The answer was simple. She couldn’t. Shouldn’t. She owed it to the twins, to Danny... Most of all, she owed it to herself. Her heart was too damaged, too fragile, for her to contemplate putting it under that sort of strain, to try to heal someone else’s heart on top of everything else. Unfortunately, her body had woken up with other ideas. It had decided the only man who could set it on fire was Leon Sinclair.
Another tear followed the first. Because Flora had never contemplated this moment. The one in which she would look at Danny’s picture and apply her husband’s own words to him.
Let go. She heard Danny’s voice clearly this time and the tears flowed fast in response.
But what should she be letting go of? What would drag her down? The past? Or this wonderful, new, crazy feeling? The one telling her that the right man for her now was actually the wrong man?
Flora closed the locket with a click that sounded overly loud in the quiet house. Holding it against her heart for a moment or two, she drew in a deep breath. She would never truly let go of Danny. He was her first love and he would always be with her as she watched Stevie and Frankie grow. But something had changed—she was changing—and, although it hurt, it felt like time to start a new chapter. Would Leon be there when she turned the pages? That remained to be seen.
As she turned to replace the locket in the drawer, another noise caught her attention. There was no mistaking the sound of footsteps on the gravel drive. At 3:00 a.m.
A cold hand of fear clutched her heart. After sliding out of bed, she slipped on her sneakers and was heading for the door when she heard glass breaking downstairs.
As Flora ran for the boys’ room, she almost collided with Leon, who’d reached the top of the stairs at the same instant. He was fully dressed and wide awake.
“What’s happening?” she asked, as she darted into the twins’ bedroom.
“Fire on the porch.” He wrapped Frankie in his quilt as Flora did the same with Stevie. “We need to get these two out through the kitchen and as far from the house as we can.”
Each carrying a twin, they hurried down the stairs. Adrenaline was flooding into Flora’s system like she was on an intravenous drip. Delivered direct into her bloodstream, it heightened her senses. Her eyes grabbed every bit of light, showing her flickering flames close to the front door. The fire hadn’t fully taken hold, but she could smell the smoke and hear the wooden panels starting to crackle.
As Leon tugged open the door to the backyard, an orange streak ran ahead of them as Bungee made his own break for safety. Feeling like her heart was about to explode out of her chest, Flora drew in a lungful of night air.
Stevie stirred in her arms and she hugged him close. His little, warm body nestled tighter to her and she felt anger kick in to join the fear.
This is no accident...
She could almost feel malevolent eyes watching her. Her spine prickled in anticipation. A series of “what ifs” raced through her mind. The killer had used a knife on Joy and Lilith. What if he’d changed his mind this time? What if he had a gun? The moon was high and bright, illuminating the scene as if it was a film set.
“What if...”
“Not now. Keep low and follow me.”
Leon moved fast, ducking low through the yard. Flora stayed close behind him. When she’d bought the house, the yard had been the least appealing element. Its main features were dead grass, weeds, and two bent trees. Over on the far side there was a tumbledown shed, its door held closed with a rusting padlock the size of her fist. With a fence that was close to extinction, it was no one’s idea of a beauty spot. Now, she was glad she hadn’t begun to renovate it.
“To your left,” she whispered. “The gate doesn’t lock.”
They scurried in that direction. Once they were through the gate, Leon led her into the scrubby sagebrush that grew behind the houses on Lake Drive. The twins had woken up but were still too sleepy to make much noise.
“Mommy?” Stevie poked his head out from inside the quilt. “It’s dark.”
“I know, sweetie.” She tried to get past the panic that was a tight band around her chest and think fast. “It’s a game Dr. Leon wants us to play.”
“Oh. Like hidey-seek?”
“Yes, but we have to be quiet. No talking.” They were climbing a slight incline now. With the trees around them, they could look down on the rear of her house. Although there was no evidence of a fire raging out of control, she could see an orange glow at the front of the building that shouldn’t be there.
We should be inside. Asleep and safe in our beds...
“Okay.” Stevie called across to his brother. “Frankie, be quiet.”
“Shh.” Flora looked around her fearfully.
“Don’t worry. I think we’re alone.” Leon moved closer. “My cell
