Page 82 of Raging Inferno

“I sent eyes inside. Gia is tied up but unharmed. Eddie Smith is inside with her. We’ll breach the back perimeter. While Presley distracts him, I’ll grab Gia.

Dom wanted to argue. Of course, he wanted his daughter safe, but what about Presley?

As if reading his mind, Kayne added, “I’ll cover Presley.”

Dom informed Presley that he was there with her through the comms. She made a snide remark for Kayne to shoot himin the foot if he interfered. When he objected, she casually mentioned that Kayne knew a hundred ways to incapacitate him.

“Follow me,” Kayne instructed.

Dom stayed close to him as they entered the warehouse through a crooked garage door that didn’t reach the floor. The space was enormous and smelled like a garbage dump—looked like one, too, with trash and refuse littering the floor. Kayne led him along the wall until they came to a closed door. He took out a kit from his pocket and picked the lock.

He held up a hand. “I’ll grab her. You get her to safety.” Kayne cracked the door and turned toward Dominic. “Change of plans. Smith is using her as a shield. I can’t risk a shot.”

Oh, God, that steel band squeezed tighter, pressing the air from Dom’s lungs.

Kayne conveyed the same message to Presley. Before Dom knew what was happening, Kayne shoved him into a closet.

“What—”

“Shh, they’re coming out.”

Dom glanced around Kayne to see a man holding a gagged Gia in front of him with a gun in his other hand. His vision blurred. That was his baby girl.

Suddenly, an intense pressure in his arm paralyzed his entire body.

Kayne whispered in his ear, “If you don’t shut the hell up and do what I say, I will render you unconscious. Do you understand?”

Dom couldn’t respond. Kayne’s grip loosened, and Dom sucked in a ragged breath. “What the hell was that?”

“You can call it a Vulcan death grip. Now quit growling and let me do my job.”

Dom forced himself to take a breath as he rubbed the spot Kayne had pinched on his arm. He’d never felt anything like it.

Kayne held a finger over his mouth and motioned for Dom to follow. They crept around to where they could watch Presley entering the building. He gritted his teeth as she faced Eddie Smith, but the man didn’t shoot. He was too busy keeping the gun trained on Gia.

“This is taking too long,” Dominic complained. “I’m coming in there to get my daughter.”

“No. Stay there.”

“I’ll keep him here,” Kayne promised. He gave Dom a menacing look.

Dom held up his hands and mouthed, “Fine.”

Then he listened as Presley worked her magic and coaxed Smith into confessing that he had killed Bill Fitzgerald. She was about to get him to admit the other murders when someone arrived outside.

“Who the hell is that?”

#

“No, Eddie, I didn’t call the police. I didn’t notify anyone.”

Eddie shifted from foot to foot as he glanced outside again. “Oh, hell, it’s Branch. Keep your arms up,” he ordered Presley.

A car door slammed. “Jed?” Reggie called out. “Are you in there?”

“Shit,” Eddie hissed. “How did you find me here, Branch?”

“I’m a detective,” Reggie reminded him. “Your truck is parked beside the building.”

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