Hands reached out and grabbed her. She crawled closer and pulled the girls to her. “I’m here.”
“Where’s Uncle Liam?” Sophia asked.
“He’s on his way.” But would he get here in time?
The deep roaring of a fire filtered through the freezer.
Bella screamed. “What is that?”
She wasn’t going to lie to them. “Dean has set the gasoline on fire.”
“No!” Sophia screamed.
Sam pulled the girls tighter. “You need to calm down. Okay? Conserve air. The freezer will buy us some time for Liam to find us.”
“What if he doesn’t?” Bella burrowed into her side.
“I’ll be honest. If help doesn’t come, we’re going to die.”
The girls sobbed.
She stroked their hair. “Ssshhh. This freezer is old and not airtight. We’ll pass out from the carbon monoxide before the flames reach us.”
“Oh, God help us.” Sophia pleaded.
Panic seized her chest. Liam had saidGod is with you in everything. If ever there was a time she had needed to believe that, it was now.
Please God.
Smoke filled the horizon as Liam neared the industrial area of Renegade. Dread filled him.
He knew Sam hadn’t waited. Had gone looking for the girls. Because that’s exactly what he would have done.
He could lose everyone he loved in Renegade. Why would God bring him here, give him so much, only to take it away? But faith wasn’t just for when things made sense. He’d trusted God this far. He’d trust Him now. Even if he lost everything. God was still in control.
He pushed the telephone button on the steering wheel and waited for the beep. “Call 911.”
“911, where’s your emergency?”
“This is Deputy Marshal Liam Roberts. I’m en route to the slaughterhouse off Millrace, looking for three kidnapping victims. There’s smoke. Please send fire and rescue and officers. It’s possible there are other people trapped in the fires.”
The dispatcher asked a few additional questions.
The massive buildings came into view, glowing orange in the dark night sky. Smoke billowed out of the building to the right. “The slaughterhouse is on fire. I’m on scene.”
He pulled the SUV into the parking lot and jumped out. Flames weren’t visible from the outside, but it was only a matter of time.
Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. A figure slinked in the shadows, away from the building that shared a parking lot with the slaughterhouse.
“US Marshals! Stop!” Liam took off running in the same direction.
The acrid smell of gasoline filled his nostrils. He looked to the slaughterhouse and then to this storage building. A faint glow flickered from the windows. The girls had to be in one of these buildings, but which one?
The slaughterhouse had obviously been burning the longest. Would the arsonist have hidden them there, assuming Liam would search the storage building first, or had he thought Liam would try the slaughterhouse first and therefore hidden them in the other?
Which building was he supposed to search?
Lord, lead me. Show me where to go and let me get there before it’s too late.
