Page 83 of Burn With Me

Three

I ran along the sidewalk and across the street to my truck.

One.

I sat the girls down just as the house exploded with a rumble that would be heard for miles. Car alarms went crazy as the fire and smoke rose into the air, along with debris that landed as close as a few inches away from us.

“Wow, fuck. You weren’t joking,” Raven said, as she stared at the back of the house that was now fully engulfed in flames.

“I don’t exactly have a great sense of humor.” I looked down at the girl as she smiled back up at me. I put my hand in my pocket and pulled out what I had in cash. “Here, this is enough to get you to the police station and get something to eat.”

Raven took the small wad and then linked her finger with Cindy’s hand. They ran a couple steps before Cindy pulled Raven to a halt and looked back at me.

“Thank you,” she said so softly that I barely heard it. It was the only two words she’d said since our encounter, but I nodded, and they took off again.

Making my way to the car, I slipped behind the wheel and waited until I was three roads over before taking the mask off.

“Send a text message to Cherry Popper,” I said to my phone. “One chicken has been cooked. Two more to go.”

“Message sent.”

Now, on to the next target. I had a Ms. Violet Clarke to deal with, my brother to kill, and now a man claiming to be me. I would find a way to teach that liar a lesson.

Too many things to do in a day and simply not enough hours to do them all.

Asher

I glanced over at Vi, sitting in the passenger seat of my truck. Even though she was sitting quietly with her hands in her lap, I could tell she was stressed. There was an energy that I was picking up on from her. It screamed that she was bottling up a pile of rage.

Reaching out my hand, I held it open for her to link fingers with me, and she sighed as soon as she touched me. I loved that. It was a shot to my system to know that I could affect her the way I wanted.

“You have to stop stressing about it, Vi. They had their minds made up no matter what you said. The only thing that would’ve stopped them was if you’d marched the real arsonist into the precinct and handed him over.”

She mumbled, “idiots,” under her breath, then turned to look at me. “All right, I will try to stop thinking about it and the big mistake they’re making. Tell me about your family.”

“The family gatherings when my mom was still living in Miami were huge, but now that she is in Jacksonville, they are much smaller. My cousin, who you met, Monica, and her partner Sylvie will be coming and doing the cooking. My step-sister, Sabrina, and her husband, Andrew, will be there, but that’s it. Ryan my step-brother is in the military and at the moment he is overseas.”

“Sounds perfect.”

“I think you’ll really love the spot. It’s right on the water, and we will have our own room, and as you’ve seen, Monica can cook one heck of a feast. We’re totally spoiled.”

Vi smiled at me and my chest warmed with the look she was giving me. I’d stopped asking myself why she was so different from everyone else. There was no explaining feelings or attraction, but there was something about Vi that made me feel like I’d found what I’d been seeking. She was something that my heart needed, but I’d never realized that it did.

“Are you sure that everyone is going to be okay with me coming? I mean, we haven’t been together very long,” Vi said. Her cheeks pinkened, and I could see she was nervous, but she had no reason to worry.

“Honestly, they’re going to be ecstatic that I brought someone home for them to meet. When I said I’d never done this, I meant it. When I told my mom that I was bringing you to meet them, I thought she fainted on the other end of the line, it was so quiet.” I smirked as Vi laughed.

“I know it’s not a holiday conversation, but can you tell me more about you and your brother and what happened?” Vi nibbled on her bottom lip as she stared at me.

Even though the story was painful, I wanted her to know. She was the first person I felt I could even confide in about what happened and how it made me feel without being judged.

“Well, it all came to a head three years after we ran. Derek had really tried to be okay. I want to stress that my father had done so much damage that even though we were with this really nice old couple that had shown us nothing but kindness, he never got over the pain and trauma. It ate at him like cancer. I could see it growing inside of him a little more each day.”

Vi gave my hand a little reassuring squeeze.

“I’d wake up in the middle of the night, terrified that he’d slipped out of the house and what he might do. This one night, while we were sitting around the dinner table, I just knew. He’d been acting really out of sorts for a couple of weeks, but that night he was happy, lighthearted even. That wasn’t my brother. If there were a picture in the dictionary for doom and gloom, it would’ve had my brother’s picture.”

Vi gave a little giggle that made me smile at her. She curled her legs up under her, looking so perfect and beautiful sitting beside me. At some point, I had to thank Wheels for pushing me to take the leap because she was worth every second.