Archie ran, limping badly, and snagged Kit in a wiry embrace, darting a worried look at Cullen. “Truck. Now. She’s gonna blow. Gotta get to the helicopter.”
Archie. Thank you,God,he’s alive.
Kit shoved Tot into Archie’s arms. “You take her.”
She returned to Cullen’s side, and he felt a flash of alarm that her sleeves were dotted with blood until he realized it was his. On her knees, she joined Gideon, who was ripping his shirt loose and shoving the wad of fabric against Cullen’s chest, none too gently. He wanted to protest, but his mouth didn’t work.
Gideon glared at Kit. “Get in the truck.”
“You first,” she snapped back.
Cullen smiled. Those two were opposite sides of the same unyielding coin. There was going to be fireworks for sure.
Gideon swore softly.
Not in front of the ladies,he wanted to say.
“I didn’t come all this way to haul you out of the fire and have an argument,” his brother said.
“Guess your plan isn’t working,” Kit said. “Apply more pressure. He’s bleeding too much.”
The lava was now yards from them, the heat searing his face. “Go,” he whispered to Kit.
She ignored him, speaking to Gideon. “We’ll carry him to the truck together.”
One angry shake of Gideon’s head. “Too much time. Get to the truck and—”
She stood, grabbed Cullen’s boots. “Are you going to help or am I dragging him by myself?”
More swearing and Gideon hooked Cullen under the arms. As they lifted, the ground fractured yards from their position, a latticework of turf above a lake of lava. Underneath it all came a soft, orange glow.
No,no,no.
Fingers of molten ground gobbled Nico’s SUV, pulling it under with a hiss of steam.
Annette. I’m sorry.
Kit cried out with a desperate look behind her. “Nico’s got to go to jail.”
“Too late,” Gideon said, voice hard and flat.
When Gideon hoisted Cullen’s shoulders, he saw what his brother meant. Nico’s body was being swallowed by the sizzling lava, literally devoured. In five seconds he was gone, rifle and all.
Gideon and Kit ran with Cullen to the truck, sliding him into the bed.
“I’ve gotta drive,” Gideon said. “Archie, can you ride in the back with him?”
Kit spoke up. “I will. Archie’s got the baby.”
Archie started to protest, and Cullen did too.
“Get moving!” Kit commanded Gideon.
She braced herself against the metal bed as Gideon took the wheel. The truck tore off. He felt the force of the fiery mass chasing them, rattling the earth around them. From his vantage point he watched the trees disappear one by one, as if a massive tunneling beast was sucking them down.
The truck pivoted, jerked, sending the two of them banging around as Gideon desperately tried to keep moving forward.
Kit braced herself, one fist clenched in Cullen’s jacket to anchor him. He saw reflected in her terrified eyes the stream of fire that chased them, the ground opening into a chasm that sought to join the lava-filled ravine.
