Page 7

I crouched in the shadows of warehouse forty-nine, watching flames crawl up the east wall. The accelerant caught fast as the rising blaze of orange climbed the foundation. It was beautiful and awe-inspiring, and I was captivated by its power.

Three men guarded the entrance. They hadn’t spotted the fire yet. They were too busy scanning the docks for approaching threats. But the real danger was already here.

With my lighter in hand, I sparked it again, and the growing flame danced hypnotically.

I put the blaze to the second accelerant line, watching it flare quickly. The fire raced along the building’s foundation, climbing higher and cracking the structure as it ignited. The spark drew the guard’s attention, and shouts erupted as smoke billowed.

“What the fuck?”

“Call it in!”

“Get the hoses?—”

The first guard’s head exploded in a red mist before he could finish. I was moving before his body hit the ground, my aim finding the second man’s throat. The third managed half a scream before my knife opened his jugular. But it was clean. Quick. And now for the fun part.

Inside, smoke already filled the first floor and fire was crawling along the walls. Three more hostiles scrambled for the stairs. One turned, saw me, and raised his weapon, but I caught his gunhand and drove his face into a burning support beam.

“Aaaaaaah!”

His flesh sizzled, his screams muffled by charred wood. The sound was better than any symphony.

“Where is she?” I twisted his arm until his bones snapped.

“Fuck you!”

I pressed harder, letting the flames singe his cheek. “Wrong answer.”

His partner tried flanking me, but his sloppy footwork gave him away. I kicked out and broke the cartilage that supported his knee.

“Aaaaaaah fuuuuuuuuck!”

He fell, and I dragged my first victim’s face across the burning titanium, leaving strips of flesh behind.

“Last chance.”

“Please...” Melted skin slurred his words. “She’s not here! They knew you’d come...”

“Who knew?”

But his eyes had rolled back, his consciousness fleeing. He was useless now, so I snapped his neck and dropped him into the spreading flames.

The one with the broken knee tried crawling away. I grabbed his collar and hauled him up. “Your turn.”

“Wait! I can help!”

I slammed him into a burning wall. His clothes ignited immediately. The screams echoed off the iron barrier.

“Either talk or burn.”

“They moved her! Hours ago!” He thrashed as flames climbed his legs. “It’s a trap!”

“I know.” I held him against the fire until his back blackened. “But you’re still going to burn.”

More shouts came from above. I cracked my neck, too hype to wait for them to come to me.

I took the stairs three at a time, the smoke thick but not blinding. Not yet. On the second floor, storage, shipping crates, and old furniture would make for the perfect kindling.

A bullet whined past my ear. There were four shooters using crates for cover. They were better trained than the ones outside. But it was still not good enough.

I dove behind a brass desk as they opened fire. I counted the shots and tracked muzzled flashes through the smoke, pinpointing their positions. I took in a silent, deep breath and waited.

When the first magazine emptied, I moved low and fast, as flames spread across the floor behind me.

The nearest shooter never saw me coming.

I shoved my knife into the back of his neck, cracked his spine, and twisted the blade as blood oozed from his mouth.

As he fell, I used his body as a shield, pushing forward.

“He’s here! He’s?—”

The speaker’s head snapped back, and my bullet tore between his eyes. His partner broke cover, panicked, and decided to flee. I gripped his arm and drove my knife through his palm into a burning crate. His scream harmonized with the crackling flames.

It was music to my ears.

The last one tried running, but if he expected to flee from me, he should’ve been gone long ago.

I had him before he reached the stairs and pushed him to his knees. Smoke wreathed us like a demon’s breath as I pressed my gun to his temple.

“The girl. Where is she?”

“I don’t know! We were just told to keep you busy but ensure you didn’t make it out of this building!”

“By who?”

“I never saw his face! Please!”

The building groaned, the support beams weakening.

I zip-tied him to a metal pole and let him watch flames approach. His begging followed me to the third floor, where I found more resistance. There were six men with body armor and automatic weapons. Finally, someone worth killing.

They’d set up a crossfire zone. That was decent premeditated thinking. But they hadn’t counted on the fire.

Or me.

I triggered the last accelerant line, causing flames to erupt between us and breaking their firing lines. In the chaos, I moved.

The first two died before they realized I was there. The third got a shot off – it tore through my jacket but missed the mark before I stabbed him in the eye. He fell to his knees screaming while I was on to the next.

The fourth guy took a knife in the throat, and the fifth tried hand-to-hand, which made me proud.

I caught his punch and drove my knee into his gut. As he doubled over, I grabbed his head, slammed it into a burning beam, and held it there while he thrashed.

“Who sent you?”

His screams said nothing useful. I let him drop and turned to face the last man standing. He had better form than the others with military training in his stance.

“Just us now.” I cracked my neck again. “Do you want to die quick or slow?”

He rushed me with good technique, using a three-strike combo, followed by a leg sweep that I blocked, countered, and drove him back toward the flames.

“He said you’d be good.” Blood stained his teeth as he grinned. “He said you’d come alone because you were too stupid to trust your team.”

I smirked. “He was right about coming alone. But it’s not that I don’t trust my team. It’s that I didn’t need them to take down YOU, pussy.” I caught his next punch and crushed his hand. “My bloodlust powers my thirst for violence. And that’s why your entire team is dead.”

“It doesn’t matter.” He spat blood. “She’s already dead.”

Rage ripped through my veins. I slammed him through a burning door and held him down as flames lit up his clothes. “What did you say?”

His laughter turned to screams as the fire ate his flesh. “You’ll never... find her... in time...”

I left him burning and swept the rest of the floor. It was empty. No Santari. No clues. Just smoke and death and flames climbing higher.

The building shuddered, and the structure began to fail. I headed for the window, recognizing my escape route. Behind me, the military fuck’s screams finally stopped.

The foundation groaned, the interior snapped, and the floor tilted.

I picked up speed and shouldered through the glass as the building collapsed. The fire escape caught my impact, and the metal was hot under my hands.

Smoke and flames belched from broken windows as I slid down the rails. Above, warehouse forty-nine folded in on itself. It was a funeral for the idiots who thought they could trap me.

I hit the ground running and disappeared into the shadows as sirens approached. I eyed my bike where I’d left it and ran through the dark to approach. And while I hadn’t planned to leave the building with anyone alive, the military fuck’s words echoed in my head.

Never find her in time...

Anger moved through me like a living, breathing organism.

I stroked my lighter and watched the flame dance. Whoever this was thought they could separate us, isolate me, wear me down, and kill me.

They didn’t understand that I was someone whose dominance intensified with action the same way fire consumed as it spread. Taking Santari was the biggest mistake they’d made. I was just getting started.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Cruz. “It was a setup.”

“No shit. Where the fuck are you?” He cursed. “Never mind, I see the smoke.”

I gritted my teeth and watched flames reach for the stars. “I lost my earpiece in the chaos. Tell Storm to dig deeper on that account. They know too much. This is personal.”

“I’m fuckin’ you up when you get back.”

“Sure, sure.”

I sparked my lighter again and let the flame calm my rage.

“Fuck!” Cruz yelled.

The warehouse collapsed completely, sending sparks into the night sky. But the murder I bestowed didn’t extinguish my internal fire. Instead, it fueled my insanity.