The air stalled in my lungs, making me dizzy.
“As soon as they’re disposed of,” he went on, “it won’t take long before I have access to my daughter again…and my lovely niece.”
My eyes widened in horror. Before I could speak, movement nearby pulled my attention. Nolan stepped forward.
I had almost forgotten he was there.
“I’m not exactly comfortable staying in a building rigged to burn to the ground, Anderson,” he muttered, voice low.
Amos flashed him an unsettling grin. “Don’t you worry,” he said lightly. “I have a way for us to get out.” He glanced at the fogged-over windows at the back of the room, facing outside.“There’s a fire escape out there. It’s intact and ready for use when we need it.”
Nolan didn’t seem reassured. If anything, he looked even more on edge.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, my voice sharper. “Are you going to set fire to this building?”
I stared at Nolan.
He shifted under my gaze, but he didn’t answer.
Amos laughed and reached out, patting Nolan on the shoulder.
Nolan flinched away.
“Nolan has been quite useful to me,” he said, delighted. “We used to work together, back in the day. Back before anyone knew who I was. When the town of Ember Hollow actually respected me.”
My mouth fell open as I looked between the two of them, stunned. “You worked together?”
Nolan’s expression strained, baring his teeth, but he didn’t defend himself.
Amos chuckled, sending goose bumps across my skin.
“I approached him many years ago about setting fires to certain properties I owned around the state,” Amos said casually. “He knew how to make it not appear like arson, and we would split the insurance money.”
His lips pulled back into an unsettling grin. “It was a win-win for both of us.”
Nolan blanched. “I never wanted to help you this time.”
Amos shrugged. “You made a deal with the devil, Nolan,” he said simply. “That’s not my fault.”
An unfamiliar rage lit inside me as my attention shifted to Nolan. Roman had trusted him. He was Hailey’s uncle, and he betrayed his own family.
“You could’ve stopped this,” I spat.
Amos was a monster, but Nolan—he was a coward. He was the reason Roman and his brothers were walking right into a trap.
Nolan’s green eyes flashed, reflecting only a fraction of the anger boiling in the pit of my stomach.
“You don’t understand,” he snapped, but there was no real bite behind it, just desperation. “You think I had a choice?”
“You always have a choice,” I shot back.
Something raw and ugly surfaced in his expression. “Not when someone like him owns every mistake you’ve ever made.”
I struggled against the bindings. I tried not to wince as they dug into my skin, drawing blood.
Amos watched the exchange like he was enjoying a show. “Such a fascinating thing, guilt,” he mused. “It makes people so…pliable.”
I glared at him, embracing the fire my rage had ignited because it felt safer than the cresting wave of fear. “You’re pathetic.”
