“I know it won’t change anything, but I really want to do it. I think I need to.”
“Okay, let’s do it,” he said, reaching for his phone.
Minutes later, Dash arrived with a red jug full of gasoline and a box of long-reach matches. He wordlessly handed the items to Phoenix, nodded, and drove away in his truck.
“Before you get upset, I want you to know I called Dash because he truly understands how much Octavius took from our family. He is in love with our daughter and has felt every ounce of her pain. He was the one who ultimately captured Octavius and brought him back to the clubhouse. Then, he turned right around and saved my life. If anyone outside of our family gets it, it’s him,” Phoenix explained.
“No, he’s probably wondering if he should marry a girl whose parents like to blow up and burn down buildings,” I teased, trying to lighten the moment.
Phoenix chuckled. “Oh, he knew what he was getting himself into when Ember laid his ass out in the forecourt the day she showed up at the clubhouse.”
“She did what?” I gasped.
“I’ll tell you the whole story later. This building ain’t going to burn itself.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing, Phoenix.”
“Just pour the gas around the edges of the building. You can pour some inside if you want to. It’s an old building, so when you’re ready to light it, it should go up pretty quick.”
I followed his instructions and dumped gas all around the outside of the building, but I had no interest in going inside. When the can was empty, Phoenix handed me the matches. “Strike it, drop it, and get back. Okay, baby?”
“Got it.” It took me a minute to get the match lit with the way my hand was shaking, but I finally did it. I tossed the lit match at the base of the structure and quickly stepped back. When the flame made contact with the gas, the fire blazed to life with a loud whoosh.
Phoenix’s arms circled my waist and he pulled me back against his chest. We watched in silence as the place that held so many heart-wrenching memories for me burned to the ground.
I didn’t even realize I was crying until Phoenix turned me by my shoulders and gently wiped the tears from my face. “Come on, doll face. Let’s go home.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“Baby, if burning a building down makes you happy, I’ll set the world on fire for you.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Phoenix
“Ember said things went well this morning. How were things with Coal?”
Annabelle smiled wistfully. “They were great. The time passed faster than I expected. They’re both great kids, aren’t they?”
I pulled her into my arms. “Yeah, doll face, they are.” We stood there, in each other’s arms for a long while. I had no intention of moving, but she asked a question that made my blood turn to ice.
“What happened to my parents?”
Fuck me. I sighed heavily. “Sit down.” She made a face at me, but took a seat on the couch. I dropped down beside her and ran my hand over my face. “I don’t know what happened to them.”
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly that. I don’t know. I can’t find any records of them having ever worked on the farm, legally or illegally. Much the same as you, they just disappeared.” Octavius kept meticulous records of everything related to himself or the farm, especially the people he had working for him. My brothers and I had been through nearly all the papers and files. We’d yet to find a thing on the Burnetts and I didn’t think we would in the remaining files.
“Obviously, I didn’t just disappear and neither did they. Not that I give a shit about them, I just wanted to know if they were still around this area so I could avoid them while I’m here.”
“If they are around here, I haven’t run into them since I’ve been back in Croftridge. When I returned after my first deployment, I couldn’t find them. I’ll be honest and tell you I didn’t spend a lot of time looking for them between learning of your disappearance and inheriting the farm. I have looked for them over the last year, but most of my efforts were focused on finding you, not them,” I explained.
She stayed quiet, but I could tell she wanted to ask me something. “Just spit it out, Annabelle.”
“You said Aaron was still around, right?”
“Yeah,” I answered cautiously, wondering why she was asking about my VP. “Why?”
