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shook herself and forced her to see the blaze for what it was: a distraction that could work in her favor. She kicked her pace up another notch. If she just kept running, she would finally see the Jeep—
    Her feet hit something solid and she tripped. She struck the ground with her knees. The pain jarred straight into her hips and sliced into her palms as they connected with the rocky ground. She struggled to her feet, turned to see what she’d stumbled over and froze.
    She hadn’t tripped over something, but some one .
    A scream trapped in her throat. She dropped back to her knees. Her breath choked past her lips, black spots swam in front of her vision, blessedly obscuring her view. She blinked, but the spots crowded in, overlapping one another and making her lightheaded. Bile rose in her raw throat.
    “Grace!”
    The sharp sound of her name opened up her tunnel vision. She lifted her head. Keith was barreling down on her, his eyes wide with incredulity.
    “Are you okay?”
    The harsh words sounded like a roar though she knew he was deliberately keeping his voice low. His eyes darted to the ground and his feet stuttered to a stop.
    He cursed. “What happened?”
    “I—I tripped and I thought—but it wasn’t—it was...” She gestured to the body.
    The man, clad in black from head to toe, lifted a bloody hand. “I’m...sorry...Grace...”
    Her hand flew to her mouth. He knew her name?
    Keith narrowed his eyes and bent forward to rip the black covering from the man’s head.
    The shock of the man’s bright red hair made her gasp.
    Keith’s head whipped in her direction. His eyes gleamed. “You know him?”
    She nodded, tears burning against her eyelids. “Mark’s...friend. Business partner. Ryker calls him Unc—” Her voice cracked. “Uncle Jack.”
    Hearing his name, the man opened his pain filled eyes. “I couldn’t let them...I didn’t know...never wanted...you and Ryker...hurt.”
    “Where—where is he?”
    Jack swallowed, gasped for breath. “Please, forgive me.” He closed his eyes.
    She leaned forward and clutched his shoulders. “Where is he?” Damn it, she didn’t understand any of this. Her fingers twisted in the coarse fabric of his uniform as she shook him. “Tell me!”
    Jack’s light blue eyes focused on her face. “Ph...”
    She held her breath, anticipation and impatience knotting her stomach.
    He licked his lips. “Phantom...” His eyes drifted shut and his body went limp.
    “Phantom, what?” she whispered. She tugged on Jack’s shoulders, his slack face scaring the crap out of her. “Phantom, what! C’mon, answer me!”
    Keith touched her shoulder. “Grace. We have to keep moving.”
    She shook her head. “No. We can’t just leave him here. We have to...we have take him to a hospital. He knows where Ryker is! We can’t leave him here to die. He knows .”
    He hauled her to her feet, his eyes stony and resolute. “He’s already dead.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Four
     
    If Keith didn’t say something soon, Grace was going to lose it. “Grace.”
    Her face paled and her eyes remained focused on the body of the man she’d called Uncle Jack. Keith waited for her to acknowledge him. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound crossed her lips. His throat throbbed in sympathy as he watched her force the words back down with a hard swallow.
    He swept the surrounding area with his gaze. Flames climbed the walls of her small house, licking at the roof. The hand-painted welcome sign melted from its perch on the wall and crumbled to the front deck.
    Fire crews would be on the scene soon, and he really didn’t want to stick around to answer questions.
    He blinked smoke out of his eyes, ignoring the sting. “We need to keep moving.”
    She nodded, but didn’t move off her knees. “He—he knew...” She clapped her hands over her mouth, hunched her shoulders and drew her body into a tight ball. “He knew .”
    Damn. She was losing focus. He’d seen it often