“He was there, Aunt Bea,” she said, insistent this time. “I tried to convince myself he wasn’t, but he was. He was waiting for me, and then when I got out of school, he started walking towards me like he was any other pick-up parent. I screamed for Ash. Thank god he was there.”
Tears burned my eyes as I held her close, mouthing ‘thank you’ over her head at Ash. He nodded once, but even he looked grim.
“I have a feeling that fire was a distraction,” he admitted. “Be prepared for anything.”
“We always are,” I said, hating to admit it, but it was true. I knew better than to underestimate Cameron. Once he set his mind to something, he made sure that it happened.
“I hate him,” I growled. “I hate him so much.”
My voice broke, but I managed to keep myself from breaking down. The last thing I wanted to do was freak out Phoenix.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry that I brought this to your doorstep,” I told her. “All I ever wanted to do was keep you safe.”
“It’s not your fault. He’s the psycho,” Phoenix insisted, her voice so strong and fierce.
“He really is,” I said, shaking my head. “I wish I saw it before it turned into this.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Ash promised. “Just like we did for Dani.”
Something heavy slammed into the door, and we all nearly jumped out of our skin. I turned to see a smirking Cameron standing just outside the door, shoving something through the handles.
He gave a little finger wave like he didn’t have a care in the world.
I held Phoenix tighter, refusing to let go as Ash tore off after him, yelling at us over his shoulder. “Call the police!”
Taryn jumped into action, handling the call, but the asshole had wedged something in the door so Ash couldn’t get to him.
“Oh my God, is that something wet on the sidewalk?” Dani gasped.
“Gasoline,” Ash growled, though it held a hint of panic now. Gasoline and this dry weather was a volatile mix. Not to mention, I had no clue how much he’d used while we talked. They were so freaked out when they came in I wondered if they even would have noticed.
Cameron flicked open a lighter, one of the sturdy kind that would stay lit. He held it there in front of him, his eyes locking on mine. My stomach dropped, dread filling me as my blood ran cold.
He hadn’t simply opted for small fires this time, he was going to set this building ablaze.
Just like last time.
It wasn’t just me, either. He was trying to take everyone I cared about out. Except my pack. No, he wanted their suffering to be life altering. The kind they’d never recover from.
“Surely, they left some of the rookies in town, right?” Dani said, her voice wavering.
“They said all hands on deck, but I’m sure,” I reassured her. “If nothing else, Taryn called the police. Help is coming.”
“I’m calling the shops around us, too,” she said, her hands shaking but her voice steady.
Phoenix clung to me, sobbing in my arms, and there was nothing I could do to reassure her. This wasn’t the type of situation I could promise would be okay.
Ash was kicking at the door, trying to break through the thick metal bar he’d used to block it.
It wasn’t giving way. The metal barely protested, the doors taking more damage than it was.
“See you in hell,” Cameron called out, eyes locked on me again as he dropped the lighter. The pure euphoria on his face was horrifying. This man wanted to cause me pain.
At first nothing happened, and I almost let out a sigh of relief.
Until it erupted into flames all at once, the gasoline finally taking hold and flaring to life.
Even though I knew better, I pulled Phoenix with me towards the back door. We stopped halfway, the smoke seeping under the door answered enough. It was filling the building faster this time. He wanted to make sure they couldn’t stop it.
