What if I don’t make it?
What if they all burn?
Lily will lose Jaxon.
Paisley will lose all her brothers.
The loss will be unbearable for their partners.Their families.
I nearly lose my footing when the doors begin to open.I don’t even register the stench of the underground parking lot.I don’t even feel the heat as I race toward my car.
I have a thirty-five-minute drive to do in twenty-five minutes.
*** *** ***
The palm of my handhas slammed down on the horn so much it stings.I’m surprised I don’t have an entourage of police chasing me with the speed I’ve been going.I’m pretty sure I went past at least two speed cameras and that my tyres will need changing once again since I hit so many kerbs.
I let out a breath when large, two-story houses come into view.I have two minutes before whatever Scar Face has planned happens.
I’m not sure where Liam’s home is, so I keep my hand down on the horn.Reid had been right; these are the kind of neighbours who would protest to get him kicked out, so I use that to my advantage by causing a lot of noise.I’ve already seen one woman lifting up her mobile, no doubt to call the police.
Up ahead, parked in the cul-de-sac, sits a Hayes Removal van.One of the triplets jumps down from the back of the van, and I realise my hand is still on the horn.
I break sharply in the middle of the road, panting heavily as I throw open the door.
“Get everyone out of the house.Now,” I scream, racing toward the house with hospital equipment outside.“Get out.Everyone, get out.”
Luke, or Isaac, doesn’t even question me or try to stop me.“Yo, everyone, get out.Now!”
I reach the door and slam into a hard body.I glance up, gripping Jaxon’s biceps.“You need to get everyone out.Now!”
He stares into my eyes, and whatever he sees has him lifting his head.“Lads, move it.Everyone out.You too, Liam,” he orders, pulling me with him when he leaves.
Reid races around the corner, glancing at Jaxon, then to me.“Summer?What’s going on?”
I glance at the house, wondering if I did the right thing.As I glance at my watch, I realise it’s a minute past the time for his plan, but nothing is happening.
Was it here?
Was it even the right house?
“Was a package delivered here?”I whisper.
“No,” a voice replies.I glance up, seeing it was Liam who answered.“What’s going on?”
One of the triplets clears his throat, gaining Liam’s attention.“Luke?”
“Um, there was a parcel,” Luke replies, scratching at the scruff on his jaw.“We saw it in the bush when we arrived so we took it inside thinking you had a lazy delivery driver.”
A hand lands on my shoulder and I jump, startled.“Summer?”Reid says.“What’s going on?What are you doing here?And why are you shaking so hard?”
I open my mouth to answer, but a sharp, loud boom explodes around us seconds before a sudden gush of air knocks me off my feet.Reid is quick, grabbing me around the waist mid-air.I expect him to do the same manoeuvre Mark did with Freya when she tripped, and take the brunt of the fall, but he lands on top of me.I realise quickly he’s protecting me from the debris falling around us, not himself from the fall.
My ears ring with a piercing shrill as smaller cackles boom like a display of fireworks.I grip Reid’s shirt even tighter, a scream tumbling from my throat, but it gets lost in the explosions.
I peek out from under Reid, and my scream halts in my throat as I see the destruction of the once beautiful home in front of me.I’ve never seen a building in such despair before.The structure is already crumbling, the roof no longer there.
Jaxon steps in front of me, blood and soot covering his face.“We.Move,” he yells, or at least I think he’s yelling.I can barely hear over the noise and the ringing in my ears.
