Page 21 of Fire in My Blood
The animals at the shelter provide a nice distraction from last night’s events. By the time I leave to go to work, I feel more in control. The fear is still there, but I’m calmer and more focused.
A small smile breaks across my face when I think about seeing Lucas again, but it turns into a frown when I realize I’ve been too busy thinking about myself and my situation to try to figure out how to help him. He can’t stay in the basement for much longer, and it’s up to me to help him escape. For once I can’t rely on my brother to support me.
After parking my car outside the office building, I hurry inside and press the button for the elevator. When the doors open, my eyes widen at the sight of David standing there, looking like he’s about to blow a gasket.
My heart starts picking up speed as I step into the elevator and realize he’s on his way up from the basement. “Hi, David. Are you all right?”
He averts his gaze and blows out a heavy sigh. “Yes, just angry about everything that’s happened to you.”
Scrubbing a hand down his face, he breathes out another sigh. Then he gives me a forced smile. “How are you doing? Do you still want to stay at a motel? I can go get Mina and the kids and come back here before you finish tonight. We can all stay at the motel together.”
I shake my head firmly. “No, it’ll put you all at risk. It’s better if we stay apart. But I’d feel better if you didn’t stay at your house tonight in case he’s discovered I have a brother.”
David frowns and then nods slowly. “I’ll think about it. But remember to call me before you turn off your phone. I need to know where you’re staying just in case.”
I give him a small smile. “I will.”
The elevator doors open on the second floor, and we get out. Before I can move away, David turns to me and takes my left hand. “I’ll do anything to find the asshole who hurt you. You will be safe again. I promise.”
I look down to prevent him from seeing the doubt in my eyes. I know my brother means well, but I’m not so sure he’s going to be able to make good on his promise. David hasn’t met the guy. And he doesn’t know how unbelievably fast, strong, and vicious the asshole is.
I open my mouth to respond, but the words stick in my throat when I notice the red spots on David’s shirtsleeve. A fine spatter of blood covers his shirt from his wrist to his elbow. It’s not the kind of blood smear you would get from cutting yourself.
A shiver of fear races down my spine, and I pull my hand gently but firmly out of David’s grip. What has he done? If that’s Lucas’s blood on his sleeve, I’ll—
“Did you hear me, Erica? I promise I’ll get this guy, all right? You’re not going to live in fear for much longer.”
I swallow hard, forcing down the anger and fear urging me to rush down into the basement and check on Lucas. “Thank you, David.” I paste a smile on my face, before I lift my gaze and look into my brother’s eyes.
“I have to finish these offices so I can get out of here some time tonight.” I’m sure my smile doesn’t reach my eyes, but there’s nothing strange about that, considering what happened last night. “Please tell Mina and the kids I’m fine, okay?”
His eyes are sad when he returns my smile. “I will.” He turns and heads down the corridor toward his office.
After picking up my cleaning cart, I get busy cleaning the offices. My heart is racing, and there’s only one thought in my head. Lucas. But I can’t go to him until David leaves.
Tears of relief fill my eyes when he finally walks past, wearing his coat, more than half an hour later. “I’ll be off now. Be careful.”
I nod and wave, not trusting my voice to answer him. My mind is screaming at me to go to Lucas immediately, but I have to wait five minutes to make sure David is really gone.
It’s probably the longest five minutes of my life. When I finally feel certain my brother has left the base, I run to the elevator and press the button repeatedly. The elevator takes forever to arrive, and it takes even longer to get down to the basement.
I squeeze through the doors as soon as they start opening and hurry over to the door to Lucas’s room. Fumbling with my keycard, I finally manage to unlock the door. After pulling the door open, I click on the light and practically stumble into the room in my haste to check that he’s still okay.
The sight that greets me will forever be etched into my mind. Lucas is slumped against the wall, his upper body leaning a little to the right. His beautiful chest is riddled with bullet wounds, and blood, so much blood, is coating his chest and abs and pooling around him where he’s sitting on the mattress. His head is tipped forward so I can’t see his eyes.
All the air whooshes from my lungs. This is so much worse than I expected.
“No, no, no, no, not you. You can’t be dead.” Tears fill my eyes and blur my vision. I thought yesterday was a nightmare, but this is so much worse.
I rush forward and fall to my knees at his side. The knees of my pants quickly get soaked with his blood, but I don’t care. I clasp his head in my hands and tip it back to look at his face. His eyes are closed, and his skin is cold and pale.
“Oh, Lucas, no.” My vision blurs as tears course down my cheeks, so I close them and lean forward to place my forehead against his.
“I’m so sorry, Lucas. I should’ve helped you escape earlier. I never expected my brother to do this. How could he do this to you? I don’t understand. He was so angry, but why take it out on you?”
My voice cracks and sobs rack my body while I whisper all the words I should have told him the last time I saw him. “I’d do anything to have you back alive. To see your beautiful blue eyes again. Hear your laughter. Kiss you one more time. You’re the first man I’ve allowed to touch me in four years. I felt safe with you. But I let you down. Oh, Lucas, I’m so sorry. David will pay for this, even though he’s my brother. He won’t get away with this.”
Pain stabs into my chest like someone just drove a knife into my heart. I haven’t known Lucas for more than a few days but losing him is worse than having my soul torn out.