I call Mercy first but there’s no answer. Just her voicemail. I don’t bother. Just hang up and call Mom.
“Hey, Reed! I cannot believe that you did that to Mercy! Have you lost your mind?”
Wincing, I hold my phone away from my ear. “Yeah. Mom’s good. Where’s Mercy?”
“She’s at home. Why?”
“She didn’t pick up her phone.”
“Maybe she’s asleep. Although she seemed pretty intent on studying that map of hers and her notes. But maybe she fell asleep.”
That itch on my spine grows and my heart pounds in my chest. “Thanks, Mom. Make sure you don’t go home by yourself.”
I hang up and James narrows his gaze on me. “What?”
“What if Frank was trying to send me a message with that pin?”
“Like what?”
“Like I’m coming for you.”
James nods his head slowly. “Yeah, could be.”
“What if he planned on…burning my house next?”
James sits up quickly, his eyes widening. “You think?”
Lights flash and the alarm goes off. “Shit!” I groan, running for my gear. I grab my phone and check it even as the computer reads out the address from the call.
My address. Where Mercy is home…alone.
“Oh, fuck! Get the hell down here and get ready! That’s my house and that means Frank is there…with Mercy!”
My heart races even faster than the fire truck, my jaw clenches so tight that I taste dust from one of my teeth.
All I can see is Mercy’s sweet smile and pretty blue eyes, dark with desire. The way her hair is tousled after we…
Closing my eyes, I pray like I’ve never prayed before.
I need to get to her…hopefully before Frank does.
Sirens blast through the silent night air and my mind keeps picturing Mercy Lee, tousled, happy and alive, smiling.
The way I pray to god I find her.
My breath whooshes out of me when I get to my house and see the flames shooting up out of it already. Red and orange flames lick up the walls and pour out of the roof, smoke billowing out like a dragon’s breath in the chill of the night.
“Mercy?” I pray, my heart thumping crazily when I don’t see her anywhere.
“I need hoses on that damn house now. Mercy has to be in there, dammit! I need a path cleared! Now!” I holler and my guysmove as one, every one of us knowing exactly what we need to do.
Knowing what’s at stake. To them it’s a woman’s life. A woman they know and like.
To me…it’s everything. She’s my heart, my soul. If she dies…no! I will not think like that.
She will be fine.
I grab my tanks and the rest of my gear, slipping my mask on and heading for the front door where they’ve concentrated the water, beating back a small break for me.
