Julian approached slowly, held out a hand. “Hey, Crank, buddy. It’s going to be okay. Let’s get you out of here.”
Julian scratched behind the dog’s ears, got a little wag of the tail. “You’re okay.”
He yanked off his shirt, wrapped Crank inside it to protect him from embers, and carried the big dog out to the vehicle.
Embers rained down on them, sharp needles of flame burning Julian’s back and shoulders, radiant heat intense against his skin.
Julian sucked in a breath through clenched teeth. “Shit!”
He opened the rear passenger door, pushed Crank into the back seat, then shook off the embers and climbed into the driver’s seat.
Fuck, that hurt.
Hunter had left the keys in the ignition—a smart move, as losing them right now would have been fatal—so Julian started the SUV and turned it around, ready to hit the gas the moment Hunter returned.
Trees and shrubs on both sides of the road were in flames now, the roar of the fire unreal, the air dense with smoke.
If Hunter didn’t find the cat soon, they would have no choice but to leave it. It wasn’t what Julian wanted to do, but dying in a fire wasn’t big on his list either.
Somewhere nearby a propane tank exploded, making Crank yelp.
Julian reached back, petted the terrified animal. “It’s okay, boy.”
Where the hell was Hunter?
Then in the rearview mirror Julian saw.
The house was on fire.
Flames lapped at its walls, rose up from its roof, raced along the wooden deck.
“Son of a bitch.” Julian pressed on the horn, a warning to Hunter.
Another thirty seconds passed.
Julian was about to jump out of the vehicle and run inside to get Hunter when Hunter ran down the front steps holding a squirming something in a towel.
Julian threw open the passenger side door, and Hunter climbed in, coughing, something furry and pissed off writhing and hissing in his arms.
“Ouch!”
The cat flew from the towel, evaded Hunter’s grasp, and jumped into the back seat.
Julian slammed on the gas. “I don’t think the kitty likes you.”
Hunter rubbed a bloody scratch on one hand. “Shut up and drive.”
From behind him came anotherBOOM—probably another propane tank—and one more house was engulfed, the street now bathed in a haunting orange glow as the expensive homes and belongings of four families went up in flames.
Julian sped toward the end of the street and turned right, heading away from the destruction, the wall of flame they’d seen a few minutes ago closer than he had imagined. He floored it, speeding up the hill toward the line of firefighters, who were still hard at work on the backburn, their heads turning once again as Julian and Hunter sped over the crest of the hill and down the other side, overheads still flashing.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hunter pull something out from beneath his DPD T-shirt. It was a wedding photo of two men, happy smiles on their faces, both dressed in white.
“I thought they might want this.”
“Yeah” Julian slowed down, the smoke from the backburn making it hard to see. “You should call the sheriff’s department, let them know we got the animals.”
After Hunter made the call, neither of them spoke, the rest of the drive back toward Scarlet Springs passing in silence.