Page 115 of Beautiful Dangerous

“Who’s the other one?” Lucca asks as he stands over the bodies.

“I don’t know. But it’s not Javier.”

The other body has blond hair, and a tattoo on his bloodied forearm that I don’t recognize, I’m not sure this man is one I know.

“I’m going to check the truck.”

“Olivia, we really need to get out of here, this isn’t safe.”

I start to climb up the side of the pick-up, aware that the heat coming up from below isn’t a good sign, but I need to see if Javier is in there. And as I reach the front, I peer inside, but it’s difficult to see anything in the dark.

“Here.”

Lucca throws a flashlight up at me, and I catch it, shining it into the pick-up, and there’s definitely another body in there. I can just about make it out. It’s flung forward against the dashboard, and I reach inside and push it back, before recoiling, it’s him. It’s Javier.

“Liv?”

“It’s Javier,” I whisper, and all of a sudden I don’t know what the fuck I’m feeling anymore.

Lucca prises the flashlight from my fingers and points it at the body, and then he leans over, pressing his fingers against the side of Javier’s neck, is he trying to find a pulse? Surely he couldn’t have survived that…?

“I think he might still be alive.” Lucca’s eyes meet mine, and I feel my chest tighten; my heart’s racing, but my breath’s catching in my throat.

“He’s still breathing?” I gasp, struggling to get the words out, and Lucca nods.

And then we hear it.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

We smell it.

Gas.

“Get down, now!” Lucca yells as we both jump to the ground, throwing ourselves across the road, landing face down as the pick-up explodes, the heat of the flames almost too hot to bear. Pieces of metal and shards of glass rain down on us as Lucca reaches out and pulls me against him, using his own body to shield mine. And it seems to go on forever, more explosions, the intense heat, and I keep my head down because I’m scared to open my eyes.

“We need to go,” Lucca murmurs as he takes my hand and drags me to my feet, and when I look at him it’s all I can do not to cry out. His face and hands are a mess of bloody cuts, and when I reach up to touch my own face my fingers meet sticky blood and grained-in dirt. But I’m feeling no pain. I’m too numb for that. “Now, Liv!”

I nod, and we run back to the truck, I think we’re both working on adrenaline and auto-pilot now.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Lucca says as he starts the engine and pulls away, toward the airfield which is, literally, right there in front of us. “We’re here now. We just need to get on that plane and get out of here.”

I look back, at the ball of flames in the middle of the road, and I feel tears start to stream down my cheeks. And I don’t know whether I’m crying with relief, or whether I’m genuinely upset at what’s just happened, either way, it’s over. That part of my life, it’s done.

“He really is dead this time, Liv.”

He really is dead.

This time…

Epilogue

Two Years Later

Lucca

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