Page 98 of Love Lies Bleeding

Glancing out of the window to the drive, I see a truck parked at an odd angle across the front drive. It looks like a tradesman, but I haven’t booked anyone in yet.

“Okay, my darling. I might do those little soul breads you like to start then. It’ll help soak up the alcohol. You do tend to go a little heavy.”

An eerie feeling makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and I turn to see a man in what was once an expensive suit but now looks like a dishrag, standing in the doorway of the master bedroom. His pupils are dilated, and he looks like he’s slept in a hedge but there is no mistaking who it is; Nicholas Kendrick. The man who’d ruined my life and almost destroyed the man I loved, and who was behind the proposed buyout of my mom’s salon. I recognised him from the photos of him I’d found online after KLM had contacted me.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

I dropped my phone from my ear but make sure to keep the line open to my mom’s call. If what Lexi went through with Dean taught me anything, it’s that silence only ever protects the aggressor.

“Hello, Cherry. I’ve been hoping to catch you alone.”

A shiver snakes down my spine at the emotionless way he says the words. His eyes rake over my body in a way that makes nausea slither up my throat. I can hear my mom calling my name, asking what is going on, and I pray she realizes something is off because I can’t tell her, not when I have to keep my focus on the threat in front of me.

“The feeling isn’t mutual, Kendick,” I say, deliberately mispronouncing his name, my desire to live clearly not outweighed by my smart mouth.

His eyes narrow, his lips thinning spitefully, as he dives for me, knocking the phone from my hand. It’s the opening I need. I run, screaming for help in the hopes my mom will hear me and he hadn’t cut the connection.

My feet skid on the stairs, and I almost lose my footing and take a header down the grand staircase, but I catch myself on the handrail. I can hear the thunder of his footsteps behind me, gaining on me, but I have some advantage in that I know this house like the back of my hand after exploring it for days.

I run for the front door and try to wrench it open, but it won’t budge. I waste precious seconds fighting with the lock before I abandon it.

“You can’t escape me, Cherry.”

I glanced behind me to see Kendrick standing between me and the back door. He’s holding a gun, but I know I’d rather die of a bullet in my back trying to escape him, rather than buckling to the fear clawing its way up my throat.

“Fuck you.”

I run left towards the kitchen, hoping that the back French doors are unlocked. As I near the entrance, a soft billow of smoke hazes the room and I cough. Fire. The house is on fire. With Kendrick behind me, I have no choice but to go forward, knowing I’d foolishly allowed him to herd me exactly where he wanted me. I run in the direction of the doors, unable to see a foot in front of me, and falling over samples of wood I’d ordered for the flooring in this room. Suddenly disorientated, I begin to cough as my lungs struggle to draw in oxygen.

The sound of a loud bang behind me makes me scream as I race toward the direction I think the doors lay. Finally, I feel the glass and sobs of relief tear through my burning throat. I feel around for the key and find the handle but not the key. I press down, but it’s no use, the bastard has locked it. I’m trapped.

“Why are you doing this?”

A laugh echoes through the smoke, and I sink to the floor, remembering it’s what you’re told to do, or maybe that’s wrong. My head is foggy, my thoughts muddled.

“Because he was mine first.”

That makes zero sense. What is he talking about? Who was his first?

“What the hell are you talking about, crazy man.”

“Jake. He was mine then Hunter stole him from me.”

“Boohoo, you lost your BFF. Get over it.” My last word is cut off as a cough wracks my body. I’m going to die here with this fucking maniac and I haven’t told Jake I love him, at least not properly. A sleepy half-attempt doesn’t count and he deserves more. He deserves to know how much I adore him.

“You don’t get it. He was the only one who saw me. I love him.”

Holy shit balls, he’s in love with Jake? I’d say the man has great taste but he’s a fucking nut job.

An explosion cuts through the right side of the house, rattling the windows as dust and debris rain down on me. Heat. I can feel the heat in the room and finally see fire lick the walls and up the ceiling. Kendrick is silent and I hope some big piece of timber has fallen on that fucker’s head.

I try to suck in air but there is none and my vision begins to falter as I hear sirens in the distance. Black spots pool my vision and I wonder if Jake will stay here after I’m gone. If he’ll find love with someone else and bring them to live in this home. A sob makes my chest convulse and then the world goes black.

33. Jake

I’m at my desk, dealing with a hiccup with a contract for China that should have been dealt with weeks ago when the call comes through. My muscles tense as I see a call from the man watching Nick Kendrick. Unexpected calls never bring good news.

“Yes?” I answer briskly.

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