Burn (Steel Brothers Saga 5)

I let out an audible sigh. I had no way to get in touch with Jonah. His number was in my phone, but I didn’t have it memorized. I couldn’t call him even if I had the capability. The masked man certainly wasn’t going to help me.

I was on my own.

Alone.

Just like Gina had been as a child. Just as Talon had been, in that dark, cold basement.

The masked man opened the car door and started the engine. Instinctively, I took a deep breath—my last breath of clean air.

He reached toward the passenger door, locked it, and then stood, locked the driver’s side door, and slammed it shut. “Time’s up, Doctor.” He pushed me toward the car.

I fell against the driver’s door, unable to keep my footing. I slid down, the door handle jabbing into my back, and ended up on the floor, my ankle burning.

He stared at me from the door leading to the house. “All locked up tight. Good-bye. See you in hell.”

The door shut and clicked quietly.

I closed my eyes and inhaled, going back to the essence of life…breathing, and—

No! This was one time when the essence of life wouldn’t help me. The more I breathed in, the quicker I’d lose consciousness from the carbon monoxide.

I trembled, still lying on the concrete floor next to the car. No time to panic. I had to act, and I had to act quickly. My ankle still throbbing, I scooted on my ass toward the shelving on the other side of the garage.

And then I saw it.

Chapter Three

Jonah

“What the fuck?”

A chill pulsed through me. Melanie’s door was roped off with police tape and locked with a padlock. What the hell was going on? Had her home been burglarized? I hoped that was it. She had to be all right. I quickly pushed the doorbell.

No response.

Don’t panic, Joe. This didn’t necessarily mean anything. She could be at work. Her office wasn’t too far from here. No—she wouldn’t be at work. She had taken a three-week leave of absence. She could be out on an errand. Or—

A swift spike of envy gored me. Maybe she was out with Oliver Twist.

I shook my head. God, yes, I’d rather she be out with Oliver than in some kind of trouble. As much as I didn’t want to face it, police tape meant trouble. Was she hurt? Was this why she hadn’t returned my calls?

I’d thought she was punishing me for not returning her first call. What had she expected when she sneaked out of my house after I’d invited her to stay? Hell, I’d wanted her to stay. I heaved a sigh and then pounded on the door. No one answered, but a door several yards down the hall opened.

“What’s all that racket?” A young woman with short hair stood in her doorway, wearing jeans and a T-shirt that said “Kiss me, I’m Irish.”

“I’m sorry if I disturbed you. I’m looking for Melanie Carmichael. Do you know what’s going on here? Why is her door taped off? What happened to her? Is she all right? Have you seen her?”

“Slow down with all the questions. No, I’m afraid I haven’t seen her. She wasn’t here when the police came.”

My heart pounded. Okay, that was good. It was probably a simple burglary, and Melanie was okay. Still, where was she?

“What happened? Why were the police here?”

“I’m not really sure. They forced their way in and then taped off the place. I was around, and I came out when I heard the noise, but I couldn’t find anything out. They weren’t here for long. I figured her alarm went off or something.”

The young woman was, well, young. She was a cute little thing, wearing that T-shirt. She looked Irish. She had blondish-red hair and blue eyes. She was also no help at all.

“When were the police here?”