Page 115 of The Two Last Moments

The room spins as my eyes try to follow what Starla’s doing. She’s gone to the other side of the garage, the storage area. She’s dumping something liquid all over the boxes there. I hear it splashing. The smell reaches me, sharp and chemically.

“Maybe the police will blame you,” she says. “They’ll think you snapped and killed Ryan, set the fire. Couldn’t handle the mental pressure you were under. Assuming the fire melts the plastic on your cuffs… But it doesn’t matter what they believe. You’ll be dead, and I’ll be long gone.”

Holding her bag against her side, she walks to the exit door that leads onto the driveway.

The last thing she does is strike a match and toss it.

40

“I’ll figure out where everybody is,” I say, standing up from where I was sitting on Nina’s bed. “I’ll be right back.” I walk down the hallway toward Lark’s room.

“Lark?” I pop my head in, but the room is empty.

I try the kitchen next. I guess Matteo, Aiden, and Quinn left a while ago. I check my phone and find a few text messages from them, saying goodbye and sharing well wishes. Thank goodness they were here earlier today, because I couldn’t have handled everything without them. Before we got word that Zander had been arrested, there’s no way I would’ve felt safe leaving Lark and Nina here if my friends hadn’t been around to keep my loved ones safe.

But now, the house feels way too quiet. Eerie even.

“Lark?” I call out again. “Babe, where are you?”

She hasn’t texted. Is it possible she went in the backyard? I’m about to step in the direction of the back door to check.

But then my entire body goes still. A scent just reached my brain, calling up a primal response inside of me before I’ve even processed it into words and logic.

Smoke.

I smell smoke.

“Fire!” I shout, just as the smoke detector siren wails.

Travis runs out of Nina’s room and down the hall. “What’s happening?”

I wave my arms at him. “Just get Nina out of here, then call 911! Go. Get Nina away from the house. I have to find Lark!”

I see smoke coming from the hallway that leads to the garage. Small tendrils just beginning to form. Not much heat yet. I have to find Lark and get her to safety.

I run to the garage door. When I press my hand against it, there’s heat, but not much yet. I try the knob, and it’s not opening. Something’s blocking it. “Lark!” My fist bangs on the door.

If she’s in there, I don’t hear anything. “Get away from the door! I’m coming in!”

I raise my boot and slam it against the door. Wood splinters. The door flies inward. Smoke pours out.

I sprint into the garage.

The entire far wall is in flames.

I nearly trip over a prone figure on the ground, and my heart clenches. But it’s not Lark. It’s Ryan. I check his vitals. Shit, I don’t feel a pulse.

Then I spot Lark. She’s got a gag in her mouth, her hands and feet bound. Her eyes are closed and she’s not moving. My heart, guts, lungs, everything rises into my throat.No, no no no. I race over to her, dropping to my knees. I feel for her pulse, and it’s there, but weak. My eyes sting from the smoke, and I’m nearly out of my mind with fear and adrenaline.

“Lark, baby, hold on. I’m getting you out of here.”

I slice the zip tie with a knife from my workbench, lift her up over my shoulder, and sprint out of there through the side door. I run across the driveway until I’m far enough from the house. As gently as I can, I lay her on the concrete. From the corner of my eye, I see Travis laying Nina over on the grass near the sidewalk.

All I want in the world is to stay here with Lark, help her, but Ryan is still inside the garage. If there’s any possible chance he still alive, I can’t leave him in there. And I can’t send my sixty-five-year-old uncle in to get him either.

Travis runs toward me. “I called the fire department. What do I do now? What do I do?”

Sirens in the distance. I don’t have time to give him instructions. I launch myself at the garage instead, racing back into the growing inferno.

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