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“Fuck,” Cal muttered. “I knew I’d regret coming here. At least read him his rights.”
Donovan ignored them all and shoved through the office door, nearly knocking JT into the wall. When the little shit tried to slink away, he grabbed him by the collar and threw him into the office. Because JT Tennison had been in those photos, too, eagerly participating in the rape and murder of an innocent girl.
“There’s the other one,” he said through his teeth, then strode away. He took the stairs, not wanting to wait for the elevator, and made it out into the smoke-heavy air before his knees gave out.
He sank to the sidewalk, and that was where Zak and Cal found him minutes later. They didn’t say anything, simply picked him up, one man under each of his arms, and carried him to the Tahoe as several other deputy cars pulled in.
Zak slid into the seat beside him. “You okay?”
Donovan flexed his fist. His knuckles were split and bruised. “I think so.”
Zak nudged his shoulder. “Bet that felt good, didn’t it? I’ve wanted to punch Mark fucking Salas since high school.”
The knot in his gut uncoiled, and the tension he’d carried for fifteen years left him with a small laugh. “We all wanted to punch Mark in high school.”
“And you finally got to do it.” Zak made a fist and punched his palm. “Now I’m gonna punch him in court. He’s going to pay for all the distress he’d caused my wife and kids.”
“Ooh,” Cal said as he slid into the front seat. “That sounds fun. Can I help with that?”
“Of course.” Zak grabbed his wallet and pulled out a dollar bill, which he passed to Cal. “Here’s your retainer. You’re officially Redwood Coast Rescue’s lawyer.”
Cal opened his mouth but closed it again without saying a word and leaned back with a groan. “Aw, fuck. What have I gotten myself into?” But he pocketed the money as Ash jumped into the car and cranked the engine. “Whoa, Sheriff. Where’s the fire?”
Ash stared at him for a beat, then pointed to the horizon where flames danced. “The wind’s shifted.”
chapter twenty-five
The fire was headed directly toward town.
They had to evacuate.
Now.
Despite Ash’s protests, Donovan jumped into his Jeep the moment they reached the sheriff’s office and burned rubber home. He’d lost everything else good in his life. His mom. Sasha. He was not leaving his dog behind and losing her, too.
He left the Jeep running in his driveway and sprinted toward his house. It didn’t register that his door was open or that Spirit was barking from somewhere deeper in the house, along with another dog. All he saw was Sasha standing in the living room, her eyes brimming with tears.
“Angel, what are you doing here? We’re under evacuation orders.” He crossed to her in several quick strides, but she flinched back when he reached for her.
And then he saw it.
The vest half-hidden under her coat, strapped over her scrubs. The cylinders, the wires.
“Donovan,” she whispered, voice quivering. “He’s here somewhere.”
He dropped to his knees in front of her and carefully pushed her coat aside to get a closer look at the bomb vest. “Tiago?”
She nodded. “He called my answering service and said a dog had been found badly burned on the side of the road. I-I grabbed Matilda because I didn’t want to leave her alone and went to work and—and he was waiting.”
“Did he hurt the dogs?”
She gave a jerky shake of the head. “He shut them in the garage.” Tears spilled from her eyes. “I don’t know where he went, but he didn’t leave. He put this thing on me and said—he said he wants to watch you lose everything.”
“Okay, angel. It’s okay. Can you lift your jacket and turn for me? Let me see the back of the vest.”
She sucked in a shaking breath, but lifted her coat and slowly turned in a circle.
Fuck. It had the same switch as the car bomb, and this time, the bastard had armed all of the fail-safes. Donovan’s heart pounded in his ears as he took in the details of the bomb. Tiago had really outdone himself this time. There was no way he could disarm it without setting it off. One wrong move and Sasha would be blown to pieces. He couldn’t let that happen.
