Scott sat on a park bench next to the police station and flipped through a file. Nothing more to do. Every aspect of the upcoming meeting with Mole was covered. Yet, he couldn’t quite bring himself to go back to his apartment and see Maddie’s car in the lot. She would probably be in her place packing up last-minute things to take on her one-way ticket out of his life.
Sure, she’d stung him with her words, but only because they rang true. Nothing he hadn’t known all along. It was the reason he’d avoided her. She wanted the old Scott, not the new, tortured version. And she had a point. He was obsessed and would continue to be until he put Mole away. Especially now. That bastard had killed Justin.
Scott glanced at his grazed knuckles. Stupid. Hitting a tree. But the thought of the strip search…he fisted his hand. Mole would pay.
His stomach knotted. He sat straighter and cocked his head. A weird sense something was wrong made his insides tighten. He glanced at his phone. No messages or calls. Yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling. Like someone was trying to get his attention.
No. It had just been a long day with a lot of bad news. He took a deep breath.
But there it was again. A gut punch that told him he needed to do something. With a frown, he shut his folder and stood. He’d always trusted his instincts, and right now, they told him to go home.
He headed to his car. The image of Maddie pleading for forgiveness stuck in his brain. She’d never meant to hurt him. He knew that. And she didn’t know about the devastating news he’d gotten about Justin. But he had enough on his plate without her tossing in guilt over what might happen to Zach.
Yeah, he was fucking aware of the danger. It made him sick. Woke him up in the middle of the night with scenarios of what could go wrong and how it would be his fault if anything happened to the guy.
Scott flexed his fingers on the wheel. At this point, they were all in too deep. And Maddie needed to be out. Get on that goddamned plane and fly far away from Mole before he did more than play mind games with her in his office.
As Scott drove, his mood darkened. It all came down to tomorrow night. If everything went as planned, they’d get Mole. Griffin’s testimony would be another nail in the coffin.
Sirens wailed in the distance. He glanced in his rearview mirror. Nothing. He pulled into the apartment complex and his heart skidded to a halt. People huddled outside the building and pointed to smoke billowing up into the sky.
From Maddie’s building.
His gaze shot to the top level where flames danced in the windows. Adrenaline spiked as he slammed on the brakes, threw the gearshift into park, and jumped from the car. He scanned the crowd.
No sign of Maddie.
An iron fist closed around his heart. She had to be out.
He raced to the stairwell, dodging through people, and took the steps three at a time. When he reached her entrance, the heat blasted from within. He touched the door and tried the knob.
Blazing hot and locked.
He bounded back down the steps. Fire trucks and police cars roared into the lot.
If Maddie was still in the apartment…
He shoved back the thought. Refused to accept it. She was probably standing somewhere out of the way with Lucky.
Only the gut feeling that never served him wrong told him otherwise.
The fire escape. If she couldn’t get out her front door, she’d have to use it. He cut around the corner of the building and sprinted to the back. So much smoke. More people died of smoke inhalation than the fire itself.
Great. No time for recalling morbid facts.
He halted below her apartment and looked up at her window.
Closed, with nothing but dark smoke clouding the glass.
She could still be inside. Every muscle in his body stood at the ready. Regret for all the things he’d held back from her flooded his mind. He should have told her he loved her. Accepted her apology. Wrapped her in his arms and explained why he’d been such an asshole the whole time he’d been in town. Now, he might never get the chance.
Mole had to be behind this fire. Murdering son of a bitch.
A movement from behind the window caught Scott’s attention. He strained to see through the smoke. His breath caught as Maddie appeared on the other side. Time stood still as his stomach plummeted to his feet.
Fuck.
Her frantic attempts to open the window failed.
He tore to the fire escape. His legs pumped as he charged up the steps, the roar of the fire in his ears, and the stench of burnt wood in his nostrils.
One landing. Two.
“Hold on, Maddie. Almost there.”
He finally reached the top and bent down to yank open the window. Stuck or locked. He’d have to break it.
His heart pounded triple-time. He stripped off his suit coat and wrapped it around his arm.
The window shattered as the legs of a chair busted through. Maddie’s panicked face appeared behind the jagged glass.
“Stand back,” he yelled.
With his shoe, he kicked in the shards. Smoke poured out and blurred his vision. Lucky leaped onto the landing. He whined and cried as Maddie climbed out.
Christ, the flames had singed the edge of her nightshirt. She coughed and sputtered on her hands and knees. He whisked her into his arms. “I got you, babe. I got you.”
She gasped for air. “Sc-Scott.”
He carried her down the fire escape as firefighters rounded the corner with hoses.
When they reached the bottom, an EMT rushed to him. He asked Maddie if anyone else was in the apartment.
She wiped her eyes and coughed again. “No one but my dog. Is my dog…”
Lucky barked at Scott’s feet. Maddie sighed, and her body went limp.