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I don’t claim to understand the way of the crime world, but I know what Cayden says makes sense. And it makes me sick to my stomach. “Just, please, don’t do anything just yet. Let’s think of another way. There’s got to be another way,” I add, beseeching he sees reason.
I don’t know what that is, but we will find a way. We have to.
The silence overcomes us once again.
My chest tightens, and I rub over my heart. I now understand why Cayden wanted to spare me this pain. If push came to shove, could I really do it? End Cayden’s dad’s life again? But for good this time?
The ringing of Cayden’s cell is a welcomed distraction as the silence gives me the chills. He presses a button on the steering wheel to answer the call via Bluetooth. However, when Lacey’s frantic voice spills from the speakers, that welcome turns to dread.
“Cayden! It’s on fire!”
Fire? I spin to face Cayden, who looks at me, shrugging.
“What’s on fire? Ace…”
“Come home!” she screams, and when I hear the distinct sound of sirens, I know the fire is there.
Home.
“Peyton’s house is on fire!”
I blink once, not believing what I’m hearing because there must be some mistake. But when Lacey says, “I called 911, but it’s bad. Please, come home,” it’s evident this is really happening.
“We’re coming, Ace. Go someplace safe and tell Ellie I’m minutes away.” He hangs up, and I slam into the door when he pulls a violent U-turn, flooring it.
The landscape passes me by in a blur, but even if Cayden wasn’t driving like a madman, I still wouldn’t be able to focus on the world surrounding me. My house is on fire? How is this possible? I turned everything off. I didn’t leave any candles burning, and I doubt any of my new appliances would have surged.
That ominous shadow returns, and when I see Cayden white-knuckling the steering wheel, his jaw clenched tight, I know he feels it too.
“How did this happen?” I gasp, shaking my head in disbelief. “Cayden?”
“That piece of shit,” he snarls under his breath.
“It’s not possible.” My mind has gone into denial because there is no way I can accept the possibility that something sinister is at work here.
Cayden slams his hand against the steering wheel, cursing. “It’s very possible.” He presses his foot to the metal. “I was afraid of this, Peyton. He won’t stop, and this is why Benny—”
“No!” I shout as this isn’t a solution. It’s a tragedy. “Let’s just get to the bottom of this before we talk about ending a man’s life!”
“He’s already dead,” Cayden spits.
My stomach drops because deep down, I know there is no changing his mind. Regardless of my concerns, he’ll do what he wants because this is the only way he can rid his father from our lives for good.
We travel the rest of the way in silence, but sometimes, the quiet is far more deafening than noise.
We arrive back home in mere minutes, but when we attempt to turn down our street, it’s blocked off by the police. Cayden winds down his window. “Our house is down there,” he says quickly, but the young officer shakes his head.
“It isn’t safe, sir. One of the houses is on fire. We’ve evacuated the neighborhood.” The sky is ablaze with streaks of blood red and a blistering orange.
Leaning over the middle console, I try to reason with him. “I know. It’s my house! Please!”
I’m hoping he budges, but he doesn’t. “I’m sorry. I can’t let you down there. Not until the fire is under control.”
“My daughter and my sister live a few doors down. At least let me see if they’re all right!” Cayden is about to rip out this officer’s spleen when he shakes his head.
“You need to move your vehicle, sir. This road needs to be clear for emergency vehicles.”
Cayden opens his mouth, primed on telling the officer what he thinks of his suggestion, but I gently grip his wrist. “Let’s park down the road and call Lacey, okay?”
It takes every ounce of his strength not to mow down the barricade, but he eventually nods. “Okay.”
However, the officer isn’t taking any risks and stands his ground, watching closely as Cayden reverses the truck down the road. The area is filled with neighbors and spectators, and when they see us, their eyes widen, and they whisper behind their hands.
I can only imagine what they’re thinking. It’s about time that eyesore burned down.
Everything I’ve worked so hard for has just gone up in flames, and there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it. Memories, ones which I can actually remember, have been taken away from me, but maybe this is my karma catching up to me. Those walls housed terrible secrets, and although my intention was good, maybe this is what was always destined for me and the house that changed my life forever.
“Ace! I’m here. Where are you?” Cayden has parked the truck and is jumping out before I have a chance to undo my seat belt.
As he frantically scans the crowd, I take a moment because what the actual fuck is going on? The more I think about my house, the harder it is to breathe.
No.
The familiar sense of drowning returns, which catches me off guard because it’s been weeks since these dark feelings have surfaced. But the more I think about what has just happened, the quicker the darkness threatens to swallow me whole.
Burying my face into my palms, I focus on breathing deeply like I learned in yoga, but it’s not helping. Each breath feels like my last. On the cusp of hyperventilating, I close my eyes and surrender, but when the door rips open, and I’m dragged into a warm embrace, the world slowly stops spinning.
“I’ve got you, Snow. Just breathe. Breathe with me.” Cayden’s soothing voice cuts through the chaos, and when he presses us chest to chest as I cling to him, I follow the steady cadence of his heart. “That’s it.”
I bury my nose into the groove of his neck, focusing on him and not on the clusterfuck surrounding us. Gradually, through the clamor, I find silence and connect with the way my body and heart are in sync with Cayden’s.
My arms are around his nape, and the closeness is everything I need. Before long, I return to the now and breathe. “Thank you,” I whisper, slowly opening my eyes.
“Always,” he softly replies, stroking my hair.
With regret, I let him go because we have far more important issues to deal with. Just as I’m about to ask if he found Ellie and Lacey, both cling onto me, squeezing me tight. It seems we all need the connection because this is beyond words.
“Are you okay?” I ask, wrapping my arms around them.
“Yes, we’re fine. But your house, Peyton…”
“It’s just a house,” I say while Lacey hugs me tighter. “As long as you two are okay, that’s all that matters.”
As Ellie sniffles against me, I realize this is the first time I’ve seen her since I found out the truth. My heart instantly aches. “Are you all right, little mouse?” I gently run my fingers through her soft hair, holding back my tears.
She nods, squeezing me harder.
I meet Cayden’s eyes, and without words, he knows what I’m feeling because he feels it too.
“Sorry to interrupt,” says a stern voice, jarring us all apart.
