“I want my brothers out, too,” a rough voice growled behind her, “but I can’t let you die for them.”

Her head turned. She saw Mac McGuire staring back at her with wild eyes. He was as big as Brodie, just as muscled and with a grip that was just as powerful—and unbreakable.

She stopped struggling.

“Stay here,” Mac ordered. “Or Brodie will kill me.”

If he isn’t already dead...

Then Mac freed her and shot right toward the flames. Wait, he thought she’d just stand there while he faced death? While Brodie burned? The guy didn’t know her at all. But then...none of them did. No one had ever really known her.

Wasn’t that the problem?

Ranch hands were still trying to spray water on the flames, but the fire was too far out of control. She knew time was of the essence. If Brodie and Davis didn’t get out, they were dead.

The scene was chaos. The ranch hands were running everywhere, and two horses were racing around wildly. She dodged the horses and made her way back to—

“Got you.”

Once more, hard arms had closed around Jennifer, but this time, fear raced through her. An instinctive, chilling fear. She couldn’t see who held her, and when Jennifer opened up her mouth to scream, he put his hand over her mouth. She was fighting fiercely, but he was too strong for her. Every move that she used against him, every kick, every twist of her body, he seemed to anticipate.

Her captor didn’t lead her toward the fire.

He didn’t lead her toward the sprawling ranch house that she could see about fifty yards away.

He took her away from the light. Away from everyone else.

He’s going to kill me.

Now she understood what was happening. Her stalker hadn’t been able to reach her at the McGuire ranch, so he’d lured her and Brodie out into the open.

Another fire...

Only she hadn’t been meant to die in those flames. The fire had been the distraction. His way of catching her off guard.

She heaved against his hold, and then Jennifer felt something sharp press into her neck. A knife.

Jennifer froze, fearing that he was going to kill her right then. He could. One fast swipe of his knife, and it would be over for her.

“It won’t be that easy,” he whispered into her ear. “You’ll suffer...just as I did.” Then he kept dragging her back, far away from the others.

No, no! She could still see the flames. In a few more moments, she wouldn’t, though, because they’d be too far away. No one would be able to help her.

Brodie. I was supposed to help Brodie! He’s still in the flames!

Ignoring that knife, Jennifer drove her elbow into her attacker’s gut with all her strength. Groaning, he jerked back.

She lunged forward, racing away from him as fast as she could.

Chapter Six

Brodie dragged Mark Montgomery out of the burning wreckage that had been the stables. Davis was at Brodie’s side—Davis and Mac were bringing out the last stallion. Mark’s prize—Legacy.

But the horse wouldn’t have been worth their lives.

“Damn it, Mark, you cut it too close,” Brodie snarled as he dropped his friend to the ground.

Blisters covered Mark’s right arm, and his clothes were as singed as Brodie’s. “Sorry...didn’t mean to...risk you...”

Brodie fought to suck in a deep gulp of air. He looked down at his hands, and they were black from all the ash in the air.

Mark managed to heave himself up into a sitting position. His shoulders shook as he struggled to take in clean air, too. In the distance, Brodie could hear the wail of a fire truck’s siren.

Too late.

The stables were gone.

“What the hell happened?” Brodie demanded as his gaze slid around the scene. The horses had all been corralled now. Ranch hands were still trying to put out the flames—and the flames weren’t spreading, so it looked as though the ranch house was safe.

Mark coughed. “Damn thing...just seemed to explode. Heard the horses...we all raced out...fast as we could.”

They’d all nearly raced to their deaths.

Brodie’s gaze tracked around the scene once more. “Where is she?” He’d singed his right hand when he’d pulled Mark out from under a burning chunk of wood, but Brodie ignored the pain. He’d deal with the wound later.

“Who?” Mark muttered. Then his eyes widened. “Ava? Did you bring your sister with you?”

What? Hell, no. Ava wasn’t even close by. “Jennifer,” he snapped as he turned his attention to Davis. “Where is she?”

But Davis wouldn’t know. Davis had been in that burning building when Brodie left Jennifer. Brodie had run back in because he sure as hell hadn’t planned to leave his fool brother and Mark there to burn.

“She tried to go in...after you,” Mac said, coughing into his fist. “I’d just gotten here. Heard the call on the police scanner when I was heading for our ranch.” He ran a weary hand over the back of his neck. “I stopped her from going into the fire. Told her to stay back or you’d have my head.”

He searched the area once more. There was no sign of her.

He whirled back around, stared at the fire. Don’t be inside... Terror started to rip through him.

“She ran away,” Davis muttered, voice tired, angry. “Should have seen it coming...took the first opportunity and ran. That was her plan, right?”

Mark staggered to his feet. “Who are we talking about?”

Brodie knew he was going back into the flames. If Jennifer was in there—

“Help!”

He whipped around even as the scream died away. His gaze flew to the left. To the right.

“Brodie.” Davis frowned at him. “Man, look, you knew she wanted to run, so—”

“Didn’t you just hear her scream?” A woman who’d run away on her own wouldn’t scream.

And she wouldn’t leave me to the fire.

Davis hesitated, then shook his head.

Brodie glared at Mac. “You heard her, right?” His heart was thundering in his chest.

“No, I just hear those damn flames.”

He’d heard her cry. Brodie knew that he had. So he took off, running toward the trees—trees that would eventually separate the Montgomery property from the McGuire ranch.

I’m coming, Jennifer. I’m coming!

His feet pounded against the earth as he ran as fast as he could because he knew with utter certainty Jennifer had just screamed.

Help.

* * *

HE’D CAUGHT HER. He’d tackled her, and Jennifer had screamed as loudly as she could right before her body had slammed into the dirt. He held her there, pinned beneath him, and the knife was back at her throat.

But he said he wasn’t going to kill me quickly. His mistake. He’d given her an advantage by letting her know that death wasn’t imminent.

“The SEAL can’t save you this time,” he told her.

Maybe. Maybe she could save herself just fine.

His voice was so low and rasping. Was he trying to disguise it? Or just make sure that no one overheard him?

His hand fisted in her hair. “I don’t need you awake for this part.”

She knew he was about to knock her out. She clenched her teeth against the pain as she tried to twist her body away from his. She needed to see his face. “Get away from me!”

She rolled and twisted. The knife cut over her shoulder, and she was pretty sure she lost way too much hair, but she managed to get a few feet away from him. She crawled back, spiderlike.

“No one can hear your screams.” He stood. It was so dark—he was just a menacing shadow as he closed in once more. “Not over the crackle of those flames. Not over the cries from the horses. You could scream until you had no breath, and no one but me would hear you.”

She was hearing him loud and clear, and, now that he’d stopped using that thick whisper, his voice seemed familiar to her. “I...know you.”