Chapter Nineteen

At the sound of the explosion, Presley had a déjà vu moment. Because that was the exact sound he'd heard when the door to the fire station had been blown off its hinges.

First there was the deafening noise followed by the sensation of being propelled backward. This time though, he didn't actually fall but instead was pushed against the front door.

Billie was right next to him, hitting hard against the reinforced steel frame. Angel, too, on the other side. Joe and Victoria staggered back into the foyer. Not for long though. Victoria bolted out, her attention fixed on what was left of Olivia's car. Most of the front end was now a fireball.

It was hard to see through the billowing, black smoke, but he spotted Olivia. She was on her knees, and she was seemingly in shock as she looked at her car. Ari was a few yards to her right.

But Jesep was nowhere in sight, though his car was still there.

It was possible he'd been knocked to the ground. Or even been killed if he hit something hard. But Presley didn't like that he didn't have eyes on one of their top suspects.

"I'll call it in," Angel said. "And get the fire department and bomb squad out here."

Yeah, because there could be other explosives just as there'd been at the fire station.

"Olivia!" Victoria shouted.

Victoria scrambled out of the foyer, and she bolted past Presley before he could stop her. Joe was right on her heels, calling out to Victoria as she was calling out for Olivia.

Presley had no choice but to go after them.

And he knew he wouldn't be doing this solo. Billie and Angel were right on his heels as he jumped down off the porch and into the yard. He took hold of Victoria, pulling her back from what was left of the Mercedes. It was rare for a gas tank to explode in a fire—there wasn't enough oxygen in the tank for that—but it could happen, and that's why he wanted Victoria away from it.

"Get back," Presley shouted to the others, still firing glances around, looking for Jesep.

Hell.

Still, no sign of him. Where was he?

"Olivia," Victoria called out again, but this time, Joe was able to hold her back from running to her daughter.

The blasted smoke prevented Presley from getting more than mere glimpses of Olivia and Ari. Not enough for him to tell if they were genuinely stunned by what had just happened or if they'd expected it.

"Damon," Presley heard Joe say.

With his gun still gripped in his hand, Presley whirled around to see Joe. He wasn't looking at the flaming car but rather just way up the driveway by the road, where Presley saw the bulky man wearing a Kevlar vest duck out of sight behind a tree.

"I'm pretty sure that's my stepson, Damon," Joe said.

Presley immediately felt the hit of adrenaline. The fight or flight mode kicked in. And he was going to fight. Damon was one of the missing pieces of this deadly puzzle. A piece who likely had a boss right here, right now.

But which one?

And he couldn't even rule out Olivia from his suspects' pool.

Yes, it was her car that had just blown up, but judging from the location of the fire, the explosive device had been set in the front of the vehicle. From the looks of it, it'd caused a lot of damage to the engine. Not much to the rest of the car though. So, Olivia or a henchman that she'd hired could have planted it, knowing she would not only be unharmed but that she would now look like a victim rather than a potential killer.

"He's not alone," Billie murmured, and she pointed just to the right of the tree where Damon had disappeared.

Presley had to pick through the smoke again, but he finally saw the woman, and he had no trouble whatsoever recognizing her.

Hattie .

So, maybe Damon had arrived with his boss, and if so, Ari, Olivia, and Jesep might all be innocent. Might . But Presley wasn't willing to trust the three of them just yet.

"Everyone move away from the car," Presley shouted. "And stay down. Ari?" he called out when he could no longer see him.

The man didn't answer. However, there was a sound. And it was something Presley sure as hell hadn't wanted to hear.

A gunshot.

It cracked through the air and slammed into Ari's car.

That got everyone diving to the ground, including Angel, Billie, and him. They landed in the yard next to Victoria and Joe. Barely in the nick of time. Before more shots came. Then, even more. A barrage of gunfire that had to be coming from an assault rifle.

It was possible Damon and/or Hattie had put a stash of ammunition in those trees. Since they weren't on his land, that meant he didn't have security sensors there to monitor it.

"Local cops, fire department, and bomb squad are on the way," Angel said. "Their ETA is about twenty minutes. But I've alerted them that there's an active shooter in the area."

Which meant the responders wouldn't be able to get too close. Not near enough to help anyway, and Presley didn't care much for them being only yards from Olivia's car where there could be another explosive device.

Presley levered himself up enough to take aim and fire at the trees. The response was immediate. More gunfire. And a lot of it.

He looked back at his house. Getting inside was out of the question since Damon or Hattie would be able to shoot them. Still, he had to do something.

"I'll crawl to the side and then behind the house and try to sneak up on him," Presley insisted.

Billie immediately took hold of his arm. "And I'll go with you."

Presley had a debate with himself about that. Because he still couldn't see Jesep, and he had no idea what Olivia's or Ari's intentions were.

"I'll stay put and handle anything that comes up," Angel offered. "And I can give you some cover by firing into those trees."

Presley didn't doubt Angel's abilities, but he could essentially end up guarding five people. Or being right in the midst of a killer.

"I'll handle anything that comes up," Angel repeated, his gaze sliding to Victoria for a second. "I'll also get Ruby to send out a drone so we can pinpoint the location of these asshole shooters."

Presley nodded. Then, he gave a second nod to Billie before they went into a commando crawl. Damon or Hattie must have seen them because some shots came their way, slamming into the ground right next to them. Angel helped with that by sending some rounds into the trees. That stopped the shooters enough for Billie and him to scramble for cover by the side of the house.

"Once we get to the backyard, we'll follow that line of oak trees," Presley let her know.

Since the trees were spaced about ten feet apart, it wouldn't give them complete cover, but it might be enough for them to make it to the wild shrubs and underbrush. After that, they would have to make their way inch by inch toward Damon and Hattie.

They ran to the back end of the house, dropping down again to crawl their way to the trees. Presley could still hear plenty of gunfire, both from the shooters by the trees and from Angel. He could also hear the slight dings of his security system alerting him that he was triggering the motion sensors. Presley turned that off since it was a distraction.

When they'd reached the line of oaks, Billie and he stood and began to thread their way from one to the other. No shots came their way, so that let him know Angel's diversion was working.

Either that or else Damon or Hattie was waiting for them to get closer so they could gun them down.

Presley had to push that possibility aside and keep moving. He thought of that glimpse he'd gotten on Damon. Of the Kevlar vest. The man had come prepared so it was possible that he'd added other measures.

"Watch for explosives," Presley whispered to Billie.

She muttered some profanity and slowed her pace even more, no doubt checking the ground for each step they took. Presley was doing the same, and it slowed them down considerably.

They finally reached the last tree and had to get down on the ground again to go through the underbrush. Definitely not an easy journey with the branches of the shrubs jabbing at them.

With each step forward, the sound of the gunfire got louder, and Presley was able to pinpoint the shooter's location. It was directly ahead in the thickest part of that tree cluster.

Since Billie and he couldn't go straight toward it, they had to venture off to the side again. Coming at it from an angle where hopefully they wouldn't be seen. They were still a good fifteen yards away when Presley caught some movement from the corner of his eye.

Billie and he immediately dropped down, turning their guns in that direction.

And Hattie came running out from the trees.

Presley took aim at her, but he didn't pull the trigger.

"Does she have a gun?" Billie blurted. "I can't see a gun."

"Neither can I," Presley whispered.

"Help me," Hattie shouted.

She wasn't running toward Billie and him but rather in the direction of the house, and as she got closer, Presley could see that her hands had been duct-taped together in front of her.

Hell.

Hattie wasn't the boss. She was another victim. Well, maybe she was. He had to consider though that this could all be a ruse to draw out Billie and him.

"Help me," the woman shouted again.

There was some movement in the trees, and Presley adjusted his aim there. But no one came out. However, a bullet did.

Someone fired. And the shot slammed into Hattie. The woman shrieked in pain as she tumbled to the ground.