Page 2 of Burn Me Down

“No, I had a suggestion, but at this point, you’re going to tell me I’m being crazy,” Vi said.

“What’s the idea?”

“Move in with Asher and me for a couple of months. Just until we find and lock Derek up.”

Fuck that shit. My hands gripped the steering wheel tighter. They were not ruining this or taking Beck from me.

“I’ll think about it,” Beck said, and I growled at my phone.

“You will?”

“Yes, you sound surprised.”

“I just thought I’d have a bigger fight on my hands,” Vi said. “So, when do you want to move in?”

“Nope, you’re not conning me, girl. I said I would think about it, not that I was moving in for sure, and before you start, if you pester me, it will be an instant no.”

“Ugh, fine. You almost home?”

“No, I’m not. I’m not going straight home, but I am closer.”

“What do you mean you’re not going home?”

Vi kept asking all my questions.

“I didn’t want to say anything because I know you’ll make a big deal out of it, but I’m going on a date,” Beck said, and I almost rammed into the car in front of me as I glared at the phone.

No fucking way was she going on a date.

“What? Are you kidding? Beck, that’s amazing! Who is he? Where did you meet him? When can I meet him?”

“Oh, how the roles have reversed.” Beck laughed, but I wanted to put my fist through the windshield. She was mine. I knew everything about her, including how she twirled the ends of her hair or played with the cuffs of her sweater when she was nervous. I knew how much she loved watching documentaries about killers but couldn’t sleep with the light off afterward. This date wasn’t happening.

“He’s a doctor who transferred into the area. He’s only here for a year now, but maybe he would stay if things got serious. I mean, I could look at leaving, but that is so far down the road. We had coffee at the hospital, but this is our first official date.”

The rest of their conversation faded to the background as rage created white noise in my brain. All I wanted to do was push this man into a pit of flames and watch him burn.

She’ll never be yours. You’re delusional.

“Shut up,” I growled to the voice in my head that loved to stay quiet until it found the perfect moment to annoy me the most.

I will shut up, but she is too good for you and you know it. A woman like that doesn’t love a monster like you.

Fuming I turned my attention back to Beck and Violet and I realized that, at some point, their conversation ended, and Beck’s music was once more coming through the speaker. She was singing along without a care in the world, but I cared. I fucking cared at lot. We drove down to a restaurant on the water, and I pulled into the parking lot of the closed store across the road, watching as she searched for a spot out of the way.

The only sound in the car was my finger tapping as I watched her walk toward the front entrance.

Maybe I could still salvage this. It would bump up my timeline, and the room wasn’t exactly the way I wanted, but it would hold her. What a shame it would be if this fancy doctor new to the area were the last one to see her alive.

I smirked.

“Alright, Beck, the timeline has been pushed up. In all fairness, though, it’s your fault.”

As soon as she walked into the restaurant, I wheeled out of the parking lot and went on the hunt for a better hiding spot.

Rebecca

“And that is how I saved her life,” Kent said as I stuffed the last piece of my dessert in my mouth. I smiled and nodded.