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I shook my head, but we didn’t have time to argue. We ran downstairs, to the lift. Nothing. I kept going, repeating the process until we reached the basement. I immediately caught Adam’s scent in front of the lift. I was barely even aware I was following his scent when Chloe asked, “How do you know where to go?”
“I just… have a feeling,” I said, leading the way.
“Like Margo?”
I glanced at her. “Something like that.”
I followed the scent to an old storage room. My phone beeped, but I ignored it. I pushed open the door. Inside the room, Adam was emptying a gasoline can all over a pile of sheets thrown in one corner of the room.
“Adam,” Chloe cried, pushing past me. “What are you doing, you idiot?”
He froze, hunched over. “Leave me alone.”
“Talk to me,” she said coaxingly. “Why are you doing this?”
“I’m giving her what she wants!” He whirled around, his eyes wild. “This will fix everything. I want to make her happy!”
“This isn’t making Emma happy,” she said. “People think she’s starting the fires. She’s in trouble. Even her family suspect her. She’s going through hell because of this, Adam.”
“That’s why I’m doing this!” he said, his eyes manic now. “To get rid of her mother. She doesn’t even care about her. You know that, too. Emma needs me. She doesn’t need anyone else. It’s better this way. It’ll be me and her, the way it’s supposed to be.” He reached into his pocket then held out a lighter—just like Emma’s—in his shaky hand. “Get out, Chloe. I don’t want you to be here.”
“Let’s go for a coffee and have a chat,” she said. “Just like the old days. Maybe I can get Emma to come. She’s here right now. We can go together.”
He glared at me, his temples sweating. “Will he be there? Will she rub him in my face?”
I was startled by the hate in his voice.
“Dorian’s with Margo,” Chloe said, her panic making her voice rise in pitch. “He’s not a threat to you.”
‘I’ve seen the way she looks at him,” he hissed, his voice ragged. “After everything I’ve done for her. You know, Chloe. I’m just trying to show her. You know how I feel, what I’ve done. She doesn’t even thank me, just avoids me. I make a mistake, and she acts like I’m some kind of monster.” Spittle flew out of his mouth. “But him? She smiles at him even though he’s… I don’t know what he is, but he isn’t right. None of those people are right. You know, Chloe. You were there!” He slapped the side of his head.
“Is this about Halloween?” Chloe asked. “Did it make you remember—?”
“Stop!” he screeched. “Don’t say it! I wanted to watch her dance with fire again. I wanted to make her happy, but she was here with him all along. You helped him. You want them together. You’re in on it, with her parents, trying to keep us apart.” Tears rolled down his cheeks. “I thought you were my friend!”
“I am. I swear I am.”
“Then why would you come here with him?” He dropped the lighter then lunged at her, pushing her against the wall, his hand around her throat. “You’re supposed to be my friend! Why are you doing this to me?”
I kicked the lighter away from the gasoline, relieved it hadn’t sparked a fire. That only left Adam to deal with.
“You need help,” Chloe croaked, her eyes full of tears.
Adam didn’t even notice me tearing him from her, twisting his arm around his back. He didn’t react when I kicked him in the back of the knee and sent him to the ground, keeping him pinned there. He kept calling Emma’s name, crying out for her to dance with the fire, whatever the hell that meant. His words chilled me far more than Margo or Vira ever had.
“Please don’t hurt him,” Chloe said.
“I’m not. I’m restraining him so he stops trying to hurt people.”
“Adam, I’m sorry,” she said.
Adam swore at her.
Emma came skidding into the room, panting hard. She took in the scene, and her face crumpled. “Why are you doing this to me?”
For a second, I thought she was talking to me.
Chloe wrapped her arms around her friend. “Don’t. Don’t talk to him. It only makes it worse.”
