Chapter 12
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BOONE CURSED AS THEY waited for a tow truck, Cooper, and Xaden to arrive.
Firetrucks were already on the way, and he heard sirens wailing in the distance.
He’d moved Radley away from the burning cabin, feeling even more on edge than he’d been earlier.
It felt like they were damn sitting ducks waiting here without transportation.
Someone had tried to kill them. And yet—they’d left a fucking note on his truck.
Had they expected Boone and Radley to escape the fire?
In all likelihood, the note wasn’t from anyone in the damn terror cell. The cabin was as deserted as they’d believed it to be. The message was from the asshole who’d been following Radley. It burned him up to know they’d tracked Boone and Radley here. What if they’d hurt her—taken her?
“This doesn’t make sense,” Radley said, looking rattled.
Her gaze swiveled from Boone to the truck to the burning cabin.
She paced back and forth, waving her hands around.
“IT reviewed the camera feeds the other day. There’s been no unusual activity around the perimeter of Shadow Security.
The guards said there’s been no unauthorized vehicles attempting to gain access either. ”
“They recognized my truck—my bad for thinking you were safer in it than your own vehicle.”
“But how....” She trailed off, frowning. Boone searched her face, noting the way she sunk her teeth into her lower lip as she worked it over. Hell. There could be someone in the forest watching them right now, and he was staring at her damn lips.
“You followed me home the other night!” Radley suddenly said, recognition dawning. “From the bar. You followed me all the way back to my condo. They must’ve seen you—seen us.”
“Fuck. I followed you to your condo to keep you safe,” Boone said, agitation winding through him.
“I know you did, but these guys are good. If they worked with Schultz and me at the agency, they’ve been highly trained by the U.S.
government. And while I’ve been watching every time I leave my building, they must know that, too.
Somehow, they tracked me to the bar and then followed us both—or saw us together in the parking lot there. ”
“They could’ve hurt you,” Boone said.
“Right now, they’re just trying to scare me.”
Boone’s gaze whipped to hers.
“It’s true. If they wanted me, I’d already be gone.”
“And lighting the damn cabin on fire wasn’t trying to eliminate you?” he asked sarcastically.
She shook her head. “They had to know we’d escape. They slashed your tires—left a note. They wanted us to get out and see this.”
Boone tensed as they heard the rumble of a vehicle, but it was Cooper in his big SUV, gravel flying as he sped up the road. “Holy shit!” he yelled as he jumped out of his vehicle, his eyes widening as he took in the burning cabin.
Flames had almost entirely destroyed it, thick black smoke filling the air.
Given the isolated location, it was taking a damn long time for emergency vehicles and fire crews to arrive.
Boone hoped the nearby trees wouldn’t start to go up as well.
They’d edged further and further away as the minutes passed, the heat and smoke nearly intolerable.
“How’d you get here so fast?” Boone asked, his brows creasing.
“Broke a few traffic laws,” Cooper admitted. His gaze moved from Boone to Radley. “Are you both all right?”
“Couldn’t be better,” Radley said weakly.
Boone showed Cooper the note, listening to his buddy swear.
“We’ve got another problem,” Radley said. “When we were searching the cabin, we found the word help written in sawdust.”
Cooper raised his eyebrows.
“Yep. It was in one of the back rooms. I missed it on my original sweep. I’m not sure entirely what to make of it—maybe someone was being held hostage or otherwise forced to work with the terror cell?”
“That adds another complication to things,” Cooper mused. “I wonder who they expected to see it?”
“It’s a good question,” Radley said with a frown. “I assume anyone with access to the cabin was part of the terror cell. If someone really was being held against their will, a note in sawdust on the floor isn’t going to do much.”
Boone’s phone buzzed, and he glanced at the screen. “It’s Holt.”
“What’s the status?” Holt barked as Boone put him on speaker phone.
“We’re safe, but the cabin’s burning down. Radley’s stalker followed us here. They locked us in, set the place ablaze, then slashed my tires so we couldn’t leave.”
“Son of a bitch,” Holt muttered. “Are you both all right?”
“Never better, boss,” Radley said.
Holt swore again.
“We also assess the terror cell may be holding someone against their will,” Boone continued. “Radley will fill you in,” he told Holt, handing her the phone as the firetrucks pulled up.
She quickly spoke with him. The firetrucks and tanker engine moved around Boone’s disabled truck, and several police cars pulled in as well, sirens wailing.
“So much for keeping this operation under wraps,” Cooper muttered. “Now all of greater Seattle will know something’s been going on here.”
“Put me on the phone with the PD,” Holt ordered.
Radley carried Boone’s phone back over to him, shrugging. “The boss thinks he can smooth this over.”
“I heard that,” Holt said, sounding amused.
The firemen were rapidly deploying their hoses and getting into position, readying to douse the flames and stop the spread into the forest. Boone hustled over to the first police officers who’d arrived, handing one of them his phone to speak with Holt.
“How’d the arsonist get here?” Cooper asked, scanning the area. “I doubt they trekked through the woods. If they followed you in, maybe we can pull surveillance from the highway.”
“We’re out in the middle of nowhere, but there were some gas stations further down the road,” Radley said. “It’s possible we could get a make and model of vehicles passing by in the same timeframe.”
Cooper nodded. “I’ll swing by on our way out.”
Another SUV pulled in behind all the emergency vehicles, and Xaden climbed out, hustling over to them. “I knew you two had some major sparks, but burning down the damn cabin?” Xaden asked, smirking. “That’s a bit much.”
“Can it,” Boone said, shooting his teammate an annoyed look.
Radley raised her eyebrows without commenting.
“As long as you two kids are okay,” Xaden said. “I left Gage doing some surveillance work at an apartment building outside Seattle and hustled my ass on over here.” His gaze landed on Boone’s truck. “Shit. They slashed all your tires?”
“Yep. And left a note on the windshield. I just realized our prints are all over it,” Boone said. “I grabbed it without thinking. We should’ve bagged it to see if we could get the prints of the perp.”
“We still can,” Radley said smoothly. She grabbed her backpack off the ground and pulled out a plastic bag. “Don’t worry,” she told Boone. “I was too shaken up to think of it either. It’s not everyday someone locks you in a remote cabin and sets it on fire.”
Xaden’s gaze swept over the vehicle. “We could check the windshield and wipers for prints, too.”
“Good call,” Cooper agreed.
Radley eyed the commotion, a frown on her face. “They’re not going to stop until they’re finished with me. I’m probably jeopardizing this entire operation because of my damn stalker. Whatever clues were yet to be discovered in that cabin are gone now.”
“Bullshit. You’re not jeopardizing a thing,” Cooper said.
She rolled her eyes.
“What? We all have a past. The guys and I weren’t exactly making friends taking out terrorists and drug lords overseas. Delta Force doesn’t exactly deal with the upstanding citizens of the world. We operated in the shadows.”
“Point taken.”
The firefighters were making slow progress, dousing the flames with water, but the acrid smell of smoke hung in the air.
“How’d you guys get out?” Xaden asked, watching the firefighters work.
“Boone kicked out a boarded-up window. Then he practically threw my ass out of it,” Radley joked, trying to make light of the situation.
Boone’s dark eyes slanted to her, but his lips quirked.
He hadn’t even hesitated—just taken charge and gotten them both to safety.
All of his teammates were used to thinking on their feet.
In their line of work, they had to. It was fortunate that Boone had been with Radley today.
She likely wouldn’t have been strong enough to launch herself through the boards like Boone had, but he bet his ass she’d die trying.
He hated that he’d been right—she was safer with him.
Boone could read the expression on her face. She’d come to the same damn conclusion, and he hoped she wouldn’t continue to argue with him about her safety, at least until her stalker was found.
Xaden rounded Boone’s truck, assessing the slashed tires. He kicked one, muttering something to himself, then peered in through the window. “There’s another note,” he said, his voice hard as he opened the truck.
Boone stormed over, his stomach roiling as he read it over. “Where was this?” he snapped.
“Driver’s seat. The door was unlocked, so they must’ve jimmied it somehow.”
“What does it say?” Radley asked, rushing toward them.
Boone tried to snatch it away, but she was too quick. He watched as her face paled and hands trembled. Radley was tough as hell, but he was worried about her. She handed the note back, and Boone read over it again.
I’ll fuck that bitch until she’s begging for mercy. She’ll pay for everything she’s done.