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“Oh, yes,” I grumbled, following her out of the house to my car because, apparently, she’d decided her plan was superior to mine. “Let’s make haste so we can go kill a man and still get to dinner in time to set the freaking table.”
Rebel tossed me the keys. “Even murderers gotta eat, you know.”
I got behind the wheel of the car anyway and drove in the direction she pointed. We parked a few blocks from Hugh’s house and got out, slipping into the darkness of the woods and using the tall trees for cover as much as possible until we rounded the back of his property.
“This is his.” I pointed up at the million-dollar mansion.
Rebel panted beside me, completely out of breath. She leaned over, one hand on her leg, the other holding up one finger, indicating to give her a minute.
I shook my head. “Kian is right. You really do need to do more cardio.”
She flipped her finger around.
Rude.
Between wheezing breaths, she jerked her head toward the house. “You sure this is it?”
“Worried you might set the wrong people alight?”
She glared up at me. “Actually, yes, Vaughn. That is exactly what I’m worried about. Gimme the damn binoculars.”
I muttered something about her lack of trust being insulting and passed her the binoculars that normally resided in my father’s den. He’d used them for much more vanilla activities like bird-watching.
I stared up at the back of Hugh’s mansion. Like many of the homes in Providence, most of the back wall was glass to take advantage of the view. He had lights on throughout, letting us see right into his bedroom, kitchen, living room, and what looked to be a gym.
Hugh himself was sprawled out on a couch on the second-floor living room, watching a big-screen TV.
“It’s him,” Rebel confirmed. “And there’s no one else to be seen.” She shook the box of matches at me. “You ready?”
“Just gonna say it one more time. This is insane.”
At seeing Hugh, Rebel had lost the giddy laughter from her voice. Instead, her voice turned deep and cold. “This is revenge.”
“This is murder.”
She went quiet at that one. Until one little sentence came out as a whisper, “I don’t care.”
I did, until I let the memories of her bruises sink back in. They were quickly followed by Rebel sinking in the bottom of that pool, and the feeling I’d had ever since, the one I couldn’t shake, that said if I lost her, nothing would ever be the same.
Hugh was a threat.
Not only to random strangers, but to the woman standing beside me. My heart hammered, but I held my hand out. “Give me the matches. I’ll do it.”
She was already making a run from the trees, leaving me behind.
“Oh, fucking hell, Roach!” But it was a whisper-shout, because the last thing I needed right now was Hugh hearing me cussing Rebel out because she was too stubborn and independent for her own good. I sprinted after her, reaching the edge of the house mere seconds after she did, because my legs were twice as long.
She tossed me a small can of gasoline. “Quick. Spread it around on anything that might be flammable.”
She’d already made a start, squirting it around the door and window frames on the bottom level. Once she set those to light, they’d block the exits. “We need to get all the windows and doors.”
Vicious.
“Give me a lighter.” I held my hand out to her, as hopped up on adrenaline as she was. “I’m going to the front.”
She passed me one from her pocket and grabbed my hand, not letting me go. Her eyes were wide, pupils dilated. “Don’t get caught.”
I leaned in and pressed my lips to her mouth. “You wait for me in the woods.”