“Wesley is watching the front,” Zane confirmed. “Don’t worry, if he thinks he can fool us with a few fireworks, he’ll have to get up earlier.”
Quinn noticed how Rose’s forehead creased.
“He’s smarter than he lets on. And very devious,” Rose added.
“We can handle whatever he throws at us,” Quinn answered.
He squeezed her forearm in reassurance and hoped the coming events wouldn’t brand him a liar.
26
It took only ten minutes of waiting at their designated posts within the mansion before all hell broke loose.
The sirens of a fire engine alerted Quinn that something was about to happen. He cursed. It figured that some concerned neighbor had called 911 after the ruckus the teens out on the street were producing. The fire danger their actions represented had clearly worried the concerned homeowners. Quinn couldn’t blame them, but going out there and stopping them himself wasn’t an option. It would only give Keegan another front on which to attack. After all, he had most likely instigated the entire incident.
“I’ll check on the fire engine,” Rose whispered next to him.
Before he could stop her, she was gone. “Don’t—”
Ah, hell, why did he bother? Rose had her own mind and would do what she wanted anyway. There was no way of holding her back. And maybe it was better to let her do what she wanted. Maybe if he let her feel that he wouldn’t be the kind of overpowering husband he might have turned into two hundred years ago—had they ever had the chance to live as husband and wife—then maybe she would finally learn to trust him.
Besides, he loved that she was strong and independent. The new Rose was even more exciting than the old one.
Quinn sighed, and the smell of smoke suddenly tickled his nose. It was odd that it was getting stronger now that the fire department had arrived to put an end to the fireworks on the street. He had no time to investigate it any further.
A loud banging on the front door coupled with an insistent male voice echoed through the hallway. “San Francisco Fire Department, open the door!”
Torn between wanting to stay at his post and knowing somebody had to deal with the authorities, Quinn threw a cautious look out the small window next to the tradesmen entrance. Everything looked quiet. He tested the door knob. The door was locked and bolted.
“Open the door!” the voice insisted, now louder.
In vampire speed, he reached the front door a second later. Looking through the spy hole, he recognized the uniform of a fireman.
“Coming!” he called out. Quickly he pulled his shirt from his pants, letting it fall over the gun he’d tucked into his waistband. With some luck everybody would be too busy with their own work to notice the weapon.
He opened the door a few inches. “Officer, what—?” But he didn’t get any further.
“You have a fire on your roof. You need to evacuate the building. Now.”
The uniformed fireman pushed the door open wider, making Quinn suddenly aware of the flail that was sticking out from his back pocket. He reached behind him, using the door as a cover and pulled it from his pocket, dropping it into the only thing he could reach without moving: an empty vase on the sideboard.
The fireman motioned to the other men in uniform who came up the steps, wearing oxygen masks, carrying axes and oxygen tanks on their backs.
“We need access to the roof.”
“What’s going on?” Amaury called out from the kitchen area where he’d been guarding the back entrance.
Quinn lifted his head toward the stairs, sniffing. He smelled the faint smell of smoldering wood more intensely now. When turning back to the fireman, he realized that the man was right. The smell of smoke he’d perceived earlier hadn’t come from outside. It was coming from upstairs.
“Shit!”
“How many people are staying here?” the fire captain asked while he waved his colleagues into the house and pointed to the stairs leading up.
Quinn counted in his head. “Nine including me. But nobody is upstairs. We’re all on the first floor. I’m sure it’s not necessary to evacuate.”
Was this what Keegan had planned—to set fire to the place so they had to leave the house, thinking once they were out in the open, he could easily snatch Blake? Good thing that Blake was safe at Thomas’s house.
“It’s for your own safety. Everybody has to leave. Now!” Then he raised his voice. “Evacuate the building! All occupants, evacuate now!”
More firemen rushed past them and headed upstairs.
Looking out the door, Quinn noticed how the ladder of the fire engine was being raised, a fireman holding the fire hose being lifted with it. Neighbors had started to gather to watch the proceedings. Typical! Everybody liked a good spectacle.