Chapter 36
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Collin untangled a string of beads as he watched the window. Helia and Kendall had stepped inside five minutes earlier, and they couldn’t come back into view soon enough.
“I get the sense there’s more going on than we know,” Harry said.
He was tempted to look away and meet the man’s eyes, but he couldn’t tear his attention from the water tower.
“There is,” he replied. “We can’t say anything about it, but we don’t think Helia’s in danger anymore.”
“Which is why you’re as nervous as a chicken with a fox circling the coop.”
He started to smile, but the buzz of his phone stopped him. He anticipated a text from Mantis telling him they were leaving. His blood pressure leaped when Kendall’s name displayed on the screen.
Kendall: Hiding under the couch. Kelly is here
“Fuck.” The word burst from his mouth like a beast breaking its chains.
Monk: Can you get out?
Kendall: Not leaving her
Monk: Are you safe?
Kendall: As can be, but wouldn’t mind a little rescuing
If he were in another state of mind, he might have smiled at that, but he didn’t.
Monk: Calling the guys, we’ll be there in ten
His hands shook as he sent out a group text to his brothers. He’d barely hit Send before a reply came in.
Mantis: On our way. Dulcie knows the land best, he’ll get us there unseen. Will text a meeting spot
Monk didn’t reply but headed to the room he and Helia had claimed and found his gun safe. Unlocking it, he pulled out his weapon of choice, gave it a quick once-over, then shoved it into the back of his jeans.
“Collin, what’s going on?” Vanessa asked. She and Harry stood in the hall wearing identical looks of concern.
“I shouldn’t have let her go on her own. There’s…a situation. Call the police. No,” he said, pulling out Agent Perry’s card. “Call her and tell her we need her stat.”
Harry took the card, eyeing it with confusion.
He didn’t have time to stop and explain why the DEA needed to be involved, though, and he pushed by the couple.
To his chagrin, but not surprise, they followed him out.
The echo of the gate bell rang as he made his way down the stairs.
If that was Patrick and Kaden, maybe the couple would distract Harry and Vanessa enough for him to slip into the vineyard.
His phone vibrated with another text.
Kendall: She tied Helia up, searched the first floor. She doesn’t know I’m here. I should be safe
Monk’s jaw tightened. She’d be safer if she got out, but at least she’d given him an update.
He paused at the bottom of the steps.
Monk: Stay quiet
Kendall: Duh
Monk: We’re eight minutes out
Kendall: Helia’s got her talking
He didn’t need to know what they were talking about, not now. And he was running too hot to be grateful that she was buying them time.
A familiar car skidded to a stop as he stepped into the courtyard. “Oh, fuck me,” he said as the driver’s door of the yellow Maserati opened. Monk glanced at his watch. Seven minutes until his brothers arrived. He had to deal with Weber.
“I’m here to see Helia,” Weber said. “Mr. Shaw, Mrs. Shaw,” he added, nodding to the couple, who’d followed Monk out. In his right hand, he carried a gift, but his left arm swung free. Monk paused, zeroing in on the appendage as Weber walked toward them.
“Oh hell, it was you,” he said.
Weber paused and blinked. “Me?” he said, the squeak in his voice giving him away.
“You broke into Bacco looking for Roger’s stash.”
Weber backed up a step. In his peripheral vision, Monk saw another car approach, Kaden and Patrick. He hadn’t seen either man for a good few years, but he hoped they kept up with the jujitsu they’d always loved.
“I…I did no such thing,” Weber protested, sounding about as sure of himself as a newbie making their first high-altitude jump.
“Don’t,” Monk barked when he took another step back.
“Everything all right here?” Kaden asked, joining the gathering with Patrick at his shoulder.
Monk didn’t have time for this. Agent Perry could deal with the fallout.
“This man broke into Bacco the day of Roger’s memorial looking to steal the stash of drugs Roger hid before he died.
The drug ring is the subject of a DEA investigation, and I’d appreciate it if you two could deal with him, because at the moment, another player in that ring has Helia captive in her home.
My brothers are here. We’ll get her out, but again, if you could handle this”—he gestured to Weber—“I’d appreciate it. ”
The target of his comment dropped the gift and bolted toward his car, but Patrick and Kaden were already there. Monk didn’t hesitate to turn back to his mission.
“When you bring her back, you and my daughter have some explaining to do, son,” Harry called.
“Be safe,” Vanessa added.
Their faith in him warmed him, but he didn’t linger on it or the terror they no doubt felt at what their daughter might be going through. Pushing it all aside, he slipped into the vineyard and started making his way toward the water tower.
With the vines barren, leaving little cover for any of their movements, he crouched and did his best to stay out of sight, grateful for the earthy colors he wore.
And the closed curtains. Those could work against them—it would be easier if they could see inside, but it also meant Kelly couldn’t easily see them either.
Pausing behind an oak tree, he pulled out his phone and texted Kendall.
Monk: Update?
Kendall: She’s going to kill Helia, take her passport, and head to Mexico. Also, she confessed to killing Roger
Monk: Any weapons?
Kendall: Don’t know, but I think she knocked Helia around. She’s going to start a fire
His vision went red, and he took a few breaths to force it back under control.
Kendall: Helia told her where her passport is. Now she’s insisting Kelly take her car
Monk scanned the area. In his rush to get to Helia, he hadn’t considered that Kelly didn’t have a method of transport nearby. Had she expected to run through the vineyard?
Kendall: Like weirdly insistent on the car
Monk stilled, rolling that piece of information around, looking for how it fit into the puzzle. His gaze landed on her Mini parked beside the house. Time slowed as a picture formed, then in a flash it fell into place.
Monk: Can you get out?
Kendall: I told you, I’m not leaving her
Monk: Kelly will start the fire on the ground floor to keep Helia from getting out if she breaks free of her ties. You need to not be there
A beat passed before her response.
Kendall: You’re going to get her?
Monk: Wouldn’t leave either of you for the world. Once Kelly’s out, I’ll slip in. I can lower Helia down from the top deck. My brothers will take care of Kelly. I promise
He added that last bit with a silent prayer to whomever might be listening. Kelly was amateur hour compared to many of the ops he and his brothers had executed, but he knew how sideways they could go, too. Even with the best planning.
Kendall: Okay, heading out the back door. I think she’ll go out the front, closer to the car
Monk: Head to Vanessa and Harry. They’ve called Agent Perry
He held his breath but true to her word, less than thirty seconds later, Kendall’s slim form slid through the tiniest of cracks in the back door. Closing it softly behind her, she then darted into the vineyard and headed straight for the cover of the kitchen building.
A text from Mantis popped up on his screen: His brothers were in position. Monk responded with a summary of what Kendall had told him and his plan. A beat later, he received a confirmation.
As they waited, a stillness stole through his body. He and his team had done this hundreds of times before. Failure wasn’t an option, and success would come through executing the plan.
The curtains on the ground floor ruffled, as if someone moved rapidly around the room. From his location on the northwest side, he couldn’t see the front door, but Mantis’s text giving him the go-ahead came at the exact moment he spotted the first wisps of smoke filtering under the back door.
Trusting his brothers to deal with Kelly, he bolted toward the back door, well aware that throwing it open would add fuel to the flames that likely already licked the floors and walls.
Still, it didn’t stop him. Not pausing to assess the situation, he burst into the kitchen and dashed to the stairs, taking them three at a time.
The first cough hit him on his second step, and by the time he reached the second floor, heat singed and stung his skin.
Pushing through the thickening smoke, he ran into Helia’s bedroom, flames claiming her first floor in a series of crackles and crashes.
He scanned the room but saw no evidence of Helia.
Not willing to risk missing anything, though, he threw open her closet doors, then got down on his hands and knees and searched under the bed, too, the floor hot beneath his hands and bowing far too easily for his liking.
Tucking away the knowledge that Kelly had likely used an accelerant—no way would a fire burn this hot and fast in December—he pulled his shirt over his nose and throat and left Helia’s room.
As he reached the door to the top deck, the first-floor staircase collapsed with a reverberating groan, taking some of the second floor with it.
The sound of sirens drifted into his consciousness, but only on the fringes of his focus. There, in front of him, propped up against the half wall, was Helia, her mouth gagged and her hands and feet bound to each other.
Breathing in the fresh air mingled with smoke, he knelt beside her, pulling the gag down first. He’d deal with the ties next, but he needed to know if she was conscious.
“Helia?” he called, the roar of the fire growing louder and louder.
Her eyes flickered open, but only a vague sense of recognition lit them. Judging by the spot of matted blood in her hair, she’d been hit and had a concussion, but she was alive. He chose to focus on that.
“We’re going to get out of here,” he said, hoping the flames weren’t leaping out the windows. That would make it hard to lower her to the ground. So would her concussion; he wouldn’t count on her being able to land on her feet. But first things first.
Pulling a knife from its ankle holster, he cut her free, then sliding his arms around her, he rose.
“Collin!” He heard a familiar voice and spun, hoping to god Kendall hadn’t followed him in.
“Down here, Collin!” she shouted.
He inched over to the opposite half wall, testing the floor as he moved, then looked over the edge.
Kendall, Philly, Lovell, and Dulcie stood in the bed of his pickup that they’d backed up to within feet of what was left of the water tower. Kaden waved to him from the driver’s seat.
He didn’t stop his grin and nodded in acknowledgment of Kendall’s plan. Brushing a kiss over Helia’s brow, he whispered, “We’re getting out of this. It’s going to feel scary, but trust me.”
She blinked in confusion, but her words were clear. “Of course I trust you.”
He kissed her again before easing her body away from his. She panicked, gripping his shirt until he stopped. He didn’t pull her back, though, just waited for her to look at him.
“Trust,” he said.
She stared, then nodded and let go.
Gently, he eased her over the edge, then released her legs to dangle in the air.
Holding her hands, he lowered her down into the waiting arms of his brothers.
They caught her feet, and when Lovell gripped her hips and nodded to him, he let go.
She dropped the last few inches into his brother’s protective hold.
As soon as they cleared her safely away, he swung over the wall, hung from the ledge, then pushed his body away from the building and dropped into the truck.
His feet barely hit the bed before Kaden pulled away.
And it was none too soon as the front half of the tower collapsed, sending sparks and debris into the cold December air.
He gathered Helia and Kendall in his arms as the truck bounced along the dirt path back to the courtyard, slowing only to let the arriving fire trucks pass. Harry, Vanessa, and Patrick rushed over as soon as Kaden pulled to a stop.
“The ambulance is on the way,” Patrick said as Vanessa and Harry climbed into the bed of the truck.
Monk adjusted his seat, pulling Helia across his lap and Kendall against his side.
Lying his head against the back of the cab, he inhaled a small breath of fresh air, the cool, clean scents filling his body.
He fought not to cough, but even if he ended up in a coughing fit to end all coughing fits, it was a price he’d happily pay for this moment.
This moment with Helia alive, her chest moving in and out against his, and Kendall tucked into his side.
“Collin.”
Helia’s voice pulled him away from his moment of gratitude. Dragging his eyelids open, he looked at her.
“Kelly?”
His gaze flickered to Philly, Lovell, and Dulcie. He’d been focused on her and had no idea if the rest of the plan had fallen into place.
Philly grinned. “You were right, woman. Kelly didn’t know how to drive a manual.”