Panic seized me as I shoved the phone into my pocket and sprinted out the door.
I knew exactly where the fire originated.
And I knew who started it.
52
JAGG
Clouds of red smoke barreled into the night sky, fading into a black mass that blocked the moon. The mountaintops in the distance were lit in a blazing, apocalyptic line of orange—like the horizon had cracked open and spilled fire into the forest below. The wildfire wasn’t just burning.
It was devouring.
I tore around a sharp bend, tires screeching, skimming the edge of the cliff. Gravel spit out from under me, the Jeep fishtailing before gripping hard. Dust exploded in my wake, mixing with the soot curling on the wind. I grabbed the wheel tighter and fumbled for my phone, dialing with one hand, heart hammering as the first wave of heat rushed into the Jeep.
“You alright?” My brother’s voice was clipped. He already knew about the fire.
“Ryder, we need your help.”
A horse whinnied in the background. “I’m on it.”
“Is the fire close to your ranch?”
“Not yet and I’d like to keep it that way. I’m locking up the horses and the dogs now.”
“Are Sunny’s dogs safe?”
“She came by a few hours ago. Got her dogs and left without a word.”
My heart skipped in my chest. Sunny had left the bungalow and everything that kept her safe. It was my fault. Mydamnfault.
“Where was she going?” My voice was desperate. “Did she say where she was going?”
“No. Sorry, I?—”
“Shit.I need you to get to her house.Now.I’m almost there but I have a feeling I’m going to need backup. Get every fire extinguisher from your house.”
“Text me the address. I’m on my way, brother.”
“Thanks.”
“Hey, Jagg? Take a deep breath. Follow your instincts.”
With that, we disconnected.
The road to Sunny’s cabin—usually desolate and still—had become a corridor of chaos. Cars, trucks, and SUVs choked the mountain pass, packed with festival-goers fleeing for their lives. Headlights sliced through smoke. Horns blared. Engines screamed. The entire road pulsed with panic.
While they were running from the flames, I was driving straight into them.
Trees burned on either side of the road like torches lighting a path to hell. The night sky—once inky and vast—was now an inferno overhead, raining cinders and fiery ash. Gusts of wind blew embers into swirling, hellish cyclones, dancing like devils in the headlights of my Jeep.
The deeper I drove, the hotter the air became—thick, choking, blistering my skin even with the windows up. Theflames ahead licked across the dead grass in waves, sweeping up the mountainsides like a living thing. My tires churned through ash, kicking up smoke and dust until I couldn’t tell if I was driving on earth or through fire itself.
And Sunny was in the middle of it.
She’d left the bungalow. Gone home. Gone back to the one place I feared he’d be waiting.
Kenzo Rees.
