My chest tightens. “It can’t be. Can it?” Fuck. I push my foot down on the accelerator, forcing Vi back in her seat. I floor the Ranger, racing down the dirt road. The closer we get to the house, the fiercer the flames become.
Passing a Land Rover Discovery has my insides raging like the fire before me. My knuckles turn white along with my face as the blood drains from my head, making it difficult to stay in control.
Vi covers her mouth with her hands. “Belle,” she screeches, panic stricken all over her face as she taps 999 into her phone. I shift into fifth gear, tearing up the dirt, then slam the brakes on when I reach the gravel drive. The car spins to a stop. With the handbrake pulled up, I jump out, running straight for the front door.
Shane stops Lilly’s Audi behind the Ranger and runs after me. “Kane, no.”
“Belle’s in there.” As I get close to the house, her barks are music to my ears. The front door is ajar, but she comes running from the side of the house covered in soot.
With my hand on my pounding heart, I relax my shoulders. Thank fuck she’s alive. “You gave us a scare, girl.”
She barks, running circles around me like she’s trying to tell me something, then bounds into the house, pushing the wooden door wide open with her nose.
“Belle. Here, girl.” I follow her through the thick smoke. The atmosphere inside is scorching against the freezing air. It’s impossible to see much in the hall as the black fog billows around me, but I follow her barks into the kitchen. “Belle? Here, girl.”
The fire seems to come from the living room and up the stairs. Belle barks at the kitchen. I cover my nose with my hoodie, but the thick air still makes me cough. Pieces of the ceiling drop onto the kitchen table where Belle is underneath, dragging what looks to be an arm.
I follow the arm to his face as he lies on the floor unconscious next to the table and half the ceiling. Shane appears behind me. “Belle, come on, girl.”
She whines as he lifts her into his arms and takes her out while I knock the chair out of the way and haul Jack over my shoulder. He’s almost as big as me, but adrenaline helps me lift him in one swoop. His head drips with blood, but that’s the least of his worries. I can’t tell if the kid’s breathing or not.
Stepping outside, I gasp for air and cough, my lungs trying to clear the smoke. I carry Jack to the Ranger. Vi screams and Lilly rushes over from where she was comforting Vi. I lay him on the floor, checking for a pulse while Shane tears strips off the blanket for his head.
“Call an ambulance, Vi.” I look up, and she’s already on the phone.
“Get your fucking hands off my boy.” Gareth appears from the bushes, my body stiffens. He lunges, but I turn, my fist landing in his stomach.
“You did this to your boy. You sick, twisted fuck.” I land another blow to his jaw, knocking him back a step. Cold eyes stare back at me, mirroring my own dark gaze as I throw another punch at his face.
Blood splatters from his nose. “You’re the murdering son of a bitch.” He lunges for me again, but misses when I step to the side.
“When is this going to end?” My knuckles ache as I make another fist.
“Kane, no,” Vi chokes out, along with a sob.
With my trembling hand, I hold back my rage, trying to get my shit under control for her. Blood trickles down his chin. I’m not that guy anymore. Years of therapy in the slammer helped me get my anger under control. I already made one mistake killing her father. If I were to kill her uncle—as much as I’d like to lay this bastard to rest—she’d never forgive me. I’d never forgive myself.
Shane steps between us, grappling with Gareth’s arms and wrestling him to the floor. “You’re under arrest. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something that you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.”
“You’re as bad as he is. You coppers are all the same. A bunch of bent bastards.” He wriggles under Shane’s hold and I resist the urge to plant my boot in his face.
Shane straddles him from behind, pushing his face into the gravel. With one hand, he takes the cuffs from his belt and fastens Gareth’s hands behind his back. “You motherfucker. You’d risk your own kid’s life for the sake of revenge?”
Gareth spits blood from his mouth, still laid on the ground. “I thought he was out. He must have gone back in to get your dumb fucking dog. If you’ve hurt him, you’ll be fucking sorry.”
Shane tightens his arms behind his back. “Shut the fuck up. He saved your fucking son. You should be thanking him.”
Lilly nestles on the floor next to Jack while Violet ties the shreds of blanket around his head, applying pressure to slow the bleeding.
“Stay with me, Jack. Just keep breathing. The ambulance is on its way.” Lilly’s voice is soothing against the roaring flames behind me. A siren signals down the dirt road, flashing blue lights get closer. I jump in the Ranger to move it out of the way for the fire engine, then move Lilly’s car to the side. The ambulance follows and then the police.
Belle coughs like she’s about to be sick. I lift her in my arms and get her into the Ford Ranger. “There, there, girl.” I stroke her fur covered in soot and the smell of burnt wood. The workshop is untouched, though the garage is joined on to the house with Dad’s old Jag on bricks. I watch the firemen get to work, but I doubt the house can be saved.
With a hand on Belle in the truck, I glance over at Vi. I have everything I could ever want right here. There was nothing in that house I needed besides a few photos and letters. This is what I need to move on. Leave the memories in the past and start afresh, rising from the ashes a new man, leaving the guilt and everything behind me.
The paramedics take over from Lilly. Violet wanders towards me, almost in a trance. Her body shivers despite warmth coming from the house. Her hands slip around my waist, and she hugs me, burying her face in the fabric of my hoodie. “I’m sorry, Kane.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about.” I hold her in my arms. “This isn’t your fault.”
