Fighting the Flames (Firefighter Romance #1)(45)
“What are you so pissed about? It's not like Belinda takes her top off every night.” Jacqueline grabbed a few empty bottles from a nearby table and handed them to him. “A little nudity is good for the soul.”
“But not good for my bar if she starts a riot.”
She waved her hand. “Please. Her ta-tas weren't that great.”
“Ta-tas?”
“Just a little nickname Angela and I have for our lady parts.”
Just as Jacqueline was about to comment, a familiar tingling invaded her stomach. Her heartbeat increased and dizziness washed over her, causing her head to ache. She swayed a little and grasped the bar for support.
“Uh-oh,” she whispered.
“Jacqueline, if you're gonna throw up, please do it in the bathroom.” Toby's voice came from far away. She barely heard it. Another noise, one only she heard, danced around in her head. “What's wrong with you?”
“I need some air.” She stumbled to the door. The urge to be outside was strong, and she'd learned that it was important to follow the feeling, not fight it. Fighting just made the sensations worse.
Toby grabbed her arm before she could leave. One of his hands gently turned her head toward him. Jacqueline stared into his deep blue eyes, filling with concern and something else...
“Your eyes,” he said, studying them. “They're so green. Are they always like that?”
“My eyes are brown.” She pulled away. What was Toby talking about? The draw strengthened, and the awful noise in her head threatened to come bursting out, clashing with the fast-paced rhythm of Mumford and Sons.
Oh, god. Please don't let me be a total freak in front of Toby.
The night air cooled her skin as she ran into the parking lot of Merlyn's Bar. The words of “Little Lion Man” floated behind her.
She covered her ears, dimly aware of the people driving away from the parking lot. Headlights flashed in her eyes as they passed. The sense of deep foreboding that always accompanied her current state surrounded her.
Someone was going to die.
****
At the bend in the road, she barely made out Sean and Belinda as they still argued near the street. In the dim light of the moon, she slapped Sean across the face, the harshness of it breaking through the roar in Jacqueline's head. He staggered for a moment but regained his balance. Whacking her back, Belinda stumbled into the road.
Everything happened in slow motion as Belinda regarded Sean, astonished to find herself on the ground. Car headlights flashed around the corner. Jacqueline yelled a warning. Belinda glanced over her shoulder as the white lights illuminated her open mouth. The screeching brakes rang out as Sean waved his hands, but it was too late. Belinda's body soared through the air like a doll before crashing to the ground with a sickening thud.
As the song sprang from Jacqueline’s throat, freed from its confines, the melody soared through the air, and the wailing high-pitched keening caused everyone to look at her. Wind blustered, lifting her hair and rippling through the silky sundress she wore.
No one else saw the truth that she herself did not comprehend. The more Jacqueline sang, the more a yellow light pulsed around Belinda's body. Jacqueline reached with her mind, willing the radiance free from Belinda’s body. Despite the cooler temperature, her brow perspired as the energy shifted. The flicker drew to Belinda’s center palpitating like a heartbeat. She gasped as the light freed from the corpse, but none of the bystanders noticed the brilliant globe that drifted up toward the heavens before gently fading away.
Jacqueline stopped singing as darkness crept into her vision, and she collapse to the ground, exhausted. Other noises rushed through the night—voices calling 911, the screams of Sean, the screech of tires and brakes as witnesses leaving the bar or traveling the dark road stopped.
****
“Jackie? Oh my god, Jackie? What happened? Are you hurt?” Angela's terrified voice cut through the sounds. The cool hands of her friend brushed back the loose hair on her forehead as she groaned and blinked her eyes. “You're burning up. What's going on out here?”
“There's been an accident.” Toby pointed at the chaos brewing by the tree line. “The ambulance is on its way.”
“What's wrong with Jackie? Why is she staring like that? Why are you just standing there? And her eyes—”
“Take Jacqueline inside to my office,” Toby said in a steady tone as if nothing had happened. “She's in shock.”
“Shock? Then we should take her to the ER, too.” Angela gritted her teeth, drawing Jacqueline into a sitting position.
“No.” The sharp word forced Jacqueline to turn and blink. His gaze flickered but held no emotion aside from his tense jaw. “Take her into my office. I'll call you that cab,” Toby commanded.
Angela’s jaw set tight as if she wanted to protest. Her eyes sparked, but something in Toby’s gaze stopped her from letting loose her usual trail of vocal fire. Considering him, he appeared fearsome, somehow taller. If Angela disobeyed him, she didn’t think he would hesitate to strike her.
With a small sigh of relief, Jacqueline plopped down onto the red leather love seat and her eyes shut. Too bad she could not block out the sound of sirens or the echo of her song. In the past year, she'd learned that the only cure was sleep. As she drifted off, she thought about Belinda's light. She still didn’t understand her connection to it. Or how she managed to see what other people could not.