Chapter 37
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
KILLIAN
It’s early when I hear the alarm mixed with the panic of my brothers shouting for Heather. My eyes pop open, and I jump up as Knox throws a pair of pants and a shirt at me.
“The house is on fire. We don’t know where Heather is, but we have to find her and get the fuck out of here.”
I pull my clothes on, grab a blanket, and tuck it under my arm as Carter touches the door to the living room.
“It’s still cool to the touch.”
All three of us dart out of the set of double doors, searching for her.
“Check the kitchen. She probably went there for coffee.”
They don’t argue with me because we all know Heather starts every day with her precious coffee.
I wish she had woken one of us up so she wasn’t alone right now.
We race to the kitchen and find her completely safe, sitting at the table drinking her coffee, looking between the three of us, her face marred with confusion.
Knox takes her cup and sets it on the table while I lift her into my arms.
“Hey!” she squeals in complaint.
“The house is on fire, Killer. We need to get you out before it spreads down here.”
Holding onto her tightly doesn’t stop her from squirming in my arms.
“Killer. Stop.”
Her gaze lifts to mine, a panicked expression on her face as she melts down.
“We have to go upstairs where the fire is? I can’t lose any of you.”
We move to the hidden door, and Knox opens it with his app as Carter stands in front of us with his bow aimed and ready. I climb the stairs with Heather in my arms, moving slowly to make sure nobody is outside waiting to surprise us.
This was not accidental—someone set this fire, and they could be out there waiting to finish the job.
“Would you put me down, Kill?”
I whisper trying to keep my voice low, even though if someone is out there, she is not helping by screaming at me.
“No. I will not. Someone could be out there right now, waiting to take you from us. I will not allow that. So be quiet until you’re in the fucking car, alright?”
She nods, and I hate seeing the fear that is in her eyes.
“You’re going to be okay, baby. We won’t let anyone hurt you.”
She tightens her arms around my neck and lays her head on my shoulder.
“I’m not afraid of getting hurt, but I’m terrified of losing any of you.”
My chest squeezes at her words because she included me.
She is terrified of losing me.
I don’t deserve that level of feeling from her, but I’ll take it—and fucking cherish it.
“Clear.” Carter yells, and I walk outside with Heather as both of my brothers stare at a white piece of paper.
“It was on the windshield.” Knox answers our unasked question.
He hands it to me and Heather and I read it together. It only has two words handwritten on it.
Love,
Daddy
“Jesus fucking Christ.” I growl in anger as Carter holds the passenger door open, and I slide Heather onto the seat.
Knox searches the underbody of the SVU with a flashlight and holds a tracker in his hand when he stands back up. He throws it on the ground and smashes it with his foot.
The flames are at the front of the house.
It’s a small fire which makes me wonder if this was actually intended to kill us or send a message.
If the goal was death they did a piss poor job.
As I get into the vehicle and look at Heather I know if the goal was to scare her, they achieved their objective.
“I’ll drive.” Carter states from behind me, which doesn’t surprise me. He’s worried and doesn’t want Heather to know.
Nodding I say, “Alright. Toward Albuquerque.”
I sit on her left, and Knox gets in on her right, taking her hand in his to stop her from digging her nails into the underside of her wrist.
“Tesoro. We are safe. All of us.”
I pull her arm up and softly kiss the reddened flesh.
Knox pulls the seatbelt over her, and I buckle her in as Carter drives away.
Heather turns to stare at me, her eyes filled with horror before she covers her mouth with a shaky hand.
“The fight. It’s not about killing you. It’s about me. That’s why they demanded my presence. It’s a setup, Killian. If I go, I die. When any of you attempt to intervene, they’ll kill you too. That’s the plan. You have to let me go. Nobody can save me, but I can save you.”
I glance at Carter, and spot his eyes widening as he shakes his head as if he’s trying to convince me to say no. Chuckling softly, I stare at her with a stern warning.
“You’re ours, Killer. We will not allow you to leave. And there’s no fucking way anybody is taking you from us. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever.”
She turns to Knox as if she can reason with him.
“I don’t want any of you to die because of me. That would be worse than death.”
He rubs his thumb over her palm and speaks in a calm but authoritative tone.
“Tesoro. None of us is going to die, but if the choice is living without you or death—the decision is easy. We’d rather die than breathe another breath without you. When you were taken from us before, that was a hell I never want to live through again.
Heather lets out a long, slow breath, trying to calm herself down.
“Then I need to make a call. We need help, and I think Raven will agree to it.”