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“It’s going to be so much fun to hear them scream. Burning alive is a rather….” He stopped, tilting his head as he thought of a word. “Illuminating experience. The smell of burning fle…”
I blocked him out. No. They’d smell the gasoline. They’d know and not risk being trapped down here. I had to save myself.
But my fear was for Vic and what he’d do. Because regardless of what he was up against, Vic would come for me. I knew that with every fiber of my being. And that terrified me.
There was a loud rumble above me to the right, and Aiden stopped.
He put his finger to his lips and tiptoed across the floor toward a staircase, more for effect than anything else. He tipped the can and poured the gasoline from the last stair, leaving a trail back to the platform.
“It’s a trap,” I shouted, praying they could hear me. “There’s gasoline everywhere.”
Aiden didn’t seem concerned as he approached me. When he was close enough for me to spit on him, he set the can on the floor and took a box of matches from his pocket and slowly opened the cardboard drawer.
“I know. I know. A lighter would be better, but the sound of a match striking is so much more effective.” He shifted his body back a step, and I realized he was using me to shield himself from the stairs.
“Aiden,” Vic said, his graveled voice erupting from the stairwell. He stepped into the dim light, and my heart slammed into my chest. Tears burned my eyes. A chaos of emotions tore through me. Relief. Terror. Dread. I didn’t want to see him, and at the same time, all I wanted to do was see him.
“Vic.” I couldn’t stop the choked sob from escaping. Please. God. Don’t let him die.
“Oh, isn’t that so sweet. Vic Gate coming to his birthday girl’s rescue.” Aiden sifted through the matchbox like he was searching for the perfect match to turn this place into a suffocating inferno. He struck the one he chose and held it up for Vic to see.
“Let her go, Aiden. She has nothing to do with this,” Vic said, stepping off the last stair.
“It’s Edward now. Right, Macayla?” Aiden shook his head with a tsking sound. “You brought a gun to a firefight. Ten seconds. That’s how long it will take for this entire platform to burst into flames. Do you think you can shoot me, then get to her in ten seconds? Maybe. But I don’t think you’ll risk it.
“You’re rather predictable, Aiden. The explosives. The gasoline. You’ve always liked to watch things burn alive.” Vic spoke in a steady and calm voice, never once taking his eyes off Aiden.
Aiden’s grip tightened on the box of matches and the cardboard crinkled. “It’s Edward. Where are the others?”
“It’s just me. That’s who you want, right? The man who put that scar on you. Who tortured you.”
The right side of his face twitched. “No. I want all of you,” he yelled, looking around him. Then his glare landed on Vic, and he held out the match. “You shoot me, I drop this match and she dies in a fury of flames.”
Vic tossed his gun aside. No. No. What was he doing? “You get me. That’s it. Me for her.”
“Vic. No.” Vic’s eyes flicked to me, but it was quick, barely discernable. His expression was cold and immobile, not a hint of uncertainty over what he had planned.
“No. No. No. I want all of you. Where are they? Why aren’t they here?” The flame burned farther and farther down the wooden stick. He didn’t even notice when it burned his fingers. The flame snuffed out, and he grabbed another match and struck it. “Call them.”
“You know as well as I do that the underground is a dead zone.” Vic stepped closer. “They aren’t coming until she is free.”
He shook his head. “No, that’s wrong. They need to be here now.”
Vic kept walking toward the platform. “Let her go, and you get what you want.”
Aiden’s eyes bounced back and forth from the tunnels to Vic then to me. The flame snuffed out again and he struck another match. “Oh, oh—let’s tell him the news, Macayla.” His eyes gleamed. “Tell him. Tell him I was there. I want to see his face.”
I glared at Aiden. “No.”
“God, so sensitive. Okay. Okay, I will. First, get in the cage with her,” Aiden ordered.
My heart skipped a beat and I shook my head. “Vic. No. Don’t.”
Vic ignored me and walked across the room to the stairs leading up to the platform. He climbed the steps and opened the latch and stepped inside the cage.
“Brings back old memories, doesn’t it? The smell of blood and the sound of rats. I always liked it down here. I used to play with the rats.” He chuckled. “Do you know what they sound like when they’re burning?”
I wasn’t listening to him anymore. All I heard was Vic’s boots on the mat as he walked toward me. I focused on the way his eyes locked with mine, lending me his strength. His calm.
