“And where the hell did you learn how to do that?” I didn’t really care; she already had my interest.
“Track taught me how to do a lot of things.” She said this tongue in cheek and I could just imagine what all he’d ‘taught’ her.
“I’m sure he did, but tell me about the lock picking, we’ll talk about your freakiness later.” That was good for another round of laughter and I felt the knots in my stomach ease just a little bit more.
“Watch and learn ladies. She walked over to my bedroom door and locked it with her on the other side. I’m not sure what all she did, but she shocked the hell out of me with her little demonstration when she got it open in about five seconds flat. For all I know Mandy could have different locks, but I was more than a little bit convinced that she knew what she was doing and that was good enough for me.
“Wow show me how to do that.” Both Belle and Tammy walked over to join her and even Cassie made her way over there while I sat in awe. We all played around, taking turns trying to do it, but it wasn’t as easy as she made it seem.
I knew we were all just killing time, waiting until the coast was clear, but we were too restless to settle down to do so much as play a game. I fought off going to the bathroom to throw up I don’t know how many times, and the more time went by the more I rethought what I was about to do. Not only because I hate having anything to do with Mandy, but because I knew Jace was going to have a cow when he finds out, and he will find out.
I was tempted to call him, just to hear his voice. But I knew if I did I’d give myself away. I still can’t believe he knows me so well already. I never really let myself think about his time with her, but I know if he was half as intense with her as he is with me, there was a good reason for her actions. Once you’ve felt that, been touched by his fire, it would be damn near impossible to find that with anyone else. I know I wouldn’t be able to move on after him. The very thought makes me sick to my stomach.
I listened to the others telling tall tales as we waited for things to quiet down. Once there were no sounds coming from my parents’ room I made sure they were really out for the night before sneaking out of the house.
Because we couldn’t turn the lights on we had to go slow so as not to bump into everything and give ourselves away. I reset the alarm and followed the others around the side of the house where I’d purposely left my car so I wouldn’t need to open the garage. See, I’m smart. Though Jace seems to think I’m an imbecile.
I had to be very careful as I started up the car and eased down the driveway with the lights off. The nervous chatter in the backseat wasn’t helping matters any and my foot felt like lead on the gas even as I tried to go slow. Valerie’s ‘Oh shit it’s Track’ just after her phone beeped distracted me for a split second, which was good because I jerked my foot off the gas and pressed the brake just as I saw movement at the end of the driveway.
I came to a screeching halt when someone pulled out in front of us, blocking us in. The car was in total darkness and I almost had a heart attack and the girls were screaming bloody murder when the doors opened and four men jumped out.
My only thought before I knew I was going to die was of Jace and how if I survived this time he really was going to kill me. I couldn’t even remember what I was supposed to do at that moment as angry tears gathered in my eyes. I’d got my friends killed.
My parents were gonna wake up in the morning and find us all dead because I was stupid. Dad is going to lose it and mom’s gonna fall apart My family….I should’ve listened to Jace and stayed inside. All of this went through my head in what must’ve been a matter of seconds but felt like a lifetime.
My hands were frozen on the steering wheel when one of the dark shadows from the truck came to my window and knocked. The other three seemed to be surrounding the car and I had no choice but to look at whoever was trying to get my attention. At least the person hadn’t just shot me.
I made myself look and felt relief mixed with joy, mixed with…I don’t know what you call that thing when you know you’re about to die but then it doesn’t happen and adrenaline kicks in. I got my voice back fast enough though. “Jace Alexander Sanders are you insane? You almost gave me a heart attack.”
He pulled the door open and the look on his face made me wish I’d locked it, dammit. “Going somewhere?” I didn’t trust his cool demeanor one bit. I could probably still make a run for it. If I gunned the engine and took off he’d have to jump out of the way. Yeah right.
“Uh, I was um, we were going out for burgers.” I can’t think that quick after a scare like that. I looked back to see the others weren’t faring much better.
“That’s extra for lying...” He started to say something else but then there was a loud bang followed by an explosion behind us. I looked back to see smoke and flames coming from my house. The fear and confusion came back tenfold and I tried to jump out of the car and rush by him. What I was seeing didn’t make sense, but I knew something was very wrong, and my parents were in that house. Why won’t my legs move? I felt something hard hit me and hold me in place.
“Sian NO.” Jace wrapped his arms around me as the others jumped out of the car and stood on the driveway looking back at the house that was now in flames. I looked up at him in confusion and fear, still not comprehending what was going on. I could feel my heart racing with sick fear and could barely see him through the tears that escaped my eyes. “I got it.” I nodded at his words, even though nothing made any sense to me.
“Alex stay with them.” He pushed me back into the car and started heading towards the fire. “Shane, Jared come with me.” I was too scared to do anything. I’d lost all the feeling in my legs and my mind wouldn’t settle. “Jace…” His name came out as a squeak but he was long gone. Down the driveway, towards the burning house where my parents were. I tried jumping out of the car once my mind cleared enough. The others were crying and panicking, but I barely spared them a glance. As soon as my feet hit the ground Alex pushed me back.
“No Sian stay here, Jace will take care of it.” He had his phone to his ear and I could hear the nine one- one operator asking him what type of emergency he had. My head was swiveled around and I stared at the flames as they licked the sky in the darkness. I know there were sounds and movement around me, but nothing was getting through. Like I was caught in a time warp. I knew there was a word for it, but couldn’t think of it right now.
3
Sian
Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. Nothing seemed real. My friends were crying and comforting each other; one of them had a death grip on my hand and my mind was numb. Alex was pacing back and forth beside the car but I could tell he wanted to follow the guys from the way he kept looking towards the raging inferno they had disappeared into. I finally found my voice the third time I saw him do it.
“Go Alex, please go and make sure they’re okay.” Tears were streaming down my face and there was a knot of sick fear and panic in my gut. It felt like a long time since he’d left and sitting out here in the dark I couldn’t see anything.
“No, Jace would kill me if I left you out here alone. Where the fuck is the fire engine?” He ran his hand over his head miserably and none of us relaxed until we heard sirens in the distance.
Just then we saw Jace and the others coming back with mom and dad. I pushed past Alex and ran to them, but my legs gave out when I was only a few feet away. I heard Jace and mom cry out for me but couldn’t even gather the strength to tell them that I was okay. I was too numb to think or feel. They were alive; everyone I loved was safe. I need to throw up.
All the feeling came back when Jace grabbed me up off the ground where I’d fallen and pulled my into his chest. I felt his heart beating against mine, his lips in my hair, his soft voice whispering reassurance to me, and the world started to right itself once again. Now I could hear everything clearly and their words were no longer jumbled bits of confusion.
Everyone was talking at once, my parents wer
e making sure we were all okay, but were a bit confused that we were already out of the house. That’s when I learned that my parents hadn’t left immediately after the explosion because they were looking for us. Saying I felt horrible was like putting a Band-Aid on an open wound that needed stitches.
I shook at the realization that I could’ve killed my parents with my thoughtlessness. Could this night get any worse? I started to shake even harder when it all came crashing down on me at once. “It’s okay baby, everyone’s fine; calm down for me now baby.” Jace was being kind but I knew he was pissed and I felt lower than slime. Mom and dad were covered in soot and coughing up their lungs, and from the soot on Jace’s clothes and the smell of smoke, I knew he’d gone into that burning hell to bring them out.
“What happened?” The fire trucks blew past us on the driveway. Thank heavens Alex and Shane had moved my car and Jace’s truck to the side to make room because I hadn’t even thought of it. It’s humbling to know that I freeze up in the face of trouble and revert back to infancy. I’ll have to work on that. Maybe Jace was right and I should just leave everything up to him in the future. Like hell!
“We’ll know soon enough. It sounded like it came from your room. Jace you mind if I have a look at my daughter?” Dad joked but I could see he too was pissed and trying his best to hide it. I studied his face to see what level of hell this was. That’s something he shared with Jace. They both wore their concern on their faces. Right now dad was scared and pissed, which wasn’t good.
Jace let go long enough for me to hug mom and dad before taking me back. “Jace what’s wrong?” he was acting even more Neanderthal man than usual and it was only as I looked at him closely in the moonlight that I noticed the ashen look to his pallor. Something was going on but I couldn’t for the life of me think what could be worse than this. At least we were all alive and no one seemed to be hurt.
“What is it?” I looked around at everyone. Jared had an arm around Belle, Shane had his around Tammy and Val and Cass were holding onto each other with Alex standing watch over them. No one answered my question, which only made me more nervous. I saw a look pass between Jace and dad that had those knots retying themselves in the pit of my stomach.
Somehow I got the sense by the way they were acting that the danger wasn’t over yet. I looked to my brother for answers but he too had his lips folded shut with a look of rage on his face. For some reason that scared me more than anything else. Jared is always the cool headed one. He’s the brother who listens to my gripes and moans and steers me in the right direction more often than not. Dad was training him well on how to handle life’s little speed bumps, as he likes to say.
He wasn’t looking cool and in control now and the fact that he refused to meet my eyes made my stomach cramp and my arms tighten harder around Jace. “Tell me. Your silence is only scaring me more.” I pleaded with Jace who still looked like he’d seen a ghost, or something worst. He took my face between his hands and stared at me before mumbling the word ‘fuck’ and putting his forehead against mine.
“Who knew you were having a sleepover tonight baby?” He pulled back as he asked and I looked up at him like he was speaking a foreign language. “What? What does that have to do with anything?” He huffed out a breath and I knew he didn’t want to say anymore, which sent my imagination on a wild goose chase for answers. My nerves decided to choose that moment to go haywire and the shakes came back full force.
“The fire or whatever that is was started in your room.” What he was saying didn’t make any sense. I gave him a puzzled look as I tried getting my head around it.
“Was it an electrical wire or something?” I looked from dad and back to him, but they were both wearing stubborn looks on their faces. “Would one of you tell me what’s going on? Jace…”
He looked at dad but didn’t say anything. Dad I noticed was now sandwiching me between him and Jace with mom under his other arm, like they were protecting me. Jared was looking at me like he wanted to kill something and Jace, well, I could feel the ill concealed rage coursing through him. Oh this was bad.
I heard an engine behind me and the next thing I knew his parents were pulling up and bundling me and my friends into their car with them and promising my parents to pick Melissa up on the way. I looked at Jace when his dad refused to let me stay back, still not understanding any of this.
What the hell is going on? “Go with my parents babe, I’ll be there soon.” He kissed me hard on the mouth before forcing me into the car with the others while he and my parents stayed back with my brother and their friends. I looked back until they were out of view as his dad peeled out of the driveway.
No one was talking which made the whole situation seem dire. Why had Jace asked me that question? He couldn’t be thinking that this had been deliberate. No doubt he was overreacting as usual. I comforted myself with that thought but when I caught a glimpse of his dad’s face in the rearview mirror I knew it was a lie.
I wanted to jump put of the car and run back to him, but knew there was no chance of that. I tried to piece things together like a puzzle but none of the pieces fit. Each time I found a thread to tug on I lost it because it went nowhere. None of this made any sense.
No matter how I turned things over and over in my head nothing panned out and I was beginning to feel like I was going crazy. My legs started shaking again as we pulled into his driveway and as soon as I got my door opened I lost everything I’d eaten that day. “I’ve got you Sian come on, it’s going to be okay.” His dad’s arms offered comfort but I wish they were his. “I want Jace.” I broke down and cried as he carried me inside.
4
Jace
It was deliberately done, not an accident. Those words kept running through my head, leaving a sickening feeling in the pit of my gut. I’d seen it myself but until the inspector said the words out loud, I’d held out hope that my suspicions were wrong.
If she’d been in there…no, better not go there or I’ll lose it for sure. And I was afraid that if I gave into the rage that I barely had leashed, I wouldn’t come back from it. No one has to tell me that she was the target. That whatever went down here tonight was directed at her. So what now? Are they gonna try again?
What do I have to do to protect her? They got to her once I’ll be damned if I’m gonna let them get that close to her again. Whoever this was, whatever this was, I know it was about me and that shit just kills me. I wish the fuckers would just come after me, but I knew that they won’t, because that would be too easy.
I’ve always known that Mandy was behind her attack. I knew that she’d hired someone to do her dirty work and her stink was all over this shit. I’d been so focused on her that I hadn’t given much thought to whoever it was that she had working with her. That means there was still an unknown out there somewhere gunning for her, and I hadn’t the first clue who that might be. She’s a fucking sitting duck.
A cold numbness crept into my bones and spread, leaving me slightly dazed and nauseous. The rush of possessive love I felt in that moment was unlike anything I’d ever known before. Faced with just how close she’d come to dying… again, that coldness was soon replaced with the hot burning rage I’d held at bay for too long. Looks like time had run out.
The rage actually helped clear my mind. I had only one purpose. From the day I first met her, I knew she was going to be more than just a special someone who was going to be in and out of my life. We had a connection that ran deeper than anything I knew could exist for me. And every day since then that feeling has only grown stronger.
I pushed back the rage once it became too much, knowing that I was only using it to keep the fear at bay. Fear is weakening. It clouds the judgment and leaves you open to all sorts of hell. Not that rage was much different but at least rage keeps the blood pumping and the mind focused on the enemy.
The fear that crept in had me by the balls. I’m tough, I’m a protector, I’m her protector, and I wasn’t here. I wasn’t there before when
she almost lost her life, and tonight when she was in danger I didn’t have a clue. I was too busy worrying about her sneaking out and getting into trouble when the trouble was headed straight to her door.
I bent over with my hands on my knees when it all came crashing down on me at once. My gut cramped and my head swam as fear gripped me hard. I saw what had been done to her room, what could’ve happened to her had she been in there. There would’ve been nothing left. “Oh fuck!”
I breathed through my nose until the light headedness and nausea passed, shook my head to clear it and straightened up. I kept telling myself that she was safe at home with my parents. Dad wouldn’t let anything happen to her. I just kept repeating that to myself over and over until things came back into full focus.
The need to protect her at all costs was uppermost in my thoughts once the mind numbing fear of what could’ve happened to her released me from its grip. I needed to get to her, to see her face. Even though I knew she was safe with my parents an unreasonable fear that if I weren’t keeping watch over her twenty-four seven something would go wrong, grabbed me by the balls.
When her dad first told me that the fire had started in her room, I’d convinced myself that it was just a coincidence. I was certain that it was faulty wiring, or something silly, like the girls had tried to roast marshmallows on the bed or some shit. Anything other than what had actually been found. Even after seeing the evidence with my eyes I’d still refused to accept. But there was no arguing with the experts.
Someone had thrown an explosive device through her bedroom window and then taken a few shots. Probably to catch anyone running away from the fire, I don’t know. What I do know is that she was the target. Her parents had rushed into the room after the explosion trying to find their daughter and her friends, sick with fear when they couldn’t find them and then the shots had rang out.
Eden High Series 2 Book 4 Page 2