Page 67 of Memories with Fire

“Hailey,” she whispers, the pain in her voice enough to plunge a knife straight into my heart. Because she’s still my mother, and I hate hurting her, but I can’t have anything to do with her. Not after this. “Please.”

My head shakes, and I stumble back from the door. “I shouldn’t have come here.”

Turning, I flee from the house, scrambling to get into the car as quickly as I can. Shoving the key in the ignition, I peel out of the drive with the sound of screeching tires filling the quiet neighborhood.

Too much. Too much, too much, too much. Get out. Gotta go. Gotta go, and get out. Too much.

All I want to do is go home, pack a bag, and head somewhere that no one can find me until I’m good and ready to be found.

CHAPTER 21

LUKE

Jumpingout of the engine the second it stops in the bay, I don’t bother taking my pants and boots off before heading towards the main living quarters. There was a lot going on at the scene and it didn’t occur to me that something was wrong until I looked up to find Hailey sitting in Captain Bernard’s truck.

The look on her face said it all.

I couldn’t worry about it right then. I had to trust that the Captain had whatever was going on well taken care of. While we were on scene I had to prioritize work over her, which wasn’t easy, but I got the job done. It wasn’t until we were headed back to the truck that I could ask Nate about it, but he didn’t give me a lot to go on. All he’d tell me was Hailey couldn’t be at the accident, and he thought the Captain had taken her back to the firehouse.

I’m halfway around the engine when I hear someone call my name. When I round the back of the truck, there’s our receptionist, Irene. “Someone is here for you. She says she’s your fiancée?”

What the…?

Three things happen simultaneously.

Priscylla stepping out from behind Irene catches my attention first, her black hair swishing over her shoulder, giving me what she probably thinks is a cute wave. She croons, “And baby momma.”

My blood boiling is the second.

The third is Liam, who is standing a few feet away from me, putting something away on the truck, muttering, “You son of a bitch.”

I have time to half turn before he slams into me with the force of a linebacker from my football days. It sends us both careening to the ground, knocking the wind out of me. Pain explodes from my side, through my chest, but I can’t think about it when I have to defend myself against the blows I’m about to take to the face. It’s all I can do to put my hands up to protect myself as Liam starts throwing punches amidst multiple shouting voices.

“She’s not my fiancée,” I manage to gasp.

It feels like ten minutes before his weight is pulled off me, though I know it isn’t that long. I struggle to breathe, wheezing as agony shoots through my upper body. I’m vaguely aware of Nate telling him to calm down while Brody holds onto him as he continues to cuss at me, but the heck if I care while it feels like I can’t suck in any oxygen.

I should stay on my back and try to relax so my breathing gets easier, but I need to get up and explain before someone else comes at me. Except panic seizes me before I have a chance to do anything. Explaining this hasn’t been easy in the past. I can count the number of people on one hand who believed my word over Priscylla’s from the jump. It took me getting proof for anyone else to accept my story.

Proof that I have. That I can show. They’ll have to believe me.

Rolling to all fours, I slowly push up to kneeling, my eyes locked warily on Liam who has stopped fighting against Brody. He looks angry and confused, his eyes darting back and forth between me and Priscylla, who has stepped closer to all of us.

Sucking in another harsh breath, I get the rest out, “That ain’t my kid.”

This bloody woman. She’s been the cause of so much drama and stress for countless months. Considering she’s into her third trimester, it’s been close to a year I’ve been dealing with her.

Pushing up to my feet, I lay my eyes on her with a scowl. “What the hell are you doing here, Priscylla?”

“What do you mean, sugar? I’m here for you.” The smile she shoots me has dazzled many men, but I’m not one of them. “And silly, you know I prefer just Scylla.”

Which is exactly why I don’t use it. Someone once told me she liked using it because it was some legendary man-eater—another reason for me not to use it. I refused to let her eat me alive.

“You’re not supposed to have any contact with me,” I remind her, informing the others at the same time. I glance at Nate. “There’s a court ruling on this. I’ve got the paperwork.”

“Luke,” Priscylla starts, her tone changing from sweet to nervous. She takes a step towards me, but Brody steps in front of her. She can’t see over him, so she pokes her head out from around him. “You know I forgave you for all that. It’s just a silly piece of paper.”

Fishing my phone out of my pocket beneath my turn out gear, I pull the judgement up and hand it to Nate, ignoring Priscylla. This is the first time since I moved to Santa Rosé that I’ve had to get it out. I can’t help but wonder how she found me, but my guess is it has something to do with my cousin, Angela.

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