Crackle of flames.

Soon her mother would come in the door and wake her.

Heat.

Mama!

Her eyes flew open.

Flames eating the curtains of the guest room like a hungry gargoyle.

Guest room?

Jason's guest room. No dream.

Fire!

The next instant she was out of bed and running for the door to the hall.

Billowing smoke.

“Jason! Laura! Get out of here.”

“I'm on my way.” Jason's bedroom door was open and he was half carrying Laura out of the room, wrapped in a blanket. “She's hurt. She tried to put out the fire in the drapes and her nightgown caught—”

“Downstairs. Get her outside.” Flames were breaking out all over the house. Random. Crazy. No pattern. No connection. The banisters. Then the table in the hall.

Oh, God, the front door was suddenly an inferno.

“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.”