His feet were tap dancing around the floor, but he was staying in place. He whined and licked my face again. I tried opening my eyes wider and looked around.
I was in Hector’s house. Where was Hector?
I was lying on the floor on my side. I tried to sit upright, but that caused a wave of nausea to roll throughme. I tried to hold myself steady in the sitting position as I looked around. From where I sat on the floor, I saw the front door was ajar, and it was getting darker outside, as if the sun were about to set.
I moved my head slowly to the right and saw red on the hardwood floors. It took a moment to register that it was blood. A lot of blood.
Ann!
Memories of what happened flooded back to me.
Hector!I needed to warn Hector.
I tried to get up, but the feeling of both passing out and throwing up overtook me. I paused in my effort to get up, trying to scan the room for my phone. At the same time, Sarge, who had been at my side, was now by the door, barking in my direction and pacing.
Was he trying to warn me of something? His mix of whining and high-pitched barks along with his frantic movements had me worried that Jennings might still be nearby.
I needed to get to my phone and call Hector. Or 911. Or both.
Just as I tried again, slowly, to lift myself up, Sarge barked again, but this time, he took off out the front door.
Mild panic set in—I had no idea where he was going—but I forced myself to focus and find my phone. Standing was too much, so I crawled over to the kitchen—the spot I remembered setting my phone down when Ann had arrived.
I made it about halfway when Sarge came sprintingback inside and raced toward me, barking incessantly once he made it to me.
His barks made my head hurt even more. I turned to tell him to be quiet so I could concentrate, when I saw Hector’s frame in the doorway.
“Jesus Christ,” he muttered and then bolted to my side.
26
“Wildfires teach you that one spark can change everything.”
—It’s science
Hector
The flames kept getting brighter as I approached my house. When I pulled up, I saw two extra vehicles next to Iris’s—the first was one of our standard-issue SUVs, but I had no idea who the other vehicle belonged to. It could be Diden’s or Jennings’s or anyone else’s. Nothing was off the table at this point.
I opted to leave my car at the end of the drive and walk up to the house instead. Yes, that would be slower, but it would also allow me to be quieter if I needed to launch a surprise attack. I could see flames off in the distance to the northwest of my house, but they were still far enough away that I had time to go in and see if anyone was still in the house.
My heart was beating faster than it ever had before. I’dfought overseas with the Army and gone undercover on several operations with the LVPD—some of which had involved incredibly close calls—but none had terrified me like this. The thought of Iris being hurt or scared boiled my blood.
Just as I left my vehicle, I heard a soft voice call out. “Ranger Madeira. Ranger Madeira. Over here.”
I turned, putting my hand at my hip where my service weapon was.
A shadow appeared from behind the shrubs along the ridge. It was Steve.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I hissed at him.
“I’m trying to help,” he said frantically, holding his hands up. “Jennings is in there with Iris and Ann. He shot Ann and hit Iris over the head.”
“Why didn’t he hurt you?” I questioned him, noting he looked perfectly fine to me.
“I…uhh…was watching through a side window,” he sputtered and looked down. “I was going to call for help, but I dropped my phone on the way out here, and now it doesn’t work.”
He held out his phone with a cracked screen as proof.
