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“Still no service?”

She shakes her head.

“Sometimes, when the power grid goes down, the cell tower does too,” I explain. “I think it’s supposed to have battery backup, but I’m not so sure it’s working.”

“Don’t they have satellite these days?” Theresa suggests.

“Even that can be hit and miss when you’re surrounded by mountains, I’m told.”

From the corner of my eye, I catch some movement over Theresa’s shoulder. Focusing past her toward the valley, I expect to see Rick heading toward us, but that’s not who is approaching my car, a gun in his hand.

On instinct, I hit the button on my door to engage all the locks. Then I reach over to grab Theresa’s hand and hold on tight as I watch the man close in on us.

Beside me, I can hear the exact moment Rick’s mother catches up with what’s going on.

“Who is…”

He stops in front of the car, training the barrel of the gun on me. I barely recognize the man standing there.

“That is our mayor,” I explain softly, not sure why I feel the need to whisper but doing it anyway. “He’s not a good man.”

Outside, Merrick crooks his finger and mouths at me to come out. Theresa grabs my arm.

“Don’t go.”

My mind is spinning, both trying to get a grip on what is going on and finding a way out of it. Then I realize I’m in a car, with the key in my pocket, and all the tools I need to take control of the situation.

Unfortunately, Merrick seems to realize what I’m doing the moment I reach for the start button on the dashboard, and moves around to Theresa’s side of the car. With his eyes fixed on mine, he calmly aims the weapon at her head, and this time when he speaks I can hear him.

“Get. Out.”

Theresa’s fingers dig into my arm. “Don’t.”

But I have no choice.

Chapter 25

Rick

* * *

“Rick, come in, it’s Tessa.”

A massive crack sounds as the tree finally topples, snapping off the narrow ridge of trunk still intact. Cutting through that thing had not been easy,

“I’m here,” I respond in my radio. “What’s the status down there?”

I radioed the office earlier, sharing my suspicion this may not have been accidental, and was told they’d send a team out. I’d been waiting for a call back.

“Mayhem. We’ve got fire engines and pumpers from Silence and Lutton on the scene, as well as utilities, and a few idiot looky-loos blocking traffic. The winds seem to be pushing the fire in north easterly direction toward the Levy farm, and the fire captain says they’re out there trying to cut it off.”

I passed Sacha Levy’s farm on my way up here about a mile and a half before the turnoff on Quarry Road. The good news is, it means the fire is technically moving away from Dana’s place, but the way the road curves farther up the mountain, the quarry, which borders the farthest southeast side of Sacha’s property, could still potentially be in the fire’s path.

“Everyone safe up there?” Tessa wants to know.

“For now, yes. I’m still at the house and I sent my mother and Dana up to higher ground at the quarry, but I’d like to get us all off this damn mountain. Will the road be open any time soon?”

“We still have wires down across it and until the fire chief declares it safe to be working on the poles, utilities can’t get in there.”