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MORRIGAN
My rage has subsided, if only for a few moments, enough to hear what the firemen that approach us have to say.
“It’s all extinguished. But I hope you know insurance might not cover the damage. It was no accident, I’m afraid, but I believe you are already aware.”
Lulu nods, gripping my hand.
“It didn’t all burn out,” he continues, and we let out a joint relieved sigh.
“There’s plenty of damage, but some areas were untouched, thankfully. It looked like you have some floor fire barriers and most of them did their job. Please be careful going down there. The stairs are safe, but I cannot guarantee the whole ceiling or the floors are. Okay?”
“We have some hardhats upstairs, from the apartment renovation. I can bring them,” Luke states, and Lulu nods to him.
“However,” the fireman continues, “the car from the parking lot… I’m afraid that one is totalled.”
“What car?” My eyes grow wider by the second as I take in the look of pity on Lulu’s face.
“Your car, Morri… I’m sorry.”
Only hours ago, I was in pure and total bliss, isolated from the world, from the reality of my situation, and it’s hard not to think that this is some sort of punishment. I was finally living something I stopped dreaming about long ago. We were making plans, setting up contingencies, we were discussing my freedom and the rest of our lives. But as I look into those black eyes now, all I feel is fury. That type that will not push me to attack, but walk away disappointed… and never come back.
Shit… I fucking loved that car!
The firemen leave, and we’re left alone.
“He probably thought that you came here after you escaped. Your car at the back confirmed it to him. Do you have any idea what he knew about the club?” My lips tighten into a thin line as The Serpent asks the question.
“Morri?” Maddox asks, a slight warning in his voice.
Fuck’s sake!
“Whilst I was with him, he’s never mentioned it. Anyone that wanted to know the information could easily find out it’s Lulu’s. It’s a legal establishment after all,” I comply. “However, when it comes to my involvement… onlyyouknew.” I narrow my eyes on The Serpent, my brain fighting to believe anything but the obvious conclusion.
He didn’t miss the accusation, and I don’t miss the hurt that suddenly appears in his eyes. It has to be him… or one of The Sanctum. There’s no one else.
“Don’t insult me.” His words penetrate like the freezing cold in your bones, and they bend you in compliance. A talent few possess, but he’s mastered.
At this moment in time… that’s exactly what I wish to do—fucking insult him.
“Come on!” Lulu rasps, pulling my hand. “Let’s see the damage.”
“Let me go get some helmets.” Luke steps away, but she stops him.
“Fuck the helmets. Get them later. I need you there with me,” she pleads, and he looks at her, then at the door, lingering for a moment, fiddling with his fingers, as he turns back and comes to us. I can’t blame him for being worried about safety.
“Here, I got some flashlights from the storeroom.” Beau, one of our security guys, hands them to some of us, and carries on walking at the front.
“They followed him, they knew he was in the bathroom,” Lulu tells me as we go back to the foyer, the smoke almost cleared now, then follow him down the steps. “Watched him until he stepped away, and trapped him in there.” I can’t blame him… he didn’t know to expect this.
As we walk down to our club that smells of wet ash and wood, the image before us is dire. Especially in the eerie light of the flashlights. With every step we take into the club, Lulu exhales little gasps, clutching her belly, her chest or her cheeks, pushing back little sobs.
We noticed everything in the back, starting from the corridor where the playrooms lie, is intact. Black from smoke, but intact.
But no matter what… we’re closed for business. And fuck knows how I’m going to get the money to rebuild and start over. The bar was a fucking work of art, and the stage was perfect. The only place I felt truly and utterly comfortable dancing in public is decimated. Every single table and chair has to be thrown away, the floors need replacing, and…
“Watch out!” Hands wrap around my waist and chest from behind, and I’m whipped backwards just in time to witness one of the large light fixtures crash in the spot where I stood a second before.
I can feel The Serpent’s heavy breaths against my back, and I would shrug him off if he wasn’t holding me so tight.
