Page 69 of The Sleeping Girls

The sound of an engine cut through the low rumble of thunder. Then Deputy Landrum’s Ford Bronco appeared, spewing water from the tires as he raced onto the main road and headed down the mountain.

Ellie cursed, then eased her Jeep into drive, keeping her distance as she followed him.

“Dammit, Heath, you’d better not be going to meet Digger.”

SEVENTY-FIVE

SOUTHERN LIGHTS STUDIOS

Digger froze, paralyzed at the sight of Caitlin O’Connor lying so still. She was the one person who’d tried to help him over the years. She couldn’t be dead.

He inched toward her and checked for a pulse. Faint, but she was alive.

His gaze skimmed over her body, searching for injuries. No gunshot or stab wounds. Bruising discolored her neck, and the imprint of someone’s fingers marked her skin.

No blood except for a streak of it that had run from her lips to her chin. Probably bit her tongue when she was attacked.

Was it his fault she was hurt?

He reached for his phone to call 9-1-1, but a noise outside made his pulse jump. Was her attacker still here?

He raced back to the front room and looked outside. Shadows darted around the property, slithering like the demons that chased him in his sleep.

Suddenly he saw a faint light like a cigarette being lit. A second later, the scent of gasoline seared his nostrils. Panic struck him as flames burst to life.

What the hell?

He dashed to the second window and looked through it, a cold sweat enveloping him. The flames jumped higher on this side, licking at the building and starting to climb to the bottom of the windowsill.

Pure rage heated his blood. Someone had attacked Caitlin and now they were planning to burn the building to cover it up.

Knowing the older wooden house would be totally engulfed in minutes, he ran back to Caitlin.

Shit. If he was caught here, he’d look guilty as hell, just as he had fifteen years ago.

Smoke began to seep inside the house and into the room though the openings below the doorways, and a coughing attack seized him. He covered his mouth with his hand, then started to grab her arms and drag her outside.

A siren’s trill sound cut into the night, mingling with the sound of wood crackling and popping. Part of the roof crashed in with a loud bang.

Coughing again, he lifted her body and searched for a rear exit. Flames were starting to crawl along the floor, but he dodged them, jumping over patches as he went. Heat scalded the back of his neck as boards splintered and crashed down.

Sweating, he made it to the rear exit just as tires screeched and car doors slammed outside. Hell, the doorway was in flames. He pressed Caitlin’s head to his chest and cradled her close as he darted through the burning door. Flames caught his shirt sleeve, but he ignored the sting of the burn as he rushed to a patch of trees at the edge of the woods. He laid her down by an oak, then beat at his burning sleeve.

Shouts erupted from the front of the house. Someone was here. They’d help her.

Emotions choked him and he darted into the woods.

SEVENTY-SIX

Ellie had maintained a safe distance behind Heath as she followed him, but when she turned onto the side street, she saw smoke plumes curling into the dark sky, flames shooting upward. Heath’s Ford Bronco was parked sideways, the driver’s door open.

The small house in front of her was engulfed in flames and Heath was running inside. She threw her Jeep into park, pulled out her phone and called 9-1-1 as she jumped out and ran toward the deputy. Heat scalded her as she neared the building, the fire climbing the exterior of the house and eating the wood.

“Landrum!” Ellie shouted as she drew closer. “Where are you?”

She reached the door, but the roof collapsed, wood splintering and shooting sparks across the ground at her feet. She jumped back to avoid getting hit while searching for Heath, but he didn’t come back out. Her pulse hammered as she ran around the outside of the house, looking for another way inside.

Seconds later, Heath emerged, beating at the flames nipping at his shirt. He was coughing madly and soot dotted his face. She shouted his name, then helped him away from the raging inferno.