Page 108 of Extracted

Dallas choked on her name again. “Hang on, I’ll get you untied.”

“Here.” Cole, who stood a few feet away holding the flashlight, passed him something metallic.

Dallas opened the knife and sliced the restraint at her wrists then went to her ankles.

She tore off the ties and pushed herself into a seated position. Her body shook violently and her teeth chattered as if the temperature had dropped below zero. Dallas wrapped his arms around her. “Holy shit. You’re covered in gasoline.”

“Is there anyone else in the house?” Cole’s sharp demand was directed at someone on the ground.

“I-I don’t know. I just got here a few minutes before you did.”

Gemma let her head rest on Dallas’s chest and slid her gaze to the man. Shane—the one Silas had tried to convince to light the fire. Cole moved the gun to the small of his back, grabbed some zip ties from the bag on the ground, and secured Shane.

Silas.

She struggled against the cocoon of Dallas’s embrace and searched the yard. “Where is he? Oh god. He’s—”

“Shhh.” Dallas’s fingers stroked her hair. “Look.” He pointed to the ground near Cole’s feet. “Cole killed him when I reached you. Slit his throat. Don’t look, okay?”

Sirens screeched in the distance.

Cole marched forward and crouched. “I know she’s shaken. Probably needs to get the burns taken care of, but we need to get the hell out of here before the cops arrive.”

Gemma swallowed. “I’m okay.”

Cole flicked an annoyed glare her way—or at least he seemed annoyed. His scowl etched deep in his face was impossible to discern. “You’re in shock.” He turned back to Dallas. “I’ve got a hotel room where you can assess her injuries. Hospital will be the last resort.”

Dallas peeled off his T-shirt then fit it over her head, leaving him in only a white tank top.

“I’m okay—”

“No. You’re not.” Dallas tugged the material over her body. The smell of gasoline seeping from her pores prevented her from inhaling the scent of Dallas’s clothes, but the material was saturated with his body heat. Enough to lessen the adrenaline still buzzing through her veins.

He picked her up and she let her head fall to his shoulder.

“Don’t look down,” he said. His voice held a hint of warning, but she couldn’t shy away.

“I need to see. I need to know he’s dead.” She turned her head and glanced at Silas’s body. Blood oozed from a wide gash across his jugular. Other matter had emerged from the wound, and a gag hit her palate.

She covered her nose and mouth as Dallas cursed, but she kept her stare riveted on Silas’s vacant, empty one.

Thank God. He’s dead.

CHAPTER 29

Dallas closed the door of the one-bedroom suite Cole had rented him right next door to his room. He headed into the living area, where Cole waited with an assortment of food and drinks, and sat on the sofa.

“How’s she doing?” Cole asked, as he bit into a burger.

Dallas hadn’t touched his meal. Maybe now that Gemma was resting, he could try to eat. “Sleeping. The burns are okay—probably first degree. Would have been a lot worse if you hadn’t grabbed the blanket when you did.” He’d bandaged Gemma’s feet after she’d had a thorough shower. She told him the water’s beating on her burns had been excruciating but she’d been determined to scour the scent of gas from her skin.

He didn’t have the heart to tell her it still clung to her body when he put her to bed.

Cole nodded slowly, his expression somber. “Well, you’re lucky you didn’t catch your stupid ass on fire rolling around in gasoline with her.”

“I needed to get her away before she caught fire, man. Fuck.”

Cole opened a beer and passed it to him. Dallas rarely drank, but right now he needed to take the edge off and do something to bring down his cortisol levels.

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