Chapter 11
Montgomery
Fire.
Very few things terrified me in my life, but the thought of another fire allowed my demons to pull me close to hell.
I was shaking by the time we jumped into my car, my heart racing.
I’d had a strange phone call earlier that evening, no one on the other end of the line.
Maybe my visit to Prescott had gotten to him.
Now this? I couldn’t tell for certain, but my gut told me the winery closest to my property on the west side was on fire. Jesus.
“Are you okay?” Aspen asked, her tone much more timid than I’d heard before.
I punched down the accelerator, barely glancing in her direction. I’d likely made a mistake allowing her to come with me, but I had the distinct feeling she would have followed anyway. At least this way, I could keep an eye on her actions. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. Why is this happening?”
I laughed; the answer was far too complicated to get into at this point in time. When my phone rang, she groaned. I finally glanced at the screen, answering Robert’s call. “You know about the fire?” I was barking into the phone, already seething to the point I found it difficult to focus.
“Where the hell have you been? Of course it’s about the fire. This shit is getting old. It’s Kingston Wineries. Douglas is likely to lose everything.” Robert was obviously in his car heading toward the dire situation.
I hated to admit that I was breathing a sigh of relief.
Kingston Wineries butted up to the west side of our property line; the small but profitable winery had never been a threat.
In fact, the owner, Douglas Kingston, had been one of the few winery operators that I’d developed a type of friendship with.
We’d exchanged stories over the years, and I’d been able to help with certain fertilization efforts.
The man didn’t deserve this bullshit. That was for certain.
“Do you know any details?”
“Only that it’s a three-alarm fire,” Robert answered.
Hissing, I drove like a bat out of hell, taking the back way to the man’s place. There was a cut through that very few people knew about, access that we’d both used on rare occasions. A three-alarm fire would be devastating.
“You’re right. He’s going to lose everything. Fucking bastard.”
Robert sighed. “Likely. Don’t do anything stupid. The fire department and the sheriff are already on the way.”
I’d always found it interesting that Robert kept a scanner by his bed, learning about the most horrific situations at the same time as emergency personnel. He’d been first on the scene of the barn fire two years ago, a solid twenty minutes before the fire department arrived.
And he lived ten miles farther away.
That fact alone had always stuck in my craw.
That had been the exact moment I’d been forced to realize that the sheriff’s department was in bed with Prescott.
The sheriff had been re-elected only a year before, his opposition nearly crushed in the polls.
It had certainly helped the man had several powerful people backing him.
Including my number one enemy.
There was far too much corruption in Napa Valley.
“I’m going to do what I can to help Mr. Kingston.
Nothing more and nothing less. Then you and I are going to talk.
” I hung up the phone, tossing it onto the dashboard, realizing almost instantly that Aspen was glaring at me.
“You need to remember to do exactly what I tell you to do. This is a dangerous situation that could get out of hand very quickly.”
“What did you find out?” She sat up on her seat, forcing me to glance in her direction.
“The fire is destructive.” I didn’t need to go into detail. As I rounded a corner, we were able to clearly see flames rising at least a hundred feet into the air.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered, obviously horrified. “No one can survive that.”
“Well, it’s going to depend on where the fire started.
” Sadly, Douglas’ small farmhouse was positioned very close to two of his vineyards.
And the man had a wife and two children.
Fuck. I twisted my hand around the steering wheel, shifting to a lower gear as we neared the fence separating the two properties.
I couldn’t believe the level of destruction in such a short period of time.
Aspen gasped and as soon as I stopped the car, she unfastened her seatbelt.
I threw my hand over hers, shaking my head. “Stay here. This is far too dangerous.”
“You can’t stop me from trying to help. I can’t just sit here and watch this. Just let me do this.”
“No. You’re staying right here if I have to tie you to this car.
” As soon as I opened the car door, the sound of whinnying horses drew my attention.
I rushed toward the fence, able to see the horses were trying desperately to get through the fence.
I raced toward the gate, realizing the damn thing had been padlocked.
Who the fuck would have done that? The horses were frantic, kicking at the wooden slats.
The fire was getting far too close. Only twenty yards had been cleared of brush and trees in order to provide a buffer in case something like this ever happened.
That had been Kingston’s idea. The plan had been to widen the area.
Damn it, I’d procrastinated. At any point the fire could jump to the trees on my side.
I had to save the horses. By the time I raced back to the car, Aspen was already out, heading in the direction of the fence.
“Don’t! If you insist on helping, then be ready to guide the horses to safety after I cut the damn padlock.”
“Why the hell would you padlock the fence?” she demanded, her voice almost lost in the roar of the fire as it crept closer.
“I had nothing to do with it.”
“Oh, my God.”
God had nothing to do with it either.
Embers were already flying, the sound of trees falling all around us permeating the night air. However, there was no sound of sirens. Goddamn the motherfuckers. They were intentionally going to allow the man’s entire estate to burn to the ground.
While the breeze was blowing the thick smoke in the opposite direction, it was only a matter of time before the force of the fire took control. There was no time to waste. I bounded toward the trunk, grabbing the tire iron, the only thing I had in order to try to smash the lock.
“What are you doing?” she screamed.
“Saving the goddamn horses.” I raced back, immediately taking aim, slamming the thick iron against the lock.
Rage continued to build as I swung the instrument.
The lock wouldn’t budge at first. I repeated the effort several times, finally able to break the damn thing.
I threw the tire iron then fumbled to get the lock off. The flames were within a few feet.
I heard several vehicles behind me, but didn’t stop to look, instead throwing open the gate.
As the eight horses raced out into the open, all of them completely terrified, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Their headlights combined with mine, allowing an even better view of the destruction that had already occurred.
“Thank God,” Aspen yelled. “Come on, babies. You can do it.”
“Jesus. What the hell?” Joshua was the first to reach us, trying to corral the horses as they flew by, some of them stumbling in their effort to get away.
“Get them to safety.” Taking several gasping breaths, the taste of acrid smoke remained in my mouth.
The shit was getting out of hand quickly.
At least several of the winery workers had heard about the fire, all of them prepared to fight in order to save what they’d worked so hard to achieve.
They arrived with chainsaws and axes. They’d been through this shit far too many times.
“Have them cut back as much of the trees as possible. We may lose this effort.”
“What are you going to do?” Joshua asked.
“Try and help Douglas,” I answered, already searching for Aspen. Where the fuck had she gone?
I felt Joshua’s hand on my arm. “You can’t do that. It’s burning too hot.”
My initial reaction was to jerk away, furious that anyone would try to tell me what to do. Then I faced him, taking ragged breaths. “I need to do this. I have to try to save them. That lock was placed there recently. My guess is those people have no way out.”
Swallowing hard, he nodded. “What the hell?”
“That’s what I’m going to find out. Just keep everyone safe. If there’s any question, pull everyone out of here. Don’t risk their lives.”
The look on his face was one of surprise. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep them safe. Damn it. Don’t do anything stupid.”
“I’m going to try not to. Where’s Aspen?” I managed, wiping sweat from my face.
“She was right here with the horses,” he stated, a frantic tone in his voice. “Aspen!”
Then we both heard a scream.
I reacted on instinct as well as an intense need to protect her.
As I raced toward the trunk, I finally heard the sound of sirens in the distance.
Too little, too fucking late. I grabbed a flashlight and headed through the fence, now hearing a series of cries for help.
My fucking God, I’d been right. The family was trapped.
I’d been to Douglas’ house on several occasions. We’d shared more than a few glasses of wine, conversing about both the good and the bad times. The fact I considered him a friend as well as a mentor of sorts would likely shock everyone around me. I refused to allow his family to die.
And I would not lose Aspen. Not now. Not ever.
The smoke grew almost impassable, limbs falling on every side.
However, there was a path of sorts still allowing me to get to the house.
I heard their dog barking frantically and after running a few additional yards, I could see the yellow lab racing from one side of the property to the other.
The house itself was engulfed in flames.
Whoever had done this would pay. So help me God.
“Help me!” Aspen called from a distance.