Page 40 of Mine To Possess

“We’re both ok. I can’t believe we got out of that alright.”

I breathe in against her hair, smelling the smoky smell, and beneath it, Amelia’s scent. She lifts her head from my shoulder and smiles at me, tears shining in her eyes.

“Thank you, Viktor. You’re my hero, you know.”

She leans in closer and kisses me. Her kiss is hard and desperate, like she needs to do this to convince herself we’re really ok. Her mouth tastes of smoke and ashes, but I push my hands into her hair, kissing her back, equally desperate to reassure myself that this is real, and my Amelia is alright.

I break the kiss when I hear sirens in the distance. They’re getting closer to us quickly.

“Come on,” I urge. “We’d better get out of here and go and find the rest of the people who got out. We don’t want a team of firefighters in there looking for us when we’re safe.”

22

VIKTOR

Iwrap my arm around her shoulders, pulling her against my side as I lead her down the little winding path that cuts through the garden.

“Not everyone made it out of there, did they?” Amelia asks in a soft voice.

I want to tell her that of course they did, that everything is right in the world and bad things don’t happen to people who have just gone to work or gone out to enjoy a meal, never imagining this would be their last night on earth. I want to protect her from the horrors of the world. I think of the woman who fell. Her shocked face locked in a scream of fear and panic. Amelia is not stupid. She knows how bad it was back there.

“No,” I say, equally softly. “I don’t think they did.”

She moves a little closer to me as a shiver goes through her and I tighten my hold on her.

“What do you think caused the explosion?” she asks.

“I have no idea,” I tell her. “But I intend to find out.”

We reach the gate to the garden, and I open it and lead Amelia through it. We come out at the side of the restaurant and make our way around to the front. A crowd has gathered there. Most of them are standing around watching the fire, expressions of shock on their faces. Some are lying on the ground with other people tending to them as best as they can.

The sirens are almost upon us now. Within moments the crowd is bathed in a flickering blue light as the first ambulance arrives. Another two are right behind it, followed by two fire engines and a police car.

I spot Marty, the restaurant manager, in the crowd. “Come on,” I tell Amelia and make my way towards him.

“Any idea what caused the fire?” I ask.

“Yes. It was done on purpose, Viktor,” Marty growls. He looks at me through slightly too wide eyes. Then he blinks and catches himself. “My apologies, Mr. Leshchenko, I don’t know why I called you Viktor there. I…”

I shake my head impatiently. “Forget that” I say. “Why do you think it was arson?”

“Someone kicked the back door in and threw something into the kitchen. Before anyone could react, the thing exploded.”

I scowl. Someone threw a Molotov cocktail into my restaurant! Instantly, I know who’s responsible for this and I feel anger swirling inside of me. People are dead because fucking Igor has an issue with me. Why can’t he just come to me, man to man, and have it out with me?

Amelia brushes against me and I glance down at her, wondering if she’s gone into shock.

“Hey. Are you ok?” I ask, holding her tighter against me.

“Yeah. I’m just cold,” she says through chattering teeth.

I wish I’d brought a jacket, but I haven’t. Immediately Marty takes off his work jacket and hands it to her.

“Here, wear this,” he offers.

“Oh no, I couldn’t,” Amelia says, shaking her head.

“Sure you can. It’s all part of the service,” Marty says with an attempt at a smile.