Page 92 of Shadow of Fear
“Take Yapp,” Dev said to Colin, who’d had stopped next to them. His anger was alive and vivid on his face as he glared at Yapp. “Try anything, and I won’t be as charitable as Kinsley.”
Colin grabbed Yapp around the waist and put his arm over his shoulder. Then he stepped off at a rapid pace, dragging Yapp behind him.
“Hey!” Yapp shouted. “Be careful. I’m injured.”
Colin snorted and kept up his pace.
Dev swung Kinsley up in his arms, then turned to go. At his first step, she felt him stiffen. Surely his pain was too much to bear.
“I can walk,” she said. “No need to make your injury worse.”
“It’s worth it to be holding you. When I thought I might lose you.” His voice broke, and he shook his head but didn’t stop moving.
He settled her in the front seat of the SUV, and he took the back where Colin had put Yapp. She wished he were sitting next to her, but she knew he had to keep an eye on Yapp. The guy was devious and couldn’t be counted on not to try to escape.
Colin quickly made a three-point turn and had their vehicle heading toward the compound. He turned up the radio to the emergency station. Nothing had changed since the last time she’d heard the alerts, but their area was still under aLevel 2warning.
“I see no point in hanging around the compound and waiting for a higher alert,” Colin said. “We should evacuate tonight.”
Kinsley was all for that, but she wasn’t in charge, and she wasn’t going to ask more of these men than what they didn’t want for themselves.
“Agreed,” Dev replied.
“Hey, Siri, call Brooklyn,” Colin said.
The digital assistant made the speakerphone call to Colin’s fiancée. That’s the first call Kinsley would’ve made, too, if she were him.
“Just checking in to see if everything is okay with you and that you got the fire evacuation alert.” If he hadn’t been gripping the steering wheel as if his life depended on it, the strain in his voice surely made his worry for her evident.
“I’m glad you called,” she said, her tone equally strained. “I wasn’t sure if I should leave now or wait for theLevel 3alert.”
The level that freaked Kinsley out.Level 3 – Go now! Leave immediately. Extreme danger in the area.
“Tell you what,” he said, this time sounding more relaxed, but the whitening of his fingers on the wheel gave him away, “we aren’t going to wait for the next alert. We can pick you up on our way out of town.”
She let out a relieved breath that carried over the phone. “That sounds perfect to me. I can be ready in ten minutes.”
“I’m not at my cabin right now but don’t be surprised if we don’t get to your place for thirty minutes or so.”
“I’ll be waiting.” She fell silent for a moment. “I love you.”
“Love you too.” He glanced at Kinsley, the dashboard lights revealing a sheepish look on his face.
Kinsley’s heart warmed. It was so cute that the big strapping guy was shy all of a sudden because he was in love.
He turned back to the road, but tapped his phone. “Siri, call Russ.”
“This better be important,” Russ said. “I have my hands full with the potential evacuation.”
Colin brought him up to speed. “I know you’re busy, but can you send one of your deputies to meet us at the compound and take Yapp into custody?”
“Not hardly.” His tone had dropped, nearly coming out as a boom. “I’m not leaving this up to one of my men. We’ve been waiting to find this guy, and I’m more than happy to slap cuffs on him.”
In the backseat, Yapp issued a curse under his breath. Not Kinsley. She had to resist shooting her hand up in victory and gloat. Not only was it unattractive, but it wasn’t right to take joy in another person’s misery, even if the person had chosen to do terrible things.
“And we’ll be glad to turn him over for prosecution.” Colin ended the call and looked in the rearview mirror. “After we meet Russ, we’ll pick up Mom and Jada. Then swing through town for Brooklyn and leave theLevel 2area.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Dev replied. “But not until I know Reid doesn’t need us for anything at the compound.”
