Page 160 of Lavish
Serena’s face was pale from the smoke, streaked with ash. But her eyes…her eyes were clear.
“Miles,” she said softly. “Come with me.”
Jenese screamed in fury. “You heartless bitch!”
Serena looked down at her, gaze unflinching. “You taught me well.”
The ceiling groaned again.
“Go!” Dante barked. “I’ll be right behind you.”
We ran. Smoke clung to our clothes, to our skin. I grabbed Serena’s hand as we darted through the hallway, dodging fire, falling ash, and creaking wood.
We burst out the back, stumbling into the night. I collapsed to my knees, chest heaving. Serena stood, her face glowing orange in the firelight. Her expression was unreadable—blank. Not cold, but done.
Dante came out last, coughing.
The roof in the center caved in. We didn’t speak. We just stood there in a jagged triangle, watching the house burn. Fire licked out of the windows, roaring like it had teeth. It was over.
Victor was gone. Jenese too.
“Well, there goes my rental property,” Dante said with a flick of ash off his shirt.
“This was your place?”
He didn’t take his eyes off the fire. “Technically. I inherited it.”
“Jesus.” I turned to Serena. “Why were you here? Why were you both here?”
“I’ll let your wife explain everything to you.”
Serena turned to me. “I’ll tell you everything, I promise.”
“I’ll get the fire department up here. Quietly,” Dante added. “I’ve got a guy. Old wiring, faulty box—standard story. You’ll have a thirty-minute head start before anyone starts asking questions.”
“This is kinda hard to hide,” I said to him.
“Don’t worry about what I can do.” He looked at Serena. “No one will know what happened here,” he said. “That’s my favor to you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “And what will you want later? For this…favor.”
“That’s for me to decide,” he said evenly.
What the fuck?
I glanced between them, confused. Serena didn’t press him. Didn’t blink. Just gave him a curt nod like…like they’d already made some kind of deal I wasn’t privy to.
“Okay,” she said simply.
“Wait,” I cut in. “What the hell is going on between you two?”
Neither answered. Of course not.
Then Serena’s phone rang. Loudly.
Serena flinched slightly and pulled out her phone. She stared at the screen for a second too long. Then answered—on speaker.
“Serena?” Erik’s voice cracked through the speaker, rushed and breathless. “Where are you? Laurene’s in labor. It’s happening. Right now.”
