unconscious. Or so it seemed.
He couldn’t risk the chance that she had a weapon. Gripping his own gun, he inched around the back of the vehicle until he reached the driver’s side. Slowly he opened the door, then aimed his weapon at the woman. But she wasn’t moving.
He glanced in the backseat. No Peyton.
Using two fingers, he checked for a pulse. Joanna was alive, but blood dotted the side of her face. He yanked handcuffs from his coat pocket, then quickly handcuffed her to the steering wheel. Then he cut away the airbag and raked his hand over her and the seat.
A .38 Special lay to her right. He snagged it and jammed it in his pocket. Frantic, he glanced back at the shanty. Flames were starting to shoot through the front window. A siren wailed in the distance.
But he couldn’t wait. Fear for Peyton drove him, and he turned and ran toward the house.
* * *
THE SCENT OF SMOKE roused Peyton from unconsciousness. Panic stabbed at her as she rolled over and felt in the dark space for her sister.
“Val?” She raked her hand across the floor and touched her sister’s arm. For a brief second, terror that Val was dead seized her, and she pressed her hand over her sister’s chest to see if she was breathing.
“Val, honey, please, be okay.” A slight rise and fall of her chest indicated Val was alive. But anger at Joanna churned through her. Her sister had worked hard to get clean. Joanna may have destroyed her recovery with one injection.
Don’t think about that now. You have to get Val outside.
Smoke seeped through the bottom crack of the doorway. She coughed, then covered her mouth with one hand and felt the door with the other. Not hot yet. Maybe there was time.
“Val, hang in there. I’ll get us out.”
She jiggled the doorknob, but the door was locked tight. Hissing between her teeth, she yanked at it, but it refused to budge. She felt in her hair for a hairpin, but had nothing, so she dropped to her knees again and felt Val’s thick tresses. No hairpin there either.
Desperate, she searched the pockets of Val’s jacket and found the keys to the truck outside. But they didn’t fit the lock.
Balling her hands into fists, she banged on the door. “Help, please, Joanna, come back! You can’t leave us here.” The smoke was growing thicker, clouding the room, and fire crackled and popped outside the doorway. More noise. Something crashed—wood splintering down. Glass breaking.
Terror shot through her and she stepped back, raised her foot and kicked at the door. One kick, two. Harder each time. Another kick and another. Finally, wood splintered.
Then she heard a voice shouting. A man’s.
“Peyton?”
Liam?
“Where are you?” he yelled.
She banged on the door with her fists. “In here! The door’s locked!”
Footsteps pounded. Smoke clogged her nose and stung her eyes. A dizzy spell overcame her, and she blinked and reached for the wall to steady herself. Outside the door, she heard a commotion.
“Stand back. We’re going to knock the door down!”
Peyton stooped and pulled her sister against the wall, then pressed her back to it and held Val’s head in her lap.
Something slammed into the wall. A body? Feet?
Chaos outside. Noise. Liam wasn’t alone.
Wood splintered again and cracked, creating a hole in the door. Then Liam jerked it open. Smoke filled the closet, choking the air from her lungs. Footsteps pounded. Voices shouted.
“Get those hoses by the door!”
“I’ve got her!” Liam stepped into the doorway and reached for her. “Peyton, come on, we have to get out!” He caught her arm, but she dug her heels in.
“My sister, she’s here.” She pulled him into the room. “On the floor. Joanna drugged her.”
“I thought she was dead,” Liam said.
“I’ll explain later. We have to save her!”
“Griff, over here!” Liam yelled. “I need help.”
Liam pulled her from the closet, and a firefighter appeared in full gear. “Get Peyton out!” he told Liam. “I’ll get the other woman.”
Peyton swayed again, her eyes stinging from the smoke, heat scalding her. Flames hissed along the far wall, inching toward them. Liam curved his arm around her and guided her through the smoky interior.
They ran through patches of flames, dodging falling debris as the fire ate the rotting wood. Seconds later, she inhaled fresh air as they raced away from the building.
“Was anyone else inside?” Liam asked.
“No, just me and Val. Joanna locked us in there. She was behind this.”
Liam coaxed her beneath a live oak