AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Lacy!” Hudson yells at the same time I yell, “Victoria!”
But we’re frozen in place as Jasmine steps out in front of them with a wicked smile. She is in a sports bra and leggings, looking like she is ready for a run, but I spot her clothes crumpled on the floor, covered in gasoline.
“What the hell is going on, Jasmine?” I question her as I take another small step toward Victoria.
“Oh,nowyou notice me?Nowyou look at me, actuallyseeme?” She is almost screaming, her eyes wild, clearly a little unhinged.
“I’m noticing. I’m looking,” I tell her carefully, not sure what the right words are to say. I spot Hudson out of the corner of my eye, stepping closer to Lacy. Jasmine’s eyes stay fixed on me.
“I moved here for you, Tanner…” she says, sounding like she is now weeping, but no tears escape. “I moved to this town because you needed me.”
I pull in a sharp breath.This is all because of me?
“You did?” I ask, trying to keep my voice calm as I watch everything and everyone.
“Yes. You and me, we are meant to be. I knew it the minute I saw you in the paper, talking about the distillery.I moved here for us to be together.” She’s looking at me like a lost, sick puppy, making my skin crawl.
“Well, you never said anything?” I ask her, just as Hudson reaches Lacy, her tears constant.
“I was always at the distillery. Then this one showed up and got in the way. That’s why we need to get rid of her, Tanner. So we can be together,” she says, and then she actually fucking smiles at me. A chill runs through me, and I look from her to Victoria and swallow hard. I am not sure how injured she is, but I can see her chest still moving, so I take that as a good sign.
“Why don’t you go sit outside, and I can finish this off,” I say to her, hoping to get her out of here so I can get to Victoria. We need to get out of here.
“Really!” she shrieks so suddenly, I jolt, and I see Lacy and Hudson pause where they are now both standing, removing the ropes from her legs.
“You know what. I started it. I am going to end it. You can either come with me or burn in hell with her!” she spits out, lighting a match and tossing it to the floor. The flames and heat are instant. Jasmine runs out the back of the shed as I dart forward to Victoria, time now of the essence.
“Victoria!” As soon as I have her in my grasp, I get busy with the ropes on her ankles. The knot is basic, and I manage to pull it away quickly, her body falling to the floor.
“I got Lacy!” Hudson shouts.
“Run!” I scream at him, and he runs out the door with Lacy in his arms. I dip down to pick up Victoria. She is limp in my arms, her clothes coated in gasoline, and Ilook around, seeing nothing but flames now surrounding us. This isn’t going to be good. There are no gaps, the gasoline poured in a circle around the ropes, barricading us in and preventing anyone from coming in to help.
“We gotta do it, baby girl. Hang on.” Sealing her to me, I bury her head into my chest, and I sprint, following the same path Hudson did. The heat is unbearable, it singes my skin and my hair, but I close my eyes and run like I have never run before, hearing the shed start to buckle behind me.
I scream from the pain as I dash through the flames and right into the backyard. Dropping us to the damp grass, Hudson is on us in a second.
“Roll. Fucking roll,” Huxley yells, and I pat down and roll Victoria, the heat in my back fierce.
“Dad, roll!” my son screams at me, and as soon as the flames on Victoria are out, I drop. Rolling and wriggling on the grass, I feel the temperature around me increase, and I grit my teeth. But as soon as I know I’m in the clear, I crawl over to Victoria. I push my pain to the back of my mind and hold her hand as Hudson works on her, Connor sitting with Lacy.
In the distance, I hear the sirens. I see the red and blue lights that fill my nightmares flashing against the dark country sky. The fire department pulls up and starts the flow of water, just as tears fill my eyes, staring down at an unmoving Victoria.
I pray on everything that is holy to keep my baby girl on earthside with me.
50
VICTORIA
My throat is sore. Almost burning, and I try to swallow, wondering if I have come down with the flu overnight. I roll over to my bedside table, hoping I put a glass of water there last night, but I can’t really move. There is a pain in my shoulder, making me cringe.
“Victoria?” a male voice says, sounding far away. But it sounds familiar. “Victoria, can you open your eyes?”
The bright light is instant, and I blink a few times before I slowly come to. I am in a room that is not my own. With a very good-looking man gazing over me.
“There she is,” Hudson says with a broad smile on his face, assessing me quickly.
“Hudson?” My voice is barely audible, raspy like I haven't used it in days.
