“I’ll need you to come down and give your statements,” the officer said.
Merrick sighed, knowing the drill. “We’ll follow you back. I’d like to make this as quick as possible. Have someone waiting at home.”
“Don’t we all,” the officer said.
Merrick pulled out his cell as he and Cade headed back to the SUV.
“You calling Elle to let her know what’s up?” Cade asked as he slid into the driver’s seat.
“Yeah. I don’t want her to worry. And I want to make sure she’s awake.”
C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - T H R E E
ELLE SMOTHERED ANOTHER YAWN AT her desk and winced when her jaw popped. It was a struggle to get through the afternoon when she’d gotten little sleep the night before.
By the time the guys had gotten home from the police station, it had been time for Merrick to go into the training camp, so they’d stayed up, had coffee and had hit the gym a little early.
And at first, it had been fine, but as the day had grown longer, she’d fizzled. Merrick had joined her and Cade for lunch, and afterward they’d dropped her by the office while they headed out to a client meeting. She was struggling to keep herself upright. She couldn’t imagine how Merrick must feel after no sleep and an intense workout.
Her cell rang, and she glanced down to see Cade’s number pop up. Smiling, she picked up the phone and hit receive.
“Hey,” she said. “How’s it going?”
“Hey, sweetheart. Fine here. What about there? Has Dad made it in yet?”
She rolled her eyes. “No. Did you make him come in because you guys had stuff to do?”
“Damn right,” Cade said. “He should be there shortly. I talked to him on our way out, and he said he’d be right over.”
“I’ll be sure to put on some fresh coffee then,” she said in amusement.
An explosion sounded, startling her into a scream. Glass shattered, spraying her with tiny shards. It registered quickly that it was gunshots she was hearing and that bullets were peppering the walls of the office. Cade’s roar echoed through the phone as he yelled her name.
She dove under her desk, the phone flying from her hand.
More breaking glass and the sound of impact. It was different than the gunshots. And then she smelled…smoke?
Not daring to raise her head, she lowered herself so she could peer out from underneath the desk. To her horror, she saw another Molotov cocktail hurled through the now-open window.
It hit the floor close to where the other had landed, and flames spread rapidly. They were already climbing the curtains and the walls and were dangerously close to her desk.
If she moved, she might be shot. If she didn’t move, she’d be burned alive.
Cade listened in shock as Elle’s scream echoed through the phone. Then he heard a crash and the unmistakable sound of breaking glass.
“Elle? Elle!” he roared.
“What the fuck is wrong?” Merrick demanded.
Without answering, Cade executed a sharp U-turn and floored the accelerator as he headed back in the direction of the office.
“Goddamn it, Cade! What the fuck is going on?”
“Elle,” Cade croaked out.
He thrust the phone at Merrick so he could focus on driving.
“See if she’s still on. Something happened at the office. She screamed, and I heard breaking glass.”
Merrick grabbed the phone, nearly dropping it in his haste to get it to his ear.
“Elle? Elle? Goddamn it, baby, answer me. Are you all right? We’re on our way.”
“Anything?” Cade demanded.
Merrick pulled the phone away and then swore. “The call’s not active anymore.”
“Call her back!”
Cade ran through a series of stoplights, nearly rammed an oncoming car and barely kept control when he turned left onto the street where their office was.
The drive was an eternity when in reality it only took a few minutes. His heart was hammering in his ears, and his hands and forehead were clammy with sweat.
His heart plummeted as they drew closer and he saw black smoke billowing upward.
“Elle,” he whispered.
He hit the last block going a hundred miles an hour. He spun into the small parking lot, spewing up gravel and fishtailing into the dumpster.
The entire office was on fire, smoke pouring from the ceiling and windows. Flames licked from the busted windows, and Cade saw no sign of Elle.
Oh God, was she still inside?
He and Merrick hit the ground running. They threw open the door and recoiled from the blast of heat and smoke that hit them.
“Elle!” Merrick shouted. “Elle! Where the hell are you?”
They charged inside, coughing as smoke filled their lungs.
“Here!”
Cade damn near hit the floor in relief when he heard her call.
“Keep talking,” Cade hollered. “Can’t see shit in here.”
“I’m here,” she yelled back. “By my desk. I tried to crawl out, but I can’t see anything.”
Cade and Merrick dropped down, lowering themselves as close to the floor as possible as they scrambled in the direction of her desk. Merrick mowed right over her, and when he realized that he had her, he hauled her up over his shoulder and then hustled toward the door, leaving Cade to follow him.
The three burst from the building just as the fire trucks rolled into the parking lot, sirens screaming.
Merrick collapsed to his knees at the bottom of the steps still holding Elle tightly against him. He tipped over, her landing on the ground with Merrick over her. Merrick coughed and choked, his body heaving as he pressed Elle to the ground.
Cade sank down beside them and hastily pushed Merrick off of Elle. As soon as he managed to pry Elle free, he yanked her into his arms and ran his hands over her body, trying to determine if she’d been injured.
And then the paramedics surrounded them, and he was separated from Elle as he was pulled in a different direction from both Elle and Merrick.
“Damn it, I’m fine!” Cade snarled. “Let me see Elle. She was the one trapped in the building.”
“Have a seat and let me put this oxygen mask on you,” the paramedic tending Cade said in a firm voice. “If all goes well, you can get back to her soon, but for now, I need to assess your condition.”
Only wanting to facilitate the process, Cade bit his lip and let the medic slip the mask over his face. He took in several deep breaths, his throat raw from smoke inhalation. The entire time the medic poked at him and took his vitals, Cade’s gaze was directed across the way where two paramedics already had Elle on a stretcher. She was fighting tooth and nail and calling for Merrick and Cade.
He yanked the mask from his face and took off at a run. He shoved by one of the medics trying to restrain Elle and leaned over the stretcher to pull her into his arms.
“Thank God,” she whispered in his ear. “Don’t let them take me, Cade. Someone will find out about me.”
“Honey, you need to go to a hospital. This is serious. We need to make sure you’re okay.”
Fear leapt into her eyes, and she shook her head adamantly. “Take me to see Dallas.”
“Miss, you really need to be taken to the emergency room,” one of the medics advised.
Again she shook her head. “I’m fine.”
Her voice cracked and was hoarse from the smoke.
Christ. Where was Merrick?
Still holding Elle, Cade turned to look over his shoulder and rapidly scanned the area for Merrick. His gaze lighted on his friend sitting on the ground several yards away, an oxygen mask covering his face while a medic took his vitals.