Star Witness by Mallory Kane

it through the bedroom door, the biggest flash lit up the sky. It outlined two dark figures in the yard, moving toward the house. Dani was standing in front of her dresser, picking up something. He grabbed her by the hand. “There’s someone out there. We’ve got to head for the kitchen.”
    She pulled away. “I need my purse!” she cried.
    “It’ll just get in your way!” he countered, but she grabbed it. As soon as she grasped the handle, he jerked her back out into the living room.
    “Come on!” he croaked, coughing with every breath. The Molotov cocktail had burned itself out, but clouds of smoke still rose from the smoke bomb. Beside him, Dani was coughing and choking too.
    He knew their only chance now was through the kitchen. He’d inspected the bed-and-breakfast thoroughly before he’d booked it. The manager had gladly turned the keys over to him and left to visit his grandkids in Baton Rouge. On the key ring was the master key to the house and another, smaller key. It went to a storeroom off the kitchen that opened onto an alley.
    The manager had passed right by the door, but Harte had insisted on checking it out. The storeroom was small and dark, filled with cleaning supplies and boxes. It had an identical door on the other side of the room that led outside. On the outside, the door was finished just like the rest of the house. At a glance, it was impossible to tell it was a door.
    All of that slid through his mind in the three long seconds it took for them to cross the living room. By the time they reached the small door, both of them were coughing constantly.
    “Where are we going?” Dani asked, hanging back as he unlocked it.
    “This goes to the alley. It’s our only chance.”
    “What happened?” she cried. “How did they find us?”
    “I don’t know. I’ll go first. Make sure they’re not out there waiting for us.” He unlocked the door to the outside and slipped through. With any luck, the men hadn’t noticed the delivery door. They’d be guarding the front and back, poised to grab Dani when she was forced out by the smoke and flames. With a little luck, he just might get her out alive.
    Harte pressed himself flat against the clapboard wall of the B & B. The rain was punishing, but the narrow overhang of the roof kept the worst off him. It didn’t help with his vision, though. The veil of falling water obscured everything beyond a couple of feet. And if that weren’t bad enough, it turned to steam as soon as it hit the hot asphalt. Everything was enveloped in swirling gray. Harte couldn’t see anything or anyone. And he could barely hear through the rain’s dull roar.
    Dani touched his arm. “Harte?”
    He held out his hand. “It’s okay. Come on,” he said as loudly as he could to be heard over the rain, “but be quiet.”
    She took his hand and stepped through the doorway, ducking her head and hunching her shoulders against the rain. She clutched her purse tightly. “Is it safe?” she asked.
    Harte squinted at her, blinking against raindrops. “No, but it’s the best chance we’ve—” He stopped. “Shh. Hold it,” he whispered. Sure enough, he heard shouts coming from the front of the house.
    He tugged on her hand. “Come on. We’re going that way, up Race Street.” He gestured in the opposite direction. “Can you keep up with me?” he asked.
    “Yes,” she said firmly.
    He looked her up and down. She had on sneakers, thank goodness, and that huge purse was draped across her body like a messenger bag.
    He plunged into the gray sheet of rain with Dani right behind him. He didn’t want to run. They were too handicapped by the rain and the nearly impenetrable darkness. Of course the bad guys were handicapped by the downpour as well, but judging by the two men they’d seen and the shouts he’d heard, he feared that he and Dani were outnumbered by at least four to two.
    All he could do was trust his instincts and try to get Dani to someplace safe.
    He moved as