Fireball, p.1
Fireball, page 1
Copyright © 2023 by Abbi Glines
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Editor: Jovana Shirley, Unforeseen Editing, www.unforeseenediting.com
Formatting: Melissa Stevens, The Illustrated Author, www.theillustratedauthor.com
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Copyright
I One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
II Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Book Three Teaser...
One
Acknowledgments
To Miriam Israel, the first baby I loved with my whole heart.
I was only five, but I was sure no one could ever take your place.
Sure, I always took the best Barbies and threatened to stop playing with you if I couldn’t have the pink My Little Pony, but that’s what big sisters are for.
We might be cousins, but in my heart, you’ll always be my sister.
I
“Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.”
—Sir Walter Scott
One
Madeline
While outside on the balcony wrapped in a blanket with a cup of coffee in my hand, I stared off into the distance. The Smoky Mountains were chilly in the early morning, even in the summer. It was silent, except for the sounds of nature waking up. If I could find peace, this was the moment every day when I caught a glimpse of it. Before reality sank in.
Saxon was leaving today. He’d stayed with me for two weeks, but he needed to return to Moses Mile. I would miss his company even if I spoke very little. Just having someone here gave me a sense of security.
The Houstons wanted me to remain here, in their cabin, one they owned and rented out. Saxon’s mother, Melanie, had said it gave her peace of mind. When I had fled, I’d had nowhere to go. There was no home for me anymore. After days of driving, unsure of where we were going, Saxon had brought me here.
There had been no calls or texts from Blaise in the almost three weeks since my world had been shattered. I should be relieved he was leaving me alone. Killing my father and brother was unforgivable. Explanations would never make it better. Nothing would.
But my heart had never felt so empty. I made it through each day, going through the motions. Knowing deep down that if he called, I’d answer. Just to hear his voice. I was ashamed of that.
The door behind me opened, and I didn’t turn around to see Saxon. I knew he was leaving. I wasn’t ready for that goodbye. He had helped the loneliness. A little. The fear of being alone was a part of me now. I would never be able to go back to the way I had once been.
“The fridge is stocked. You should be good for a week. I left a credit card on the counter. Use it. Mom wants to make sure you have all you need. She understands you don’t feel like talking right now but wants you to call her when you do. She wants to visit you too.”
He paused then, and I knew he wanted me to say that, yes, I’d call or that I wanted her to visit. But the truth was, Melanie wasn’t someone I felt like I could rely on. She did what the Hughes said to do. After seeing the photos of my dad and Cole, I couldn’t blame her.
“The rental car company will drop off your car today too,” Saxon added when it was clear I wasn’t going to respond.
I nodded, then managed a, “Thank you.”
He walked around to stand in front of me. The concern on his face was clear. It was also the only expression he’d worn since we had driven away from Blaise’s house. More than once, I’d wondered if he’d have taken me away if Blaise hadn’t told him to.
How deep was Blaise’s power? Would he kill Saxon if he didn’t obey? Did he kill people with no remorse?
My stomach twisted into a knot, and I swallowed hard. I hated thinking about Blaise that way. The man I had fallen in love with didn’t truly exist. If I had known the evil that he was capable of, I’d never have given him my heart.
“Maddy.” Saxon’s voice was gentle.
He was good, kind, and thoughtful. Why couldn’t I have fallen in love with him? It was what Blaise had intended. He’d wanted Saxon for me. He had told me so. How much easier it would have been to love Saxon.
“Please eat and get out of this cabin, walk around in town, do something. Don’t just stay inside. Promise me you will. I’ll be back to visit when I can. You’re safe here.”
The idea of eating made my stomach rebel, but I nodded anyway. “Okay,” I replied.
“If you need anything, call me. Don’t hesitate,” he said.
“I will,” I told him. “I promise.” The smile I managed was weak, but it was all I could do.
Saxon sighed heavily. He was worried about leaving me. He cared about how I was doing. Blaise didn’t. Again, if only I could love Saxon. But my heart was destroyed. I’d never love again.
“I’ve got to meet Dad in Nashville today to look at a horse. I need to go.” His tone was apologetic.
“Go, Saxon. It’s okay. I’m fine.” All lies. I wasn’t fine. I would never be fine.
The sad smile that touched his lips made me feel guilty for not trying harder to reassure him. But how did I reassure him of something that wasn’t true?
He walked over to me and bent down to place a kiss on my head. “Take care of yourself,” he said again before leaving me there.
I didn’t say anything or watch as he disappeared. I heard his truck engine and the sound of him pulling out of the drive. The loneliness grew even heavier, and I blinked back the tears that filled my eyes. Setting the coffee, which had gone cold, down on the table beside me, I stood up and walked back inside.
Saxon had said I was safe here, but the fear was something I couldn’t seem to overcome. Closing the door, I locked it, then went to check all the other doors. Knowing that the men who had taken me in the movie theater restroom were dead, but that they hadn’t acted alone.
Blaise had many enemies. How could Saxon be so sure they wouldn’t come looking for me? That they hadn’t followed us, waiting until I was alone once again?
There was a dark world out there, full of bad men who did bad things. It was wrapped in wealth and power. My mother had fled from it to save me, and I’d ended up falling in love with the darkest one of all. My heart had seen something in Blaise, and I’d wanted him so much that I’d overlooked who he was. What he did.
When it was your family that he killed, you couldn’t overlook it. The fairy tale I’d let myself pretend I was in had gone up in flames.
I was still battling inside over who had left that envelope for me to find. Did I hate them for causing me all this pain? Or had they saved me from getting any deeper into a world I knew nothing about? Who had left it? Maybe if I knew who had left it for me, then I would know how to feel. I’d know why they had done it.
I took time to fold the blanket I’d been covered up with outside, then placed it on the sofa.
Saxon had bought me books last week. They were my only escape—when I could focus on them. Reading would be the only company I had. I knew I couldn’t stay here forever, but trying to plan my future was more than I could handle at the moment.
My future was questionable. Saxon had seemed so sure that my life wasn’t at risk. Blaise wasn’t chasing after me. I was no longer a weakness for him. I understood that, but did his enemies? As lost as I felt, I still didn’t wish for death. At least not at the hands of someone who would make that death brutal. If I wanted to end my life, I preferred to handle it. Not that I ever would. I wasn’t sure what happened after death, and if this was truly the only life we got before we were dust, I wanted to have a chance to make this one worth it.
Stepping into the kitchen, I looked around at the things Saxon had bought for me. Sitting on the counter, there was a bowl full of fruit, a box of croissants, several different muffins, and the credit card he’d said he left for me.
My name was on the card, and I knew using it only meant I would feel as if I had to pay the Houstons back. They were already letting me stay here for free. Feeding me, getting me a rental car to use. I wasn’t theirs to worry about, and I didn’t k now why they were doing it. If this was because Melanie felt guilty for bringing me into this world and not being there for me when I needed advice, this wasn’t going to fix things.
Walking over to the counter to take an apple from the fruit bowl in hopes that I could force it down, I stopped when I saw a white letter-sized envelope tucked under the edge of the bowl. Had Saxon left it behind?
If it had been meant for me, then Saxon would have just given it to me. Wouldn’t he?
Confused, I reached for it and noticed my name was written on it in familiar handwriting. My grip tightened as my hand began to tremble. I stood there, holding it, looking down at that script. My chest ached painfully, but that was nothing compared to the inner turmoil going on inside my head.
Saxon must not have wanted to see my face when he gave this to me. I reached out and grabbed the counter for balance and closed my eyes, taking several deep breaths. If just seeing Blaise’s handwriting affected me like this, then how could I open it and read it? He could have texted me. Whatever was inside this envelope couldn’t just be a letter. It was too thick for that. Was it money? My stomach twisted at the thought. Did he think he could buy me off? From what exactly? Killing my father and brother? Letting me fall in love with him?
Not wanting to look at my name written in his handwriting any longer, I folded it and put it in the pocket of my pajama pants. I wasn’t ready for whatever was inside. Would he add a goodbye note to the insult of money? If that was what he had left for me, I was sure whatever was left of the Madeline I had once been would shatter.
“I can’t,” I whispered to no one.
Unable to move, I stood there, staring at nothing. I didn’t know for how long. When the sound of a car door closing caught my attention, I was snapped out of the numbness I’d been allowing to consume me. Moving quickly, I ran to the knife block and pulled out the largest one. Looking at it in my hand, I wondered if I would even know what to do with this. But something was better than nothing.
Glancing around for a place to hide, I went to the pantry and opened it quietly. I stood among the shelves stocked with staples, knowing this wasn’t good enough.
Sitting on the floor, I pulled my legs up and curled into a ball until I fit under the lowest shelf in the corner. There was no knock on the door, no doorbell, no sound at all. I listened carefully, but with my heart hammering in my ears, it was difficult to hear anything.
How had this become my life? Hiding in a pantry?
Once, I had been brave. Even when I wasn’t sure how we were going to eat, or where we would sleep, or if my dad was going to come home and pay the bills, I was tough. I handled things. But that girl had never known the real monsters that walked among us.
The time ticked by slowly, and my legs began to cramp up. My stomach growled, and my neck hurt from being bent for so long. There was still no sound inside the house.
How long could I stay like this? What if it had simply been someone who had gotten lost or seen a black bear and wanted to go get a picture? The roads in the mountains were narrow, and if someone had taken a wrong turn, they’d need a driveway to turn around in, although they wouldn’t have gotten out of their car. Perhaps it had been a package.
My legs were asleep. Staying like this was ridiculous, wasn’t it?
Moving as quietly as I could, I stood back up and opened the pantry door a crack to peek out. I listened and scanned the area I could see. It was silent in the house. Completely still with no sign of life other than my heavy breathing and pounding heart.
I stayed still for a few more minutes with the knife still clutched in my hand, waiting before slowly stepping out of the pantry. It was all as I had left it. Nothing was out of place. I started to let out a sigh when a sound startled me. The knife fell from my hand as I screamed. It was while I jumped back away from the point of the knife to protect my feet that I realized it was the sound of the air conditioning unit kicking on.
Closing my eyes for a moment at my own ridiculousness, I cursed. I was losing my mind. I had to get a grip. I could have cut my toes off.
I opened my eyes and bent down to get the knife, then walked back to the block to return it. My attention turned to the front door, and I looked outside the glass window beside it, silently reassuring myself that I was fine. My eyes spotted it then, making me feel even more ridiculous than I’d already felt.
A silver Mercedes SUV was parked outside. Leave it to Melanie to choose a luxury vehicle for my rental car. I had known it was going to be dropped off. Saxon had told me this. Why hadn’t I thought of that before acting like I was in a bad horror film?
My phone dinged, alerting me of a text. It was from Saxon.
Just got a call from the rental car place. They said the car was delivered. Should be a silver SUV. Mercedes, I think.
I texted him back.
It’s here. Thank you. I don’t know what I would do without your parents helping like this. I swear I will repay them and you one day.
I saw the dots appear on the screen that he was replying, so I waited. They went away, and nothing came through. He was driving. I needed to leave him alone.
Setting the phone back down, I placed a hand on the pocket where Blaise’s letter was tucked.
Eventually, I would be strong enough to open it, but that day was not today.
Two
Madeline
My eyes flew open, and I lay there in the dark, looking around. The moonlight was enough for me to see the bedroom clearly as my eyes focused.
I had been dreaming, but then there was a sound. I heard a door close and footsteps. Even in my dream, I had known something was wrong.
I sat up in bed. I could have simply dreamed the sound, but as my eyes opened, the footsteps were still there. Weren’t they? I’d heard something. Was I panicking again for nothing? No. I was sure I’d heard it.
I moved the covers back before grabbing my phone. Then, I heard them again. Footsteps. They were soft, but I was sure I’d heard them. There were a few stairs that creaked, and I knew that sound. Someone was here. This wasn’t me overreacting this time.
I pressed Saxon’s number, then ended the call. He was hours away from me. Possibly even back in Florida, or … had he come back here? Had he decided after meeting his dad in Nashville that he should come back to me? Surely, he would have texted or called, but then he might have worried about waking me up.
My phone said it was after three.
Tiptoeing to the bedroom door, I stepped out to peek over the balcony overlooking the living room and kitchen. I dialed 911 and held my finger over the Call button, waiting before pressing it in case Saxon had returned. I moved closer to the railing and held my breath, for fear of being heard. There was no one down there, but the light over the stove was off, and I had left it on. My eyes swung to the living room, which I could already tell was dark. I’d left the lamp on in there too.
“Put the phone down,” a deep voice said behind me.
A scream tore from my throat, and my phone fell to the ground as I spun around. Huck was standing a few feet away at the top of the stairs. I gasped and covered my mouth to keep from screaming again. My adrenaline was pumping so hard that I felt like I might expire right here.
But it was Huck. I knew him. I had once trusted him. He wasn’t here to kill me. I was almost positive he wasn’t. Maybe he was. Maybe my knowing about Blaise killing my dad and brother had put me on their kill list. Assuming they had one of those. Why hadn’t I thought about that already? Saxon would have warned me, wouldn’t he?
“For fuck’s sake, Maddy, stop backing up. If you fall over that damn railing, then Blaise will put a bullet in me,” he drawled, then held up an unlit cigarette. “Mind if I smoke this?”
I stared at him, but said nothing. Why was he here? If Blaise didn’t want me to fall from the balcony, then he didn’t want me dead. Yet Huck was here, in this cabin, miles away from Ocala, in the middle of the night. I was confused.
Huck shrugged when I didn’t answer and lit the cigarette between his lips and took a long pull from it. “Go back to bed,” he said with a grunt.
“What are you doing?” I asked him instead.
