“You’re coming with me,” Isaac said to Haley.
“No!” Sharp reached forward, digging his fingers into the dirt and trying to drag his body between the man and Haley. But it was no use. They were defenseless.
If Isaac took Haley away, she would die. Just like Ted. Sharp knew it with every fiber of his being. She’d be better off being shot here, with emergency responders on the way. Most bullet wounds were survivable with prompt medical attention. Ted had been unlucky.
Sharp drew in some air and forced out three words. “Don’t go, Haley.”
With his gaze locked on Haley, Isaac gestured toward Sharp with his gun. “Come with me, or I’ll shoot him.”
“Don’t listen to him,” Sharp croaked. “I’m dying anyway.”
“She doesn’t have a choice,” Isaac said.
Haley stared at Sharp. Tears glistened on her face. Were they both going to die?
No. They weren’t completely out of options.
Haley knew the trails around her house. Hopefully, Isaac did not. In her black yoga pants and gray T-shirt, Haley would be a tough target in the dark.
He met her gaze in the flickering firelight. She knew what he wanted her to do, and it was clear she didn’t want to leave him. But Sharp couldn’t run, and he couldn’t fight.
Sharp mouthed, “Run.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Morgan lifted her fingers from the bodyguard’s neck. His eyes stared blankly at the sky. The man was dead.
She stood on shaky legs and scanned the lawn. Esposito staggered away from the burning house.
Terror gripped Morgan’s heart when she didn’t see Lance. She grabbed Esposito’s shoulder. “Where’s Lance?”
The ADA spun around and jerked a thumb at the blazing house. Anger narrowed his bloodshot eyes. “Your boyfriend is an idiot,” he yelled, then choked, bending forward and spitting on the ground.
They turned toward the house. A roof beam collapsed at the front door, sending a shower of embers high into the air. A figure stumbled out of the smoke-filled doorway.
Lance.
Esposito raced forward. Draping one of Lance’s arms over his shoulders, Esposito half dragged him away from the burning house.
Lance shook off the assistance a few feet away from the house. “I’m going to try to get in through the back.” He pointed at the ADA. “Someone has to direct the fire crews.”
“I think they’ll find the fire on their own.” The ADA followed Lance around the house.
Morgan ran after the men. Someone had to keep a lookout for whoever had set this fire. She knew without a doubt that this fire was not an accident. Someone wanted Haley dead. But why?
Nothing made sense.
Morgan jogged through the grass behind Lance and Esposito. They made a wide detour around the house and ran into the small backyard. Embers and debris rained down on them. A pinprick of heat seared Morgan’s cheek as she scanned the back of the house. She brushed the ember off her skin.
“Look!” She pointed to smoke pouring from an open basement window. “Someone must have gotten out.”
Wood creaked and groaned. Then a moan sounded, soft and low. The fire or a person? Lance and Esposito both froze. Morgan strained to listen. The moan came again.
Lance dropped to a knee and touched the ground. “Blood.”
Crouching, he followed it through the tall grass. “Sharp!”
Morgan rushed to Lance’s side, her head pounding from the exertion and smoke. Sharp lay on his back in the grass, unmoving, eyes closed. Was he breathing?
Morgan scanned the yard. Where was Haley? She glanced back at the house, now almost completely consumed by fire. Anyone who was still inside that building wasn’t coming out alive.
Dropping to her knees, she pressed her fingers to Sharp’s throat. Please. His pulse throbbed weakly against her fingertips. “He’s still alive.”
But barely.
His hand clutched a balled-up sweatshirt pressed against his belly. Morgan lifted it and took in the volume of blood seeping out of the wound in his abdomen. She quickly pressed it down again. He needed help. Now.
“I have a first aid kit in my car.” Esposito doubled back and ran toward the front of the house.
Lance knelt on Sharp’s other side.
Morgan took Sharp’s hand in her own. His fingers were cold and bloodless. “Sharp, where’s Haley?”
Sharp’s eyes cracked a millimeter, just enough to show his complete defeat. She couldn’t hear him over the roar and crackle of the fire. Morgan leaned closer.
“I don’t know.” His voice was weak. “She ran.” He gasped. “Isaac.” Sharp drew in another labored breath. “Chased her.”
Isaac?
Morgan had no time to process Sharp’s revelation.
He lifted a hand and pointed to the fence and steep drop-off beyond it. The gate to the lookout path stood wide open. The bike lock was on the ground.
“You stay with Sharp.” Lance wiped soot from his face with his forearm and headed toward the gate.
Sharp tugged on Morgan’s hand and mouthed, “Go with him.”
Morgan put Sharp’s hand on the balled-up sweatshirt. “Press as hard as you can.”
Sharp’s eyes closed.
“Sharp!” Morgan touched his arm.
His eyelids opened halfway.
“Don’t you dare die.” Morgan wiped tears from her face with her sleeve. “Lance needs you.”
“Nah.” Sharp gave her a small headshake. “He has you. Now go. He needs backup.”
Esposito would be back in a minute. He’d have to look after Sharp. Morgan wasn’t letting Lance face a dangerous man alone. But leaving Sharp felt wrong.
Esposito’s shadow appeared around the side of the house. He was carrying a first aid kit and a blanket. Morgan stood and stared at the gate and trail beyond it. Her head throbbed, and nausea churned in her belly.
She’d never be able to catch Lance, not with her concussion. Even if she wasn’t injured, he was just too fast. Whatever was going to happen would be over long before Morgan caught up with them.
But she couldn’t just stand here. She had to do something.
Ignoring the pain in her head, Morgan broke into a run.
Chapter Forty-Three
Haley ran through the gate. Adrenaline had swept the dregs of her sleeping pill from her brain. The fire roared and crackled behind her. Her own heartbeats and footfalls drowned out the sound of Isaac giving chase.
But he was there. She could sense him behind her in the darkness.
Her brain didn’t bother to try and sort out the reason for his attack. She could only focus on surviving it.
She made a sharp left and kept to the narrow path cut into the side of the ravine. Using moonlight, the glow from the fire, and her muscle memory, she moved along the trail at a steady pace.
She might not be big or strong, but she knew the trail. She and her mom hiked down to the overlook practically every weekend.
The trail dropped, and the left-hand side became a wall of rock. Ten feet to the right, the slope fell off.
The roar of the fire faded as she moved farther away. She paused for a breath. The night’s chill blew against her sweaty T-shirt. Her ankle bracelet had begun to vibrate, and she hoped the alarm summoned more police. Rocks shifted on the trail. Isaac was behind her. Somewhere.
She moved faster, determined to put some distance between them. The rocky ground bit into her bare feet, and her lungs burned as she ran. But adrenaline charged through her bloodstream, wiping out all traces of pain.
Pushing off a boulder, she rounded a turn in the trail. On the right, the wooded slope dropped off at a steep grade. If she went over the edge, she’d tumble at least a hundred feet through tree trunks and brush. The slope was too steep to navigate without a rope. Broken bones would be a sure thing.
She went around a stand of trees. Shadows from their branches fell over the path. She picked her way along the trail with care. A twisted ankle would be the end of her. Lungs heaving, Haley slowed her steps to catch her breath and listen again. Her pulse echoed in her ears. She held her breath for a few seconds. Straining, she could hear him scrambling on the trail behind her. Was he farther away now? Had she increased the gap between them?