Warrior (First to Fight #1)(70)

“And my dad? You dated him just to get close to me?”

“Henry. He was sweet. I felt bad about him.”

My fingers pause in their attempt to work a pen from between the seat cushions. “What do you mean you felt bad about him?”

“Well, he stumbled on that article, like I’m sure you did. I couldn’t have him go blabbin’ to you before I was ready. Especially not when you were carrying my grandson. I figure it’s only fair that you repaid one baby with another.”

I swallow around the knot in my throat. “Is that why you tried to kill me and tried to kidnap Cole?”

She slows a bit to take a corner. “You’re hardly fit to take care of a child, Amy.”

“My name is Olivia,” I growl. “And you will never have my child.”

I lurch forward, my freed hands reaching for the wheel and jerking it to the side, jerking the car to swerve dangerously off of the road.

The car skips over the knotted ground and careens into a fence, the force throwing me into the front seat. My head smacks against the dashboard and something cracks. Melissa screams, or maybe it’s me and things go black for a while.

When I come to, it’s because the sound of a car horn is blaring nonstop. I blink, blood dripping into my eyes, and find Melissa conked out, draped over the steering wheel.

I try to sit up, but my ribs protest and I let out a long, low moan. Shit. Something is definitely wrong there. I push myself up, slowly, and slither into the back of the car. The front, from what I can see, is completely shattered and pinned against the fence. The back driver’s side door is free and I’m able to wedge it open, though it makes a God-awful squeak that causes Melissa to jerk in front of me.

I pause a few seconds to make sure she isn’t going to raise like the dead. When she doesn’t, I scoot out the door, but my foot catches on the frame and I stumble to the damp ground, wrenching another scream from my throat. My leg is caught in the doorway and when I turn to free it, I find Melissa’s cell on the floorboard.

After I manage to snag the cell I slide backwards along the ground, mud caking my jeans and soaking me to the core. I dial Ben out of instinct, fingers trembling, and use a tree with my free hand to get to my feet.

“Melissa, what the f*ck did you do with Olivia? Listen to me bitch, if you—”

“Ben, wait, it’s me. Please don’t hang up,” I beg, my voice breaking.

“Olivia? Where are you? You okay?”

“I-I don’t know where we are. She just started driving. God, Ben, is Cole okay?”

“He’s fine, baby, focus. Find a street name, if you can. Look around.”

“I don’t know. I don’t know where we are. Oh my god, Ben, she’s so f*cking crazy.”

“Goddammit, Olivia. Fucking find a street name right now!”

I do as he says and relay the only sign I can see. “Please hurry, Ben.”

“We’re on the way, baby, sit tight.” Then the line goes dead.

I turn back around to check on Melissa and find her coming at me, blood dripping from her hair, a vicious gash on her hairline and her eyes wild. She screams as she charges, wielding the gun she used to get me in the car.

“This is the last time you’ll f*ck things up for me, Amy. The last time. Get back in the car!”

My body decides that it’s had it and it takes every single last store of energy I have to make the short trek back. Hopefully it was enough to bide Ben some time. Hopefully he’ll get here before it’s too late.

I’m thankful for the numbness spreading through my chest. It would be so easy just to give in at this point and let it completely overtake me. How much can one person take?

She shoves me back into the back seat and I screech, my vision going dark for a second. The door slams behind me and I sit up to find her digging in her pockets. She pulls out a lighter and then the gas suddenly makes sense.

“This is for Tommy and Sam,” she shouts, dumping the remaining fuel on the car. “It should have been you.”

She flicks the lighter and sets the car on fire. I watch unable to move, shock from the pain and adrenaline having sapped all my energy. Smoke furls in from the windows and fills the interior in a shocking amount of time. I see her face split in an evil smile before it, too, is engulfed in smoke. Sweat beads at my hairline and mixes with blood. Both sting my eyes as the smoke stings my lungs.

Something cracks. The front window maybe? There’s a veritable feast of accelerants to feed the fire. Please dear God let someone get here before then. I curl on the seat, as low as I can get, to find fresh air.

Over the crackle and woosh of fire, I hear the squeal of brakes and my heart lifts. Someone screams and the black part of my soul hopes that it’s Melissa.

A male voice catches my attention and I force my eyes to open. I see Ben standing in the open door, and I’m half-convinced I’ve died and gone to heaven. He leans into the car and I can make out the ruddy streaks of blood on his shirt. The sight causes me to frown. This man needs a near constant supply of shirts. His face comes into view as he kneels next to me. I hear a woman screaming and the muffled sounds of a scuffle. Warm hands cup my cheeks and I refocus on his face.

“Jesus Christ, Spitfire. It’s going to be okay. Look at me.” His voice sounds real, a feeling of absolute calm comes over me and I know he’s right. Everything is going to be okay.