“So.” Another man entered,breathing heavy. He set something down. “Let’s just get on withthis.”
“You don’t think its weird the front door wasunlocked?”
“I think I’m not going to care in a minute when thewhole house is burning down, because I’ll be long gone.”
Megan took a step back. Purely self-preservation.Thankfully she didn’t bump anything. That would have beendisastrous. She turned for the back door.
“I thought it was weird, that’s all,” the first mansaid.
“Just get pouring.”
Gasoline. She knew before she even smelled it. Theywere going to burn the house down.
The second man continued, “He doesn’t want anythingleft behind. No loose ends.”
“Does that include us?”
“It will if you don’t shut up. I’ll kill you andleave you here myself.” He paused. “Now get pouring.”
Megan stared at the front door. They would see her.Fast enough to shoot? She’d have to get the door open which wouldgive them a second or two to realize what was happening and thenpull their guns.
One of the men was now headed into the kitchen. Thatcut off her route to the back door. She wasn’t about to hang aroundin a burning house.
Megan darted around the kitchen door and down thehall to the front door, praying with every step that they were bothheaded the other way through the house.
She flung the front door open…
And slammed into another man.
**
It took Adrian a second to realize the person who’drushed him was a woman. He grasped her arms, not sure yet whetherhe was supposed to arrest her or help her, when she spoke in abreathy voice, “Fire.”
That was when his nose caught up with the rest ofwhat was happening and at the same time, his brain registered thefact he’d found the woman he’d been here looking for.
Gasoline wafted from inside the house.
He turned. “Let’s go.”
“Read my mind,” she said, moving past him. Theytrotted together down the front path. “Stay low. There are two guysin there.”
He snagged her arm. “Two?”
When she nodded, he pulled his gun. There was no timefor backup. He’d have to arrest them himself. With Megan’s help, ofcourse. “We can wait for them to come out and take them down.” Heslid his cell phone from the inside of his suit jacket, called9-1-1 and asked for police and fire.
He couldn’t tell them who he was. Not when this wasan FBI agent’s house, and he was a fellow FBI agent from adifferent office looking for the agent who lived here. The wrongperson would be tipped off or this would get leaked to the media,and there would be widespread panic that an FBI agent had gonerogue—armed with a sonic weapon that could take down buildings.
When the dispatcher kept up with the conversation,Adrian said, “Gotta go,” and hung up.
Megan turned and started to walk away, down thesidewalk. Adrian looked at the front door of the house. Still open.No one had come out. Had the person or persons inside not caredwhen a woman ran out?
“Megan.” He caught up to her. “Back up. Let’s go takethese guys down.”
She shook her head.
Adrian tugged on her arm.
She gave him a hard look and pulled her arm from hisgrasp. He backed up and held his hands up. “We can’t leave them inthere. They could hurt the firefighters, or cops. Whoever gets herefirst.”
“They didn’t hurt me.”
“They could know where Zimmerman is. Or what he’s upto.”
She shook her head. “They’re just minions.”
“So you know for sure that they know nothing?” Heshot her a look. “I thought you were better than that.”
He stared down at her, black skinny jeans. Runningshoes. Dark T-shirt under a black jacket. She’d pulled back herlong blond hair into a ponytail.
The look on her face was…torn.
Adrian had the interesting urge to ask her how shewas doing. But he swallowed it down and said, “I don’t have backup.That means I need your help to take them both down.”
They couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get intelfrom whoever was about to burn down Zimmerman’s house.
“No.” She turned away.“They’re minions. It’ll be a waste oftime.”
“Fine. I’ll go by myself.”
She frowned over her shoulder. “And get killed?”
He shrugged. “They didn’t kill you.”
Adrian didn’t wait for her answer. He couldn’t letanyone get away with destroying possible evidence, especially notsomeone who might have key information that he needed. This wasbigger than one fire. They needed everything they could get to findZimmerman and stop him.
He glanced over his shoulder as he went back to thehouse. Megan stood still, watching him. It was dark, but in thestreetlights he could see her face. Not properly, otherwise he’dnever have thought she was scared. That wasn’t her—a self-assured,professional woman. He must have read her wrong.
Adrian pulled his gun and made his way to the frontdoor. Sirens in the distance meant cops would be here in a minuteor so. He needed to stop these guys before the fire—
Flames whooshed through the house.
He stepped back at the rush of heat. When no one cameout the front, Adrian went around the side through an open gate tothe back door. At the rear corner of the house, two men ran at him.Headed away from here now that the deed was done.
“FBI. Hands up.” It was as much of a reflex to say itas it was to bring his weapon up and brace his weight.
They barreled into him, running at full speed.
Adrian squeezed off a shot and landed on his back.The man grunted and then went limp, dead weight on top of him. Hisears rang. Adrian shifted the man off him and turned to see theother one run away.
Then he was gone.
“Adrian!” Megan’s voice was audible even over theringing in his ears. She rushed over as he was climbing to his feetand gasped as she saw the dead guy.
“The other one?”
She shook her head. “He ran away before I could reachhim.”
“Didn’t even stop for his friend.” He pulled out hisphone and snapped a picture of the dead man’sface.
“Are you okay?” There it was again, that fear in hereyes laced in her voice as it trembled.
The police sirens got closer. The fire was biggernow.
“Let’s go.”
It grated him to do it but sticking around andexplaining would take
