Page 98 of Burn With Me

If my alarm system fails, Pam will know something is wrong if I take too long, so I just have to stay alive. I position my feet to prop me up so I don’t fall under the water if I pass out, and that’s when I hear it.

The glorious sounds of the emergency sirens.

My sigh of relief causes another coughing fit as my eyes get heavy.

I’m just going to close my eyes for a second.

Forty-Two

Luke

Closing my eyes, I roll my neck to ease some of the tension as we get closer to Amelia’s farm. I force myself to take a deep breath to try and calm my racing heart.

You’re trained for this. Amelia needs you to have your head on straight.

We jerk to a stop, and I open my eyes.

Behind me, Sam says, “Shit.”

He throws open the door and runs toward Noah, and I’m right behind him.

A lump forms in my throat as I see the flames coming out of the windows. Am is going to be devastated. I look around to see where everyone is and note that we need to check in with the team here.

As I get closer to Sam and Noah, I hear the tail end of what’s being said.

“You’re absolutely sure that’s what Pam said?”

“That’s exactly what she said to me. She was supposed to let Penny out and feed the animals so Amelia could check why a sensor kept showing a door opening and closing like it wasn’t latched all the way,” Noah tells him as he pulls up overhead shots of the farm that look like they’re from an advertisement. “Do you think this has anything to do with the firebug that you guys briefed us on earlier?”

A car door slams and we all turn toward the sound.

“What the fuck, Pam! Why are you here?” Sam says.

“My best friend is in trouble, and you think I’m just going to sit at home and do nothing? It’s like you don’t even know me.” She pauses and glares at him. “Carry on discussing your plan to get her out of there.”

“So we know for sure Am is in there?” I ask, drawing their attention back to me, and that’s when I feel something nudge my leg.

Looking down, I see Penny putting her weight on my leg while she whines looking at the farm.

“You brought Penny?” Sam asks.

“Of course I did. We need the emotional support. But she was also already on the leash in my hand as I was walking out.” She shrugs.

“Pam, you’re a hundred percent sure you saw Am in there?” I ask again.

“Yes, I saw her on the cameras, and she wasn’t alone,” she tells me.

Fear shivers down my spine at the possibility of Amelia being hurt.

“Who the fuck else would be in there with her?” I ask as I look around to see if the one person that comes to mind is here.

Noah looks over at Pam and then back at us and says, “Brian was in there with one other person.”

“Will you just fucking spit it out? Who else was in there?” I say to them.

Pam crouches to pull Penny closer to her and looks up at Sam. “Leo. Leo is the other person in that building with them.”

Without another word, I turn on my heel and walk toward Jim’s truck to grab my tank and helmet.

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