Bending down, he touched the flame to the end of a fuse. As soon as it lit, he dropped the lighter and took off for the exit door again. The fire ran quickly—too quickly—along the length of the fuse, and Molly felt her lungs freeze, refusing to suck in any oxygen. Time seemed to slow as her gaze locked on the flame. It felt surreal that such a tiny thing was going to kill them all.

“Got it.” John’s steady voice, so confident, allowed her to rip her gaze from the burning fuse, the world reorienting again. Despite his bruises and the blood streaking his skin, he was still the most beautiful person she’d ever seen. Just looking at him allowed her to breathe again.

Diving for the explosive device, John grabbed the lit end of the fuse in his fist, smothering the flame. She swallowed a protest as his unprotected hands wrapped around the fire. As he extinguished the burning fuse, her horror at his injuries was mixed with pride. Of course John Carmondy ignored his own pain to save her and her family. That was John. He was part of her family now. She loved him, just as he loved her, and they’d have each other’s backs. Always.

Trusting him to extinguish the fire and save them all yet again, Molly dashed past John and the explosives, putting on one final, impossible burst of speed.

Launching herself into the air, she flew toward Sonny as he reached for the door. For a terrible moment, she thought that she’d misjudged and would miss, but then her arms were wrapping around his lower legs, bringing him down just as effectively as a trip wire.

He hit the floor with an oof before immediately trying to crawl away. Filled with adrenaline- and rage-fueled strength, Molly flipped Sonny onto his back and started punching him, needing to punish him for what he’d tried to do to her family. As Sonny weakly tried to fend off the hits, she thought of the explosives strapped around Norah’s skinny waist and swung a solid punch.

Each time her fist connected with flesh, at every grunt and protest, she felt a sense of vicious satisfaction. She needed to make him pay in bruises and blood for every hurt her family had suffered because of him, every moment of terror they’d experienced. Her blows continued to rain down onto his body until he went limp, and still she swung, only stopping when John grabbed her by the waist and lifted her bodily off Sonny’s unconscious form.

Although she fought to get back to hit Sonny some more, most of her rage had been spent, and she subsided quickly, especially as she remembered the explosives. “Did you get the fuse out?”

“Are we in tiny, bloody pieces?” Although his words were joking, the way he clutched her against him and the slight shake in his voice were completely serious.

“Nice job.” Turning, she squeezed him back just as hard.