Page 96 of Burn With Me

Breathe. She’s probably at home by now.

“Do not make me regret this. We have no real rules about fighting fires and family because we’re a small town and it’s bound to happen.” He pauses as one of the off-duty guys pulls up, gets out in his full gear, and runs up to us.

“I need you to go relieve Sam and have him come over here.”

Turning to Jim, I say, “This must have a higher content of diesel fuel in it because, while it seems to have quickly caught fire and done a lot of damage like the others, this one is harder to put out and is burning much hotter.”

“So the perp has tweaked their ratios dramatically for this fire and possibly struck twice in one night, a change like this is highly unusual,” Jim says, rubbing the back of his neck. “I honestly didn’t see this coming, but something caused this person to escalate.”

“What’s up, Cap?” Sam says, slightly out of breath as he walks up to us.

“There’s another fire across town at Amelia’s farm, and I’m pulling you two toassistin that fire. If you two can’t assist, I will pull you guys so fast your heads will spin. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, sir,” we both say, but I know we’ll say whatever we have to in order to get over there.

“Come on, boys, you’ll ride with me,” Jim says as he walks toward his truck.

With every step, every worst-case scenario crosses my mind, causing my panic to rise again. Sam must be thinking the same thing because he squeezes my shoulder.

“It’s just a fire. She was at Farmer Joe’s house for dinner, right? She would have no reason to go to the farm tonight. It’s going to be all right, brother.”

“I don’t know, Sam. I have a bad feeling about this.”

Starting the truck, Jim says, “We can’t jump to conclusions without all the information. The on-call guys are already there with the backup truck, and the second unit from one of our neighboring towns will already be there as well.”

I just nod because that’s all I can do as Jim pulls away. I know everyone is trying to remain positive, but my gut is telling me something isn’t right.

Forty-One

Ameila

The air around me gets hotter as the fire consumes everything in its path. Smoke fills my lungs with each breath, and I cough.

Leo has lost his fucking mind . . .

“Why Leo?” I ask, scanning for any exits where I can try and make a quick getaway, but the closest one is already fully engulfed in flames.

“You know why! You aremine, Amelia!Mine! It will always be you and me forever!”

He pulls me closer to him, and I have to think of something and fast. He has to know someone is coming.

Even if he didn’t see me press the panic button, I told him I had to answer the phone. It’s a small town, and I’m hoping someone will come before it’s too late.

Leo drags me by my arm, and I know my window to escape is closing. My eyes burn, and I struggle to keep them open.

I’m pushed into the chair. We both start coughing, and as I bring my hand up to cover my mouth, cold metal surrounds my wrist, and I hear a click.

Fuck.

I look down at the cuff connecting me to the chair, and a whimper comes out before I can stop it.

With a smile, he says, “You just sit right here.”

He turns and walks away toward the gas cans, coughing with each step. He picks one of them up and pours the contents in a circle around us with a trail leading right to me.

I have to make a choice because I will not go down like this.

I still have so much I want to do, and I will not let this fucker take my farm from me. So I stand and hold the arm of the chair.

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