"It's not Wyatt's fault. He's not the criminal. He's not Salieri. Salieri is responsible for this. Wyatt might have not thought this mission through when he invited us here, but he's not responsible for this mess. He's trying to clean it up."
I shook my head but decided to bite my tongue. There was no point rehashing the same old shit. They couldn't see it. They couldn't see what he'd done. How much he'd messed up. How much worse he'd make things by poking the hornet's nest.
"I've got to go," I said and made promises of dropping by soon with more blueberry jam to get Hwan's spirits up.
Then I drove off to the fields. To take care of them. To clear my mind.
I knew I had to tell Zach about Hwan's place and what Victor fucking Lombardi had done, but I couldn't do it right now. I couldn't look at his face when he realized his ex was getting cockier and more careless, not knowing the way his beautiful, joyful demeanor would change in an instant at the mention of his ex.
He'd been so wonderful these past few days. He'd been the perfect lover, partner, boyfriend, roommate. The perfect man. Until Victor came up when he'd turn fearful, worried, and downright depressed.
I just wanted to keep him happy a little while longer before the inevitable dark cloud over our lives returned and rained down on us.
When I came back to the house later that evening, Zach already knew. Of course he did. It wasn't like I could keep it from him, though I really wanted to. I really wanted to wrap him up in a cocoon and keep him there forever, protected from Victor and Salieri and Wyatt and anyone who could ever mean to do him harm or to break his spirit.
But that wasn't possible, was it?
He served us dinner and we ate quietly before retreating to bed, to sleep in each other's arms. No passionate kisses, no mind-blowing fucking, just resting our eyes and our minds from the fuckery we'd found ourselves into.
When I woke up the next day, Zach was already up, fixing one thing or the other, making the whole house smell sweet, doughy, and mouthwatering.
He made me an omelet, and I gobbled it up before inhaling a couple of slices of cake and my coffee before going out into the fields without him. He needed to be alone. He needed to bake. He needed the safety of his routine right now and I needed to chop some shit.
I smelled it as soon as I walked out.
I saw it as soon as I ran behind the house.
I felt the world breaking from under my feet as soon as I collapsed on the ground.
The fire that blazed up ahead could have been a thing of beauty. A wild, fiery beauty that mesmerized and captivated anyone and anything in its path. But instead, it was destroying the land I loved and all I could do was watch.
And breathe.
And try to bring myself up on my feet again.
"Dare! Oh my God, Dare!" I heard him behind me before he collapsed on the ground with me. "I can't believe this. Dare!"
He wrapped his arms around me, and I was finally able to breathe.
"Call 9-1-1. Now. Call 9-1-1,” I said and when he didn't hear me I said it again until he rushed back inside to call for help.
And all I could do was watch the chaos in front of me unfold.
TWENTY-EIGHT
ZACH
My nostrils were assaulted by the acrid stench of burning and my eyes watered from the toxic air that blew our way. But my heart? My heart sank as I watched the fire blazing in the distance.
The cold got a little colder and my breath a little heavier as I waited. Waited and cried.
This was all my fault. I'd caused this. I'd made this happen. I'd been a fool to think I could hide from Victor forever. Thinking that he wouldn't find me. That he wouldn't make me pay.
I knew I'd been sitting on a ticking time bomb all this time. I knew it. Hell, it had already exploded before when Victor attacked the Lodge, and when he attacked the insurance brokers. It should have been my signal to run. Not nest even deeper in here and wait for the inevitable.
What did I expect? That he wouldn't find me? That he wouldn't burn down everything in his path to get to me? That he would stop?
As soon as the fire trucks came to the farm and Dare followed them into the blaze, I ran inside. I locked myself in the bedroom, collapsed on the floor and hugged myself tight.
