Page 115 of Dead Love

All I wanted was Kora.

One by one, I would burn parts of Punica down. Until every siren, every police car, was searching for the arsonist. And either I would wrap my burning fingers around Kora and carry her through the fire with me, or I would make sure that nothing could trap her again. Even if that meant burying her in the grave.

And if Shea tried to stop me, I would kill her too.

Only then would Kora be free.

CHAPTER39

Kora

Andrew’shot breath blasted my lips. I shrank into myself, closing my eyes. A siren wailed in the distance, making Andrew pause. I wrangled myself back, but he gripped my wrists, his ears turned toward the alarms. Another stream of sirens. He let go. I stumbled back next to my mother.

“What’s happening?” Shea whispered.

Andrew grabbed his radio and turned it on. Static filled the room, then:10-80.

Sheriff Mike’s voice:Location?

Another voice:Mount Punica. Near the Wild Berry Trailhead.

My mother looked at me, horror in her eyes. The flower field.

Andrew turned off his radio, then stowed it.

“Something tells me this is because of that no good fuckup,” Andrew muttered. “He’s dead this time.”

“This time?” I asked. I grabbed Andrew’s arm as he tried to walk away. “My mother and I heard you. We’ll tell—”

“Who?” Andrew snapped around. “Who? You and your mother won’t say a word,” he laughed, throwing a hand in her direction. “She’s your father’s scared little bitch. You think she’ll rat on me?”

I glanced at my mother. She clutched her face, her knuckles white, her bottom lip quivering. No. I didn’t believe him. She wouldn’t let him kill Vincent without a fight.

Would she?

“Doesn’t matter what you think. She’s my mother,” I said confidently, though the words were weak on my tongue. “She would never let you or my father get away with killing innocent people.”

Andrew tilted his head. “You have a peculiar definition of the word ‘innocent.’ You see, inmyeyes? Vincent has been wasting his life. So did the rest of them. What does all of that partying stand for, anyway?” He narrowed his gaze. “A waste of time.”

Shea gasped.

“Nyla didn’t do anything wrong! She was only twenty-three years old!” I shouted.

“And you were dumb enough to think that she’d live forever.” He slapped me on the back and I clenched my fists. I wanted to punch him in the face, harder than I had with Vincent, and I wanted to run away too, to never give men like Andrew the time of day ever again. To pretend like he never existed.

I had done it with Vincent; I could do it with Andrew.

My fist pummeled his jaw in a loudcrack!He rubbed his mouth; blood smeared his fingers.

“Assaulting an officer?” he smirked. “A valiant effort, at least. But we’ll discuss your options later.” He moved toward the door. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’ve got to go take care of that fuckup.”

“I willneverlet you get away with this,” I said. Andrew stopped, his hand on the doorknob, then turned in place. Nerves fluttered inside of me.

“Don’t worry, darling. If I have to, I’ll take care of you too.” He winked. “Now, I’m positive we can figure out an arrangement that will be beneficial for all of us, even your mommy and daddy. But we can do that later. Right now, I’ve got a criminal to catch.”

He slammed the door behind him, and my mother and I rushed to the window, watching him walk down the driveway. His squad car peeled down the street, his sirens blaring with the rest. A chorus of chaos serenading the mountain.

I went outside, turning to find the silhouette of Mount Punica in the distance, a haze of dark gray smoke rising above it.