arms aching from the chair’s weight, trying to create enough room to escape. Flames crackled, their heat making her sweat. Finally, the last sliver of glass broke free of the window’s frame, and she scrambled toward the window.

As she swung one leg over the windowsill, rough hands grabbed her and held tight. Her purse caught on the frame, making her unable to grab her gun. Hands tightened on her arms. His body coiled, and she realized that instead of helping her, he was going to shove her back into hell. Push her to the floor. Block her escape until the heat and the smoke overcame her.

Desperate, she grabbed at a broken piece of wood that had held the window in place. A sliver of glass sliced into her palm, but she ignored the pain. Stabbing the wood over her shoulder toward her attacker, she heard him scream. His hands fell away, and Lainey spun around.

His hands covered his face, and blood streamed through his fingers. He was a big man. Taller than Ron, and heavier. Not Ron.

“Bitch,” he yelled, his voice thick. He stumbled backward and lurched into the flame-covered wall. Screaming again, he turned and blundered around the corner, his shirt smoldering as he staggered out of her view.

* * *

Brody Jones braked as he neared the compound and spotted the flicker of fire behind the fence. An older Toyota SUV was parked on the shoulder of the road near the gate. Had someone come out here to vandalize the abandoned property?

He parked on the shoulder, opposite the Toyota, turned off the ignition and ran through the open gate. The long, low mess hall was on fire. Flames licked at the sides and danced over the roof. And a woman was struggling to escape through a broken window.

Was it the woman he’d been talking to just hours ago? Without thinking, Brody began to run. What the hell was going on? By the time he reached the woman, she was almost out the window. He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her high into the air and over the sill.

As soon as he touched her, she stiffened and began to struggle. She held a sharp splinter of wood that had probably come from the broken window, and she stabbed it wildly in his direction. “Hey,” he shouted over the roaring of the fire. “It’s okay. I’m trying to get you out of the building. Hold still.”

She froze, the sharpened stick still pointing at his face. Once she was over the sill and out of the building, he pried it from her hand. Tossed it far enough away that she couldn’t easily retrieve it.

She struggled to free herself, and Brody let her go. As soon as his hands dropped away, she spun around. “Brody? What the hell are you doing here?” She backed away, watching him warily.

“Lainey?” He stared at her, shocked. She was the last person he’d expected to see out here. “Are you all right? Are you hurt?” He scanned her body, freezing when he saw blood dripping from her hand. “Your hand.” He began to reach for her, but froze when she backed away.

As if she was scared of him.

“What… why are you here, Brody?” Her voice shook and she swallowed hard. Soot smeared one side of her face, and tiny holes dotted her tee shirt -- probably from sparks falling on her.

“I was driving by and saw the fire. Then I saw a car. A Toyota. Yours?”

She nodded. Swallowed.

“I ran through the gate and saw you struggling to get out that window.”

“You didn’t see someone running away?”

Brody frowned. “No one. Only saw the fire, then you.” He took her uninjured hand and led her toward an open area away from the burning building. Another building was on fire, as well. It stood three stories tall, and flames flickered along one side. What the hell was going on here?

He stopped at the stairs into another building. “Sit here while I find a hose. I’ll wet the other buildings down, try to prevent the fire from spreading.” He nodded at the purse slung across her chest. “You have your cell phone?”

She looked inside it, as if she wasn’t sure, then nodded. Swallowed again.

“Call 911. Get some firefighters out here before the fire spreads to the rest of the buildings. This whole place could go up.”

He waited until she pulled her phone out of her purse, then ran to look for a hose. He found one coiled on the ground near the building in front of the mess hall. Turning on the spigot, he ran toward the closest building. He was pretty sure there was no saving the mess hall, but if he got the others wet, maybe the fire wouldn’t spread as fast.

The tiny stream of water was dwarfed by the flames greedily licking at two buildings. If the wind picked up, he might as well be pissing onto the wood. But until the fire department with their powerful hoses showed up, this was the best he could do.

It was an eternity of heat and smoke before he heard the sirens. The mess hall was completely engulfed in flames. As soon as the fire engines and trucks lumbered into the compound, Brody turned off the water and re-coiled the hose. Like that would make any difference. But tidy habits developed over years of running a ranch were ingrained.

In a few moments, firefighters had their hoses aimed at the fire, and dark smoke billowed into the air. Brody hurried over to where Lainey sat on the stairs, her arms wrapped around herself. He slid onto the seat beside her. “How’re you doing?”

Lainey took a deep breath. “As well as can be expected, considering someone tried to burn me to death.”

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