Chapter 57
The flames spread so fast that Deb barely had a moment to contemplate their danger before they were closing in on her. She had watched helplessly as several of the wounded ranch workers were overtaken by the fire, their dying screams filled with unimaginable agony.
She clutched Jimmy against her as tight as could be.
His wailing was all she could hear over the roaring inferno.
The two ambulatory ranch hands had managed to crawl their way along the floor with her toward the rear door.
Deb slammed her shoulder into it over and over again while still keeping a tight hold on Jimmy.
However, she knew that was pointless. There was no way she was going to be able to break through that door.
There was nothing she could do to save herself, her child, and these two poor injured souls.
The screams of the dying soon became the silence of the dead as the fire finished its systematic destruction of those who were unable to escape its path.
But Deb knew that in just moments, she would be able to count herself and her baby among those ranks. There was nowhere to go and nothing that could be done. She wished she could do something, anything to free herself and somehow get to Vin. He was so close now. It wasn’t fair.
She was so close to reclaiming her life, to getting her reason for living back once more. Her home, her family, and her happiness were all once more within reach. And Jessie, that cruel demon woman, had snatched it all away from her.
It was insane to imagine that woman hated her with the vitriol she had shown. The lengths she had gone to emotionally torture Deb pushed beyond the borders of sanity and into the realm of the psychotic.
And for what? Because Deb had a family that loved her? Because Deb grew up on a ranch and not on the streets of some city somewhere? Those were not the things that defined her, but it seemed as though, in Jessie’s mind, it was more than enough to condemn her.
The heat of the flames was so intense now, and the smoke seemed to fill every square inch of space.
Deb couldn’t call out for help. She couldn’t even scream in frustration.
All she could do was cough and choke and gasp for air.
Jimmy, too, was coughing between his cries, and Deb’s frustrated, heartbroken tears fell from her eyes and dried instantly on her cheeks.
She could hear something over the chewing fire as it drew closer. It was a commotion coming from just beyond the door. Deb paid it little mind, assuming the battle for the ranch was starting to spill into this area. It was too late for her. Too late for Jimmy. There was no one coming to save them.
Just as Deb shut her eyes and waited for the intense burning pain to begin charring her milky flesh, the door behind her opened. She fell back into the light, coughing and gagging as she clutched at the crying baby and scooted with him along the dirt-covered ground.
A pair of arms grabbed her, pulling her free.
Deb expected to look up and see Vin there, holding her and looking down at her with his kind and strong eyes.
But it wasn’t Vin. It was Legion. Though this wasn’t the Legion she remembered, who scowled and grunted his way through the world while serving at the side of a mad man.
These were gentle, concerned eyes that looked at her with care.
“Oh, God, thank you!” Deb blurted out, burying her face in the big man’s shirt.
Legion held her there for a moment, and the sound of his deep, labored breathing was a source of comfort at the moment.
This fearsome beast of a man had been wounded, and she had shown him compassion.
That compassion had clearly formed a bond in Legion’s mind, and that bond had saved her life and the life of her baby.
“Vin!” she heard one of the ranch workers cry out.
Deb’s eyes snapped toward the barn, where she saw a tall and strong figure in a black hat pulling the two injured ranch hands from the burning barn. Her heart threatened to stop beating at the moment, and even the sound of Jimmy’s uncomfortable cry seemed to vanish.
He turned to her, those strong, piercing eyes digging into her, concern and longing written along every centimeter of his chiseled features. He was as gorgeous as the day they had said their vows, and Deb screamed in relief and happiness.
It had been only a few days prior when she believed Vin had died, trying to save Jimmy from the remnant. Not only was he alive, but he was here. And he had worked with Legion, a one-time enemy, to save their lives.
Deb found her strength again and jumped to her feet, sprinting across the dirt, clutching Jimmy to her tightly as she saw Vin bound toward her.
He wrapped his strong arms around Deb and Jimmy, and for the first time since the moment Chainz and his gang had ridden through the front gates of her father’s ranch, Deb felt safe once again.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Deb, I’m so sorry for everything.”
“Just shut up, you stupid man,” she replied, smiling as a sob of relief pushed through her lips.
Vin looked down at Jimmy, who was still crying, and leaned over to kiss his son on the forehead. Deb allowed the moment to just continue for several minutes, enjoying his closeness and the relief of fresh air for as long as she could. Then she had to ask.
“Are we safe?” she asked, looking up at him.
“No,” he replied. “Not yet. There’s still some nasty stuff that needs doing. And I’m the guy who's gotta do it.”
“I just got you back,” Deb said, clutching at his shirt as if she could somehow trap him here with her and not let him go. “I can’t have you dying on me now.”
“I’m not dying today,” he replied, sounding so sure of himself that she almost believed he could guarantee that.
Vin looked up and behind her. Deb turned to see Legion standing there awkwardly, watching their tearful reunion.
“Thank you,” Vin said to the big man.
Legion simply nodded. Deb was sure the weight of the betrayal he had just committed was starting to push on him. But Legion seemed to not care as his face remained emotionless.
“Can you look after them for me?”
“Yeah,” Legion said, the word eliciting a gasp of surprise from Deb.
She wasn’t aware Legion could speak since even when she had dressed his wounds, he had said absolutely nothing to her.
“I got them. Go.”
“I appreciate it,” Vin said to Legion. “Any word on where I can find your boss?” Vin spat the question, almost like an accusation, but Legion seemed to let it go quickly.
“The farmhouse,” Legion said. “He’s watching from the upstairs bedroom window.
Deb nodded as Vin let go of her and Jimmy. That made sense. From the master bedroom, you could see most of the property laid out. There was even a balcony there where with a pair of binoculars, Chainz would be able to see most of what was going on.
Vin seemed to come to the same conclusion. “Yeah, that’s where I’d be too if I was him,” he said. “He got guards?”
“No,” Legion said. “He sent everyone to hold the front. He even sent me out to look for you.”
“All right,” Vin said, sounding energized at this news. “Then it’s time to end this.”