Page 7 of Burn With Me

Lady luck loved me. I was able to keep a steady pace and keep them in sight as the red lights played in my favor. It took a good forty minutes to reach her condo, and I watched as the cherry red car disappeared into the underground parking area.

I circled the building slowly and picked out all that I needed to know about this spot. It wasn’t a good or easy target and as much fun as it would be to see this entire building burn, even the dragon had limits.

It was fine. I had many other ways to make sure that the moment was memorable.

I’m sorry, Asher, sweetie, but I think it was time you learned the lesson. I sneered at the joke in my mind and then cruised away.

A pair of girls on rollerblades made their way toward me in their skimpy bikinis. Their skin had been kissed by the sun, which created a perfect golden brown color. If they had been toast, all they needed was a little bit of butter, and I would’ve happily taken a bite. But, I didn’t need people, and I especially didn’t need women. The ice creams they were holding on the other hand…well, those made me smile. Nothing said a hot day in the state of Florida like half-naked people on a beach and an ice cream cone in hand.

Stalking all done for the day, ice cream seemed like a great idea.

Violet

I slammed the apartment door, and Beck stuck her head out of the kitchen, a spoon hanging out of her mouth.

“Whoa, that’s your ugly, ‘I’m going to kill someone’ face. Who bit your ass?”

“Fucking Mitch. He wouldn’t let me re-test the evidence from my parent’s house fire. He says I’m being… ‘obsessive.’ ” I grabbed a beer from the fridge and stole a piece of red pepper from the chicken stir fry Beck had made us for dinner.

“You are kind of obsessed,” she said as she continued stirring her tea.

I shot Beck a dirty look. “Not you too.”

She shrugged and then sighed as she plopped herself down on one of the island stools. “All I’m saying is that you need to start living again.”

“I don’t even know what that means. I am living.” I patted down my arms to demonstrate.

“No, you’re alive, but that is not living. Girl, you never go out. You don’t date. All you do is work and talk to your snotty cat.”

“Heathrow is not snotty—he’s misunderstood. We have that in common,” I said as the fat black cat in question walked into the kitchen. Bending down, I picked up Heathrow, who was missing the top of one ear and the tip of his tail. He was a rescue, so I had no idea how either happened, but I didn’t care. I loved the fuzzy puss.

“That thing is part demon, but that’s beside the point. Vi, why don’t you come out with me tonight? It’s Friday, and it’s just a small group of people from my work. I know you will like them.”

I groaned as I pulled the white dress blouse out of my navy pencil skirt. “Thanks, but I want my other three Bs tonight: bath, beer, and bed.” I held up my fingers, counting them off.

“Too bad you wouldn’t add sex into that list. Maybe getting laid would loosen you up some.” Beck smiled as my mouth dropped open.

“Bitch.”

Beck laughed. “I figured you wouldn’t come. The sticky rice for the stir fry is in the rice cooker, and I made a German chocolate cake, which is hiding in the back of the fridge,” Beck said as she stood up from the island stool.

“Have I told you lately that I love you?” I batted my eyes at her, making her eyes roll.

“You’re coming out with me one night soon, Vi. You’re in your twenties, not eighties.” Beck gripped my shoulders. “You used to be the dare devil and the life of the party. Girl, you were the one everyone else wanted to be with because of your fearlessness and drive to see the world.”

“That Vi died when my parents died, Beck. I can’t rest until I find who killed them, and don’t even start with the whole let it go speech.”

I placed my hands on my hips and looked at my feet as I tried to organize my thoughts. So much pain all balled up into one burned inside my chest. It was hard to explain it to anyone.“When I close my eyes at night, it’s my father’s face that I see. It’s my final words to them that play on a loop in my head. It’s the image of a boy watching my home and my family burn and then running away.”

My eyes found hers as I pleaded with her to try and understand.

“I know you think it would be healthier for me to try and move on with my life, but I’m stuck. I’m stuck and still staring up at those flames as my father yelled that he loved me before he died. I need to know who, I need to know why, and I need to see them rot in jail.”

Beck gave me a sympathetic look before placing her hands on my shoulders.

“I know all that, and I’m not going to tell you to stop looking, but you also have to realize that if this wasn’t an accident… the person responsible may no longer be alive or is already in jail, and you will never have the retribution you want.”

Beck squeezed my right shoulder. “As for this boy you mentioned…Girl, we were walking through those woods, coming home from a party. You have no idea if that guy was even responsible or was like us and on his way home when he spotted the flames and came to check it out. Please, please, please think about that before you throw away the rest of what is supposed to be your best years.”