Chapter 2

The sun was almost at its apex when he emerged from the building, and he squinted against the bright light. There wasn’t a cloud in the summer sky, and while everybody was scurrying around for lunch, he just wanted to collapse and sleep for the next twelve hours. Unlike Gideon, he couldn’t just go to sleep after they solved a case—one way or the other. First, he had to contact Derek and let him know why the police department would never find a body in their missing person case. Then he had to supervise any clean-up in the area. He couldn’t just leave weapons and blood and possibly guts and body parts around for the neighborhood children to find. After that, he had to contact the family—or find out if there was any family to contact.

But his tasks were completed, and it was Emma’s day off. He could go home, crawl in bed between both his lovers, and sleep without disturbance until after the sunset. The fact that his shirt was still damp with Mrs. Heston’s tears just made him want to get home faster. He was all too aware of how fragile they all were, and he didn’t like being away from them a second more than he had to be.

Jesse considered stopping for something to eat on the drive home, but decided against it. There was enough for a sandwich or two at home, and he didn’t feel like dealing with the beginning of the lunch rush. Especially since he was groggy and felt heavy-limbed and half asleep.

The acrid stench of smoke filtered into the Jeep before he saw any flames. Even as the rational part of his mind insisted the smell could be coming from anywhere, a flood of adrenaline dumped into his blood stream. The smoke could have been coming from anywhere, but it wasn’t. And when it came to Gideon and Emma, Jesse was far from a rational thinker. He didn’t always have the luxury of logic.

The reek of smoke only grew more oppressive as he drove toward their office. Black clouds billowed from the window he left open next to the door. There was no sign of Emma. Or Gideon’s car with the darkly-tinted windows. Neither of them had called him. There were no emergency vehicles. Jesse took all of those facts in at once and slammed to a stop outside the front door.

He rushed into the building without thought, covering his mouth with one hand as he stumbled toward the stairs.

The heat made his eyes burn, rolling through the stairwell in palpable waves. Keeping his head low, he only stopped when he reached the door, touching its surface to test how hot it was.

He got lucky. It was only slightly warm.

Jesse pushed the door open and immediately started coughing. The heat was higher in here, and flames licked the exit to the stairs that led up to the office. The rest of the living room wasn’t burning yet, but smoke was everywhere.

“Gideon!”

He didn’t wait for a response. He bolted for the open door to the bedroom.

Two bodies curled around each other under the thin sheet. Emma lay on her side, her dark blond hair splayed against the navy pillowcase, while Gideon spooned behind her, his arm coiled protectively around her waist. It was a familiar position. Gideon always sought out the heat when he slept. Even through the haze of smoke, the sharp lines of his handsome face made Jesse’s gut twist, but it was the lack of motion he could see in either of them that drew his feet forward.

With his heart thudding in his ears, he leaned over and tested Emma’s pulse. She didn’t stir at his touch, but he could still feel the fragile flutter of her heart beating. He gripped her shoulder and shook her, but she didn’t respond to that either. Smoke inhalation? Could have been. But why didn’t Gideon notice they were just minutes away from a raging inferno?

Jesse switched his attention over to Gideon. He didn’t respond to the light shaking either. It was never a good idea to startle a vampire from sleep, regardless of how much he might have personally trusted the vampire. But the thickening smoke reminded him that he didn’t have a choice.

“Gideon! Wake up!”

Nothing happened. Jesse grabbed the hard arm and shook again, repeating the shout.

This time, his eyebrows moved. Only slightly, though. They drew together to form a darker line.

When Jesse tightened his grip to shake again, he felt the muscle tense beneath his hand. He froze, watching as Gideon’s frown deepened, and then his nose twitched.

“What’s…” His sleep-rough voice faded away as Gideon woke up more fully, and his lashes finally parted to reveal the deep brown eyes. “Jess?”

“I just got back. I’m not sure how the fire started. We’ve got to get out of here. I think Emma is unconscious.”

Gideon’s gaze slid down to the blond hair he’d had his nose buried in, but it was the mention of the word, “fire,” that brought sharp awareness into his eyes. Releasing his hold on her waist, he brought his hand to her chest, covering the center of it with his palm. Though it took biting the inside of his cheek, Jesse remained motionless, granting Gideon precious seconds to assess Emma’s condition.