Page 76 of Fire Fight

She opens her mouth, but nothing emerges. I give her time, counting out the seconds until two full minutes have passed. More than enough to clear the logjam in her head.

“Why don’t you answer an easier question first?” I rub my thumb along the silky skin of her inner thigh, watching her muscles twitch and clench in response, her jaw tightening. “Those pills you kept under your pillow. Were they ever prescribed to you?”

After a moment’s hesitation, she shakes her head.

Pity tugs at me for a second. “Just because your mother always reached for drugs first doesn’t mean you have to.”

“I need them to sleep.”

“Most people visit a doctor when they struggle with insomnia. You could get a valid diagnosis and treatment. Or here’s another thought…” I move my mouth to her ear. “If your conscience keeps you awake at night, maybe you should try to be a better person.”

There’s a flurry of movement, leaving her exactly where she started but now with her mouth open, sounds alternating between panting and sobs.

“You’re the reason I can’t sleep,” she seethes in a voice quickly clogging with tears. “Why don’t you try?”

My hand grips her throat before I can think. “If I’m unkind to you, it’s only because you deserve it.” And my nerves are too raw to continue for much longer. “Which chemist?”

She shakes her head, energy waning.

“Looks like I have your decision, then.” I reach down to stroke myself, growing harder at her ragged gasp.

“No!” Cadence pants, struggling against her bonds and failing. She licks her lips. “I’ll tell you, I will. It’s just… I need tounderstand why you want to know. Why do you care?” Her voice drops to a consolatory whisper. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have given the pills to Harriet. Believe me, I’m never going to do that again.”

“But you’re happy to take them yourself?”

A crack of anger snaps out of her. “Not all of us found a rich daddy. I’ve been doing the best I can with what I have.”

I give a coarse laugh. “Your best leaves a lot to be desired.”

“Says the firebug.”

“You don’t have the higher ground here, Cadence.”

She has no standing to demand the information, but as we glare at each other, I understand if I don’t give her something, we’re at a standstill.

“Because my mother overdosed on the same prescription made out to the same name.”

Her eyes widen, flecks of moonlight reflecting off the burgeoning tears until they shine. “Drake, I-I—”

My hand clasps her throat, gripping hard enough to cut off her words. “No. I don’t need your fucking pity. Answer the question. If you won’t take responsibility, give me someone else to blame.”

CADENCE

I screw my eyes shut, dipping my head, knowing he can read my expressions through years of practice.

The same way I sometimes read his.

Like now where the pain pulses from him, desperation in his voice as he tries to find answers to a question he refuses to understand.

His mother killed herself.

The method doesn’t matter.

But I won’t be able to convince Drake of that and I can’t afford to tell the truth. Not when that path leads him straight to my mother. If he treats her with a smidgeon of the contempt he’s used on me, she will curl into a ball of negative energy, and I won’t see her—the real her—for years.

Maybe never again.

“The pharmacy is around the corner from the flat we had back in year nine. The chemist was part of the mall, but it moved to the corner of the roundabout a few years ago.”

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