Page 149 of Darling Wildfire
She looked between the three of us and nodded. Atlas pulled the revolver out of his pants and handed it to her. He gave her a curt nod and Nyx waved as she pulled out of the lot and gave us one last look in her rearview mirror before she turned a corner.
“Now what?” Atlas asked.
“I have no intention of staying here,” I said, looking around. “We need to find a car.”
We saw a truck parked in the next lot and walked over. It was unlocked. Nyx went to dive under the steering but Atlas dropped the visor and the keys fell onto the seat.
“No one locks their shit in these kinds of places,” he said.
We climbed in and Nyx took off while I spread out the map on the dash and gave him directions.
“Where are we headed?”
“We’re actually a few hours from a friend of mine,” I said.
By a few hours, it ended up being eight and since we didn’t have money for gas; we ended up running out with two hours to go. We were on a two-lane highway deep in the mountains on the other side of the valley and after consulting the map; we ditched the truck and struck out on foot.
70
THERON
I smelled the smoke first. We walked up the dirt road a bit further, and a rustic farmhouse with smoke rising from the chimney appeared around the curve. Looking up, I noticed security cameras in the trees and around the clearing where the house sat away from the treeline. Atlas and Nyx stayed at the bottom of the steps while I went and knocked on the door.
The house sat quiet, so I knocked again and edged closer to the window. I was attempting to peek inside when I heard a small explosion from around back. I trotted down the porch and as we came around the corner, I saw a man feeding a burn pile with gasoline. A lot of gasoline.
“Jesus—” Nyx said in alarm. “Does he know—”
“Yes,” I said dryly, watching as he tossed the canister into the flames and caused another small explosion.
“Can’t help yourself, can you?” I called out.
The man turned quickly, his hand going to his sidearm as he squinted through the smoke.
“Well, fuck me!”
A grin transformed his face as he walked over to me. He ripped off his clear protective glasses, revealing blue eyes glinting from the high of the fire he always loved to play with.
“North! What the hell, man?” He clasped my forearm and thumped me on the back before pulling away and looking me over. “I heard you were dead! I mean—you look damn close—should’ve known though, you’re harder to kill than that. Stubborn bastard.”
He hugged me again, his excitement potent.
I chuckled. “It was a near thing this time.”
“I take it there’s a hell of a story behind it too.”
“A dark one, if you’ll have us?” I asked.
The grin took over again, and he spread his arms wide, encompassing the property. “Like I told you way back when—my family’s property is always a good place to start if you’re lookin’ for me. You’re welcome anytime!”
“This is Nyx—Atlas,” I said, pointing respectively to the guys.
“Trent Knight,” he extended his hand with a grin. “Or as some people like to affectionately call me—Pyro.”
After I showered and borrowed some of Knight’s clothes, I stood out on the front porch.
The forest air was fortifying, and I took one deep breath after another, letting the calm and safety seep into my being. But with that came the grief and distress as the reality of what we’d just gone through shoved its way to the front. I closed my eyes, gripping the railing and fighting it back down. Unfortunately, when I closed my eyes all I saw was Emersyn’s face and feel the blade in my hand—
The door opened behind me, thankfully interrupting my thoughts and Knight walked out. He leaned against the railing facing the house, studying me openly.
