“Don’t count on anyone showing up. Most of our old friends are married or they can’t stay out late because they have to get up early and beat rush-hour traffic to their corporate job,” I said, ending my complaint in a mutter. Mostly a complaint, because I felt left in the dust while everyone else was getting their lives in order.
We turned onto the road that led home and I shivered. My eyes went wide when I glanced around my lap. “Holy smokes, Trev. You’re going to kill me.” I reached in the floorboard and shot back up, looking at him apprehensively. “I think I left my purse at the restaurant.”
“Oh, you’re kidding me,” he groaned. “Are you sure it’s not… Check by the door.”
I stuffed my hand in the crevice and felt beneath the seat. “No, Trevor. I can’t find it. The last place I remember having it was in the bathroom… I think. You should have let me pay for everything. I would have noticed my purse was gone if I had to pick up the bill.”
“If I had let you pay, we’d be in jail for skipping the damn check.”
I snorted. That was probably true.
Trevor fumbled with the keys and handed me the spare to the trailer. “Go inside. I’ll head over before they lock up.”
“You sure?”
“I’ll be back in fifteen. Just don’t leave me standing outside too long with that wolf running loose on the property.”
“Sorry, Trev. I feel rotten about ending our night like this. Check in the booth, just in case it’s not in the bathroom. I can’t believe I did this,” I said, getting out and heading toward the trailer.
Trevor volunteered to pick up a sack of bagels for breakfast on the way home, so I had a feeling he didn’t mind so much.
I shut the door, flipped on the light, and tossed the key on the table.
Just as I reached for the fish food, I heard a car pull in and the engine cut off.
“Trev, did you find it?” I yelled out, opening the door.
It swung open and the force pulled me off-balance as I was thrown back in a violent motion.
I crashed against the table and hit my head on the wall. Dizzy, I rolled to the side and looked up from the floor. A sunburst of pain radiated at the back of my head, causing me to see tiny flickers of light.
“How’s it going, Vanilla? Miss me?”
Sanchez loomed in the doorway, dressed in all black. What scared me was the lighter fluid in his hand that he was spraying all over the floor, the curtains, and the table Reno had built for me. Hermie swam sporadically in his bowl.
“Wait, wait,” I said. “What do you want? Please don’t.”
“Ahh, too late, Vanilla. You want to sit and whine about it now? You think you can talk smack to me and I’ll let you get away with it? Bitch, you don’t know me.” He sprayed the sofa while holding a box of matches in his left hand. It rattled as he pooled up the fluid and finally threw down the empty can.
“I’ll do what you want,” I said, hands shaking, voice wavering. The thought of burning alive terrified me to the core of my being. Thank God Trevor isn’t here, I thought. At least he’s safe.
“Of course you’ll do whatever I want. You know what I want?” he said, backing up toward the door. Sanchez held up a match and a malevolent grin spread across his face. “I want you to scream.”
The wooden stick scratching along the rough edge of the box sounded like an attack.
And it was.
I screamed before the flame hit the accelerant. Sanchez lunged forward and stomped on my foot. A feral scream poured from my mouth as pain exploded up my leg. He closed the door behind him after he ran out, and the fire engulfed the sofa, floor, and doorway, forcing me to scramble into the back room. The pain in my head and foot became blinding and I fell on my knees and crawled through the noxious smoke that was quickly filling the room.
Years ago when the riffraff had moved into our neighborhood, Grandma had sealed up the windows, afraid of someone trying to snatch one of us girls in our sleep. One of them she had completely covered. The searing heat reminded me it was the only way out. I needed to bust the back window with something and squeeze out.
The pain and shock of what was happening consumed me. I was going to burn alive, and oh God, the dumbest things ran through my mind. Like poor little Hermie, and my dad’s snow globes. I managed to crawl on the bed and I struggled to breathe. Oxygen was running out and I began coughing as my chest tightened, which made me dizzy and nauseous. I knew I was in mortal danger, but between the pain and inability to breathe, I became disoriented. I pushed my face into the mattress—my eyes stinging, lungs burning.
An explosion rocked the trailer and a force of energy burst into the room.
“April, I’m coming!” Reno shouted.
“No, no, no,” I murmured, not wanting him to be there. Not wanting him to get hurt.
“Get up.” He yanked my arm and when the weight settled on my foot, I screamed so loud that I blacked out.
Chapter 20