42097609460

Her words were swallowed by another coughing spasm, and she
knew she had to move. She grabbed the edge of the overhang and
swung one leg off, then the other. She dangled for only an instant
before her grip weakened.
She hit the ground and felt her knees buckle before she rolled to a
stop in front of the store entrance. Her legs screamed with pain,
but she had to get the kids to safety. She scrambled toward them,
seizing their hands and beginning to drag them away.
Fire was dancing, leaping, spurting toward the sky. Nearby trees
caught fire, their upper branches sparking like firecrackers. There
was a sharp clap, loud enough to make her ears ring. She chanced
a peek over her shoulder, just in time to see the walls of the
building collapse inward. Then there was the deafening sound of
an explosion, and Katie and the kids were knocked over in the
scorching blast of air.
By the time the three of them caught their breath and turned to
look, the store was nothing but a gigantic cone of fire.
But they’d made it. She pulled both Josh and Kristen toward her.
They were whimpering as she put her arms around them and she
kissed the tops of their heads. “You’re okay,” she murmured.
“You’re safe now.”
It was only when a shadow appeared before her that she realized
she was wrong.
It was him, looming over them, a gun at his side.
Kevin.
In the jeep, Alex kept his foot clamped down on the gas pedal,
growing more worried with every passing second. Though the fire
was still too far away to pinpoint the location with accuracy, his
stomach began to seize up. There weren’t too many structures in
that direction, mostly a few isolated farmhouses. And, of course,
the store.