Page 82 of Montana Falls
As we reached the main floor, the club was deserted, save for a few shadows moving in the distance. The remnants of my engagement party lingering in the air.
Nobody had done a real clean since I’d died here. Not that I could blame them.
Retta moved with purpose, her expression unreadable as she led me through the deserted club and toward the stage. Her calm demeanor was unsettling, but I refused to let it bother me. Not now. Not in my club, in the place that my ghost roamed, my daddy at my side.
I didn’t let anything bother me as she ordered me to stand in the exact spot he’d taken his last breaths, as she pointed her gun at my head and sighed.
“You have a choice, Maggie.” Her voice was almost lifeless. “You can come willingly and be the person I know you are.”
“Or?”
“Or you can lie and pretend to be someone you’re not. You can be a Montana and you can die like the rest of them.” She blinked at me. “So tell me; what’s your choice? Are you a Montana or not?”
I should have lied. Honestly, it was a hot girl in a horror movie sort of move, to not just bob my head and pretend to be Maggie and not a Montana like all the rest. To not make smart choices. But for some reason I couldn’t do it. My lips moved, words fell out, and yet I couldn’t control them in the slightest.
“My name is Sapphire Rain Montana.” I swallowed hard. “My daddy called me after his favorite gem, and my mama named me after his eyes because they reminded her of a storm and I had those eyes too.” My chin was raised high as I stared her down. “And if you want to kill me for that,Retta. Then fine. Go ahead and pull the trigger because Iama Montana and I am fucking proud of it.”
Chapter Twenty Seven
The heat from the fire was suffocating, and the air was thick with smoke. Every breath burned my lungs, and every step sent a jolt of pain shooting up my arm. My palms were seared with burns, and my wrist hung limp and swollen at my side, throbbing with a relentlessness I couldn’t even pretend to block out.
“Price?!” I roared, as flames licked at the walls of the Montana mansion, sealing most of the people inside to their fate.
Screams echoed through the hallways—voices I recognized, voices that fueled my panic. My heart raced, my mind spinning as I moved through the wreckage, trying to find everyone but getting nowhere fast.
I screamed each of their names. Over and over and over again. Desperate to find the people I cared for most and make sure I hadn’t lost anyone else.
I stumbled over debris, the floor beneath me unstable, and each time I braced myself, my hands flared with fresh agony. My palms felt like they were being split open every time I touched something. Sweat poured down my face, mixing with the ash and smoke that clung to my skin, making it harder to see, harder to breathe. But none of that mattered. All that mattered was finding them.
Finding them and getting Sapphire for whatever else she had planned next.
“Lincoln!” I called out, my voice hoarse. “Price!”
I half-sprinted, half-stumbled through the wreckage, dodging flames as best as I could. Curtains caught fire, couches and flowers too. The acrid stench of burning made me splutter and despite knowing I was inhaling too much smoke – that I was in real danger of dying, I didn’t care. I just kept going, pushing my way through the piles of the already dead, sparing them only a glance to see if they were someone I knew, eventually finding that when I stumbled into what had once been the kitchen.
The first thing I saw when I glanced down at the nearest wall was his leg. Or what was left of it, covered in burns and chunks gouged out of his dark flesh from shrapnel that he’d been unlucky enough to stand near.
“Misha…” His dark eyes were wide and glassy, his lips parted with pain. I could see the utter terror and confusion staring back at me as I dropped to my knees, doing my best to stem the blood with a tourniquet made from my belt yanked free from my waist.
“Darius.” I coughed as I tightened the belt. “Stay with me now. I’ve got you.”
He grabbed my hand, squeezing harder than I thought he’d be able to.
“Go.” He ordered. “Get Sapphire – you can’t… can’t let her go.” He almost slurred. “She’s gone…”
“What do you mean?” I made sure my tourniquet was done right, not wanting to cause more damage, before I checked him over for more urgent wounds, and tried to figure out if I had the strength to carry him with my injured arm.
He squeezed my arm tighter, forcing me to listen. “With Cassie.” He panted. “Sapphire is… with her… outside…”
Before I could answer, I heard Price’s voice behind me, weak but insistent as he yelled. “Misha!”
I turned, my breath catching as I saw him stumbling toward me, limping slightly, but determined. My heart lurched at the sight of him—disheveled, dirty, butalive. Without a second thought, I jumped to my feet and closed the distance between us, pulling him into a kiss, the world momentarily fading. His lips were warm and familiar, grounding me in the chaos. When we broke apart, our foreheads rested together for a second, both of us breathing hard.
“I thought I lost you,” I whispered, my voice trembling as hard as my hands.
“Nah, I’m invincible.” He kissed me again before pulling back, spotting Darius, too. “Fuck, dude. Let’s get us out of here, yeah?” He bent down, ignoring the cuts on his arms to gently grab hold of Darius, hoisting him up.
“Misha…” Darius said again, half-heartedly waving towards a ruined piece of wall, where some large glass windows had once been. “Go…”
