My heart starts to race in my chest and I roll over to the nightstand and feel around for my phone. Shit. I must’ve left it in the living room. Conner wouldn’t just leave me here. I take a breath and try to calm myself down. I flip the blankets off of me and make my way to Conner’s dresser. I grab one of his t-shirts and slip it over my head. Then pull out a pair of his boxers and slide them on.
I slowly crack open the bedroom door and I’m hit in the face with a familiar scent. I can’t put my finger on it but I know the smell. It’s thick in the air. “Conner!” I call out into the darkness. I look down the darkened hallway and can see a faint light coming from the kitchen. I tiptoe down the hallway until I’m in the living room. With my eyes now adjusted to the dark I find my phone on the coffee table. “Conner?” I call out again but I don’t hear an answer. An uneasy feeling is building in my stomach. As soon as I pick up my phone I feel a burst of pain in the back of my head then see nothing but darkness.
****
My eyes hesitantly crack open. The room is lit up and it takes me a second to realize where I am. “Conner...Conner…” I mumble his name as I start to come to and I feel a wave of heat pulsating from the back of my head. I groan and try to reach up to feel it, but realize my hands are bound to the chair that I’m seated in. What the hell? Then I hear it. His voice. And my heart drops to my stomach.
“Oh good. You’re awake.” His words come from behind me and send an icy shiver down my spine as they reach my ears. Oh, God, no. I squeeze my eyes closed and try to wish this situation away. I try praying for a different reality but when I open them again I’m still here. I feel myself begin to shake in fear as I try to twist my wrists free, desperate to escape.
I suddenly feel his hand on the back of my head, “Shh, shh, shh, shh, shhhh, Brooke. Calm down, Baby. It’s okay. Don’t get yourself all worked up.”
I jerk away from his touch but I can only move so far. I feel the tears begin building in my eyes. “Don’t fucking touch me!” I screech at him. Then panic sets in. Where’s Conner? Oh, God. He hurt Conner. He did something to him. That’s the only logical reason my brain can come up with to explain why he’s not here. He wouldn’t just leave me. Ian must’ve done something to him but I’m too terrified to ask. I don’t want to know the answer. I don’t want to hear the words, Conner’s dead. My bottom lip trembles at the thought.
“Oh feisty tonight, aren’t you?” he smiles as he walks around to face me. I stare back at him determined to hold his gaze and not be intimidated by him. My jaw clenches. I won’t give him the satisfaction. “Well, now that you’re awake and...alert,” he gestures to my struggles to wriggle free from my restraints, “we can get started.”
“Get started with what? What do you want from me, Ian?” I bite back. I watch his black eyes turn stormy as he moves closer to me. I wince as his hands grip tightly to my shoulders, his fingertips digging into me.
“What do I want from you? I want everything you took from me, sweetheart,” he sneers, his face just inches from mine. I turn my head to get any kind of distance from him that I can. But it doesn’t help. I can feel his hot breath on my cheek and small drops of spit flying from his mouth as he growls at me. “You took everything from me. Did you tell Joe to withdraw his letter of recommendation or did he just do it out of the kindness of his heart? Or how ‘bout the report he made to the Commissioner that ended my career. You ruined everything I’ve built, everything I’ve worked so hard for has been tarnished because of you!”
I had no idea that Joe made a report to the Commissioner or that he withdrew his letter of recommendation. As terrified as I am the thought makes my heart warm. Good. I smile at him. “It sounds to me like you got exactly what you deserved.” He releases his grip on me and I tense. I squeeze my eyes closed, waiting for him to retaliate with rage. A backhand across my cheek. A punch in the eye. But his retaliation never comes. I slowly open my eyes and look up at him. He’s actually calm. And what’s scarier is he’s smiling down at me with his arms crossed tightly in front of his chest.
“Oh, Brooke,” he breathes, shaking his head and taking a seat in front of me. “Let me tell you a story. A story about how this is all gonna end for us.” He clears his throat. “As you can probably imagine I am infuriated with all of my hard work going to shit. All of it stolen from me because one stupid little bitch couldn’t keep her fucking mouth shut and didn’t know how to keep her douchebag boyfriend on a leash. But don’t worry. I’ve got a plan for us...And Conner too. You’re both going to feel the pain and the anguish I feel. You’re both going to know what it feels like to lose everything you love.” His smile widens as he puts an arm around my shoulder and leans in closer to me. I try to pull away but my range of motion is limited.
“Do you smell that, Brooke?” His breath is warm as he runs his nose against my ear. His touch instantly makes my stomach turn. “That’s gasoline...and the house is lined with it.” My eyes widen and I inhale sharply the familiar smell filling my lungs. My head turns to him. “You’re fucking crazy! You’ll spend the rest of your life in jail!”
He laughs. “Oh, sweetheart. There’s nothing left for me thanks to you.” He leans in closer. Taking me tightly by the hair he forces me to look back at him, pressing his forehead to mine. “Neither one of us is getting out of this alive,” he grins and my heart drops.
My phone starts ringing on the table behind him causing me to jump. My eyes dart to the screen and a wave of relief washes over me. He’s okay. He’s alive. Tears of joy spill from my eyes.
Incoming call… Conner.
Ian’s grin grows wide. “Ohh, this should be good. Wanna have some fun before we burn this motherfucker down?” He picks up the phone and presses the green answer button. I inhale sharply holding my breath. No, please don’t. I feel my heart physically break as I watch Ian pick up my phone.
****
Conner
As soon as I’m back in my truck I grab my phone and tap Brooke’s name. Answer, Brooke. Please. Please answer. Tears build in my eyes and my heart pounds harder with every ring that goes unanswered. Finally, I hear the ringing stop, but I don’t hear anyone on the other end. I look at the screen to make sure the call is connected and I see the clock on the screen timing our call. Putting the phone back to my ear I start calling out for her. “Brooke! Brooke! Are you there?”
I hear a voice on the other end that causes my heart to stop beating. “Ohh she’s here alright. How ya doin’ buddy?” My blood boils at the thought of him being there alone with her. My hands tighten around the steering wheel until my knuckles are drained of blood and the circulation to my fingers stops. My foot hammers to the floor and I feel my engine roar.
“So help me God, Ian if you lay a fucking hand on her I will fucking kill you, you bastard! Do you fucking hear me?!” My jaw clenches as I wait to hear something on the other end. I hear Ian laugh loudly and my blood runs cold through my veins.
“Ah, Smoak! You never disappoint me you know that? Always gotta play the hero. That’s how I knew you’d leave her yanno? I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist rushing in to save the day. Too bad though. Too bad you weren’t here when she woke up calling your name. Some hero you turned out to be. Brooke’s here crying for you, calling for you, waiting for you to rush in and save her and you’re nowhere to be found.”
His words serve their purpose sending a stabbing pain straight through my guts but I somehow manage to temper the pain. “Where is she?”
“Oh, don’t worry. She’s right here. I can’t tell you how completely sexy it is to see her tied up and breathy like this though. Mmmm…”
“Don’t touch me!” I hear Brooke’s voice in the background and my heart leaps in my chest. She’s alive.
My temper snaps, “You son of a bitch! Don’t you fucking touch her! Ahh! I’m gonna kill you!” A wave of helplessness washes over me as I race down the road still at least fifteen minutes out of town.
I hear Ian laugh on the other end of the phone again
. “Conner, you’re not going to kill me. You’ll never make it in time and besides I wouldn’t give you the satisfaction. I do find the situation ironic though. You know that you rush out to be the knight in shining armour but in doing so left her completely vulnerable and exposed. Clearly the two of you would be willing to die for each other. It’s too bad she and I are the ones who will be dying together.”
I hear a muffled sound in the background. I can tell it’s Brooke trying to say something but I can’t make out what it is. My mouth goes dry and a lump forms in my throat. He’s right. I left her vulnerable to him. This is my fault. She finally let me protect her and I failed. If anything happens to her I’ll never forgive myself. I squeeze tightly to the phone.
“Let me talk to her.” My voice is tight and stern as I choke back the tears of guilt growing in my eyes.
“Awe, that’s sweet. You want to tell her goodbye? Sorry, she can’t come to the phone right now. You know… being tied up at the moment and all. But if you want I’ll give her a kiss goodbye for you.”
My jaw clenches. I’ve never felt this level of rage in all my life. My whole body is shaking. My insides are twisted so tightly into knots that it physically hurts. There’s not a doubt in my mind that I will kill this piece of shit the first chance I get. “Aahhh! Ian! Let her go!” Tears start streaming down my face as I beg. “Please! Take me instead! Let me take her place.” My voice is thick with desperation. Please. There’s a long pause on the other end of the line and for a moment I think he’s considering my offer.
“Sorry, Smoak. This started with her. And now it’s gonna end with her. But before we go I’ve gotta ask. How does it feel to know the last lips that she’ll kiss, the last eyes that she’ll look into, the last touch that she’ll feel...will all be mine? We’ve gotta go.” The line suddenly goes silent and I look at my screen. He ended the call. No, no, no, no, no! In a fit of pure rage I whip my phone at my windshield and watch a small crack zigzag across it. The tears repeatedly fill my eyes and stream down my face, tears refilling in my eyes as quickly as they expel from them. My vision is blurred and I can barely make out the yellow line on the road ahead of me but I continue speeding forward. I need to get to her.
Seven
Brooke
My head sags to the floor, my heart shattered into a million pieces. I’m not afraid. I’m not sad for myself. My heart breaks for Conner. It cuts me to my core that Ian used me as the knife he drove straight through Conner’s heart. It kills me to know that I am the weapon Ian used against him. I could hear his pain in his voice as it boomed through the phone. I tried to call out to him. To tell him I loved him and that it would all be okay but Ian covers the phone with his hand.
I’ve tried to be brave. Conner has tried to bargain. There’s nothing left to do but beg. “Please, Ian. Please let me go. You don’t have to do this,” I say softly.
“Save it, Brooke. It’s too late for you now. It’s too late for us both.” Ian pulls a pack of matches from his pocket, lights one and tosses it onto the kitchen floor by the door. I watch as the perimeter of the kitchen goes up in flames. Ian returns to the living room taking a seat in front of me once again.
“Did I ever tell you how hard I worked to be the man that I was?” Ian asks, calmly. I lower my eyes and shake my head. This is it. I’m gonna die.
“You see it wasn’t easy to become the golden boy of all New York City Fire Departments. There are a lot of great fire fighters in that city. A lot of competition. I had to get a leg up somehow. So I practiced and learned the art of starting an efficient fire. If I were the one to start the fire I could easily be one of the first to respond and already know how to put it out. It took starting and responding to close to a dozen fires before I even started to get the recognition I deserved. Now granite, four or five people lost their lives from it but their sacrifices did not go unnoticed by me. I attended each of their funerals and started fundraisers for their families to show my gratitude and support.”
He waves his hands around animatedly as he tells the story as if he’s telling a child a bedtime story. His expressions are colorful and bright as if the story he’s telling is a fairytale rather than a horror. I cringe at each word that slips past his lips. He’s more of a monster than I had ever imagined. I watch him wipe his brow on his sleeve as the heat from the kitchen begins blowing into the living room.
“You see, if you pour the accelerant at certain points around the perimeter you can jeopardize the structural integrity of the building so much faster. A bonus to this is you can also block off the exits making it impossible for anyone inside to escape without the help of a trained firefighter there to rescue them.” He smiles proudly and my stomach turns.
“You make me sick,” I hiss back at him with disgust. I begin to cough as the smoke from the next room starts flooding into the living room. I watch the flames follow a path around the perimeter just as he had described it to me. Ian doesn’t say anything back. He just sits across from me, his eyes as black as his soul, digging into mine like some sick game of chicken as if he’s waiting to see who is going to move first. Except I can’t move. He’s playing the sadistic game by choice and I’m being forced to play with him. I stare back at him watching the shadows dance on his face. If there is any satisfaction I will get from this it’s that I know this bastard will burn with me.
His eyes begin to water from the smoke and he turns his head to cough. Suddenly, it’s no longer darkness looming in his eyes but fear. I watch as they grow wide and break from mine. Reality seems to be setting in followed immediately by panic. He looks frantically around the room and covers his mouth with his shirt. I watch him dip low to the floor and disappear back the hallway.
“No! You can’t! You fucking coward! You don’t get to get out of this! You deserve to burn!” I scream from the top of my lungs but he’s gone. Probably escaped out a window. This was probably his plan all along. Panic sets in again and I start to wriggle my wrists around and try bouncing in my chair. Anything to break free or get loose. As I rootch around in my seat I lose my balance and my chair tips over onto the floor and I’m stuck. Trapped in a fiery prison of Ian’s making.
My eyes struggle to open because they burn from the smoke but I force them to look around. One last desperate attempt to find a way out of this mess. But the room is so thick with smoke I can’t even tell where I am anymore. I close my eyes and feel the sweat beading all over my body as the flames grow nearer. I’m struggling to focus and stay conscious and I know it’s a bad sign. I hear a loud ringing that sounds like it’s coming from the distance but my consciousness is fading in and out so rapidly I can’t tell if it’s real or in my head. Then everything fades to black.
****
Conner
As I get into town I can already see the lights flashing in my development from the trucks. I redial Bobby’s number but like Gabe, Andy, and Joe he doesn’t answer either. I’m overwhelmed with fear, with panic, with rage. There are so many emotions flooding through my veins I feel like I might burst. I drag in a deep breath as I turn onto my street terrified of what I’m pulling up on. Please let her be okay. Please let her be okay.
A sharp pain surges into my chest as I pull my truck in across the street from my driveway and I spot the coroner’s van. My breath catches in my throat and a tightness begins to squeeze around my neck. I think I’ve stopped breathing completely but I can’t be sure. I leap from my truck and rush to the other side of the street and start searching.
All the faces around me look sad. Pale. My eyes stop on the ambulance and I’m about to make a run for it when Andy scoops me up into his arms and holds me tightly. “I’m so sorry, Conner,” he breaths as his grip tightens around me. Every last ounce of air I have left in me is knocked from my chest. I feel like I just got punched in the stomach and I fall to my knees. “Wh-what? No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no.” I clench my hands tight into my hair and squeeze. Every muscle in my body is wound up tight. I feel like I might shatter and fall apa
rt here on the sidewalk.
I’m too late. I fucking lost her. This is all my fault. I tuck my head into my lap as I sit on my knees and sob. I want to scream, I want to throw up, I want to kill someone. But I can’t do anything except sit here. Rocking back and forth like a toddler trying to soothe themself. The depth of my pain has regressed me to a childlike state. I don’t even know how to begin to cope with this level of loss.
I feel Andy’s grip on me loosen but I don’t move. I sit there on my knees with my face in my hands. I feel like the second that I move it all becomes real. I have to face it and I’m not ready to face a world where Brooke no longer exists. So instead I continue to sob. I feel a large hand rest on my back and I peek out through my fingers to see Gabe kneeling beside me.
“Hey buddy. I know it hurts. I know but you’ve gotta pull it together.” What? Rage fumes inside me. “Brooke is gonna need us all to be strong for her and help her get through this.”
“What!? Sh-She’s alive?” My face lifts immediately and I search his eyes. I feel like he’s just woken me up from the most excruciating nightmare I’ve ever experienced. I stare at Andy “Then what the fuck did you mean?” Gabe looks up at Andy, a confused expression plastered on his face.
“Bruno,” he says calmly. Only now realizing the confusion he caused. “We couldn’t save Bruno. I’m so sorry, Conner. I tho-I thought someone already talked to you.” He glances over his shoulder. “You started running that way and I thought you were going to see his body.” As relieved as I am that Brooke is alive, a twinge of pain now radiates throughout my body for the loss of my best pal.
“I just fucking got here! Somebody better tell me what the fuck is going on! Where is Brooke? Where is Ian?” Gabe wraps an arm around me and pulls me to the side.
There's Fire: A Friends to Lovers Romance (Where There's Smoak Book 5) Page 6