Page 91 of You Can Make Me
“It’s showtime.”
Soto flicked on the lighter—and that was my cue.
I sprang up from the ground and tackled him, throwing punches as he laughed. I knocked the lighter from his hand, but I was too late.
The fumes were strong enough that the fire caught without him touching the lighter to the wood. Smoke filled my nose before I felt the heat. I swiveled around as best I could with my ankles still together and got the old man in a chokehold as the flames erupted around our legs. He was strong, but age had stolen his stamina, and his body caught fire before mine.
“You’d think it wouldn’t crank me up no more after I’d let it get too close,” he croaked out. “I’m a slave to its power.” He let out a humorless laugh and coughed. I squeezed tighter, not caring if he lived or died at this point. I was driven by the need to get back to Cooper.
“Then let it take you, you bastard.”
One more squeeze, something snapped in his neck, and he went still.
I fell back and shouted as flames burned through my jeans and singed the hair on my head. I pushed away from the stones, remembering the Afterschool Special instructions to “stop, drop, and roll.” I looked back and realized I’d managed to tackle Soto on top of the pile of wood, which had been doused in accelerant. His entire body was engulfed in flames—flames that were spreading along the ground and about to block the only exit I could see.
I pushed myself to my feet, turned them out, and squatted with as much force as I could.
“Fuuuuuck!”
I heard a tear, but the tape had melted against my jeans and the movement pulled at my scorched skin. I bent and tore at the places where I could grip, and after a few painful moments, I got enough of the tape off that I could separate my legs and haul ass out of what was quickly becoming an inferno. He must have spread the accelerant all around, because the entire floor caught fire despite there being only dirt and stone.
I reached the doorway he’d entered and took one look back. Whoever those remains belonged to, we’d likely never know, but I couldn’t worry about a crime scene now. I had to get out.
The tunnel was short, and I came to a metal door. I was glad it had just been him. I didn’t think I’d have the stamina to fight anyone else. My chest burned, the smoke made my eyes sting, and my limbs moved as if they were in sludge. I pushed through the door and stumbled out into a wooded area. His truck was parked right outside, and I peered in the window.
There were no keys, and I wasn’t up on my hotwiring skills.
I jogged up the gravel road and hill, fueled by the need to get to Cooper. Soto was gone, but Evans was still out there.
A siren sounded from up above, so I kicked it into high gear, ignored my chest pain, and pushed until I made it to the top, where I found myself on a two-lane road on the side of a hill that appeared to be in Laurel Canyon. Good. We hadn’t gone too far. A fire truck came around the bend, and I waved my arms over my head. The rig passed me by, but the fire department SUV behind it crossed over and came skidding to a halt in front of me.
Relief flooded my body, but so did pain. I fell to a knee as the driver came running out.
“What happened to you? Is there a fire?”
“In the mountain below. It’s contained. I need… Harlesden Court. Please!”
“That’s where we’re headed,” he said, frowning. “But you need a hospital.”
I clung to the lapels of his fire department windbreaker. “Harlesden. Deputy Walter Muse’s place.Now.” I pulled out my wallet and showed him my Kern County Sheriffs ID, then reached into my front pocket and pulled out my pill bottle, which had been cracked in the skirmish but thankfully hadn’t broken. I popped a pill under my tongue and nodded to the guy. He helped me into the truck and skidded back onto the road and flew around the dangerous curves.
“What happened to you?”
“I was abducted from the Muse home. My partner is there. Please?—”
“We got a call there’s a fire. You need a medic.”
“Later. I need to get back. People I care about are in trouble.”
He answered a call on his radio, and I heard him tell whoever was on the other end that we were right behind them and to send another truck to the spot where he’d picked me up. Two minutes later, we turned onto Laurel Canyon Road. I was grateful that bastard hadn’t taken me too far.
We turned the corner and the chaos in front of Walter’s house had my heart seizing in my chest again. Thankfully, there didn’t appear to be any smoke from the house, just from the porch, where the firefighters were just shutting off their hoses.
The fire captain pulled the SUV over, and before he’d put the thing in park, I was out the door yelling for Walter.
“Junior!”
“Denny!”
