Page 21 of Jagged Burn
“Yes, Captain Bossy.”
His lips twitch, but he’s gone a minute later, his truck roaring down the road as he drives off to save the day.The silence after is heavy.I try to distract myself, I shower, try to read a book, but a soul-deep sense of unease gnaws at me.I keep glancing at the windows, half-expecting Sam’s face to be there, twisted with anger.But it never is.But by sunset, the unease is full-blown dread.
The smell hits me first.Smoke.Not faint, not distant.But close, too close.
My stomach drops.I race to the window and freeze.Flames lick the porch railing.The wood is already blackening.
“Oh, my God.”
Panic surges, but all the training I’ve heard over the years kicks in, Stefan’s voice is in my head, sharp and commanding.Stay low.Find an exit.Don’t waste time.
I grab my phone, dialing Stefan.No signal.
Smoke curls under the door, acrid and thick.Heat builds fast, pressing against my skin.I stumble toward the back exit, coughing, but when I yank it open, fire roars in, forcing me back.Every exit is blocked.I spin, wild-eyed and terrified.
There he is.Sam.Standing in the living room like a devil out of nightmares, matches dangling from his fingers, his grin sharp and cruel.
“Thought you could run from me, baby?”His voice is a mocking singsong.“Did you think you could hide behind some scarred-up fucking monster?”
Rage punches through the fear.“You’re insane!”
“I loved you,” he spits, stepping closer as the flames climb the walls.“And you made me look like a fool.”
“That’s because you are one!”I scream, backing toward the stairs.“You don’t know what love is, you only know control.”
His smile twists.“If I can’t have you, no one will.”His voice is flat and emotionless, sending fear rushing through my system.
I bolt up the stairs, my lungs burning.Smoke chases me, curling black fingers around the banister.My only thought issurvive, survive, survive.
I burst into Stefan’s bedroom, slam the door shut, and shove the dresser in front of it.Windows.I need windows.I stagger to one, yanking at the frame, but it’s painted shut.My hands slip, useless against the seal.
The fire roars louder and the heat is unbearable.I sink to the floor, coughing, wheezing, my vision blurring.My heart hurts, knowing what this will do to Stefan.He will blame himself for letting me get hurt and it breaks my fucking heart.I lie down on the rug, my chest a raging inferno of its own.
“Anna!”His voice cuts through the chaos, fierce and desperate.I almost think I am imagining it until he calls out again.“Anna!”
Relief crashes over me.“Up here!”I choke out, throat raw.
The crash of breaking wood echoes downstairs, followed by pounding footsteps.The door rattles, then splinters under his weight.He bursts through, soot on his skin, axe in hand, eyes wild until they lock on me.In two strides he’s lifting me, cradling me against his chest like I weigh nothing.
“I’ve got you,” he growls, voice raw.“I’ll always have you.”
“Sam...”I start, but Stefan’s already scanning the room, calculating.His gaze lands on the window.
“Hold on.”
Before I can argue, he swings the axe, shattering glass in a spray of shards.Heat and smoke billow out, but so does fresh air.He ties the sheets into a makeshift rope, securing them to the bed frame with firefighter precision.
“Wrap your arms around my neck.Don’t let go.”
I do, clinging to him with everything I have.
And then we’re climbing out the window, smoke curling behind us like grasping hands.The sheets creak, the fire roars, but Stefan moves steadily and surely, lowering us down inch by inch until our feet hit the ground.
I collapse against him, coughing and shaking but alive.
Sirens wail in the distance, the station responding, finally.But none of it matters, because Stefan is here, holding me, pressing frantic kisses into my hair like he can’t believe I’m real.
“I thought I lost you,” he whispers, his voice breaking.
