Page 55 of War Games

And with that, she pulls out a packet of matches from her pocket, lights one, and as she stares at the small flame at the end of the match, she grins, truly getting off on this shit.

The moment seems to drag out forever and as she tosses the lit match back into the small suite, I watch with horror as it falls to the ground and quickly takes effect. I hear the door slam, but my attention is focused solely on the flames quickly licking through the suite.

“Fuck. FUCK. FUCK. FUCK!”

I tear at my binds, my bloody wrists screaming in protest as the flames create a thick smoke that immediately fills my lungs.

The panic is like nothing I’ve ever experienced in my life, and all I can do is sit back and watch as thick, raging flames spread through the suite. At least this way, Reaper doesn’t have to worry about killing me himself because at the rate these flames are turning into a full blaze, there’s no saving me now.

The couch catches light, sending the flames soaring so much closer toward me as the locked suite quickly becomes overwhelmed with thick, billowing smoke, leaving nowhere for it to escape.

The heat is like nothing I’ve ever known, and as my skin starts to sting from the heat of the flaming couch, I cry out in agony, knowing it’s only going to get a million times worse. Fear grips me in a chokehold as tears stream down my face. I’m not ready to die, but tonight I’ll meet my maker.

I start to cough, my lungs desperate for sweet oxygen, but all I inhale is the thick smoke clouding the air. It’s too much, and as the flames lick closer and closer, the heat becomes unbearable. I cry out, screaming for help. There must be someone in this resort who can help, but who the fuck is going to run into a fire like this? They’ll be better off running as far as their legs can take them.

My lungs scream in agony, and as I take shallow, desperate breaths, I realize this is it, and I pray to whoever exists above that the smoke claims me before the flames do.

My vision blurs, and I will myself to succumb quickly as I cough and sputter over the thick smoke, choking on it as it bears down on me, suffocating me with its intense force. The coughing claims me, and just as my head lolls and the unconsciousness creeps back in, a shadow cuts through the smoke, pulling at my bound wrists, but it’s too late.

There’s no saving me now.

20

REAPER

Tracking The Boneyard Slayer back to the home he shares with his brother, I watch as they do what they can to recover from their injuries. The two of them clearly have no idea what they’re doing when it comes to first aid.

To be honest, after the shot Siren took on The Boneyard Slayer the other night, he’s lucky to be alive. The bullet pierced his shoulder, and from what I can tell, it’s still lodged deep in there, but had it been just an inch to the left, it would have gone right through him, and the fucker probably would have bled out.

As for The Texan Reaper, it seems the asshole is recovering just fine. His eye is still swollen shut, and there will be plenty of bruising staring back at him in the mirror for the next few weeks, but from what I can tell, he has no issue getting around. They’ll both be back on their feet in no time, and when they are, I’m going in for the kill.

I sit back and prepare for a long night of recon when my phone buzzes in my pocket, and my brows furrow. Nobody knows this number. It’s not available to the public or even listed on anytelemarketer lists. The only people capable of finding it are those who are specifically searching for me in the form of one hell of an incredible hacker.

I glance at the screen for a moment. I don’t like taking calls for the slight risk of being traced, but something compels me to hit accept and lift the phone to my ear. Without saying a word, I simply listen to whatever needs to be said.

“You need to get to Siren now,” a panicked woman screeches, the fear in her tone feeling like a hand just physically reached inside my chest and squeezed the living shit out of my heart. Quickly going through the shortlist of people this could possibly be, I come to the conclusion that this is Siren’s best friend, Mila, who professionally prefers to go by the Tech Girl. Siren has done nothing but tell me how much she loves this girl, and for her to intervene in War Games and seek me out, this is as serious as it gets.

Siren is in trouble.

“What?” I rush out, already on my feet.

“Gasoline got to her. If you don’t get to her now, she’ll . . . she’ll.”

Fuck. Anyone but her. “Where?”

“The resort. Please. Don’t let her die, she’s all I’ve got,” Mila says as I race to my car, leaving the brothers behind. “If she dies . . . fuck. I swear, I will come for you.”

I end the call, not having time to deal with her wild, whiplashing emotions on top of trying to get to Siren, and within seconds, I’m in my car, fishtailing it around and hitting the fucking gas.

I push the car to its limits, weaving in and out of what little traffic is on the roads, and as I drive, I can’t help but notice the billowing smoke polluting the air, and despite not having any fucking clue what kind of situation Siren is in, I just know that’s her.

I’m not far from the resort, but every second that passes feels like a lifetime. I cut through the main street of Blue Springs before flying right out the other end. When I pull into the resort, I don’t bother stopping for the boom gate. I simply speed straight through it before racing toward the thick, billowing smoke.

My stomach sinks the closer I get to the blazing property, and as I screech around the final corner and skid to a halt, the onlookers diving away from my car, I realize there’s no fucking hope here. Nobody could have survived a fire like this. I can’t even get inside to check.

Despair tears through my chest as I bail out of my car and drop to my knees, and the sound of the ceiling collapsing breaks me. I’ve never felt agony like this.

Emptiness fills me, and I catch myself on my palms, struggling to breathe, but it has nothing to do with the thick smoke. I’ve failed her. Since the night I stood in her kitchen and realized I couldn’t take her life, I knew that I would do anything to protect her, to keep her until my dying days, and the one time she needed me, I let her down.

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