Page 51 of Burn Me Down

“Never,” he said and hooked a piece of my hair behind my ear. “Someone else would’ve seen how incredible you are, but now I will break their arms and burn them alive if they touch you.”

“I believe you would.”

“You should. I would do exactly that a million times over to keep you. I don’t have an aversion to killing like normal people. I broke a hole in that barrier when I killed my parents and then smashed it to oblivion with the asylum. Nevermind everyone since then.” He shook his head. “Their voices use to speak to me from the grave, all of them angry with what I’d done, but not anymore, now it’s just silent acceptance.”

I laid my hand on his. “I know, and that’s just another reason why I’m not going anywhere.”

“Are you scared I’ll hurt someone?” His brow furrowed.

“No, because I love that you would do that for me. Not that I want you to, but I love that you would.”

He dug around in his clothes again and held out an old-style flip phone. “This one is hard to trace. Call her.”

Slipping on my sneakers, I gave him a hard kiss before taking the phone and hopping off the bed of the truck. This call was going to require pacing. Flipping open the phone, I dialed Vi’s number. I didn’t think she would answer and was getting ready to leave a message when the phone connected.

“Hello, Fire Investigator Clarke.”

“Always so formal,” I said and then braced myself.

“Beck, on my god. I thought you were dead. Are you okay? Where are you? Did Derek take you? Do you need me to call the cops? Where should I send them? Oh my god, my heart is racing. Tell me what to do to save you.”

I knew Derek could hear every word as he shook his head and stood to get dressed. His eyes were guarded, and I hated that he didn’t fully believe I wouldn’t turn on him.

“I’m completely fine,” I said.

“What do you mean you’re completely fine? You’ve been missing for seven days. Seven whole days. The police are looking for you, your work hasn’t heard from you, and I’ve been worried sick. You better not have jumped on some singles cruise and forgot to tell me.”

“Vi, I need you to calm down.” What a switch this was, me telling Vi to chill.

There was an annoyed sigh on the other end of the line. “I know you worry about me, just as I have always worried about you. But I have something to tell you, and I really need you not to jump off the diving board into the deep end of freak-out mode.”

“Oh shit, I think I need to sit down for whatever this is,” Vi said, and I smiled. I paced the short distance and decided to blurt it out.

“Yes, I am with Derek. No, I am not hurt. No, I am not scared, and no, I am not in danger. Yes, I need you to believe me. Yes, I know you are probably wanting to rant at me right now, but I’m asking you to keep an open mind. I…I really like him, Vi.” The end of the line was dead silence, but I knew we were still connected. “Please, say something.”

“How…how can you do this? After everything he’s done. He tried to kill me, Beck. He tried to kill me and Asher, and that was after he’d already killed dozens of people, including my parents. Or have you forgotten all of that?”

There was a slight pang of guilt, but there was something new pushing it down: my protective nature.

“Vi, you know I love you with my whole heart. You were my best friend before you became my sister. We have gone through everything together, the good and the bad, but one thing has remained consistent all this time. I have always believed in you and supported you. So, now it’s time you returned the favor.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you are still so consumed with your memories and the loss of your parents that you haven’t spent any real time wondering what could drive someone to do something so drastic. There is a lot of pain and mistrust and a whole shitload of other adjectives for the four of us to hash out.”

“Has he brainwashed you? I don’t need to hash anything out with a murderer.”

I crossed my arms and stared at the treetops. The sun was already peeking over and warming my face.

“Is that what Asher wants?” The line was quiet. “Do you never want to see me again? Because if your anger is so ingrained that you can’t open your heart to listen to someone else, then you’re not the person I thought you were. It also means that our friendship and what I need for once doesn’t mean anything to you. Is that what you’re saying?”

“No, of course not. I love you, Beck. You’re my person. It’s just…how do I forgive someone like Derek for all that he’s done?”

Strong arms circled my waist, and I smiled as Derek kissed the top of my head.

“I’m not asking you to forgive him, at least not yet. All I’m asking for right now is a dinner. I want the four of us to sit down together and talk. For just one night, I want you to open your heart and truly listen to what Derek has to say.”

The line was quiet again. “How do I know this isn’t a trick, and Derek isn’t just going to try to kill us again, Beck? How do I know he’s not using you as a pawn in whatever game he is playing now? How do I know he doesn’t have a fucking knife to your throat making you say all of this?”