Rock Hard Neighbor by Hart Rye

Author:Hart, Rye
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-01-23T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

OLIVER

No gear. No masks. No suit. Nothing to protect ourselves from the wide, red snakes of flame slithering across her living room floor. The smoke was already thick and made it impossible to see, but I'd heard a door slam somewhere in the house and, immediately, I knew what was happening to us.

Somebody had snuck inside, doused the place in gasoline, struck the match that set it ablaze, and ran out, trapping us inside. Ran away like a little bitch.

He was getting sloppy, I thought to myself. Sloppy and bold. But, none of that really mattered if we were dead. He seemed focused on one thing and one thing alone – killing Madison. We'd been operating under the assumption that he was nervous about her re-opening the old arson cases. And to me, that still seemed the most logical assumption to make.

But, I had to admit, it could just as easily be a crazed fan, a jealous ex, or maybe a guy whose love went unrequited and he'd developed an unhealthy obsession with her. She could be a target for a million different reasons.

I had no idea who he was, what his beef with her could be, or why he was so intent on murdering her – not with any certainty. But, my only goal was to make sure that didn't happen. That I protected her and kept her alive.

My phone was in my pocket, Jimmy's message still open. I hit call, knowing he wouldn't let me down. Putting the phone on speaker, I had Madison give the address when he answered as I rushed out into the living room. Madison screamed my name, terror punctuating her every word. I didn't have time to go back and soothe her. Couldn't afford to take the time to calm her down. I needed to act and I needed to act fast, so I called out to her as I ran from the room.

“Stay put,” I yelled. “I know what I'm doing.”

The kitchen was right by the living room – thank you, open floor plans. Water. We needed some water. I grabbed the spray nozzle, but it wasn't long enough to reach. Not only that, when I squeezed the trigger, I found that there wasn't even enough pressure to make a difference. Which meant, I needed buckets or something more powerful. I searched around the kitchen quickly, flinging open drawers and cabinets, looking for something to use to battle this blaze. But, I came up empty.

The smoke was growing thicker, the heat inside her place more intense. Flames licked at the doorway that led to the back of her house, burning bright and hot. We couldn't get out that way. I heard Madison's coughing growing louder, more insistent. For her, it had to be like re-living the night in the warehouse and I couldn't even begin to imagine the terror she had to be feeling.

We had to find a way out. Soon. If we didn't, we were both going to die. I

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