Beautiful Burn

by Rachel Blake

  "Fuck!" Atticus pulled his phone from his pocket and sent out a quick text. "Tell us anything you remember, lovie, even if you think it is useless. The tiniest clue could get us on the right path."

  "Gwen knew the guy who pulled her from the rig, called him Devon. I recognized the other one's voice, but his face was covered and I can't place it."

  "If you heard it again, would you know it?" At her frantic nod, Atticus hit a few buttons on his phone before a voicemail started playing.

  "That's it, that's who pulled me out of the ambulance."

  Jensen felt his mouth drop as realization hit. "Starling's the arsonist?"

  Atticus scuffed. "No, he's the copycat. Did they say anything about where they were going, or what they were going to do? Were there more people waiting for them to arrive?"

  "They did say they had one more stop to make."

  "Did they say where?"

  "No. It was something about picking up a 'pretty pig.'"

  Jensen watched as Zander shot from his chair, the color gone from his face. "Baylor." He pulled his phone from his pocket. "Fuck! Little bird, I swear to God, if you're screening your calls or your phone is dead, I am going to paddle your ass. Pick up the phone. Please, baby."

  "I need a location on Officer Bass right now."

  Chapter 23

  Gwen silently pleaded for the unconscious woman on the floor in front of her to wake up. The bleeding had stopped, but the ugly blue and purple knot near her temple had her worried.

  "You didn't have to hurt her."

  "She didn't do as she was told."

  "Is that what happened to Sierra's arm. Did she not react to your command fast enough?"

  "That was an accident! I would never hurt her on purpose." The younger man swiftly moved across the room. Sierra flinched away as he brought his hand to her face, brushing against the bruise that had formed as a result of the earlier backhand. "You believe me, don't you, baby?"

  "Of c-course."

  "Get back to the fucking window."

  Gwen's stomach recoiled as the man next to her removed his ski mask. "Starling?"

  "Did you expect the boogie man?" He mopped his sweaty face with his sleeve, making sure to be gentle with his swollen eye.

  "You're the arsonist?" The slap had her falling from her kneeling position to her side, her tied hands unable to brace her fall.

  "That is the problem." He leaned into her, his breath smelling of stale cigarettes. "Everyone was so wrapped up in him that they forgot all about me. I was old news; I couldn't have that."

  "What did you do to be remembered?"

  She cringed away when Starling raised his hand to strike her again, but it never came. When she opened her eyes, she saw Devon holding the other man's wrist. "You said you wouldn't hurt them unless they disobeyed. All she did was ask a question." He released Starling and walked back to the window, his blue eyes flashing. Gwen could see why Sierra had been drawn to him. He was a protector, even if he was a bit deranged. As she looked at the other woman now, all she could see was disdain mixed with just a hint of fear every time she snuck a glance at him.

  A sneer curled Starling's lip. "You mean, besides giving the last ten years of my life to protecting this city? How about taking Devon, here, off the streets, giving him a place to live and food to eat."

  "And turning him into a monster like you," Sierra cried out as her head was pulled back by a fist in her hair.

  "Sounds like you need a lesson in who's in charge."

  "No." Devon stepped forward, a deadly look on his face. "She is mine; I will handle her."

  Starling was a lot of things, but it didn't seem he was as big an idiot as Gwen had previously thought. "Fine." He shoved Sierra to the floor, forcing her to her hands and knees in front of Devon. "Make sure she doesn't disrespect me again, or I will tie and gag her whether you agree or not."

  He crouched in front of her, gently touching her chin so she looked him in the eye. "You know better than to disrespect him like that. You know he doesn't like it, and I hate punishing you."

  "I…" Fear rolled off of her. "I hate him. He's turned you into a monster."

  "It's not her fault, Devon." Gwen spoke as she struggled into a seated position. "She's terrified, not just for herself, but for us."

  He instantly softened. "Is that true?"

  "Bullshit."

  "Shut up, Jay. Let her talk."

  Sierra looked to the floor as she clenched her fist so tightly, her knuckles turned white. An attempt to keep herself from slugging the man, no doubt. "You kidnapped me and my friends."

  "Oh, baby." She held herself stiff as he gathered her in his arms.

  "You're going to fall for that shit?"

  "We're holding her here against her will, for reasons unknown to her. Of course, she's scared."

  "They are playing you!"

  When Jay took a step toward Sierra, Devon stood to his full height. "Let me get them all settled in the bedroom." Devon helped both women off the floor and led them to what looked to be the only other room in the house. "Stay here and behave. I don't want to have to punish you, but I will if you give me a reason."

  He left the room, only to return a second later with Kennly's limp form cradled in his arms. He placed her on the bed, gave Sierra's hand a kiss and walked out the room, locking the door from the outside.

  As she caught Gwen's eye, Sierra spoke. "I'm not afraid of him. I'm scared of Starling and the beast he has turned Devon into."

  "Are they gone?"

  "Thank God!"

  "Shh." Kennly sat up, stretching her arms above her head. "If they know I'm conscious, they'll tie me, and we need as many free hands as we can get." She started working the knots holding Gwen's wrists as she spoke. "My name is Baylor Bass. I’m an undercover police officer for the Hill City Police Department."

  "What?" Gwen looked over her shoulder to the woman working the knots holding her hands.

  "I’m an undercover cop."

  "That’s why they called you a—" Gwen stopped, not wanting to insult the woman.

  "I can only imagine what they call me, but we don’t have time." Baylor turned to Sierra. "I need to know what happened."

  "I don't know. I was in the grocery store parking lot, and then I was here. When I woke up, Jay was mad. Said he had to teach me a lesson." Her audible gulp had Gwen reaching for her hand with her now freed one. "He…I fought him as much as I could, but he still got my pants down. Devon, thank goodness, got back from the outhouse as I was fighting to keep my underwear. He pulled me away from Jay and punched him all in the same second."

  "The black eye?"

  "Yeah, that's from Devon."

  "What time were you at the grocery store?"

  "Late evening. Eight, maybe."

  "Good."

  Sierra looked to the floor. "They made me text my parents. They're probably mad at me for not coming home, but I doubt they sent out a search team."

  "But that gives us a timeline."

  Gwen straightened her spine, smiling. "They'll understand. Even if they aren't looking for you, we left a completely stocked rig in the middle of a busy intersection. Someone will call it in. Then there's Autumn; she'll tell the guys."

  Kennly stood and started looking around the room. "We are going to need weapons. Let's see what we can find."

  "Do you understand the plan?"

  "I don't like it." Sierra picked at the peeling paint of the lamp she held in her hands.

  Kennly's face grew hard as she pressed her ear to the door. After a few seconds, she responded in a harsh whisper. "It's a simple plan, but we don't have a choice. You heard them. They're making plans to move us further away from Hill City and the people who are looking for us. I will not let that happen."

  "But—"

  Gwen crossed the room to the terrified woman. "Sierra, we have to do this; it is the only way all of us will get out."

  "But the window."

  "They would hear the glass shattering. One, maybe
two of us would get out, but not all of us."

  "Then I'll distract them. You two get out."

  "Wait." Taking a page out of Jensen's book, Gwen took hold of Sierra's chin and forced the other woman to look her in the eyes. "Do you want to stay here?"

  "No, but if my staying here gets the two of you out, I am more than willing."

  "Are you kidding?"

  "Hear me out."

  "No, it's my job to protect you two, and I am damn well going to do it."

  Sierra scuffed at Kennly. "I may be a little, but I am not a child."

  "That's not what I meant."

  Sierra didn't give the other woman a chance to explain. "We listened to you; now you're going to listen to me." When the other woman said nothing, Sierra took a deep breath and continued. "Devon may be deranged, but he wouldn't hurt me or let Jay get his hands on me. He's proven that twice. I feel stupid holding this thing." She set the lamp down on the bed. "Look, it's my fault the two of you are here. Let me be the reason you get out. I can keep them back long enough for both of you to get out the window."

  Gwen willed her voice not to shake. "We don't know where we are, Sierra. By the time we get help, you could be long gone. I'm not willing to risk that."

  After a shaky breath, Sierra shook her head and picked up the lamp again. "Okay. I'll do it."

  Back in position, Gwen met each woman's eyes. This was going to go one of two ways. As planned or horribly wrong.

  Kennly listened intently. "Starling just left. Wait. Wait." As she took a step back from the door, Kennly nodded at Sierra.

  The lamp shattered against the hardwood floor a second before Sierra's scream bounced off the walls. Within moments, Devon barreled through the door. He didn't get any further before Gwen threw the long forgotten bottle of perfume in his face.

  He roared in agony when the smelly contents hit his face, bathing his eyes in the harsh chemicals. When he instinctively covered his face with his hands, Kennly stepped forward, landing a kick to his balls before wrenching his arm behind his back and forcing him into the closet.

  As soon as she got the chair wedged under the door, they ran through the cabin, out the front door, and into the snow. Gwen breathed a sigh of relief. They had made it!

  Sierra's scream halted her in her tracks. Gwen turned just in time to see Kennly take a flying leap at Starling, landing on his back. The three of them fell in a heap on the ground, Sierra a few feet from the others.

  "Run!" Neither woman moved to do as Kennly demanded.

  Starling got to his feet with the woman still in place, arms and legs anchoring her to him. She cried out in pain when he reached back and raked his nails up her shoulders, leaving parallel lines in his wake, blood slowly seeping from the wounds.

  "Motherfucker!" The sound of her thumbs pushing into the man's eyes was disgusting, but it did the job. In his frantic attempts to save his sight, he dropped the cell phone he held. "Take the phone and run!"

  The desperation in the other woman's voice propelled Gwen into action. She grabbed the phone from the ground and took Sierra's hand, pulling her further away from the fight.

  "Fucking bitch," Starling roared as he turned and backed into the wall of the cabin, slamming Kennly into the unrelenting surface.

  "There's no service."

  "Run," Kennly wheezed as she fell from Starling's back and his booted foot kicked her in the ribs. She curled into herself. "Please, just run." Another kick had her screaming in pain and Gwen on her feet.

  Chapter 24

  "They are going to find them."

  "When? When it is too late?" Jensen paced the length of the small space. "Twelve hours. It has been twelve hours since anyone has seen her. They could be anywhere."

  "Or they could be right under our noses."

  "Then, where are they?" He dropped into a chair, his head fell back and he glared at the ceiling. "Where is she?"

  How in the hell did this woman become so important to him is such a short amount of time? He had known and worked alongside her for years, but somehow, in just a few short months, she had managed to worm her way into his heart and become so much more than a coworker.

  "I should have stayed with them. I could have helped."

  "Then we would be looking for four women rather than three." All eyes swung to Atticus as he pushed past the curtain. "I just got confirmation. A neighbor saw a truck fitting the description of the one we are looking for in front of her house early this morning. They have Baylor."

  Zander ran his hands over his hair. "I should have made her come to the station. I should have made sure she was safe."

  "Why didn't you tell us about Kennly?"

  "Baylor." He collapsed into a chair, the cheap metal creaking under his weight. "I wanted to tell you, but she was worried she would lose her job. Her last three cases haven't gone well, and she was told if she messed this one up, both her job and endorsement would be gone."

  Jensen growled as he stood from his chair and towered over Zander's sitting form. "I let her go into burning buildings without the proper training!"

  "She's trained. She went through fire school, was recruited from there by PD and went to the police academy. When her last op went bad, she applied for a position with us. When PD found out, they promised her a probationary position at the station of her choice, as soon as she was done with this case."

  "She get that in writing?"

  "Signed by the mayor."

  Mollified a bit, Jensen took his seat. "She'll be staying with us when this is all said and done?"

  "Damn right; she'll be lucky if I ever let her out of my sight again."

  The ringing phone kept anyone from responding. "This is Keetes."

  "Jensen?"

  "Fuck, Gwendolyn, tell me where you are. I'll come get you."

  Her heavy breathing broke up her response. "The plan. We were all supposed to get out. It didn't work. I don't think he went all the way to the outhouse."

  "What didn't work? Where are you?" He hit speaker, filling the room with the sound of labored breathing and snow crunching beneath feet. "Tell us you're okay!"

  "Sierra and I are running through the woods."

  "Where's Ba-Kennly?"

  "Kennly? She's still in the cabin. We were all supposed to get out, but he came out of nowhere. She poked him in the eyes and he dropped the phone. She was supposed to come with us."

  "Fuck!" Zander's roar echoed off the walls. "Tell us where you are!"

  "I don't know!"

  Jensen looked to the officer. "Atticus, can you trace this?

  Phone in hand, he replied, "I'm already on it."

  "Gwen." Her crying was twisting his heart in a knot. "Bellissima, I need you to stay on the line."

  "The service is shit, but I'll try, Sir."

  "Are they following you?"

  "You want me to look back? You never look back! Every person who has ever looked back in the history of scary movies has died. It's like running away from bad guys 101."

  "Gwendolyn, focus. Are you being followed?"

  "If I turn around and he's right behind me, I am blaming you." There was a pause. "No. No one is following us."

  "Can you see the cabin?".

  "Yes."

  "Don't move. Stay there, watch the cabin and tell us what you remember about the trip there."

  "I remember the lights."

  "Lights?"

  "Our lights. We passed our spot not long before we got to the cabin."

  "Good girl. Anything else, baby?"

  The sound of a scream echoed through the phone's speaker. "Kennly! Kennly!"

  The beep indicating the call had ended was deafening.

  "I have it narrowed down, but it's a five-mile radius. My guys and I are on it."

  As soon as Atticus was out the door, Zander turned to Jensen. "They're hurting her; we don't have that kind of time. I know you have a better idea of where they are." Zander's look of panic had Jensen's anger rocketing up a notch.

  "They
're near the Land of a Thousand Stars." As he pocketed his phone, he looked to his brothers. "Let's go."

  Chapter 25

  Having to wait for her friend's scream to cover the sound of the breaking glass was heartbreaking, but it worked. They were now standing at the closet door. "Are you sure this is going to work?"

  "No, but I am willing to give it a shot." With a deep breath, she knocked three times. "Daddy?"

  "Baby, are you okay? You scared me."

  "I know. I'm sorry, but we were so scared."

  "You are in so much trouble."

  "I know, but I—we—need your help."

  A long sigh floated to their ears. "All you had to do was listen, and everything would have been fine."

  "You know that isn't true. You know how twisted he is."

  The silence was thick as the seconds ticked by. Finally, Devon spoke. "I know."

  "I need your help. He's hurting her, and the only one who can stop him is you."

  A scream pierced the air. "I'm not so sure about that."

  "You kept him from hurting me twice since we got here. You can stop him." Sierra swallowed hard before she continued, her face twisted as if the words tasted bitter on her tongue. "I know you can, Daddy."

  "Let me out, baby. I'll save your friend."

  When she reached for the chair, Gwen halted her. "Are you sure about this?"

  "He loves me. In a twisted, not quite right in the head kind of way, but it's love nonetheless. He will help."

  As soon as the door was open, Sierra was gathered in the man's arms. "I am so glad you're all right." He pushed her back so he could get a good look at her.

  A scream from the other room had Gwen moving. "Please. I don't know what he's doing to her, but you have to stop him."

  Devon nodded and looked Sierra in the eye. "Stay out of the way. I don't want you getting hurt." As soon as he got the agreement he needed, Devon swung the door opened and made his way across the small room.

  The sight before her had Gwen's heart dropping to her toes. Kennly lay on her back, her arms tied to the post in the middle of the room, her shirt sliced down the middle and pushed to the side. Starling sat on top of her, knife in hand, and a crazed expression on his face as he pulled the tip of the knife across her abdomen. Blood ran in rivulets down her flat tummy soaking the waist band of her pants and trickling to the floor, her mouth open in a silent scream.