Screaming came from behind them. Turning, they saw what was left of Julio, blackened and smoldering, wailing in agony as he attempted to crawl away from the van. The orange glow from the inferno revealed all Nathan needed to see. Parts of Julio’s clothing were still burning and the rest had fused with his skin. If he lived until help arrived, he’d go through living hell and probably wouldn’t survive. His entire body had sustained third-degree burns and looked like charred steak.

Nathan toggled his laser, painted the red dot on Julio’s form, and squeezed the trigger. It took three suppressed shots to end the screaming.

A flare of illumination blossomed in his peripheral vision. Across the road, porch lights had snapped on. Nathan figured they had less than thirty seconds to clear the area before every neighbor within a half mile came out to investigate the explosion and fire. Without a doubt, 911 had already been called.

He brushed a smoking shingle from the hood of the Mercedes before climbing into the passenger side. “Let’s beat feet outta here, double pronto.”

“No argument here.”

Gravel shot forward as Harv backed down the driveway. “How’d you know?”

“I smelled propane and put two and two together.”

“Well, thank heaven for your keen sense of smell and your advanced mathematics.”

“That heat wave was intense. I thought I’d caught fire.”

“Yeah, me too. I think our hair took some damage. I can smell it.”

“How are your eyes?”

“I think they’re readjusted now.” Harv backed onto Jonel Road, threw the sedan into drive, and stomped the accelerator. A huge dust cloud fanned out behind them as their Mercedes sped away. He looked over to Nathan. “Where to now?”

“You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Let’s hope we’re not too late.”

Chapter 34

Chapter  34

Nathan removed his tactical gear and face paint before reloading his Sig. In the unlikely event they got pulled over, they didn’t want to look like cat burglars. He steered from the passenger side as Harv did the same, except Harv didn’t need to reload his weapon. “We’ll start at the beginning of El Camino Real and head north up the hill. Ms. Dalton thought it was past the first stop sign, on the right side of the road. We’re looking for a property with white rail fence, an electric gate, and a big tree stump. There can’t be too many properties with those exact details.”

“Should we update Cantrell?”

“Yeah, probably, but screw finding a payphone. We’re done jumping through hoops.”

“She won’t like it.”

“Too bad.” He pulled his cell, made the call, and put it on speaker.

“Cantrell.”

“It’s echo five and I’m not on a payphone.”

“Say nothing and—”

He cut her off. “No time. Target location self destructed. Threat still loose.”

“Destination?”

“We have an alternate location.”