"The kitchen door." Kerry nudged them toward the back of the house. "Quick."

Please, God. Not the kitchen door. Let them be able to get through the back door.

The kitchen cabinets were ablaze with a fire so hot it was melting the hardware.

But the kitchen door was still untouched by the flames.

She threw the lock and opened the door. "Out!"

She didn't have to tell Jason. He was already down the steps and halfway across the yard. Kerry flew after him. "Put her down. Let me look at her."

"She's hurting." Tears were running down Jason's face. "She was moaning when I was carrying her down the-"

"But she's alive." She swallowed as she looked at Laura's arms and shoulders. Christ. "Stay with her. Hold her. I'm going to run next door and call 911."

"Hurry. For God's sake, hurry."

She darted across the yard toward the gate. Call 911. Get help.

Pain shot through her temples and she had to clutch the gate to keep from falling.

Monster. Monster. Smiling.

He was sitting at the wheel of a tan SUV over a block away, staring at the flames destroying the house. He loved looking at the fires. They were the proof of his power. No, it was the deaths that were the proof. The fires were just the weapons.

But this fire was not a total success. The small dish still needed work. He couldn't control it from this distance and couldn't be sure that Kerry Murphy had been killed. Well, there was one way to be certain.

He started the SUV and pulled away from the curb. Time to get out of here before the last hurrah. . . .

He pressed the remote control in his hand.

Kerry heard a whoosh that was like the sucking sound of a tornado beside her.

Jason's house was destroyed in the space of seconds.

4.

Let go of the damn gate." Silver was prying her clenched hands from the metal. "You have to get out of here. There are sparks flying all over the place."

"Laura," she said numbly. "911."

"I've already called them." He pushed her toward the street. "You go out to the street and guide them while I get Jason and Laura away from these sparks."

She shook her head to clear it of the throbbing pain and then started for the street. Laura. She was the only one who was important. They had to save Laura.

Don't think about the monster.

Silver came into the hospital waiting room and handed Kerry a cup of coffee. "How is she doing?"

"She's going to live." She took a drink of coffee. "But they don't know about the baby. They're trying to save him now."

"I'll think good thoughts." He sat down beside her. "She was almost full term?"

"Eight months. He has a good chance." She stared at the clock. "It's been two hours. You'd think they'd-"

"It's a boy?"

She nodded. "They were going to name him Pete." She drew a deep breath. "They are going to name him Pete. I won't be negative. God wouldn't let this happen to Jason and Laura. They want a child so much. They've been trying for the past three years. They were going to adopt if she couldn't conceive, but then the miracle happened. At least it was a miracle to them." She sipped her coffee. "I won't give up hope."

"Hope's a wonderful thing."

She glanced at him. "Do you know what's happening in that operating room? You knew about the fire."

He shook his head. "Only because it was connected to you. It doesn't work the same every time."

"You have limitations?" Her lips twisted. "I'm surprised."

"We all have limitations. We work with what we've got. You'd know about that if you'd cooperated with Travis." He looked down into his cup. "You don't have to be afraid of me, Kerry. I'm not here to hurt you."

"And I suppose that man who set Jason's house on fire didn't want to hurt me either." She moistened her lips. "He was enjoying it. He was . . . hideous. He was sorry he wasn't close enough to smell the burning flesh."

He went still. "You made contact with him?"

She nodded. "He was your monster, wasn't he? You were in the back of his mind all the time he was looking at the fire."

"Yes, I'm sure he set the fire. No one else is capable of that pattern of ignition."

"It was strange." She rubbed her temple. "No connection. Different pieces of furniture seemed to ignite all by themselves."

"Yes."

"And that last explosion . . ." She turned to look at him. "Why? Why did he set fire to Jason's house?"

"He's probably been watching you because he thought you might be persuaded to help me."

"So he tried to kill Jason and Laura as well as me just because he saw me with you?"

"He wouldn't care how many people he killed. You've got to understand that about Trask."

"You know who did this? You have a name?"

"I have a name. I don't know where to find him. He's brilliant at covering his tracks. He's very smart, close to genius."

She shook her head. "He's mad. He loves the fire as if it were his child. But he's angry with you . . . angry and afraid."

He was silent. "You picked up a lot from him tonight."

"Not because I was trying. He was bombarding me. He was wide open and spewing venom." She closed her eyes. "It made me sick. Laura . . ."

"You're hurting," he said quietly. "I can help. All you have to do is give me permission."

Her lids flew open. "Don't you dare. My pain belongs to me. It's a sign I'm alive and functioning. If I wanted a sedative to block it out, I'd ask the doctor, not some half-baked-"

"Okay, okay. I just thought I'd offer." He leaned back in his chair. "Sometimes it's hard for me to know how to strike a balance."

"Don't strike any balance. Just act like a normal human being."

"I am a normal human being. Most of the time. May I get you something to eat?"

"No. I don't need or want anything from-"

"We lost him, Kerry." Jason was standing in the doorway, tears running down his cheeks. "He was dead. How am I going to tell Laura?"

"Oh, damn." Kerry jumped to her feet and ran into his arms. "Lord, I'm sorry, Jason. I hoped with my whole heart that-"

"Me too." His arms tightened around her. "I knew him, Kerry. We'd talk to him. It was like Pete was already part of the family. Laura . . . How am I-"

"I'll go with you to her room. We'll talk about it. If you want me there, I'll be there."

He nodded. "You're always there when I need you. But if you could . . ." He shrugged. "I don't know what you could do. I don't know what anyone could do."

She turned him toward the door. "First, we have to go to Laura. She'll want you there when she wakes up." She brushed the tears on her cheeks away with her fist. "We'll worry about everything else later."

Jason nodded. "Laura first."

"Right." She slipped her arm around his waist and opened the door. She glanced back over her shoulder at Silver. "You stay here," she said fiercely. "No matter how long I'm gone, you be here when I get back."

"I'm not going anywhere." He stared directly in her eyes. "Why should I? I'd bet that bastard Trask has done my job for me."

Kerry didn't return to the waiting room until three hours later.

"Let's go," she said curtly.

He rose to his feet. "May I ask where?"

"I need a shower, food, and something to wear besides these surgical greens the nurse gave me."

"What about your brother?"

"He won't leave Laura. They're letting him stay here at the hospital."

"You don't want to stay with him?"

"He doesn't need anyone but Laura now. I'd be intruding on a private grief." She headed for the door. "Where are you staying?"

"The Marriott." He reached for his phone. "I'll book a room for you and one for your brother for tomorrow night. Okay?"

She nodded. "I don't know if he'll use it, but it's a good idea. Clothes?"

"I'll have them open the gift shop early and buy you a few things to hold you over until we can get yours from Atlanta."

"I'm not even going to ask how you intend to make them do that."

"No hocus-pocus." He took her elbow. "I'll bribe them."

Kerry had showered, washed her hair, and was blow-drying it when Silver knocked on the door two hours later.

He had also showered and changed, and he handed her a plastic bag when she opened the door. "That towel is fetching, but you'll be more comfortable in these. Pants, sweatshirt, and makeup. Sorry, they didn't have underwear. I sent the bellhop to the mall to pick up some."

"You know my size, I suppose."

"Bra thirty-four B, size-five panties." He sat down in the easy chair by the window. "I've ordered room service. Soup, chicken sandwiches, and coffee. Okay?"

She nodded. "Anything." She took the bag into the bathroom and closed the door. A few minutes later she came out of the bathroom in the tan pants and green sweatshirt. "Shoes?"

"They'll arrive with the underwear. Size-seven tennis shoes. New Balance, not Nike."

Her lips tightened. "You know everything about me."

"No, I don't. But details like that are hard not to pick up."

"When you were 'monitoring' me. Do you know how angry that makes me?"

"Of course. I'd be furious too." He smiled faintly. "You look like Little Orphan Annie with your hair curly like that. It's very appealing. I don't know why you struggle so to keep it straight."

"Because I'm not Orphan Annie. I'm an adult, and I want to look like what I am." She sat down opposite him. "I don't like deception and I hate invasion of my privacy."

"You've already made that point."

"Because you intruded in the most intimate and ugly way possible. That stinks."

He nodded, waiting.

"And I'm never going to forgive you for bringing that monster into our lives. Your culpability is only a little behind the man who started that fire."

"I accept that." He met her gaze. "But I think you've decided who's tops on your hit list."

"You come pretty damn close," she said coldly.

"I'm everything you hate. I'm a complete son of a bitch. But you wouldn't be talking to me without a reason. So tell me why I'm here."