AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Emma!” he roars, chasing me into the lounge. He throws himself forward, positioning himself between me and the kitchen, where the back door could take me to safety.
“Fuck you!” I scream, coughing as the air around us thickens. “You’re insane! I never wanted you. I never could want you! And if, by some insane stroke of bad luck, I was interested, you’re a fucking psychopath! Who turns into this because they got rejected?!”
“Shut up!” Mike yells, moving around the couch. He mirrors my steps. I take one hasty step left and he follows. He’s trying to get to me, but I keep the couch between us while my panicked mind runs for a solution.
I snatch up the vase from the table and launch it at him. It shatters over his raised arms while I sprint past him into the kitchen. He’s on me, slamming me into the counter. All air rushes from me but still I fight. Throwing my elbow back, it collides with something soft and Mike’s presence behind me vanishes. I run for the back door, but I’m met with the same fate.
Locked.
Suddenly Mike’s hands are in my hair and he drags me back. Fire melts through the walls, consuming everything in its path, and I know all it will take is one lick and I’ll go up like a match.
“You can’t escape this!” Mike roars, using all his strength to throw me back into the living room. I topple over the couch and hit the ground hard.
There’s pain, I think. Distantly in the back of my mind, I’m aware of it but the fear of the fire and the surging adrenaline keeps it at bay.
One hand moves to my abdomen as I scramble up onto my feet.
Mike is right there.
I can’t breathe; the smoke is getting too thick.
Am I really going to die here?
Suddenly, the front door crashes open with a loud bang and in stumbles Finn. He spots me instantly, then his eyes lock on Mike who rounds on him with both hands raised.
Thank God. He must have dropped the knife in our struggles.
“Finn?!”
“Emma!” Finn yells, then tackles Mike with all his strength. They clash like thunder and tumble onto the floor as the fire blazes down the hallway and consumes all in its path. The open door provides a surge of oxygen, and within seconds, the hallway is nothing but flame.
Mike and Finn wrestle on the floor, fists flying and grunts rising just barely over the crackle of the fire.
I don’t know what to do. As panic surges and defeat sits in my heart, a sudden reminder about Finn’s hip and knee pops into my mind. He couldn’t beat Mike before.
I don’t think he can do it now, either. I scan the room for anything that can help. The only thing in reach is a photo frame. I grab it and throw it just as Mike surges over the couch. The frame clatters against his skull and he stumbles, then he’s dragged back down by Finn.
“Finn!” I scream, backing up against the wall as the flames roll across the ceiling. There’s no escape. The hallway is consumed, and the front door is no longer visible through the wall of flame.
The smoke is so thick it chokes me. I cough, blinking through burning eyes and then Finn is in front of me with both hands on my shoulders.
“Trust me,” is all he says.
I do. Without hesitation.
Finn takes my arm and then we’re running right for the window. Flames consume the curtains and reach for me as we sprint. I leap when Finn leaps and we collide with the window. He takes the brunt of the impact, pulling me against him as we crash through glass and wooden frame.
I’m weightless. Cold air whips around me, invading my lungs and tickling my throat. My eyes water, my entire body aches and my mind is completely muddled.
Then we hit the ground with a solid thump that shocks all air and sensation from my body. Warmth clings to my legs, spreading quickly and just as I click how hot that warmth is, we’re suddenly smothered in blankets and the heat dies.
“Emma! Emma, are you okay? Is she okay? Get the case. Where the fuck is the ambulance? Move that. Give me your hand. Emma, can you hear me?”
Voices I recognize and love wash over me. Caspian is here, and Asher. Finn holds me in his arms as he sits up, and while they all talk, I can’t quite focus on exactly what they’re saying.
My heart pounds so loud that it drowns everything else out, and my entire body is still on fire with adrenaline. There’s a hand on my cheek, one on my hair. Faces flash before me with moving mouths and worried eyes but I can’t focus on any of that.
One other thing pulls my attention.
