Allison Brennan - Fear No Evil

“Doesn’t give me the incentive to let you escape.”

“Hmm, probably not. Except that it’s this house that’s the next to go. And your doctor friend is bleeding to death in the next room.”

“Not anymore.”

Dillon’s voice to their right startled Scott for only a fraction of a second. But that was long enough for Kate to take advantage of him dropping his arm just a hair. She brought her arms up between his knife arm and her neck, pushing them back. The sting of another cut to her throat didn’t slow her; they didn’t have time. She whirled around, kicked him square in the chest.

Scott threw the knife at Dillon who anticipated the move and turned back into the hallway. The knife hit the wall inches from where Dillon had been.

Scott turned back to Kate, her gun in his hand. He wouldn’t hesitate to kill her, especially since he had an ace in the hole: bombs.

Kate dove at the same time Scott fired, seeing movement from the hall.

Dillon tackled Scott from behind and they both hit the floor hard.

“He has a gun!” Kate shouted.

Dillon grabbed his hand as Scott tried to turn the gun toward him. He slammed it against the wood floor. Once, twice. The gun fell from Scott’s grasp and Kate retrieved it. Scott reached down and twisted his fingers into the hole in Dillon’s hand.

Dillon cried out, tried to regain his hold on Scott, but the killer kicked him and jumped up. He glanced at his computer and laughed. “One minute forty-five seconds and it blows.”

He opened the front door.

“Get the computer!” Dillon shouted at Kate. “Stop the bomb.”

Kate grabbed the computer while Dillon went after Scott. He lunged forward, knocking Scott off balance and causing both of them to roll down the porch stairs. Dillon landed on his back, winded. Scott clambered up and Dillon grabbed his foot, pulled him back down.

Scott grunted, but he wasn’t seriously hurt or bleeding. He had an edge over Dillon whose wounds had started bleeding freely again.

He heard a shout from the side of the house. Sounded like Jack.

Dillon tried to climb on top of Scott, to keep him on the ground until Jack arrived. Then, out of the corner of his eye he saw a dark-haired woman run across the lawn.

Lucy.

“Get out of here!” he shouted.

Scott kicked Dillon in the head and got up. He staggered forward, saw Lucy only feet from him. Monique . She’d returned for him.

He smiled. “You’re late.”

He took a step toward her.

She pulled a gun from under her sweater. Aimed it at Scott.

“Monique, you won’t kill me.”

She stared at him as if he were insane. That angered Adam more than anything. “Monique!” he said sharply.

“My name is Lucy Kincaid .”

“Monique, it’s me. Adam. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to go so far.”

She pulled the trigger. The bullet pierced him in the chest. His mouth dropped open.

“Why, sweetheart. Why?”

She pulled the trigger again. Again.

Adam dropped to his knees. He was dead before he fell face first into the dirt.

“Lucy, stop!” Dillon called, stumbling up. Jack ran at him, held out his hand to pull Dillon up. “Thanks, bro,” Dillon said. Jack nodded curtly, then turned to where Lucy had her empty gun pointed at Adam Scott’s dead body.

Kate ran from the house. She had Scott’s laptop.

“Run!” she yelled. “I can’t stop the bomb!”

Jack removed the gun from Lucy’s hand, grabbed her around the waist, then started for the street.

Local and federal police were pulling up in front of the house. Kate waved them off.

“There’s a bomb! Get away!”

The explosion lifted them all off the ground as they ran. They hit the lawn across the street.

No one moved.

Slowly, Kate rose to her knees, shaking her head to get rid of the ringing, but it stayed with her.

Dillon. Where was Dillon?

Sirens, shouts, and screams filled the air. The last time Kate had seen Dillon was in the front yard. Had he heard her? Had he run far enough? Had he even been able to run?

“Dillon!” she shouted, her voice hoarse from Adam Scott’s hands. She cleared her throat, coughed. The crackle of fire consumed the house that had been Dillon’s. The firefighters were frantically setting up to try to save the neighboring homes.

“Dillon!”

She sat up, looked around. She saw Jack huddled over Lucy on the ground twenty feet away. They were both moving.

Dillon, where are you?

She couldn’t lose him now. They hadn’t had any time together, dammit! It wasn’t fair!

Kate stood, pushing back the nausea that threatened. People ran back and forth, SWAT and feds and local police and fire crews. Debris covered a body in Dillon’s front yard. Her mouth fell open and she cried out.

No, Dillon, please no.

She stumbled back across the street and a fire-fighter stopped her.

“You can’t go there.”

“No, no,” she said, staring at the body. It wasn’t Dillon. The body wore beige slacks. Like Adam Scott had been wearing.

“Kate.”

She heard her name and turned slowly around. There. Dillon. Up against a car parked across the street. She ran to him. Touched his face. Kissed his swollen lips. Buried her face in his neck.

“Oh, God, Dillon. I thought-” She couldn’t say it. She wouldn’t say it.

“I know.” His voice was weak.

She sat back on her knees and saw his leg was bleeding extensively. “Medic!” she shouted as loud as she could. “Medic!”

“I’m okay.” He closed his eyes.

She laughed nervously. He was not okay. “Oh, Dillon.” She tore her shirt and tied it around his thigh.

Lucy limped over with Jack at her side.

“Is he okay?” she asked.

Dillon nodded. “Luce, I’m fine.”

Kate was concerned about the pallor of Dillon’s skin. He’d lost a lot of blood. She checked his vitals. Strong. Of course. Dillon was the strongest soul she knew. “Scott is dead,” Kate said.

“I know,” Dillon replied. He opened his eyes, searching for her. She clasped his uninjured hand, tears of relief falling freely.

“I’m not sorry I killed him,” Lucy said defiantly. Her eyes had a pained, faraway expression.

It would hit her later, Dillon thought. No one could kill another human being, even an evil bastard like Adam Scott, without conflicted emotions.

Jack asked Kate, “What about other bombs?”

“I didn’t see any more set up, but we need to get this computer to the FBI immediately.”

Quinn Peterson ran over to them. “Where’s Scott?”

“Dead,” Kate said.

“In the explosion?

Kate and Dillon looked at each other. “Yes,” they said in unison.

Jack led Lucy away and Quinn said, “An ambulance is on its way. Hang in there.” He went to coordinate the authorities.

Dillon squeezed Kate’s hand as hard as he could. “I don’t think I’ll be making dinner tonight.”

“Damn.” She leaned over and kissed him.

He touched her throat, where bruises were beginning to form, where dried blood coated her neck. “He hurt you.”

“Well, he hurt you, too,” Kate said. “Now he’s dead.”

She sat against the car next to him, put her head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry I made such a stink about meeting your family.”

“I’m sorry I pushed you too hard.”

“You didn’t. I was just scared. But that fear was nothing compared to the thought of losing you. I don’t want to lose you, Dillon.”

“You won’t, Kate. I love you.”

Jack walked over to them. “Carina has Lucy and there’s an ambulance on the way.” He glanced over at Dillon’s burning house. The first fire truck had arrived. “Your house is a goner.”