“I’m fine,” Seb said quickly. When he leaned back, his face was flushed. A few tears streaked his face, but he didn’t look scared.
“What happened? Is someone here?” Declan stepped back and reached into his jacket to place his hand on the Glock he always brought along for the walks, ready to jump into action. “What did you see?”
“We’re fine,” Seb said. “There’s no one here. I called security up front, and the fire department is on the way.”
A loud crash broke through the air, and a window in the laboratory clattered to the ground. The flames danced out, licking at the roof.
Declan sprung to attention. “There’s a hose,” he said. “We can help fight it. We can still save some of your things.” Urgency shocked Declan’s gut when he thought about everything in that laboratory, all the years of work behind what Seb had accomplished.
He had to keep it safe.
Seb grabbed Declan’s hand, and the warm squeeze pulled him back from the edge of frenzy. He would have thrown himself into the smoke to save the place; it suddenly felt that damn precious to him. But as Seb held tight, Declan pulled his eyes away.
“It’s too late, and it’s too dangerous,” Seb said. His voice was strained, but still clear. “The sprinklers inside will slow everything down, but there’s nothing more we can do now. Just let it go.”
Another crashing noise from inside, and Declan shook his head, perplexed. “It’s not safe here,” he said finally, his mind returning to his most important duties. “We shouldn’t be standing in the open.”
Seb smiled. “Good. Then take me somewhere that is safe. Take me out of here.”
“There’s a hotel, about a forty-five-minute drive,” Declan said. “Your father has an account there we can use for emergencies.”
“No,” Seb said quickly, flames bouncing off the pupils of his eyes. “Somewhere no one will find us, not even him.”
Declan’s head was spinning. “Okay, Seb. Whatever you need.” Luckily, laying low was another of Declan’s specialties.
Which was when Declan noticed the bed of his truck, packed with a few suitcases, some random plastic bags, two cardboard boxes, and a huge sack of Ellie’s dog food.
Declan turned to Seb, then raised his eyebrow. Sirens sounded in the distance, echoing across the woods and growing louder. “You want to tell me why our stuff is safely packed up?”
“I’ll explain later?” Seb said, almost like he was apologizing. “But don’t worry. There’s a fire guard between the two wings of the house. Your stuff should all be fine.”
Declan narrowed his brow, worry and confusion clouding his vision. “Damn, Seb,” he said. “You going to tell me what’s going on?”
Seb lifted Ellie. “Can we talk after the drive?” A fire truck rolled down the driveway, and Ellie squealed in response. “Right now, I just need to make a statement to the officials and get out of here.”
