Torch (Unbreakable Bonds 3)

“Lucas on the guest list for the party tomorrow?”

“Yes. We both are along with Snow and Jude. The Lyntons are doing a fundraiser for the hospital.”

“Was the party always scheduled for tomorrow?” Noah demanded.

Andrei opened his mouth to speak but stopped as the fire truck started to rumble past them, drowning out anything he would have potentially said. Rowe gazed around to find that there were only a few squad cars left in the driveway and they’d all turned off their lights. The detectives and the forensics crew would be on site for another few hours, trying to turn up a few clues.

“Yes, as far as I know. Sunday is the only date I’ve ever heard.”

Rowe frowned and met Noah’s confused stare. “So either the arsonist was given the wrong information about which night to start the fire…” Noah started.

“Or the guy is a fucking idiot,” Rowe finished.

“Can we just say it’s both?” Andrei griped. “I—”

Whatever Andrei had been about to say was cut off by the sharp crack of gunfire splitting the silent night air. Rowe jerked as pain sliced across the meat of his shoulder. Andrei was on him in a heartbeat tackling him to the ground and then rolling him to safety behind the low stone wall surrounding the empty fountain. Rowe was vaguely aware of the shouts of cops, but he was more stunned by the speed at which Andrei had moved. He’d seen Andrei move to cover clients before—seen it with Lucas even—but it was different to be the focus of the whirlwind of blinding movement.

Once they stopped moving, Rowe became aware of the searing pain in his shoulder. The bullet hadn’t gone through his shoulder, but had torn through flesh. Fuckers. He was going to need some damn stitches.

He felt Noah crouched beside him, his body pressed against Rowe’s uninjured side as if he were trying to use his own larger frame as a shield. “Where are you hit?”

“Shoulder. It’s not bad. Eyes on shooter?” he barked, reaching behind his back with his uninjured arm and pulling out his gun.

“No,” Noah growled. “But best line of sight would be between one and two o’clock.”

Andrei shifted beside him, pulling at the new hole in Rowe’s coat to look at the wound. “We can try to flank.”

“Cops?” Noah asked.

Andrei looked up over the low wall he was crouched behind. “Six. Seven. Clueless.”

“They gonna let us play?” The former Ranger sounded more than a little eager to bound over the dry fountain and head straight into the dark woods after an unknown number of assailants.

Rowe snorted. “No fucking way.”

As if she could just sense that Rowe and his boys were trying to figure out a way to join into the mix, Natalie ran over with her weapon drawn. “You alive, Ward?”

“It’s a fucking scratch. You gonna let us help you?”

“Hell no! I’m just here to tell you to stay out of police business.”

“Can you temporarily deputize us or something? You’re short on manpower.”

“No I can’t do that! This isn’t some stupid movie.” She stared at him for a second like he’d lost his mind. “And even if I could, there’s no way in hell I would, you maniac.”

“Metcalfe! We’re trained for this shit!”

“And I said no. I don’t want you shooting my men and I don’t want to deal with the temptation of shooting you myself if you get in my way.”

Before Rowe could argue, a squad car to the south of them in the driveway exploded in a ball of flames, knocking all four of them back against the fountain. Even from several yards away, Rowe could feel the wave of heat from the flames. Luckily, no one had been in it at the time. Everyone had left the cars to go searching for the shooter.

“Son of a…” Natalie’s words drifted off as she glared at the orange and yellow dancing flames in disbelief.

“There’s at least two perps here. The arsonist brought backup. You gotta let us help!” Noah jumped in. Over the snap of the flames, the sound of men shouting and rushing back out of the woods filled the night. All the cops that had gone after the shooter were returning.

“Damnit! Don’t kill anyone.”

That was enough for them to start moving. Noah stripped out of his dark winter coat and tossed it at Andrei. “Your T-shirt stands out,” Noah quickly said.

Andrei nodded and he quickly pulled it on. “Got a plan?”

“Keep your head down,” Noah suggested as he peered over the edge of the fountain wall.

“Don’t get shot,” Rowe snapped.

“The woods run all the way to the back of the Lyntons’ property and meet up with the road to the north and the east,” Andrei continued, ignoring their remarks. He’d worked the Lynton case on more than one occasion and had thoroughly studied their property as a result.