Page 30 of His Prize

I saw flames of fire licking the sky from the top of my penthouse.

“Oh my God, Israel,” Bonnie whispered.

She wrapped her arms around me, and I held her tightly, listening as firefighters backed us down the block and across the street. I stood there, watching my entire world burn, with things I knew I’d never be able to replace. Like, the bracelet my mother gave to me the day I was born. Or, my original birth certificate. Or, the priceless vase my father got while he was in Italy on his second honeymoon.

Bonnie and I stood there as we watched my entire penthouse go up in flames.

11

Bonnie

I don't knowhow long we stood there or how long it took for the firefighters to put out that blaze. All I knew was that Israel had wrapped me up in his suit jacket and had the bodyguards standing around me to block off the view of my body to the rest of the world.

I kept attempting to find Israel’s eyes, but he averted them every time I tried. Every time I took his hand to try to soothe him, he pulled away. But, once the chaos finally settled and the smoke dissipated, a fire marshal came over to us.

“You two live in the penthouse up there?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yes, sir. We do.”

“What happened? Have you investigated it yet?” Israel asked.

The fire marshal nodded. “Your water heater exploded.”

I blinked. “It did what?”

The marshal nodded. “Yep. Took off like a rocket. And since the piping and electrical wiring wasn’t up to code, the explosion triggered the fire.”

I paused. “There were two blasts, though.”

The marshal nodded. “Yes, ma’am. One blast for the initial explosion and another blast when the emergency system didn’t trigger a shut-off for the water heater. It blew right through the roof of your place.”

I looked up at Israel, and his eyes were cold. Distant. Shut off from the rest of the world. I rubbed his back to try to ease his aches and stresses, but he slipped away from me. He shook the marshal’s hand without a word spoken before walking off, leaving me standing there with bare feet and his suit jacket pulled around my body.

“Israel!” I yelled.

He didn’t turn around, though. He didn’t come back for me. All he did was slip into a Town Car that pulled up before he drove off.

Leaving me standing there, vulnerable and alone.

Just like I always felt whenever he wasn’t around.

12

Bonnie

Three dayslater

I limped into the courtroom with Ash on my arm and took a seat on the front row. I wanted my uncle to see me during the entire hearing today. I stared him down as I sat there. I watched his profile until he felt the heat of my gaze. And when he looked in my direction, my eyes locked with his.

“I can’t believe she showed up.”

“She looks good.”

“I don’t know how she can look at him.”

“You know he did it.”

“You think they have proof?”

---