“You said it yourself. Business has been . . . slow. I need that deed,” Vic says with a shrug of his shoulders.
“Don’t come in any closer or I will shoot,” the guard yells at me. I put my hands up slowly but my eyes are on Vic.
James puts his hands up. One hand holds the folder with the deed. He slowly steps forward. “Okay. I’m going to put it on the ground in front of us.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? Are you really about to hand over that deed right now?” I say to my father incredulously.
James takes another few steps forward slowly and then nods his head. “Would you rather be dead or not have the Depot son?”
A large thunk has my head yanking up. Surprisingly, I see the guard lying on the floor face-down. But what is even more surprising is that Jax is standing over him with a crowbar in his hand looking down at the man. I look at him, feeling confused. Behind him I see the trunk of the Town Car open. I think we all forgot Jax was even here.
“Jax. Son, what are you doing?” Vic yells at his son. No, not his son. I think?
“I’m not your son.” Jax sneers at the man he’s called father his entire life. It makes total sense and explains why Vic and my father aren’t partners anymore.
He bends down and pulls out a key ring from the guard’s pocket. He stands up and tosses them to me. “Go get your girl.”
I catch the key ring, and I don’t hesitate. I just run to the car, jump behind the wheel and start it just as fast. Just as I put the car in drive, the passenger door flies open. Cason jumps into the passenger seat. I hit the gas, the tires spin and I am sliding out of the warehouse. As soon as I hit the daylight, I see a cloud of smoke coming from a mile away. It’s the only direction they could’ve gone. My gut lurches, but I continue to drive.
What did you do Fallon?
“Where are we going? We don’t know what direction he went in,” Cason is holding onto the handlebar on the roof of the car. He better hold on tight because I’m not slowing down until I find that SUV.
I stare at the cloud of smoke as I swallow my panic. “I think I know where they are.”
Bile rises in my throat as we get closer to the plume of smoke. I hoped I was wrong. I slam on the breaks when I see the black SUV wrapped around a pole. I barely skid into park before I am out of the car and running for the SUV.
“Fallon!” I scream as I start to bolt to the car. Cason catches me and holds me back.
“Jesse, be careful. The car is on fire,” Cason yells.
I push Cason off and run harder.
I get to the passenger door and tug, but the door isn’t budging. I can see Fallon through the window. She’s slumped over the middle console, Marcus is leaning on the steering wheel, and there’s blood everywhere. I can’t tell if she’s breathing. The car is filling with smoke.
“Fallon, wake up baby! Oh God, wake up! The car is on fire,” I scream. I beat on the window hoping it will stir her, but it doesn’t. I round to the next door and tug. I’m able to get the door open a few inches, and I squeeze myself through into the backseat. I pull my shirt up over my nose to block some of the smoke whirling through the cab of the car. I reach over the passenger seat and grab Fallon under her arms. As soon as I entered the car the smoke filled my lungs and my shirt isn’t filtering enough of it out. I suck in a big breath and hold it. I pull her hard until she clears the middle console and falls into the backseat with me. Her lifeless body flops across my lap, and I pray that she’s just unconscious. I kick the door back open, and Cason is there waiting and ready to help. I slide her feet through first and then do my best to wedge her body through the small opening in the door toward Cason. He grabs onto her and pulls her the rest of the way out, then picks her up and cradles her to his chest. His eyes meet mine for just a second, and I see the heartbreak in them.
“Get out of there Jesse! The car is going to explode!” he yells and turns around and runs to safety with my heart in his arms. I look over to Marcus, who has started moaning and moving his head from side to side.
I look out the window to Fallon. Then back to Marcus. Then I look back to Fallon again just as Cason lays her down on the side of the road. Her body is just lying there, beaten and bruised.
I push through the narrow opening in the door and run. I hear a hissing sound coming from behind me.
“Jesse, run!” Cason screams “It’s going to blow!”
I reach the spot where Fallon is lying on the ground and cover her body with mine just as the car blows, engulfing what’s left of it in flames. A heat wave reaches us and spreads across my back as I cover her.
My head lands on her chest and my arms are spread across her face. The explosion has been set off and the fire calms. For a beat, I simply hold on to her. Then I hear it—silence in her chest. She’s not breathing. I panic—I sit up and start performing chest compressions, frantically pumping air into her lungs while I bend over and breath for her.
“She’s not breathing. She’s not fucking breathing!” I yell as I
