Page 31 of Unpredictable Flames

"What's going on?" she mumbled, her voice thick with sleep.

I shook my head, still trying to shake off the remnants of slumber. "I have no idea, but someone seems determined to break the door down."

I descended from the attic, Lily trailing behind me, curiosity piqued by the early morning disturbance. With a resigned sigh, I swung the door open, fully expecting to find a frantic neighbor or perhaps a lost delivery driver.

But the sight that greeted me was anything but ordinary. Standing on my doorstep, his expression tense and urgent was Cole.

“Cole?” Lily said, appearing from behind me.

“What are you doing here so early?” I asked, my confusion evident in my voice.

Cole wasted no time with pleasantries. "I don't have much time, but I know who it was."

My heart skipped a beat, my mind racing to make sense of his cryptic statement. "Who... who are you talking about?" I stammered, my pulse quickening with a sense of unease.

Cole's gaze bore into mine, his eyes dark with intensity. "I know who shot you that night, Jake."

CHAPTER SIXTEEN - UNQUENCHABLE LOVE

My eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Cole. I wondered what he was doing here so early, and then he opened his mouth and said the words I knew would trigger Jake.

I reached out and held Jake’s hand, and he flinched before tightening his hold on my hand. Cole’s gaze drifted down to our hands, but before he could say anything, Jake spoke up.

“Who is it?” he asked, in a cold tone.

“Now Jake, I wouldn’t be telling you this if you weren’t my best friend, but…”

“Who the fuck was it, Cole?” Jake asked, a cold glint in his eyes.

“I’ll tell you, but you’re still injured, remember. Don’t start thinking about going on a rampage.”

“So, I know who it is then.” Jake clenched his jaw.

“Yes, you do. We all do, and I want to personally apologize. I can’t help but feel that this is my fault.”

“What do you mean, your fault?” I asked, not quite sure if I wanted to hear the answer.

Cole’s eyes darted between Jake and me before settling on Jake again. “So I noticed the license plate of the truck looked familiar but I wanted to be sure, so I did some digging and… ”

Cole paused as though looking for words to say, and Jake lost it. “Spit it out Jake!”

“It was Liam.”

The moment Cole said Liam’s name, Jake's jaw clenched, his knuckles turning white as his fists balled up with rage. I could feel the tension crackling in the air, threatening to explode at any moment.

"Cole, are you sure?" I managed to choke out, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Cole replied grimly, his gaze fixed on Jake. "I ran the plate, and his plate is the exact same one as the truck of that night."

Jake's nostrils flared as he struggled to rein in his fury. "I'm gonna kill him," he growled, his voice laced with venom.

"Calm down, Jake," I pleaded, placing a soothing hand on his arm. "Violence won't solve anything."

“He tried to fucking kill me,” Jake said, looking down at me. “Kill us, Lily. He deserves to have his face pounded in, and that’s me being nice.”

"Easy, Jake," I murmured, stroking his hand gently. "We can’t afford to take matters into our own hands."

Cole nodded in agreement, his brow furrowed with concern. "I know this is hard to hear, but we need to stay calm. Getting angry won't solve anything."

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