I ease my way up the dirty road until I face the house. During the day, it sits like a faded memory long forgotten, a stark contrast from the unnerving, coldness it displays at night.
We came up with a plan, a foolproof, solid one that draws Steve out while Cameron sneaks in the back. It all depends on the perfect timing and my acting skills.
I draw in a deep breath and let it out slowly as I watch the devil himself walk out of the house in a pair of linen khaki shorts and no shirt. Walking out like a self-assured, cocky mother fucker who looks like he’s won the lottery.
“Logan DeLuca.”
“Steve Allen.”
“And where is your better half?”
I can feel the change to my face. The flared nostrils, the furrowed brows, the pursed lips. This man has no clue what he invoked when he said those words. “You murdered him four months ago, along with eleven others at Purple Reign. You murdered my husband in cold blood.”
“I removed the filth from this world, something that I’m about to do more of. And you know very well I meant the lapdog who seems to follow you around.”
“That lapdog and I got into a fight and he drove back to Houston in my car. So, I’m sorry that you’re going to have to face me all by your –”
I don’t notice the fist that swings into my chin and the surprising strength of it hurls me to the ground. I hold my jaw in my hand while trying to get a grip on everything. I need to remember what Cameron told me this morning.
“Keep your eyes and your mind focused on him. Don’t listen to his words. You know how he uses them to distract.”
And he’s right. This time, I catch the fist as it swings toward me. I stand and twist it behind him. I try to keep him occupied as the low rumble of a motor turns on.
“You may have had the element of surprise, but fool me once, shame on you fool me twice –”
“Fool you twice and the big bad pervert goes falling to the ground.”
How the fuck he got me again, I’ll not know, but the knife piercing my side suddenly doesn’t hurt. I don’t feel the pain, I don’t feel anything but the raging fire building inside me as I stand tall. My fist strikes his jaw, the other getting his kidney. He crumples to the ground and my steel-toed foot flies into his stomach. As he screams out, I faintly hear glass shatter.
“Now, am I going to have to force you into that house myself to disarm the explosives or are you going to go willingly.”
The Cheshire grin spreads slowly across his face as the low rumbles turn into a deep laugh.
“No one can get inside. I’ve got the house rigged. The minute someone tries to enter that house, it’s a pile of smoking ash.”
My head jerks to the house.
Cameron is supposed to be working his way inside to grab Irina.
I walk toward the back of the house, keeping to the shadows as I try to sneak up. The windows are boarded up, my luck and my curse. I can’t see in but he can’t see out. Luckily, we saw this last night and I came prepared. Add to my surprise of going unseen when I hear a familiar voice come from the front of the house.
I don’t have much time. I carefully bring out the electric saw I got at the hardware store early this morning. Hoping that the noise doesn’t echo too much, I cut a hole in the wood. Big enough for me to climb through. At the same time, I punch through the glass window.
“Irina? Irina, it’s me, Cameron.” I call out to her as I climb through but I get no answer. I stumble into the house through a bedroom and when my eyes meet the ceiling, they go round.
I follow the wiring outside the door and I realize that the entire house – not just the one room Logan saw on the video feed – is rigged to detonate. A muffled sound comes to my left and I see Irina on the floor, bound and gagged with duct tape.
“Irina!” I fall to the floor and slowly peel the tape away. I take the pocket knife from my back pocket and cut the tape at her ankles and wrists. “Stand very slowly, Irina. I need to get this vest off you.”
“Can you do it?”
I give her a small, reassuring smile. “Darling, I worked with explosives when I was a SEAL. I’ve got this. I just need you to stay still.”
I study the vest and it takes no time at all to realize that she’s wearing a dud. I cut the vest off her and grab her hand.
“In the room to the back left, there’s a window punched out. Go through it and run as fast as you can.”
“But –”
“Go! I need to make sure that none of this is active. If there’s a chance that this goes off, I need you to be as far away as you can. Here,” I thrust the keys to our car and motel into her hands. “You’ll hit the road about a half mile past the trees. My car is there. It’s facing the direction of our motel. When you see Owl Lodge Inn, go to room four. Call JoJo at D-One and tell him that we need as many men here as fast as possible. Got it?”
Her lips tremble as she nods, turns away from me, and runs out without question.
I take in a deep breath and get to work cutting the wiring around the house.