Page 49 of Together We Burn
Stefany hung her head and sighed before saying, “It’s my home, Jake.” I dropped her hand and stared back at the flames that were quickly taking over the house. “Well,hishome, really. This has been on my to-do list since before Emilia held me captive. If she hadn’t been busy using my leg as a pin-cushion,” she deadpanned, side-eyeing me, “this place would have been a pile of ash ages ago.”
I didn’t try to stop her as she lit the fuse and walked in the opposite direction as before, throwing the cocktail at another window. I glanced at the last bottle and then picked it up, rolling it around in my hand. Appearing at my side, she held her hand out for it.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked, pulling the homemade bomb back from her reach. She huffed and stomped her foot; if we weren’t standing in front of a burning house, I would have laughed.
“Jake, please, we don’t have time for this.”
“Like hell, we don’t, Stefany. What the fuck is going on?”
Stefany’s head turned toward the fire and back to me, a pleading look shining in her eyes. I stepped closer and brushed my thumb over her cheek.
Searching the turmoil in her face, I softened my voice. “Speak to me, baby.”
“Jake, I—”
She was cut off as several small explosions sounded from somewhere in the house. Panic flared at the realisation as to why she’d gone inside earlier dawned on me.
Grabbing Stefany, I tucked her into my chest and turned away from the house just as one massive blast detonated, causing the left side of the house to explode outward, sending brick, glass, and us to the ground.
I rolled, pulling Stefany on top of me, shielding her body as we landed on the ground with a thump. The bottle I’d been holding smashed by my side, coating us in the petrol accelerant she’d used, and the smell started burning the back of my throat.
“Jake? Jake?” Stefany panicked, pushing herself off my chest and slapping my face a few times. I groaned, wincing as my back protested in agony when I tried to sit up.
“Shit, Jake, don’t move. You’ve got a chunk of metal lodged in your back.” She clambered off my knee, reaching up and touching the debris that ended up embedded in my skin.
“Fuck,” I groaned as she touched it again. “Leave it. We have to go.”
Sirens echoed in the distance, and I pushed myself to my feet, taking Stefany’s hand as we ran back toward the car. Rocky was going ballistic from the back seat, barking his head off as we got in.
“Jake, you can’t drive, you’re in pain.”
She was right; my back hurt like a bitch, and every time I moved my right arm, pain lanced down my shoulder to my hip. But I needed to get us away from here before I could do anything about it.
“I’m fine,” I hissed through clenched teeth as I pressed the car’s start/stop button. “Thank fuck this is automatic.”
“You might need a tetanus shot, Jake,” she said, worrying her lower lip between her teeth and frowning. She thumped her fist against the dash. “Goddamnit, Jake. Why did you need to get involved?”
I risked a glance at her as I sped along the streets toward my apartment. Gritting my teeth and breathing heavily, I reached across the centre console and clasped my hand in hers.
“I will never let you get hurt again, Stefany. I meant it when I said I’d protect you, even from explosions you cause.”
She smiled sheepishly and let go of my hand. I immediately missed the contact, but was surprised as she tugged my jacket I'd wrapped around her from under her ass and shifted to face me. She went for my shoulder and grimaced.
“Lean forward; you’re getting blood on the upholstery.”
Doing as she asked, I carefully moved forward as she pushed the coat behind me, fixing it, so it covered the entire back of the seat. She gasped when I groaned as her hand accidentally grazed the metal lodged into my skin.
“Sorry,” she whispered as she settled back in her seat, concern still etched across her face. “That’s going to scar.”
“I thought scars were meant to be sexy,” I quipped, and she laughed.
“You’re an idiot.” She shook her head and pushed her hair out from her face, fighting the smile I knew I’d put there.
Chapter nineteen
Jake
Backatmyapartment,Stefany raced around like a madwoman, collecting hand towels, a bottle of vodka I didn't know I owned, and began running a bath.
