Fury filled me as I sawthe tip of the whip collide with Maisey’s shoulders and heard her pained cry as she fell forward into the dirt. Her shirt was torn. Her skin bled. And white-hot rage pumped through my veins like a wildfire out of control as I strode into the barn.
“The prince has finally shown up on his white steed. Come to save the pitiful freak as usual?” Chelsea’s voice was full of scorn as she raised the whip again.
“You move that hand again, and I promise you, I’ll break every finger on it.” The threat in my voice did nothing but make Chelsea laugh, the sound bitter and cruel, with an edge of malevolence.
She dropped the whip, and as I started to close the distance, she reached behind her and came back with a pistol. It was small caliber but enough to do severe damage at this distance to me or Maisey.
Vader barked frantically, desperately trying to get out, to protect Maisey and me. He’d gnawed through a chunk of the wooden stall door. Imoved toward him, and Chelsea put a bullet in the ground at my feet.
I stilled. Vader snarled.
“It’s over, Chelsea,” I said, taking another small step.
She fired again, this time right next to Maisey’s head. Maisey’s face paled, and when she looked at me, the raw fear in her eyes made my stomach churn.
“Keep moving, Romeo Romero, and you’ll be the reason she dies painfully with a bullet hole in her instead of painlessly with drugs and smoke inhalation.”
“You’ve got about a minute before this place is swarming with officers.”
Chelsea’s face warped into a grotesque grin that hid inside a mask of beauty. “Let’s see. Do you mean Sheriff Wylee? Because Carter tied him up in the trunk of his own car and drove it into the forest. Someone might find it before he dies, but who knows? And Cleaver? The sappy freak who had the hots for Cornlette his whole life? He’s knocked out and handcuffed to his own steering wheel. See, he came running when Wylee sent him a text.”
Outside, the fireworks show was coming to an end. The booms were right on top of each other. The music from the lake vibrated through the valley, the words impossible to hear, but the beat thudded rhythmically as this strange, hypnotic movie scene came to a head.
“Just like my stupid sister came running when you texted her. People really shouldn’t believe everything they read, even on their own phones,” she laughed.
Chelsea dug in her pocket and came out with a cigarette lighter. The smell of gasoline hit me, and my eyes fell to a spilled jug, the liquid running over the dirt and straw all the way to Maisey. My stomach sank. Maisey’s clothes were wet.
My attention returned to the lighter in Chelsea’s hand, wondering if I could catch it before it fell.
“I drop this, and she’ll go up in flames. You’ll try to rescue her and end up with a bullet in your head for the effort. I’d offer you a bribe to walk away, but we all know the heroic Beckett would never take one. You can’t save her this time,” she said, raising the gun at the same time she flicked the lighter and lowered it.
“Drop the weapon!” a voice from the back of the barn had Chelsea whirling toward the sound just as she dropped the lighter. The gasoline went up, and I lunged for Maisey. I landed on her, trying to hold back my full weight but shifting so my turnout gear was facing the flames.
Chelsea’s pistol went off as Cooper Wylee stepped fully into the lightand returned fire. Chelsea screamed, blood blooming along her shoulder as the gun fell to the ground amongst the flames. I watched in horror as she stumbled backward, the fire licked her legs, and she shrieked in agony, twisting to try to escape.
I rolled with Maisey, whipping her away from the fire as Chelsea continued to writhe in pain.
Smoke alarms sounded, and dozens of fire sprinklers kicked in, drenching the barn with water.
Cooper ripped a Class A-B-C fire extinguisher off the wall and sprayed it over Chelsea’s body and the flames. Black smoke spiraled upward, causing Coop and Chelsea to cough furiously.
The horses stomped and snorted in fear, kicking their doors. Vader howled.
I had to clear everyone out. I had to get rid of the fumes.
But first. Maisey. God. Maisey. Clutching her to my chest, I found my feet and ran for the door. When I set her down, I briefly met her terrified gaze, and my heart nearly collapsed. The grief and sadness there were too much. Too much for one person. All I wanted to do was hold her, catalog every injury, and wipe away every bead of blood, but instead, I headed back into the barn.
I snagged a second extinguisher from near the exit and joined Cooper. His sports coat and cowboy boots wouldn’t keep him safe if the fire kicked back up, but thankfully, it disappeared in a hiss. I tossed the empty canister aside and grabbed Chelsea’s arm to haul her out just as a dozen bodies burst into the barn.
My fire crew. Parker’s security team. A handful of sheriff deputies.
“Get the animals out of here,” I told them as I hauled a screaming and struggling Chelsea toward the door.
She was ranting about her skin, and her career, and her “stupid sister.” And that rage that had been momentarily pushed aside by fear for our lives returned in full force. I wanted to accomplish what the bullet and flames hadn’t—I wanted to end her life. I wanted to forget the oaths I’d made to save lives and property and do to Chelsea what she’d intended to do to my Maisey-girl.
As we stepped outside, I nearly ran into an out-of-breath Kasey, hauling a line toward the barn. I all but tossed Maisey’s sister at her, saying, “Take her. Take her before I do something I’ll regret.”
Chelsea slammed her foot into my kneecap, loosening my grip before Kasey could get hold and allowing Chelsea to run. But she only got a foot away as Cooper grabbed her, his brown hair sticking up at angles and blue eyes deadly cold. Even though he’d grabbed her uninjured arm, she stillshrieked in pain and frustration.