Burn

Jenner held Syd tight. "I’m fine. Well, maybe not entirely fine yet, but I will be." Her emotions were in turmoil. She’d found Cael, but had lost a friend in Linda Vale, who had not been in one of the lifeboats as Jenner had assured Nyna she would be, and in Bridget, who had died trying to save others. Penny and Buttons had been reunited with Nyna aboard a freighter that had responded to the rescue call, but so many others had been lost.

There still wasn’t an accurate death toll, but it looked as if well more than three hundred people had perished with Frank Larkin, which was far short of what he’d planned yet still a terrible tragedy.

Syd let Jenner go and pinned her gaze on Cael. She didn’t know his name, but she still knew who he was. He was the one behind all of this. Her eyes narrowed. "And you, you kidnapped us, you threatened us, and …" she faltered, obviously thinking better of saying too much before she was truly away from her kidnappers. Her lips trembled and she quickly controlled them. "You just wait. You’ll get yours," she added in a low voice.

Jenner put an arm around Syd and led her toward Cael, who had given her some distance for the reunion with her friend. "Syd, this is Cael Traylor. Cael, Sydney Hazlett." She really did want the two most important people in her world, the two people she loved most, to get along. All things considered, it might take awhile.

Cael seemed cautious. Maybe she should tell him that Syd didn’t bite.

Nah. Let him worry.

"I’ll reimburse you for all the bills that were incurred while you were with us," he said, his voice businesslike and kind.

Syd looked at Jenner, her eyes widening. "He makes it sound like I had a bad vacation and am asking for a refund."

"I know. He annoys the shit out of me, too," Jenner said. She leaned in and whispered, "But don’t worry, he’s one of the good guys." She winked at him. "He’s my good guy."

Five weeks later

Kyle Quillin nearly jumped out of his skin when the doorbell rang. Ever since that nut Frank Larkin had blown himself up, Kyle had been waiting for someone to show up at his door. Had Larkin confessed before he’d died? Had he given anyone the name of the weapons designer who was putting together the revolutionary EMP weapon?

He’d changed his e-mail address, moved the money he’d been paid three times, from overseas account to overseas account, and he’d quit his job with the defense contractor who didn’t pay him shit. He was weeks away from finishing the weapon – weeks! So far, no one had connected him with Larkin, and still, he worried that something, somehow, would lead to him.

Kyle looked through the peephole and was relieved to see a pretty redhead standing on his doorstep. No police, no men in dark suits and sunglasses. He opened the door. The woman on his doorstep had spiky red hair, and was dressed in a skimpy tank top and shorts. She was jumping up and down, just a little.

"I’m sorry to bother you," she said, "but my husband and I are helping my sister move into the house across the street, and naturally she didn’t get the water turned on, and I have to pee."

"There’s a gas station …"

"I can’t wait," she interrupted. "No way will I make it back to that gas station. Pleeease."

Kyle looked across the street, where two men were unloading a moving van, while a gorgeous, stacked, eye-catching black-haired woman stood with her backside resting against a car as she watched the proceedings without lifting a finger.

"That’s your sister, and she’s moving in across the street?" Wow, this was his lucky day. Most of his neighbors were retired, or married with annoying kids and dogs that crapped in his yard.

"Yep, that’s Tiffany." The redhead offered her hand. "I’m Jenner. Jenner Traylor." She lifted her eyebrows in silent question.

"Kyle Quillin." He shook her hand briefly.

"Nice to meet you, Kyle," Jenner said. "You’ll probably be seeing me and my husband around for a few days as we get Tiffy settled." She rolled her eyes. "God forbid she should have to get her own water and power turned on." Again, she jumped up and down. "Bathroom?"

"Sure." Kyle stepped back and let the Traylor woman into the house. He pointed. "Down the hall, first door on the right." His eyes stayed on her sister for a moment, until Jenner got his attention as she stumbled, squealed, and caught herself by grabbing the bookshelf.

"I’m such a klutz," she said with a laugh, as she disappeared into the hallway.