We don’t stop until we’re safely outside in the front driveway, breathing hard and coughing up the smoke stuck in our lungs. In the sound, the distant wails of sirens and the blue and red flash of police lights. It was a good thing I didn’t wait for them to show up, otherwise Renee might have finished the job.
I lay Samantha and Mei-Lee on the ground as Eden helps Taylor sit. Mei-Lee and Samantha are breathing, but they’re in rough shape. I cup Eden’s face, checking her over. “Are you alright? Talk to me, sweetheart.”
“I’m… I’m alright,” she rasps, fighting through tears. “What about Renee?”
“WhataboutRenee?”
“Hunter… We can’t leave her in there! I know she’s batshit crazy, but she doesn’t deserve to die.”
I sigh. Eden’s right. The only way to make sure Renee pays for her egregious crimes is to make sure she lives to see her day in court. “Stay here,” I tell Eden.
“Wait!” She grasps my hand and tugs me down for a kiss. “I love you, too,” she whispers against my lips. “Now go save her.”
I wish I had a second more to savor the moment, but I can’t afford to waste any more time. I rush back into the mansion and rush down the stairs, finding Renee’s limp body crumpled up next to a roaring flame. The fire is nearing an entire shelf full of film. Once it ignites, we’ll be blown to high heaven.
I throw Renee over my shoulder and carry her out, struggling to see past the burn in my lungs and the sting in my eyes. I’m almost to the last stair when a sharp pain radiates from my back.
“Fuck,” I hiss, realizing what’s happened. “Did you just fuckingstabme?”
Renee kicks her legs, but I don’t let her go. She’s hysterical. “If I can’t have you, no one can!”
“I’m trying to save you, idiot! Stay still!”
“Leave me to die! I don’t want to live without you!”
“For fuck’s sake,” I grumble, fighting through the pain to carry us both to safety.
The police arrive in time to take Renee from me, slapping a pair of cuffs around her wrists. A set of paramedics are working on Samantha, Mei-Lee and Taylor are being loaded into the back of different ambulances on stretchers, and Eden’s actively trying to push off her designated first responders so she can get to me.
“Hunter!” She throws herself into my arms, crying in full force. “Oh, thank God.”
“Easy there, sweetheart. I have a knife in my back.”
“Is that a metaphor or…”
“No, I literally have a knife in my back.” I turn to show her.
Eden pales. “Jesus Christ, can we get some help over here?”
“Areyouokay?” I ask her. “Did she hurt you? Is the baby okay?”
“I’m totally fine. I mean, my head hurts like hell, but we should really be worried about you right now.”
“I’ll live.”
“Don’t be such a tough guy. I know you’re in pain.”
“Actually, I don’t feel anything. Must be the adrenaline. I’m sure I’ll be crying like a baby once it wears off, though.”
Her bottom lip trembles. “Please tell me it’s over.”
“It’s over, Eden. I promise.”
She sobs quietly, barely audible over the commotion of police officers and ambulances and firetrucks. I hold her as tightly as I dare, thankful I managed to get to her in time. We watch in stunned silence as the mansion burns, unforgiving flames claiming everything within reach.
“You’re safe, sweetheart,” I murmur against her hair. “My brave girl.”
Eden suddenly gasps. “Oh no.”