thing with Kristen, holding her breath as she let go. A moment later, both of them were on their feet, staring up at her. They were waiting for her.
“Run!” she screamed. “Move back!”
Her words were swallowed by another coughing spasm, and she knew she had to move. She grabbed the edge of the overhang and swung one leg off, then the other. She dangled for only an instant before her grip weakened.
She hit the ground and felt her knees buckle before she rolled to a stop in front of the store entrance. Her legs screamed with pain, but she had to get the kids to safety. She scrambled toward them, seizing their hands and beginning to drag them away.
Fire was dancing, leaping, spurting toward the sky. Nearby trees caught fire, their upper branches sparking like firecrackers. There was a sharp clap, loud enough to make her ears ring. She chanced a peek over her shoulder, just in time to see the walls of the building collapse inward. Then there was the deafening sound of an explosion, and Katie and the kids were knocked over in the scorching blast of air.
By the time the three of them caught their breath and turned to look, the store was nothing but a gigantic cone of fire.
But they’d made it. She pulled both Josh and Kristen toward her. They were whimpering as she put her arms around them and she kissed the tops of their heads. “You’re okay,” she murmured. “You’re safe now.”
It was only when a shadow appeared before her that she realized she was wrong.
It was him, looming over them, a gun at his side.
Kevin.
In the jeep, Alex kept his foot clamped down on the gas pedal, growing more worried with every passing second. Though the fire was still too far away to pinpoint the location with accuracy, his stomach began to seize up. There weren’t too many structures in that direction, mostly a few isolated farmhouses. And, of course, the store.
He leaned over the steering wheel, as if to urge the car forward. Faster.
Katie had trouble processing what she was seeing.
“Where is he?” Kevin rasped out. The words came out slurred, but she recognized the voice, even with his face partly in shadow. The inferno blazed behind him and his face was covered in soot and blood. There were smears of what she thought was blood on his shirt as well. In his hand the Glock shone, like it had been dipped in a barrel of oil.
He’s here, Jo had said in Katie’s dream.
Who?
You know.
Kevin raised the gun, pointing it at her. “I just want to talk to him, Erin.”
Katie got to her feet. Kristen and Josh clung to her, fear etched on their faces. Kevin’s eyes were feral, his movements jerky. He took a step toward them, almost losing his balance. The gun swung back and forth. Unsteady.
He was ready to kill them all, Katie realized. He’d already tried to kill them with the fire. But drunk, very drunk. Worse than she’d ever seen him. He was out of control, beyond reason.
She had to get the kids away, had to give them a chance to run.
“Hi, Kevin,” she purred. She forced herself to smile. “Why are you holding that gun? Did you come to get me? Are you all right, baby?”
Kevin blinked. The voice, soft and sultry, sweet. He liked it when she sounded like that, and he thought it was a dream. But he wasn’t dreaming and Erin was standing in front of him. She smiled as she took a step forward. “I love you, Kevin, and I always knew you’d come.”
He stared. There were two of her now and then only one. He had told people she was in New Hampshire taking care of a sick friend, but there weren’t any footprints in the snow and his calls were forwarded and a little boy had been shot and there was pizza sauce on his forehead and now Erin was here, telling him that she loved him.
Closer, Katie thought. Almost there. She took another step forward, pushing the kids behind her.
“Can you bring me home?” Her voice pleaded with him, begged like Erin used to, but her hair was short and brown and she was moving closer and he wondered why she wasn’t scared and he wanted to pull the trigger but he loved her. If only he could stop the hammering inside his head—
Suddenly, Katie lunged forward, pushing the gun away. It fired, the sound like a vicious