Page 128 of Fire Fight

I scramble to my knees, turning towards the sound. Cadence stands near the house, hands raised, a shotgun pointed at her back.

“You never make things easy, do you?” Arnold shouts, jabbing at her shoulder until she steps forward, his eyes on me. The words meant for me. “Your mother was worthless. You meant nothing to me. I never would have interacted with either of you again if she’d kept her mouth shut.”

I try to signal to Cadence.

The loaded shotgun doesn’t scare me, but the fact it’s pointed at her does.

I need her to get away.

“Just drop your weapon,” I shout. “It’s all over. I called emergency services before I stepped inside.” I cock my head, pretending to listen. “Can’t you hear them? They’re on their way.”

“You could havebeensomething,” Arnold yells, too preoccupied with his own grandiose story to care about mine. “I was going to invite you to work with me, build the company into something bigger and stronger.”

I can’t help it. I break into something closer to hysterics than genuine laughter.

The idea he thinks that’s a valid life goal is ridiculous.

“Stop fucking laughing at me!”

“I don’t even know what youdo,”I yell in between bouts, holding my stomach, the tears mixed with the rain as they stream down my face. “You’re a short, overweight man who’ll be bald in a few years. You inherited everything you claim credit for. Nice work being born to rich parents, you fat fuck.”

He roars and I tense, hoping he’ll abandon Cadence and run straight for me. But he prods her with the shotgun, driving her forward, making my heart lodge in my throat.

I step towards him, too. Needing to be closer if I’m to have any chance of saving her.

Her eyes meet mine and I tilt my head towards the house, dropping my eyes to the ground.

She nods.

“You don’t even have good taste. All this money and you never learned how to spend it. You send staff out to select everything.”

Arnold jabs Cadence again, and she stumbles forward, falling to one knee while I dart to the side, putting the cliff path at my back, moving away from my father.

And the tension leaves my muscles as he falls for the trick, following me as Cadence crawls in the other direction. He gives her one scathing glance, then his eyes lock to mine.

He’s dismissed her.

I retreat another step, calculating how far I have left to go before the cliff edge.

It can’t be that far out of reach.

Another step back and my foot hits concrete. The viewing platform. I take another step, willing Arnold to follow.

He does.

Cadence gets to her feet, racing to the door where her mother hovers, needing the frame to support her sagging body.

They hug and the tight knot in my chest releases.

A few more steps.

Just a few more.

Give them time to run to the neighbouring property.

Earn them time to get somewhere safe.

“Why did you even kill the pharmacist?” I yell. “You weren’t on his radar. Nothing he did would’ve come back on you.”

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