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Eli had seconds to act.
Grabbing the thick potholder from the counter, he rapidly smothered the sparks threatening to spread up Sienna’s sleeve. The fire alarm blared as thick smoke filled the kitchen. It burned his eyes and nose with the horrible stench of burning fuel. But nothing created more panic than the idea of Sienna hurt. Running from the fire would only cause the sparks on her clothes to spread. The first priority had to be her safety.
“I’m okay.” Sienna yanked off the sweater, revealing a tank top underneath. Her arm was angry and red, but the burn appeared minor compared to what could’ve happened. The homemade incendiary device had been chucked straight at her. If she hadn’t ducked…
Eli didn’t want to think about what would’ve happened. Instead his gaze swept the kitchen. The blaze was burning along the base of the fridge and the tile floor, but it could be stopped before the entire house was destroyed. “Do you have a fire extinguisher?”
Movement beyond the kitchen window indicated the assailant wasn’t done yet.
“Get down!” Eli yanked Sienna behind the kitchen island as another bottle filled with gas flew in through the broken window. This one smashed against the wooden cabinets. A whoosh of heat and flames singed the hair at the base of his neck. Forget about saving the house. They needed to get out.
Sienna must’ve come to the same conclusion because she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the living room. Another window exploded in a shower of glass, followed by the couch erupting in a fit of flames. The heat and smoke turned blinding.
Eli dropped to his hands and knees for fresh oxygen, tugging Sienna down with him. He took the lead, hurrying to the front door as another window shattered in the dining room. Several fire alarms in the house blared. Hopefully, one of the neighbors heard the commotion, saw the flames, and called 911.
Sienna grabbed his arm. “We can’t go out the front door.” She screamed to be heard over the alarms. “He’s expecting that.”
She was right. The attacker could throw one of his fire bombs at them. Eli was armed, but a handgun was no match for a grenade of gasoline and flames. Whoever was behind this wasn’t interested in sparing their lives. He was out for blood. Sienna’s blood.
“Climbing out a window is a bigger risk. It’ll take too long and give him the opening he’s looking for.” Eli pulled his handgun. “The front door is our best option.”
“No! Follow me.” Sienna rose to a crouch and took off down the hallway.
Eli quickly followed, holding his gun in a sweaty grip. His lungs ached with smoke inhalation and his head was woozy from the stench of gasoline. Pain spreading across his abdomen was a fierce reminder that the gunshots he’d incurred a few months ago still affected him physically. Cooler air washed over his heated skin as they entered a rear bedroom.
An office space. Papers piled high in stacks surrounding a laptop. Coffee mugs littered the desk and the credenza, holding court with family photographs and an odd assortment of multicolored files and books. Pens tangled with paper clips and earbuds. Several boxes were scattered on the carpet. The leather chair behind the desk was cracked and worn.
Attached to the office was a waiting room for clients. A leather couch sat opposite a coffee table with ancient magazines. The entire space resembled the rest of the house. Messy and chaotic, no clear organization other than whatever system Sienna had in her mind for the day.
It was baffling to Eli. He was as rigid in his organization as he was in his values. How Sienna managed to solve any case—let alone run circles around the Sandalwood Police Department—while her office resembled something left in the wake of a tornado was beyond him.
She grabbed her laptop and a stack of files, jerking her chin toward the waiting room. “There’s another entrance clients use. Through there.”
Eli’s long strides ate up the distance to the second entrance. He peeked through the shade into a side yard with a walkway. The yellow glow of the streetlights illuminated the space. There was no sign of their attacker. That didn’t mean much though. He could be hiding in the shadows behind the garage, lying in wait. It’d been a while since the last Molotov cocktail was thrown inside.
Should they stay in place until the police showed up? It was an option. But not a good one. Smoke was already filling the space and the heat of the flames intensified by the second. They wouldn’t last long holed up in the office. Besides, the longer they stayed put, the greater the chance their attacker would figure out there was a second exit. Hopefully, he was still camped out at the front door.
Eli cracked open the door. He peered into the yard and listened for any unnatural sound. Thunder rumbled in the distance as an approaching storm closed in. The air was heavy with the scent of rain and the stink of smoke. Woods bordered this side of the property. A perfect hiding place, provided they could make it there before the attacker struck.
He glanced over his shoulder. Sienna was still frantically gathering papers from her desk. “Let’s go.”
She didn’t pay him any mind. Soot covered her pretty face, and her curls had jettisoned from the ponytail she’d wrangled them into after her shower. Sweat poured off Eli’s face as he closed the distance between them. Flames licked at the entrance of the office. They needed to move.
He snagged her elbow with a gentle hand, but his tone brooked no argument. “Now, Sienna.”
She allowed him to drag her to the door. Eli spared another moment to scan the yard again. No movement. Heart pounding, he lifted his weapon and held it at the ready before stepping onto the small porch. Crisp air cooled the sweat on his brow and raised goosebumps along the back of his neck. Leaves on the nearby oak tree rustled.
The attacker was out there. Somewhere. Eli could sense him.
A fear unlike anything Eli had ever known gripped him. He’d been in dangerous situations before. Been shot in the line of duty and had the scars to prove it. But this situation was different. It wasn’t a nameless civilian he was protecting, nor was it a fellow member of law enforcement. This was Sienna. Sienna. And for some reason he didn’t want to examine, it made all the difference.
Indecision once again warred within him, but the sound of the roof creaking inside the house reaffirmed his original choice.
With one hand, he gestured for Sienna to step outside. She did, and he quickly pushed her in front of him. “Head for the tree line.”
His voice was barely above a whisper, but she gave a sharp nod. Clutching the laptop and files, she bolted across the yard. Eli followed, keeping his body in line with hers to provide cover, his gaze never resting in one position, his senses heightened for any sign of danger.
A shadow shifted. It moved at a rapid pace away from the garage straight for Sienna.
