Page 92 of Burn With Me

“What happens next is we start the fire, you leave, and I save her. That was our agreement.”

I look to my side and find Brian.

Of course, this fucker was his inside man. Why is this my life?

“Brian?” I ask, confused. “What are you doing here?”

He turns to me. “Well, simple. You wouldn’t give me the time of day. Always saying you weren’t ready to date. Then Luke comes to town, and you start dating. So when your friend here said he wanted to make you pay for something you did before moving here, I figured, why not? He destroys the farm you were always so busy with, and I come in and save the day.” Turning back to Leo, he continues. “Except you were supposed to be knocked out and not know any of this. What the fuck, man? This isn’t how this is supposed to happen.”

“Plans change. If you think I’m going to leave Amelia in this stupid-ass town to be with you, you’re as stupid as you look.” Leo pulls a gun from his lower back and shoots before Brian even has a chance to dodge the bullet.

I close my eyes and scream as the sound of the gunshot echoes off the empty walls of the greenhouse.

Peeling my eyes open, I see Brian lying on the ground, blood starting to pool around him.

Holy Fuck.

“Sorry about that. I just had to tie up some loose ends before the next step happens.” Turning back to face me, he says, “Now, you have a choice. You can come with me willingly, or you can make this very difficult for both of us. Either way, you’re coming with me.”

I make eye contact for a second and lower my eyes, easily falling into the roll he expects from me. “I realize my mistake. I’ll come with you.”

“I knew once you realized how much we need each other, you would see it my way.” Leaning forward, he kisses my forehead, and I fight to sit still with my eyes down.

The ropes holding me down loosen, but I still can’t move my hands. But I don’t need my hands to run. I just need to get to the other side of the door that connects to the main area with the offices to be able to hit one of the panic buttons.

And to think I thought the panic button was overkill.

He ties my hands in front of me and uses my elbow to help me balance as I stand.

“No funny business. I don’t want to have to use my contingency plan,” he says, pointing to the gas cans scattered around.

I don’t say anything as we take a couple of steps, and I pretend to trip.

“You always were a clumsy bi—”

I throw my elbow into his stomach, and as he doubles over, I throw my head back to hit his nose.

I see spots when my head connects with something hard with a crunch. His hand loosens enough for me to twist out of his grip, and I take off. I can hear him behind me, and I get to the door, throw it open, and slam my hand on the panic button.

“Why do you have to do this the hard way? There’s no way out without me, Amelia.” He grabs me by the hair, and a whimper escapes my lips.

Turning me to face him, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a lighter. I now realize it smells like gas in here too.

“You can come with me, or you can burn with me. The choice is yours.” He clicks the lighter on and off as he waits for my answer.

I’m fucked.

I hit the button, but I don’t know what the response time is.

My life and the future I could have flash before my eyes.

I know two things for sure.

I’ll miss my babies, and I wish I had told Luke how I feel instead of being a chicken and fighting it. In the distance, my office phone rings, and Leo grips my arm tighter.

“I hope for your sake you didn’t alert anyone.”

“I’ll tell them I have no idea what happened. You’ll have the benefit of a head start if you just leave now, but if I don’t answer that call, they’ll alert the authorities.”

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