Page 102 of Fighting Conviction

“Cut the shit, Snake, just tell us,” Devil growled.

“I think you’re right and Ellie’s with Virginia. But you’re not gonna like who else they’re with.”

“Okay…” Devil waited for the shoe to drop.

“Investigator Burgess’s house is dead center of the cluster.”

“What the fuck? That shitty house on the screen is his?” Jaybird yelled on the other side.

“We don’t know yet, but we always thought he was a shady fuck,” Hawk answered. “Whatever’s going on can’t be good.”

Devil closed his eyes in agreement, trying to push every worst-case scenario out of his mind.

“Send us the exact address, Snake. I’m about to turn into the neighborhood.”

“Already did.”

The SUV told them where to go and they weaved around the neighborhood until they pulled up to a small dilapidated house. It didn’t look as bad as the ones around it, at least Burgess’s house had all its windows and the door was still on its hinges. There was also a light on whereas the other ones were pitch black.

“Looks like Burgess is the only one home… in the whole fuckin’ neighborhood.” Phoenix joked and Devil would’ve punched him to shut the hell up if he hadn’t seen something that made his blood freeze.

Tendrils of smoke were escaping through the roof of the house, and there was an eerie glow behind the blinds. Devil worked against the icy paralysis and opened the door, nearly falling out before going into a sprint.

“Dude, what the—”

As Phoenix yelled for him, the windows on the house exploded. Devil fell back and covered his eyes from flying glass and blistering heat. When the cloud of fire dissipated, Devil lowered his arm to see the house in front of him engulfed in flames. Strong hands gripped both of his biceps and Devil kicked and tried to dig his heels in to keep from being pulled away.

“Stop, we’ll get her, alright?” Hawk yelled over the crackling wood. Devil had forgotten how loud a fire can get. “Not like this. We weren’t trained for this.”

Neither was Ellie.

The thought sent icy shards of panic through his spine, and he had to fight the paralysis and his teammates. “No! I have to get her! Let me go!”

Hawk and Phoenix held him at bay as his whole life evaporated into smoke. His breath came in spurts and the pain in his lungs had nothing to do with fire.

“I can’t… I can’t… just watch… her die.” The words were ripped from his chest and he collapsed to his knees. The fire licked at the tops of the windows, lighting up the night.

“She’ll… she’ll… be alright.” Phoenix struggled to comfort him, but Devil shrugged off his hand.

A cool wind drifted over his body, making Devil shiver. All the air around him that wasn’t coming directly from the fire felt practically chilly.

“I have to go. Let me go.”

“No.” Hawk’s voice brooked no argument, but Devil didn’t give a fuck what his leader said. “We can’t let you go in there. It’s not safe and we can’t go in to save you if you do something stupid.”

Sirens reached out to them from the distance but Devil couldn’t stop the urge to get up. To dosomething.

Another blast from the house brought on new heat and Phoenix and Hawk let go of him to shield their eyes, but Devil widened his. A hazy figure stood on the right side of the house, but the fire was too bright to see if it was Ellie.

“There she is!”

He leaped up and sprinted to the side of the house. Footsteps tried to match his speed, but he’d been running with Ellie in the morning. The girl could run like the wind, and he harnessed that energy to get to her.

More flames exploded around him, but he didn’t care. Ellie had beenright thereat the side of the house. He’d seen her. Devil didn’t know why she wasn’t running to meet him, but he knew she was there.

When he got to the place he’d seen her, he backed up and did a three-sixty with his hands on his head. He scanned the length of the house and backyard. But there was nothing.

When Phoenix and Hawk caught up to him, they tried to pull him away, yelling at him about getting burned, but Devil shook them off. The cool breeze in the night added a thin layer of protection against the heat.