Page 13

Chapter

Seven

They weren't going to make it out in time.

That fear almost paralyzed him.

A delay of seconds that really could cost them both their lives.

“Jump out,” he ordered as he shoved the piece of paper she’d handed him into one of the pockets of his zippered hoodie and threw himself out the open car door.

Thankfully, he hadn't closed it behind him. The car was approaching them quickly and even that delay, especially combined with his moment of panic could have been all it took to steal their chance of survival.

They didn't just have to get out of Alannah’s car, they had to get far enough away from it in case the burning car slamming into hers was enough to have hers exploding.

As he rounded the car, he found her scrambling out of the passenger seat, her eyes wide with fear shoved away some of his own terror because he was so damn sick of seeing his best friend afraid for her life.

She didn't deserve this.

All she deserved was everything good the world had to offer. Love, acceptance, safety, and protection. Her life should always be as sweet and sunshiny as she was.

Grabbing her hand, he yanked her away from the vehicle. Jake knew how much she loved this parking space. Alannah was a good driver, but she had a thing about parking. She hated it so much that he’d seen her park a ten-minute walk away from her location just so she could avoid parallel parking.

This spot was a dream for her because of its easy access, but now the ease at which this space could be accessed could wind up costing them their lives.

When Alannah stumbled, Jake didn't hesitate. He bent his knees, used his hold on Alannah’s hand to turn her so she was facing him, then his shoulder went into her stomach, lifting her off the ground, all without slowing down.

They were about six spots down from Alannah’s when it happened.

Diving behind the nearest car, Jake threw them both to the ground, turning at the last moment so his body took the brunt of the connection with the concrete. Then he turned again so that his body was covering hers.

Pressed tightly against her as he was, chest to chest, he could feel the way her heart hammered wildly. Her fingers curled into his hoodie, clinging to him, and she pressed her face against his neck.

The sound of metal hitting metal filled the air, a horrible screeching sound that he knew would live on forever in his mind, mixed with the small whimper Alannah made.

This was unacceptable.

It had to stop.

Whatever he had to do to get her out of the line of fire, Jake would do.

Nothing was off the table.

There was no way he would be able to handle losing Alannah and knowing that it was because of him and his family’s quest. She had to remain in this world. The darkness inside him needed her light. Craved it. It kept him holding on, clinging to control, when the anger inside him wanted to take over.

Thankfully, there was no explosion, and after waiting a solid minute, Jake cautiously lifted himself off Alannah’s body enough that he could look through the windows of the car they’d sought protection behind.

The car that had rammed into Alannah’s was still burning, the front of it a twisted mess of metal as it tangled with the mangled back of Alannah’s car.

“Is it safe?” Alannah asked. Her voice strained, but she was doing her best not to fall apart, and he couldn’t ask anything more of her.

Despite her terror in the face of the nightmare she’d been thrown into completely without warning, she fought to keep control of herself and not let the weight of her fear crush her.

Honestly, he couldn’t be prouder of her.

“Yeah, I think we’re okay.”

“Do you think he’s here? The man who loves fire? He has to be, right? Someone had to set that car alight and then push it toward mine.”

That was true. The car didn't drive itself and set itself alight. Someone had to do it and given that fire wasn't the usual way of taking out a threat, Jake had to assume that whoever the remaining rapist had hired had a fetish for fire.

But it was unlikely that the firebug had stuck around.

Fire wasn't the usual method used for one reason because it drew so much attention and could so easily get out of control. As soon as that car lit up, it would show up on the security cameras watching the entrance. It had likely already been called in and cops and fire trucks were enroute.

“I think we’re safe, I think he’s gone,” he assured Alannah.

Fear wafted off her, but she reached out and took hold of the hand he held out to her. When he tugged her to her feet, Jake immediately wrapped his arms around her and dragged her into a tight embrace.

Not just because she was afraid and he wanted to soothe her but because he needed to hold her every bit as much as she needed to be held.

Usually, he wasn't a touchy-feely guy. He’d give his brothers a back slap or a fist bump, give Essie hugs when she asked, or piggyback rides, or pick her up and carry her if they were out somewhere and she was tired, but that was about it.

Normally, he was okay with hugs with Alannah. She wasn't like everybody else in his life, she’d always been different, special. Only the last couple of days, that seemed to have amped up several notches, and now it was almost a compulsion to have her close and touch her.

“He must have put the note in my car before following me when I was out jogging,” Alannah said, voice muffled since her face was pressed against his chest.

“Probably.”

“He knew you'd find it eventually, or that I would and would give it to you.”

“Yes.”

“Why did he get me out of the fire if he wanted to kill me?” Tilting her head back, she looked up at him with such fear-filled brown eyes, but with so much trust in them as well.

Despite him being the reason she was in this mess, she trusted him to keep her alive, to protect her like he always had, and that hit him deep.

It was an exhilarating but terrifying prospect to have someone have so much faith in you.

“I don’t know the answer to that question, sunshine.

I can guess it’s because your death is irrelevant.

These people don’t care about you. They’ll kill you if they have to, but it won't be because that will be enjoyable for them. All this guy wants is to protect himself. He’s willing to go to any lengths, and if that includes taking your life I doubt he’ll feel any regret, but in the end what he wants most is to force my family to back off. ”

“Doesn’t he realize by now that’s not going to happen?”

“You'd think so. But he can't give up. If he backs off and lets us put the final pieces together, he basically forfeits his life. This isn’t a choice, he’s the last man standing, which means he’ll take the fall alone. If he wants to live, he can't give up.”

Those words echoed through his mind as he stood there holding his best friend in his arms as he watched the flames dance around her car. A car they’d been sitting in right before the crash.

They could so easily have died today or in any one of the fires other than last night’s at the grocery store. These people were watching them and grabbing hold of every opportunity they could to make a move.

He had to get Alannah out of the line of fire.

For now, keeping her in his house, which they had to know was heavily protected and why they weren't targeting them while they were there was working, but it wouldn't last forever.

Likely the firebug was already coming up with a plan on how to target the house without getting caught by the men watching over him and Alannah.

Jake knew he was running out of time.

Every day he dragged this out just gave these men another opportunity to try to hurt Alannah, and one of those times she wouldn't be as lucky.

Fate could only be toyed with so many times before she hit back.

There was no way he could allow that to happen when the life of one of the people he cared about the most was hanging in the balance.

It was time to act, to do whatever was necessary to protect the girl he’d once vowed to never let another person hurt. There had been many times he’d failed in that promise over the years as her family continued to cause her pain, but he wasn't going to fail this time.

Alannah wasn't going to pay the ultimate price for his decision to hunt the men who had taken so much from his family.

October 16 th

4:39 P.M.

This was so unreal.

How could this be her life?

Alannah could barely comprehend any of it as she allowed Jake to usher her into his house. Half a dozen men watched it, and she had a feeling that as soon as they got inside, Jake was going to tell her that things were about to change.

That made her terrified.

She absolutely got that he wanted to make sure she didn't wind up dead because of the people after his family, but she had no idea of just how he intended to try to make sure that she stayed safe.

The last thing she wanted right now was to be sent away.

Jake and his brothers were the closest thing she had to family. Sure, she had other friends, but now that she knew the extent of the danger, it wasn't like she would go and stay with one of them and risk the people after her setting fire to their homes.

Besides, even if she wasn't afraid of them getting caught in the crossfire, she didn't want to be around anyone else other than Jake.

He made her feel safe.

He made her feel protected.

He made her feel cared about.

No one else could give her the sense of security she needed so badly since her life had been flipped upside down.

But things were about to change.

Even if she hadn't known Jake most of her life, she would be able to sense the shift in him.

Although he’d comforted her after the fire in the parking garage at her building, by the time cops and firefighters had shown up he was already withdrawing. He’d been almost brisk with her, not rude, but the gruff, edge-of-annoyed way he spoke to other people he was now using on her.

Not something she was used to.