Two pin pricks of light came up ahead and as they grew larger, the model and registration rang familiar. Gabe’s car rattled ahead of us, leading the way. “Looks like we caught up with them,” I said darkly.
Gabe fell right beneath Xavier on my list. The moment I had confirmation that he was involved in all of this, I’d put him into the ground beside father dearest and let them both rot. Whatever sliver of conscience Tori had stumbled on to saved her from the same fate. It just needed to be enough to save Mia.
He must have realised that we were following him and sharply took the next exit. Dante prepared to follow him, but my hand straightened the wheel. “I’m not playing games,” I barked. “We’re not wasting time chasing him. I’ll find him later.” Dante understood and continued on our route; the quickest way to get to Mia.
As we approached the address, my heart sank. Looming in the distance, a building glowed orange and plumes of smoke rose as we gained on it. It was obvious to see the flames that were taking over every surface.
“No.” The word didn’t come out forcefully but in disbelief.
Clean, quick kills. That was what we specialised at. The less mess to clean up, the better, but Xavier wanted to draw this out and make her suffer. Everything inside of me shattered at the thought of Mia, cornered because of him.
Dante steered the car onto the grassy terrain as thunder rumbled overhead, signalling an oncoming storm that would roll in at some point tonight. I sprang out of the car, and Dante was quick to follow after me.
“Luc! Luc, you need to think!” He ran in front of me, hands on my shoulders as he tried to stop me.
“Let me go!” I roared.
“You need to think about Link! You can’t just run into that building!”
“She’s in there!”
“You don’t know that!” he screamed, spittle flying. The house lay a little bit away to the left of the burning stables but it was obvious to see where Xavier would have led Mia. “We don’t know if he’s there with her.”
“I’m not risking her,” I spat back. I didn’t give a shit about Xavier. We’d come face to face eventually, but watching the fire raging behind Dante, the only thing I was concerned about was finding Mia safe and alive. “I’m not losing her.” I shoved him aside forcefully and took off for the doors of the stables.
As I reached them, with the crackle and warmth of the blaze hitting my skin, I heard Vittoria scream, “Dante! Don’t you dare!”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Mia
The fire spread rapidly, and I had no idea how long the stables would stay standing. Xavier had plotted so meticulously, unlike us who hadn’t seen this coming. We were caught unaware and played perfectly into his hands. I wished I could turn back time and undo so many things but replaying all of my mistakes wouldn’t be the way to get out of this situation and return to my family.
The fear ate at my insides at the inferno that had started to burn around me but the thought of Link being left in Xavier’s clutches urged me forward. My boy would need me. From the moment I’d discovered I was pregnant, I’d been unsure and terrified about becoming a mother. I’d worried about doing it alone and when Luc and I reconciled, I worried about being good enough. Then the doctor placed Link in my arms, and I knew that I’d do anything I could to prove to myself, to Link, to the world, that I deserved this perfect little bundle I’d been gifted with.
The heat of the flames made me jerk my hands away at first. It was unbearable and my body was doing everything it could to protect itself. The automatic reflex was one I wanted to give into, but I had a choice. Either I force myself through the pain or it would swallow me anyway. It wasn’t a winning situation but if it came down to it, if I was going to die, then I wanted to go on my terms. I wanted to leave the world fighting.
Steeling myself, I bit the insides of my cheeks and tasted blood as it filled my mouth while I put my hands back towards the fire. I continued to pull at my hands, praying that the rope would loosen its grip against the fire. Pulling my hands back to find some reprieve from the pain, I gave myself a moment before thrusting them back to the flames. My jaw ached and my throat felt raw and dry as I tried to suppress the screams. Finally, I felt the rope start to go slack until it pulled apart entirely. When I pull my hands around to the front, the skin of my palms was blistering from where the flames had licked them, and I heaved out of pain and disgust.
The entire place was burning around me, and I pushed myself onto my feet. So many emotions scrambled to try and dominate. The excruciating pain wanted to win out, but the adrenaline pushed past it. The heat in the barn was oppressive and the smoke had started to cloud in around me, making my eyes burn and difficult to see. I turned around, coughing as I breathed in the smoke, trying to decide which exit to break for. Xavier had started the fire at the doors closest to me and so I set off towards the doors of the stables where Xavier had disappeared through, hoping the flames wouldn’t be as bad. The heat pressed in from all around me and my teeth were clenched tight as fire attacked my clothing, burning through to my skin.
As I made it out of the fire-ravaged stables, the cold night air hit me and I took in large, gasping breaths, choking on the cool breeze. I hit the floor, rolling to put myself out. It felt refreshing on my skin after being surrounded by intense heat. Through stinging tears, I saw Xavier walking towards the car with his phone in hand, back towards me. His car was alone and that placed me at the opposite end of the stables from where Franco had arrived. I planted my palms onto the ground to push myself up again but the blistered skin split and I released a strangled scream through my teeth.
I was unarmed because I never expected to be attacked in my own home. I had one shot. I needed a way to get home. A way to find Luc. As I got to my feet, my entire body screamed in agony at the effort it took but I started to run towards him. My path was haphazard, but I let the momentum carry me forward towards my target.
He must have heard my scream because Xavier rounded on me as I barrelled into him. The phone flew from his hand and he stumbled back, tripping over his feet and crashing to the ground.
“You just won’t fucking die!” he roared, scrambling back as he reached for his gun, but it was no longer securely on his person. The knock had sent it not far from where his phone laid.
I lurched towards it, landing hard on my hands and knees, needing to keep the weapon away from him for my own sake. Xavier was quick. His body loomed over mine and he drove the heel of his palm into my injured part of my back, making me buckle and smacking my face against the ground. The sound of thunder was loud and masked the scream that ripped from my lips.
His hand covered mine, trying to get control of the situation. “This time I’m going to make sure you die,” he hissed in my ear, breath uncomfortably warm.
I couldn’t let it happen. Despite all the pain, despite the tears that streamed down my face and just how badly I wanted to roll over and let it all consume me, I couldn’t because I couldn’t shake Link’s face from my mind. More than relief from the pain, more than anything in the world, I wanted to see my son grow into a man and live his life. I wanted to be there for every bump and scrape and parent-teacher conference. I wanted to cry on his wedding day and become a grandmother one day. I wanted to live.
Xavier had ripped the gun from my hand but with whatever strength I could muster, I drove an elbow backwards, praying that I hit him. A choking and spluttering sound came from behind me, and Xavier’s body moved away from mine. Quickly turning around, I saw Xavier had once again dropped the gun as I’d managed to hit him directly in the throat. I didn’t think twice. I grabbed the weapon, wrapping a bloodied finger around the trigger and squeezed. Nothing happened and the panic rose in me. Xavier’s red face loomed over me as he began to recover, spittle flying as he yelled but none of the words hit home because of the blood pounding in my ears. I looked at the gun to see the safety still in place and knocked it off as Xavier dived at me, arms outstretched for the weapon.
The shot was deafening and I felt the warmth of the fallout against my face and soaking my clothes as Xavier dropped against me, body heavy. My instant reaction was to push him away from me but the weight of his body was too much for my injuries and waning adrenaline. Instead, I pushed myself away, scrambling backwards until he laid face down and I was covered in blood, bone fragments and soot.
