“Fuck!” I mutter, sharing a wide-eyed look with Reid.
“Jaxon,” Lily whispers, staring at the mayhem outside, “is that Tim?”
I glance to where she’s pointing and see Tim lying on the ground out cold beside the van, blood dripping from his temple.
“Fuck. They’ve petrol-bombed the house,” Reid growls, just as half of the group peddle off on their bikes, heading around the side of the house.
“Jaxon,” Lily whispers, her breathing heavy as she clutches her stomach. Her frantic gaze goes from the window to Jaxon, blood draining from her face.
Smoke begins to rise over the window, fire crackling, but the sound of more glass breaking distracts us. They aren’t finished, whoever they are.
My theory is confirmed when I hear windows smashing once again, this time at the back of the house. I tense, reaching for my phone.
“We need to get out of here,” I snap, dialling nine-nine-nine.
“How? There’s no fucking way we can walk out the front door,” Jaxon growls, holding Lily against his chest, his jaw clenched.
I list off the address to the call operator, not having time for her to put me through to anyone.
“The house is on fire. We are stuck on the second floor with no way out. There’s a group of kids outside, maybe twenty or so with bats and petrol bombs. This is not a false call.”
I end the call, hating the helpless look in my brother’s eyes. He’s holding Lily like his life depends on it, and she’s pressed up against him just as tight, clutching his T-shirt.
“What about the tunnel?” Reid mentions.
“There is no fucking tunnel,” Jaxon growls, clenching his fists. The only thing stopping him from laying into Reid is Lily. She whimpers, tears streaming down her face, and he pulls her closer as smoke begins to flow into the room.
“Yes, there is,” I tell him, reaching for the bookshelf and pulling it open. “But it could mean we will be trapped below the house whilst it’s on fire.”
“There was another set of stairs in the hidden room,” Reid reminds me, as he shuts the main door, moving the boxes away from it.
“Yeah, but we don’t know where that leads. It could be a dead end. What if we go down them and get buried alive,” I tell him, ripping the curtains down and shoving them against the bottom of the door, stopping the smoke from coming in.
“I’ll jump out the fucking window,” Jaxon snaps, letting go of Lily and moving towards the window.
Lily screams, reaching for him, but her fingers slip through his shirt. “No, Jaxon. No!”
I grab Jaxon before he can do anything stupid.
“Look, Jaxon. Look outside. They’re waiting for us to do just that,” I yell in his face, the roaring of the fire getting closer.
“Don’t leave me,” Lily pleads, and he steps over to her, pulling her against his chest.
Fear etches his features as his stormy gaze turns on me, his jaw hard.
“We need to get her out of here,” he warns me, his voice breaking. “She’s—”
“We heard,” I tell him, giving him a forced smile. “We’ll congratulate you after. Right now, we need a plan.”
“I’ll jump out the window,” Reid offers, shrugging when we narrow our eyes at him. “I don’t have anything to lose and I’m pretty sure I can keep them distracted whilst you escape downstairs without risking one of them hurting you.”
“Even if you could, you’d probably break your neck,” I bite out, trying to remain calm. “And even if we let you, Lily wouldn’t get down safely. It’s too high up.”
“I’d rather her be alive than burnt alive,” Jaxon snaps, causing Lily to whimper.
“The baby,” she rasps.
Jaxon cups her face. “Let’s get you safe first, okay?”
“Okay,” she whispers, coughing as smoke begins to move past the curtains shoved under the door.
“I’ll back the truck up to the window. You can jump down from there. It’s high enough it won’t be too far. I’m not burning alive. I’m not letting you guys burn alive,” Reid yells, pacing in front of us, fear blazing in his eyes.
“We won’t,” I snap, closing my eyes for a minute, needing to think. “Wait, call Maddox.”
“What the fuck is that food stealing prick going to do?” Reid barks.
Jaxon sighs, reaching for his phone. “He has the blueprints to the house. He can tell us where the tunnels lead and if they’re safe.”
“If they’re not, I’m jumping out that window,” he snaps, just as one of the bottles smashes into the room next to us.
CHAPTER THREE
EVIE
I can’t keep my eyes from drifting to the soft-hearted, blonde bombshell standing in front of my desk, tapping her foot anxiously on the wooden flooring.
I met Lily Hayes a few times before today, but only at the end of a shift, never in the middle of a day, and definitely not without Jaxon. I don’t think it’s because they are newlyweds either.
The fact she’s married to Jaxon, who is completely different to her, surprised me at first. She is soft-spoken, shy and incredibly kind. Jaxon isn’t.
If I had to pair the beautiful, kind woman with someone, Jaxon wouldn’t even be on the list of potentials. Except, I have seen them together, and I know there is no one else on this earth who was made for her, and the same with him. They are the definition of couple goals, and I wish them many years of happiness.
I finish scribbling down the address to where Jaxon is working at the moment, handing it over to her. She doesn’t seem herself today; jumpy—anxious.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask the paled-faced woman.
She jumps, stepping back as her hand with the note in shakes. “I’m okay. I just really need to see Jaxon and his phone isn’t on, or maybe he’s lost signal,” she explains, forcing a smile. “Thank you again, Evie.”
“You’re most welcome,” I tell her, watching her leave in a rush, the keys to her car already in her other hand.
I bite my bottom lip worriedly, wondering if I should follow her and offer to give her a ride.
Reaching over the desk, I pick up the phone, wanting to see if I can get in touch with Jaxon myself, knowing he’ll want to know about his wife. That, and I’m worried she won’t make it there safely. However, as I press the first number, my mobile begins to blare with a bell chime, and I rest the phone back down on the receiver.
My blood runs cold as I glance down at my mobile, knowing exactly who is ringing me.
It’s the same every day, which is why I know the person won’t give up. And later, when I finally wind down from my day, I will receive a text message. It’s the same day in, day out. And soon, if I don’t give him what he wants, he will visit, and that is something I really don’t want or need in my life.
It stops ringing and I relax back into my chair, brushing the hair out of my face with my fingers.
When it begins to ring again, I want to smash it against the wall. And I would if I didn’t need it. Instead of doing what my irrational mind is roaring at me to do, even though I know it will only bring me a moment of satisfaction, I opt to slide it away from me.