Cowboy In The Crossfire(34)

"Gas." He grabbed Amanda's hand. "We've got to get out of here."

They ran down the stairway. The moment they hit the first floor, the odor became overwhelming.

"Not the kitchen," Blake choked.

They raced out the front door. Cold, fresh air slapped Amanda's face. She bent over, dizzy, sucking in deep breaths.

"Freeze!"

Blake straightened. A man in a cop's uniform faced them, his gun drawn, his face tense. Blake stepped in front of Amanda. "Glenn?"

The man lowered his weapon slightly, then raised it. "Blake Redmond? What are you doing here?"

A loud boom rocked Amanda on her feet. A blast of hot air hit and knocked her to her knees.

*

FIERY DEBRIS POUNDED across Blake's back. He stumbled forward. With horror, he watched a burning projectile hit Amanda on her shoulder. She dropped down.

"Amanda!"

He covered her with his body as raining fire pummeled him. He chanced a glance at what was left of Vince's house. If there'd been any evidence in there, it was gone.

Glenn stumbled to his feet, his face streaked with black. "Vince!" he cried and ran toward the house. Blake grabbed the man. "Vince's body isn't inside, man."

"He was scheduled to work today, then I heard the call come in from a neighbor about prowlers..." Glenn's voice trailed off, his gaze suspicious. "Body? What are you talking about?"

"Sorry, I can't talk about it. Not yet."

Glenn reached for his cuffs. "Then I'm taking you in. You and your girlfriend."

Amanda groaned and rolled to her feet. "It's me, Glenn." She coughed, as black smoke rose from the burning embers behind them. Her eyes streamed. "Blake's telling the truth. Vince is dead." She grabbed Glenn's arm. "Please, just let us go."

A movement caught Blake's eye. He glimpsed a man in a hoodie running from the alley.

Blake looked at Glenn. "Sorry, bud, I'll explain later." He slugged the man beneath the jaw, and Glenn sank to the ground, out cold. Blake took off after the suspect, but a car peeled out. Blake slowed down and cursed. He turned around and stared at Amanda, kneeling next to the cop who was a good guy but in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Sirens sounded from nearby. He rushed back to Amanda and grabbed her hand. "Fire department's coming. Glenn will be fine. We won't. We've got to get out of here."

Amanda stumbled behind him, and Blake cursed Vince once more. What had he been up to? And if he'd turned on the bad guys, why hadn't he come to Blake and brought him the evidence?

He skidded to a halt as they approached the car and held out his arm to block Amanda from getting too near. "Don't go any closer. Whoever set that explosion knew we were in Vince's house and was in the alley. The guy could've rigged the car."

"How did they know we were in Austin at all?" Amanda panted. "Did Logan or his men give us away? Is Ethan safe?"

Blake lowered himself to the ground and searched under the car, looking for an explosive device or even a GPS. "Logan's pickier about the folks who work for him than the FBI. I trust him. My guess is whoever's the ringleader in this is monitoring activity. When the prowler call came in, they just piggybacked on the call. They saw us and decided to get rid of the witnesses and the evidence at the same time."

"But Ethan wasn't here. And he's their eyewitness."

"They might not know Ethan wasn't with us. Hell, if Glenn hadn't shown up, they might've tried to take us out. They want our deaths to look like an accident."

Blake didn't see anything unusual underneath the car. He slid from beneath the vehicle and stood up. "We have a problem, though."

"Can it get worse?"

"I'm afraid so. They were willing to blow us and the evidence up. If they've given up finding whatever Vince had, then they'll step up their game."

"Oh, God. They'll keep coming," Amanda muttered. "There's no choice left."

Blake cracked open the door and checked for wires, then popped the hood. Nothing. He spent enough time tinkering with cars, he'd recognize a faulty wire. The guy hadn't had enough time to do anything more sophisticated.

The sirens grew louder. No time left. "Stand back," Blake said. He slipped into the car and turned the key. The car started with ease. No hesitation. He gunned the engine, then pressed on the brakes. "We're safe. Get in," he said to Amanda.

She hesitated. Blake didn't blame her, but the sirens were nearly on top of them.

"We can walk," he said quietly. "Take the back roads and I'll contact Rich to pick us up."

A fire engine streaked past them.

"You're sure it's safe?" she said.

"I'll get you back to Ethan." Blake opened the passenger side and she slid in beside him. "We get on the plane, hightail it to Logan's ranch and regroup."

Blake sent her a sidelong glance. "Because now, you're not the only one on the run. The law's after me, too."





Chapter Eight


More sirens screamed closer and closer. They were coming for them. Blake had slugged a cop. Glenn knew Blake...him and Amanda. He gripped the steering wheel. He didn't like their precarious position in the alley. They had two options. Forward or back. If the Austin PD blocked both exits, they were caught.