Chapter 29: Hideaway: Chapter 29

Present

“Ugh,” Alex growled, pulling her hand out of the pumpkin and whipping the orange slop off her hand and onto the newspaper.

“You said you wanted to bake pumpkin seeds,” Rika pointed out.

“Yeah, well, I didn’t know this was where they came from.”

I forced a half-smile, trying unsuccessfully to get my mind off Kai and my brother. Placing a tea light inside my Jack O’Lantern, I picked up the lighter and reached back inside, lighting the wick.

Carving pumpkins was a pathetic way to keep myself busy when all I wanted to do was jump in a car and go search out Kai and Damon, but if I left, Rika would follow, and then, of course, Alex, and I couldn’t be responsible for them. I’d bide my time until Kai called. If he didn’t within another hour, though, I was going, and I didn’t care who jumped in the car with me. I loved them both, and they wanted to hurt each other. How in the hell was I going to get us all out of this?

Lev and David strolled in, picking at the snacks on the counters as they watched us finish up. I carried my pumpkin to the kitchen windowsill over the sink and placed it facing out toward the garden.

The colorful trees blew in the wind, and I heard needles of rain drops hitting the window.

A crack of lightning flashed through the windows, and I jumped, my heart skipping a beat. Thunder followed, its hollow drum pounding overhead.

Turning around, I jerked my chin to the guys. “Storm’s coming. There’s candles, flashlights, and batteries in the hall closet. Go grab some, would you?”

“’Kay.” David stood from where he leaned on the counter, his and Lev’s smiles both on Alex before they turned around.

She offered a flirtatious look in return.

“Those are some mighty healthy-looking boys,” she teased, following them with her eyes as they left the kitchen. “Are they a team?”

I popped my head up, and Rika just shook her head, smiling as she carved her pumpkin.

“When I’m bored I think about sex.”

“And when she thinks about sex,” Rika chimed in, “somebody’s getting laid.”

Alex plopped the top back on her lit pumpkin. “It feels good, doesn’t it? Should we be ashamed of doing things we enjoy? No.”

I watched her wink at me and then saunter out of the kitchen, hopefully not in search of the guys.

Rika continued working on the eyes, and I wrapped up my newspaper, pumpkin seeds and all. If Alex wanted to bake them, then she could have at it. I’d gotten about as domestic as I was going to get today.

“I liked your dress,” Rika said, not looking at me. “It was perfect.”

My dress?

Oh, the wedding. The dress was still sitting in a pile on the dining room floor, now that I thought of it.

“Do you think you’ll be happy?” She leaned down, carefully slicing with her small, serrated knife to form an eye.

“I’m not unhappy,” I told her. “I know that.”

She nodded, still concentrating on her work. “Kai’s a good man. He’s family.”

I know. And I knew what she was telling me. I’d better make him happy, too. Things might be complicated, and it might be a very long time before they loosened the reins enough to widen their circle to fit me, but I admired her loyalty.

I walked up, pushing a tea light and lighter over to her whenever she was ready. “So, how’s your wedding planning going?”

A wide smile spread across her face. “I’m having ideas,” she replied coyly. “Wanna help me shop?”

“Shop?” I couldn’t contain the abhorrence on my face. “For dresses?”

She looked at me, leaning in. “For a train.”

“A train? As in…”

“All abooooard,” she sing-songed.

Huh?

But before I had a chance to question further, all light in the kitchen died, and the whole room went dim.

“Whoa.” Rika straightened on her stool.

I charged across the kitchen, quickly flipping the switches on the wall.

But the lights were out. “Flashlights and candles!” I yelled down the hallway. “Move your asses!”

“I can’t believe they went out already.” Rika rubbed her arms as if she had a chill. “It’s not even that bad out yet.”

“Alright, here.” David and Lev came rushing back, setting the supplies down on the island.

I handed Rika a utility lighter. “Light the candles in the holders in the dining room?”

She took it and hopped off her stool, leaving the room. I handed Alex some candle sticks. “Can you spread out a few upstairs in the hallways? Lev go with her.”

David handed me a flashlight, and I took some candles and a lighter to put in the living room, while he jogged upstairs.

I went into the den first and dumped out a small tray of paper clips from Kai’s desk. Placing the candle on it, I lit it and left, doing a double-take to make sure the secret entrance to the tunnel was closed.

Walking into the living room, I broke out in chills, feeling a draft. I looked up, seeing the curtains blowing and seeing the rain falling through the open window.

“What the hell?” I dumped the candles on the couch and ran over to the window, grabbing it and trying to pull it down again. “How the hell is this open?”

Rain splattered the windowsill, droplets bouncing against my shirt as I put all my weight into yanking the window back down.

“Why is this open?” Rika rushed up to me, grabbing the window. Both of us pulled, finally getting it to slide back down.

“I have no idea.” I breathed hard and dusted off my hands. “Thank you, though. It’s getting bad out there.”

“Yeah.” She peered out the window, her long blonde hair hanging over her shoulders. “Kind of wish we were home. Devil’s Night is even better in the rain.”

I rubbed my arms, shivering. I wouldn’t know. But I could guess what everyone was getting up to back home tonight. I didn’t have the wistful look in my eyes like Rika did, though.

I could imagine she’d grown up quite differently than me. In safety, security, and a bit sheltered. I grew up with Damon, on the other hand, and I’d seen enough destructive behavior that Devil’s Night seemed tame. I didn’t find it liberating or fun. While she’d wanted to break away and find some trouble, I craved the calm and quiet.

Something hit the floor above our heads, and we both instantly looked up to the ceiling. Boards creaked as if someone was walking across the second floor, and we followed the sound with our eyes.

“Alex,” Rika said.

I nodded, although Kai’s—and my—bedroom was right above us. She had no reason to be in there.

I picked up my flashlight on the couch and started to walk out of the room. “Come on.”

We jogged up the stairs, the hair on my arms standing on end. We hadn’t left that window open. I looked around, shining my flashlight left and right, on high-alert.

“Alex?” I called out, heading down the hallway to our bedroom. “Alex, are you okay?”

I swung open the bedroom door, caution keeping me from going in as I shone the flashlight all around. There were no candles lit in here, and I searched the corners, the bed, and behind the door.

Everything was exactly how I’d left it.

I was about to head into the en suite, but then I heard a creak coming from behind me. Rika and I both turned our heads.

“Alex?” I called out.

Walking over, I opened the door and shone the flashlight inside the spare room.

“What the fuck?” Lev exclaimed. He pushed off the bed, standing up and refastening his jeans. Alex rose from where she knelt on the floor and shrugged at me with a sheepish smile.

I shook my head, barking at Lev, “Get with David, and go to the basement. Check the fuse box.”

He cleared his throat, trying to hide his grin as he brushed past me out of the room.

I turned to Alex. “They’re all yours once they’re done for the night. Hold your horses.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but something pounded the ceiling above us, and we all shot our eyes up.

I gasped, my breath stuck in my throat. That wasn’t any of us.

“What is that?” Rika asked.

I grabbed her arm, pulling her into the hallway and then jerking my chin at Alex. “Let’s go!”

They followed me, all of us running back down the hallway and the stairs. “Lev!” I called. “David!”

Swinging around the bannister, I ran toward the kitchen and yanked open the door to the basement.

“Lev!” I squeezed the flashlight in my hand, shining it down the dark stairwell. “David!”

Jesus, where were they?

The ceiling creaked again, and then again, in small intervals as if someone was walking above us.

“Banks,” Rika gritted out like a warning.

I know. I know. Something was wrong.

I started to back away from the basement door, looking left to right. “Your phone…where is it?”

“In the sitting room.”

We all twisted around, and I kept the flashlight on as we dashed across the foyer. I double checked the locks on the front door to make sure they were still secure.

Entering the sitting room, Rika went straight for the couch and dug in her handbag, pulling out her cell.

Then something dropped on the floor above us, a thud vibrating through the house.

“What the hell?” Alex stood over by the window, flashing her light around.

Rika turned and met my eyes, ready to dial, but then her gaze flashed behind me. “Banks.”

I followed her gaze, twisting around. Kai stood in the doorway wearing his mask.

I let out a breath. “Kai.” I rushed over to him, wrapping my arms around him and hugging him close. “What the hell? You scared us.”

He was safe. The knots in my stomach started to unwind.

“Did you come in through the secret entrance?” I asked, feeling his arms come around me and hold me tight. “Where are Michael and Will?”

“Banks,” Rika called.

I pulled back, turning my head toward her. “What?”

She looked between her phone and me, and I heard it vibrating in her hand. “Kai’s calling me.”

What?

Her gaze flashed to the man in front of me, and her chest caved. She started shaking her head, backing up. “That’s not Kai.”

I dropped my arms from around the man’s waist, a lump swelling in my throat as I looked back up to the mask.

Black eyes met mine—a familiar coldness staring back at me.

Damon? I backed away, his eyes still on me. “Oh, my God.”

“Put the phone down,” he told Rika. “Now.”

But I knew she wouldn’t listen to him. Turning my eyes on her, I shook my head, pleading with my eyes. It would only provoke him. I could handle this if I could keep him calm.

Her fist tightened around the phone, and I could tell she was struggling with what to do. But ultimately, she stuffed the phone in her back pocket and grabbed a bottle of Johnny Walker by the neck from on top of the liquor cabinet, readying herself.

“So, how are my snakes?” Damon asked, pulling off his mask—or a replica of Kai’s—and smoothing a hand through his hair.

I looked at my brother’s face for the first time in a year. His black hair was longer around the ears and his face looked a little thinner, but his angular jaw was still tight, the muscles flexing now and again. It was his only tell that he was holding in more anger than he was letting on.

I took a slow step back, just in case.

“You’re scared of me?” He tossed the mask down on the chair.

“Where are David and Lev?” I asked.

“Tied up in the basement.”

I shook my head. “You can’t take all of us,” I warned, seeing Alex shift out of the corner of my left eye.

He just laughed under his breath. “Don’t worry. There’s one of me for each of you.”

Then he tipped his chin up, whistling a call. I stopped breathing as I watched two more men, both dressed like Damon in hoodies and jeans, round the corner into the room, also wearing copies of Kai’s mask.

Three men stood before us, and every muscle in my body tensed.

“Who—”

But Damon cut me off. “Now,” he ordered.

And they charged for us.

“Damon, no!” I shouted, whipping around with my hands in front of me, ready to take them.

But they pushed right past me, both of them heading straight for Alex. One took her from behind, fisting her hair with his hand gripping her neck, while the other pressed into her front, securing her hands behind her back as she growled and tried to thrash.

Rika pushed off, heading right for them.

“I could snap her neck in a second,” the one behind Alex threatened, staring at Rika and jerking Alex’s head in both his hands.

I didn’t recognize their voices.

Rika stopped, her hands balled into fists, one of them still holding the bottle. Her eyes turned to Damon. “You fucking coward!”

“No, I’m smart.” He smirked. “They wouldn’t last five seconds trying to take you on.”

“Hey, fuck you,” the one pressed to Alex’s front said.

I turned to Damon. “What do you want?”

“You,” he said.

“Bullshit!” I growled. “You always had me! Why wait until now to show your face?”

But before he could answer, Rika came forward. “You tried to kill us,” she charged. “Will…. You tied a cinderblock around his ankle, tied his hands behind his back, and threw him into the ocean.” Her voice cracked. “Do you know what you put him through? You’re a fucking horror.”

“I know.”

My eyes shot up again, taken back by his response. He sounded almost sincere.

“I have so many things wrong with me,” he said, a trace of solemnity in his voice. His gaze trailed around the room, avoiding ours. “I loved going to school. I went every day. Even when I was sick. Remember, Banks?”

I narrowed my eyes. Of course, I remembered. Damon was the last person in the world you’d expect to have great attendance. The only time he skipped was when his friends did.

“School was the only place I knew I’d be safe,” he continued. “And later on, when I got older, there was music and booze and girls…. It was like a party every day. Sometimes it was even enough to get me out of my head, so I hardly even noticed what was happen—” He dropped his voice, forcing the last words out. “Happening to me.”

Tears burned the back of my eyes.

“I had my friends, my team, and you,” he said, raising his eyes to me. “All to myself. The only girl I ever trusted. No one was going to take you away from me. I don’t like change.” And then he glanced at Rika. “You were change.”

He started walking toward her.

“Damon, no,” I barked.

He stopped and turned his head toward me. “Then come with me.”

“Where?”

“Home, of course,” he told me and then looked at Rika. “I want Rika to show me the St. Killian’s renovations. Maybe take a walk in the catacombs.”

He stared at her, his threatening eyes insinuating more than he was saying. She shook her head nervously.

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” she gasped out.

“But it’s Devil’s Night,” he teased, inching toward her. “Come on. Kai, Will, and Michael will follow, no doubt. We’ll have fun. Just like old times.”

She scoffed, looking more daring. “Is that what you waited a year for? Devil’s Night?” She glared at him. “God, you really do need this, don’t you? The old times, that rush, your friends who hate you now…?”

He shot out, diving into her space and caging her in with his arms planted on the wall on both sides of her head.

“Damon!” I shouted.

“Don’t worry, babe,” he answered me. “She’s not scared of me. Are you, Rika?”

She gripped the bottle in her hand, staring defiantly up at him.

“You hate me, because of the things I do, but you love Michael for all those same reasons.”

“Michael didn’t try to kill his friends,” she said.

“Oh, you’ve always hated me,” he retorted. “I remember you at fourteen, running out of a room as quick as you came in when you saw me at Michael’s house. People dictate rules based on how they want to be treated, but I’ll tell you something. When someone else misbehaves, it’s black and white, isn’t it? We judge, and we condemn, but when we do it, it’s a gray area all of a sudden. Other people are subject to your convictions, but not you, right? Not Michael?”

Her jaw flexed as she glared at him.

“People are hypocrites, Banks,” he told me, still staring at her. “They do the same things they’ll hate another guy for doing. The only moral compass I trust anymore is my own.”

He grabbed her by the jaw, holding her firm. “And I’ve come to the conclusion,” he bit out, “that a man deserves whatever a man can take.”

She shook her head, her face twisted in anger. “I hate you.”

He dove in close, whispering, “I love that you hate me.”

And then he leaned into her right ear, and she reared back but then stilled as if listening. I couldn’t see his mouth, but his jaw appeared to be moving. And she wasn’t pushing him away. Was he whispering to her?

I watched her eyes, pinched together in fury, sharpen, and then, all of a sudden, her chest caved as her body froze. Her gaze fell, and she just stood there like she couldn’t move.

Damon straightened back up and looked down at her, releasing her. “Fuck the world, Rika. You’re welcome.”

She pushed him away, breathing hard. But he just laughed.

I stepped up. “What did you say?”

But just then, lights shone through the windows, and I blinked, knowing a car had pulled up.

“Oh, look who’s home,” Damon taunted, looking toward the windows.

Rika took her chance. She swung the bottle across his head, the dull clank knocking him to the side as he brought his hands up to shield himself and fell into the wall like rag doll.

Without hesitation, she threw the bottle at one of the guys holding Alex, making him duck for cover long enough for me to rush over. The other one spun around, and I punched him in the jaw, following with a kick to the groin. He stumbled, falling to a knee, and Rika grabbed Alex.

“Run!” Rika yelled.

“This way!” I led them across the foyer and into the den. “Through here, hurry!”

Pushing into the bookshelf with my entire body, I slowly got it to give way and crack open into the tunnel. Rika must’ve caught on to what I was doing, because she followed my lead and leaned into the shelf, Alex taking a cue from her.

Once we got it open enough, I pushed them through. They dived inside the secret passageway, but I didn’t. I gripped the edge of the “door” and pulled it closed again.

“Banks, what are you doing?” Rika cried out. “Banks!”

“Just go!” I shouted. I needed to get to my brother before Kai did.

I raced back through the foyer, hearing someone pounding on the door, while I heard the locks twist. Instinct told me to open the front door for them, but then I spotted blood on the floor, trailing down toward the kitchen.

They’d hurt him. Or kill him. I ran—down the hallway, behind the stairs, and into the dark kitchen.

The glass doors stood open on the other side of the island, and rain whipped in the wind caught in the funnel of the enclosed garden. Trees bent to nearly breaking point, and one of the doors banged against the wall.

Where are you?

All of a sudden, I was grabbed from behind and hauled back, an arm wrapping around my shoulders.

I gasped.

“You don’t love him, do you?” Damon asked, something wet touching my temple. “Because I’m about to make you a widow.”

A widow? I opened my mouth to speak, but then my hand brushed his other one hanging at my side, my fingers grazing the cold, steel barrel. A cry stretched my throat.

I turned my head, seeing blood matting his hair and dripping down the left side of his face. “Damon, what do you want?” I whispered.

And then I heard the front door whip open, echoing through the house, and I closed my eyes. “Please,” I begged. “Please, don’t. Please, just leave. Run.”

“I raised you better than that,” he bit out, spinning me around and gripping my shirt at the collar. “It was supposed to be us, Nik. Just us.”

“If you just wanted me, we would’ve been gone when you got out of prison last year,” I said, hearing Kai and the guys charge through the house. “What do you really want?”

Anger burned through his eyes. He glared at me, but I caught something else flash for a split-second, too. As if he was ashamed of the real answer.

He dropped his voice, replying, “I just want it to be how it used to be.” His eyes fell, but then he raised them again, the ice back in his stare. “And if I can’t have that, then I’ll make damn sure no one will ever be rid of me.”

He pushed me backward, and I stumbled, turning around. Gripping my shoulder, he forced me through the open doors and into the courtyard.

Fuck, what do I do? My instinct told me to fight. Turn around, attack, and then run. But that wouldn’t stop him or Kai from getting hurt.

What the hell would I do if it came down to one or the other?

“Get your fucking hands off her!” I heard Kai shout.

Damon whipped me around, putting me in front of him with an arm around my shoulders again. The icy rain drenched our clothes, and I blinked through the downpour, seeing Kai, Michael, and Will race into the courtyard.

Kai’s eyes fell to my brother’s hand, and I knew he saw the weapon.

“You won’t hurt her,” he told him. “I know you won’t.”

“I’ve been hurting her for eleven years.” Damon tightened his fist on the back of my shirt. “There’s not much I wouldn’t do.”

Kai remained still, his anger faltering. He wasn’t sure if my brother was bluffing, but he wasn’t certain he wasn’t. Not enough, anyway.

“Where are Lev and David?” Kai asked me.

“He tied them up in the basement.”

“And Rika and Alex?” Michael burst out.

“I sent them through the passageway.”

Kai turned to Michael. “The house down the hill. Go!”

Michael bolted back through the house, and I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. I still didn’t know where the other two masked helpers of Damon’s were at. Hopefully they bolted.

“Hey, man.” Damon’s tone turned gentler. “Missed you.”

I assumed he was talking to Will, who, for once in his life, didn’t look happy. A slight snarl curled his lips, and his glower was fixed on Damon like nothing had been forgotten or forgiven.

Kai took a step forward, calling out over the rain, “Why go through all this?”

“Because this is my home,” Damon replied. Then he pulled me back into his chest. “And so is this.”

“She’s not your pet,” Kai argued. “Or your property. She never was.”

“I gave her everything.”

“You treated her like a dog!” Kai bellowed, his worried eyes flashing to me. “You hurt her.”

I swallowed the massive lump in my throat. I knew Damon treated me badly, even though I hated facing that fact. I’d just made excuses for it. He’s not well. He’s alone. He needs someone he can trust.

I loved him. What was I supposed to do? I could make him better. Right?

But if the sacrifices only come from one side, it’s time to face the truth. He was hurting me.

“She tenses when I touch her,” Kai told him. “It’s subtle, and it’s only for a moment, but it takes her off guard, like she’s not used it.”

Did I do that?

“She’s got a great imagination, but I think she’s even better at taking care of business,” he went on, holding my eyes now. “She’s going to be in charge of things someday, and even though I don’t know what exactly, it’s going to be great.”

Tears welled in my eyes.

“And I even like her in men’s clothes,” he said, softening his voice. “As long as they’re mine.”

Then he raised his eyes, telling Damon, “Just let her go, man. She’s not going to hurt you. She loves you. And you love her.”

I could feel my brother’s shallow breaths behind me as he backed us up a step, still resisting. “The only ones who can hurt you are the ones you love.”

I closed my eyes.

“Choose,” he said.

I opened my eyes, and he spun me around, looking between me and them. “He can survive without you. You know that.”

He meant Kai didn’t need me. Damon did. That’s what he wanted me to believe, but it wasn’t entirely true.

“So can you,” I replied. “You just hate seeing us survive without you.”

His gaze narrowed, and I knew I had him. But before he could say anything, Damon was pushed on the ground, and I was shoved away.

I watched as Will jumped on top of him, knocking the gun out of his hand and swinging his fists like he’d been waiting a year for this. I guessed he had, after all.

“You fucking prick!” he shouted, grunting as he punched. “You’re nothing! Nothing without us!”

The next thing I knew, Kai grabbed my arm and pulled me back, and I spotted Michael, Rika, and Alex running through the kitchen and back outside to us.

“His friends ran off,” Rika told me and then turned her eyes on the action.

I spun around, seeing Will still completely losing it.

“How could you go so far?” he burst out. “I’m going to fucking kill you.”

He gripped my brother’s throat in one hand, holding him in place, and hit him with the other.

Damon wasn’t fighting back. He just squeezed his eyes shut, blood streaming out of his nose and down his face as Will attacked him again and again.

“When you have nothing, you have nothing to lose.” His voice shook as he grunted. “Fuck it all, and fuck you.”

Then, all of a sudden, he hooked Will in a headlock and pulled him down, restraining him. Then he flipped over, taking Will to the bottom as the latter just kept hitting him, throwing punches, thrashing, and growling from the bottom. Damon just sat there, his forehead bowed into Will’s chest, breathing hard and taking the hits.

“Stop them,” I begged Kai. “Please.”

But he just stood there, letting Will get his revenge.

Blood matted Damon’s hair, trickling down his face with the rain. He gripped Will’s shirt and buried his head, trying to shield himself but not trying to stop it.

He knew he deserved this.

Will threw him off, stood up, and swung back his leg, kicking Damon in the head. I turned away.

I knew what he was doing, just letting Will punch him. If he was in pain on the outside, he wouldn’t feel it on the inside.

I bowed my head, staring at the raindrops hitting the blades of grass as the fight went on and the sounds of grunts and hits filled the courtyard.

Too long.

And then I heard nothing. Slowly raising my eyes, I saw Will sitting on the ground next to Damon, his hands behind him, propping him up and breathing hard.

Damon laid on his back, his knees bent up but unmoving.

Slowly, he started to turn over, and with shaking limbs, got himself up on his knees and sat there on his heels, looking like he barely had enough strength to hold his head up. Water cascaded down his face, making his black hair hang over his eyes, and I knew I couldn’t ever not love him. Bleeding, broken, lost, and alone, he was back up, wasn’t he? He would always be able to take whatever anyone did to him. Twist it. Turn it. Swallow it.

Kai approached, and I followed. He knelt down, staring at my brother.

“We didn’t choose Rika over you,” he told him calmly. “Or Banks.” He leaned in, his tone firm. “You left us.”

Will watched Damon out of the corner of his eye, anger still raging through his eyes but they glistened, too.

Kai stood up. “Where is the body?”

Rika and Michael inched closer, and I watched Damon take a deep breath. “Gone,” he said.

Kai bent down and grabbed the top of his head by the hair. “Where?”

Damon raised his eyes, almost amused. “You didn’t kill her.”

I stepped toward him, and Kai let him go, straightening.

“What?” I asked.

“She was fine when you and Kai left the hotel.”

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” Kai demanded.

“Because she was breathing when you left, wasn’t she?”

“Well, where is she, then?” I asked. She’d need money at some point. It was too long for no one to have seen or heard from her.

“I need proof she’s okay,” Kai told him. “I still hurt her.”

“No, she was hurting us.” Damon pushed himself to his feet, struggling to square his shoulders. “And you stopped her. End of story.”

“So, she was fine when I left the hotel?” Kai challenged him. “Was she fine when you left the hotel?”

Damon held Kai’s eyes, giving nothing away as the silence stretched between them, and I knew…I just knew…

She was dead.

That night wasn’t over when Kai and I left The Pope.

“Kai!” Alex shouted. “Oh, my God, hurry!”

We all spun around, spotting her inside the house, across the kitchen, and looking down the hallway.

She turned her worried eyes back to us. “Where’s the fire extinguisher?”

We all shot off. Running back into the house, I raced through the kitchen, feeling Kai’s hand take mine. We left Damon outside, and I knew that he’d run. A big part of me hoped he would.

Alex stood in the foyer, looking toward the sitting room, and Michael, Rika, Kai, and I rushed up to her, seeing the black drape crawling with flames. A small tree had crashed through the window, glass and rain covering the floor.

“The candles,” Kai breathed. “Shit!”

I glanced at the floor, and sure enough, the fallen tree had knocked the candles onto the floor, causing the drapes to catch fire.

Kai pointed at Will. “Closet!” And all of them, including Michael, ran back down the hallway, swinging open the closet door and diving inside for the extinguishers.

I raced into the sitting room, seeing the flames spread up the curtain, and then I noticed the shanais hanging on the wall next to the window.

“Rika!” I called, running over and grabbing one off the wall.

The heat of the flames stung my eyes, and rain hit my arm as I reached up again, pulling another sword off the wall. I choked on the tears stuck in my throat.

He’d already lost the dojo. I couldn’t let this happen again.

Rika worked with me, pulling everything off the wall and tossing it to one of the couches.

“No!” I heard Kai yell. “Banks, stay back!”

He ran in and grabbed my arm, yanking me behind him. “Put out the rest of the candles!”

The flames spread across the valance, and I rushed over to blow out the other tapers just in case the wind blew any more onto the floor.

Michael and Will ran in, Michael darting his horrified eyes toward us.

“Rika!” he shouted.

And I twisted around. A piece of the fabric hanging above, consumed in flames, spilled down, hanging by threads. She followed his gaze, looking up, and he shot off, hurrying for her. Suddenly, the gold rod broke, spilling down from the wall, and everything went in slow motion. The drapes, ablaze, came crashing down, and everyone reached out for her, but just then, she was grabbed by the shirt, hauled backward, away from the flames, and sent tumbling to the hardwood floor at the center of the room. She crashed onto her back, wincing out of fear or pain, I wasn’t sure.

And I looked up and saw Damon. I hadn’t even seen him enter.

Rika blinked a few times, the wind knocked out of her as Michael dived down and pulled her up.

“Jesus Christ,” he gasped, holding her face. “You okay?”

She seemed stunned, just trying to catch her breath. Then she looked over, and so did I, Damon standing there with his jaw clenched.

Everyone was momentarily frozen, piecing together what the hell had just happened, but Kai turned back to the flames, and pointed the nozzle at the window. He and Will sprayed the extinguisher up, down, and over, the bright, hot flames quickly turning to smoke, Will coughing as the fire was put out.

I exhaled, trying to catch my breath.

They set the tanks down, all of us just stood there, tired, confused, angry, or whatever. I looked over to Alex. She had a hand on her chest, breathing hard, while Michael stood in front of Rika, both of them not saying anything.

Will fell down on the couch, resting his head in his hands, and Kai…Kai turned his eyes on Damon finally.

“You think we won’t call the police?” he threatened. “You should’ve run.”

“I’m not running,” Damon said, staring at the wall. “Call them.”

I swallowed, pain stretching my throat. I knew Kai was looking at me. What could I say? Please, don’t.

My father won’t let Damon go back to prison. He’ll send him somewhere where he can’t embarrass him again, and he’ll keep him there, out of sight, for however long it takes for Damon to get a hold of himself.

If I were Kai, I’d know Damon deserved to suffer. I’d know what I needed to do for the safety of my friends and family.

But I wasn’t Kai.

I closed my eyes, my chin trembling. I was too close to the situation. My heart couldn’t bear to see him suffer anymore.

“Rika?” Kai said, coming up to me and threading his fingers through mine. “Michael? Will? You guys do what you need to do. I can’t deal with this now.”

He pressed his lips into my temple. I couldn’t ask any of them to just let him go, but I was grateful Kai stood with me.

No one spoke, and I opened my eyes to see Rika look away from Damon. There was anger in her eyes, but also conflict.

And confusion. He had just saved her from getting hurt or worse.

And what had he whispered to her before the guys showed up?

“Don’t get confused,” Damon told her. “I’m not a good guy. Call the police.”

Michael turned, looking ready to hit him, but Rika pulled him back. “Get the fuck out,” she growled to Damon. And then she turned away, breathing so hard her anger looked ready to spill over.

Damon cast me a look, and there was so much I wanted to say.

But we both knew he had to get out of here before she changed her mind.

He walked out, and I heard the front door swing open, the sound of the rain pouring in.

What if I never saw him again? Damon was all I had for so long. Everything was new now. My home, my days, even my clothes…I exhaled, pain twisting my stomach.

I ran out of the room and out the front door. “Damon!”

Tears streamed down my face, and I could barely see him through the blur in my eyes. But I saw his dark form stop and slowly turn around. Blood had dried around his eye, but the rain had washed most of it away.

“Did you ever love me?” I asked.

He slowly approached me, staring hard. “Love is pain, Nik,” he told me. “It’s never felt good.”

“Not even my love?”

He dropped his eyes, shaking his head. “I don’t want to hurt you. Anymore,” he added. “That’s all I know.”

He backed up slowly, finally turning around and walking down the long, dark driveway until he disappeared into the night.

I just stared after him, into the empty darkness. It’s never too late.