Lawson’s still form lay facedown on the floorboards.
Flames billowed up around him, higher in here than anywhere else. They crawled across the ceiling, like slithering beasts of orange fury. I bashed on the window so hard it should have broken, desperately yelping my uncle’s name between racking bouts of coughing.
Overhead, a beam cracked.
Sparks flew and I flinched away. I tried again, lunging for the door, but the heat drove me back. Tears streamed down my face. “Help,” I croaked.
I couldn’t save him alone. He was right there, the flames getting ever closer, and I couldn’t reach him. I stumbled back the way I’d come, dropping to my knees and crawling when my feet wouldn’t take another step. My eyes stung. My gaze flitted around the smoke-filled room, but my head grew cloudy.
With a sudden certainty, I realized we were both going to die.
There was no way out.
I closed my eyes. At least the last thing I’d done was something I loved. I remembered the way it felt to have my fingers flying over the piano keys, the song soaring, not only in my ears but in my heart. When the flames took me, that’s where I’d be in my head. In the place I was happiest. The only place I had true peace.
Something grabbed me.
Not something, someone.
I dragged myself back into the present. There was somebody else here. Someone who could help. Hope surged within me.
“My uncle,” I choked out.
Startled by hands on my bare skin, and my body being lifted from the floor, I tried to force my stinging eyes open. But my vision was so blurred I couldn’t make out a face. I turned into the person’s chest, and my gaze focused instead on the thing closest to me. Letters floated across my vision, a mere inch from my nose.
The man—it had to be a man, his body had none of the softer curves of a woman—didn’t say anything, but gripped me tighter while he moved through the crumbling building. Heat seared at my legs, my arms, my face. I couldn’t do a thing but fist my fingers into the material of his shirt and hold on. The embroidered feel of the letters scratched, in contrast with the softness of the fabric.
He muttered something that sounded like, “Hold on, Lacey.”
A thought floated through my head, but it was too hard to grasp. I wanted to chase it, grab it, and force it to make sense. But I was too tired. I watched it go, disappearing into a smoke tendril.
My body jolted against his with each step. I wanted him to run. I wanted him to get me out of this place, but it all just seemed impossible now. Everything hurt. My lungs screamed in pain. It was too hard to hold on. My grip on his shirt loosened.
“Lacey!” he yelled, but his voice was far away.
I closed my eyes and let the darkness take me.
Get Devious Little Liars on Amazon/Kindle Unlimited.
Also by Elle Thorpe
Saint View Prison series (Reverse harem, romantic suspense.)
*Locked Up Liars (Saint View Prison, #1) *Solitary Sinners (Saint View Prison, #2) *Fatal Felons (Saint View Prison, #3)
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*Devious Little Liars (Saint View High, #1) *Dangerous Little Secrets (Saint View High, #2) *Twisted Little Truths (Saint View High, #3)
Saint View Strip series (Male/Female romantic suspense)
*Evil Enemy - Boston and Eve’s story coming in 2022
Dirty Cowboy series (Male/Female small town cowboys. Complete series)
*Talk Dirty, Cowboy (Dirty Cowboy, #1) *Ride Dirty, Cowboy (Dirty Cowboy, #2) *Sexy Dirty Cowboy (Dirty Cowboy, #3) *25 Reasons to Hate Christmas and Cowboys (a Dirty Cowboy bonus novella, set before Talk Dirty, Cowboy but can be read as a standalone, holiday romance)
Buck Cowboys series (Spin off from the Dirty Cowboy series)
*Buck Cowboys (Buck Cowboys, #1) *Buck You! (Buck Cowboys, #2) *Book 3 coming in 2022!
The Only You series (Contemporary Romance, series complete)
*Only the Positive (Only You, #1) - Reese and Low.
*Only the Perfect (Only You, #2) - Jamison.
*Only the Truth - (Only You, bonus novella) - Bree.
*Only the Negatives (Only You, #3) - Gemma.
*Only the Beginning (Only You, #4) - Bianca and Riley.
*Only You boxset
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Acknowledgments
Wow. Another trilogy down. What a ride that was. A big thank you to all my readers. Whether you’ve been here for eighteen books or just these three, I’m glad you found me. If you want to hang out some more, make sure you join my Facebook readers group. I love getting to know you all.
Thank you to my family - Jira, Thomas, Flick, and Heidi. I wrote 2 out of 3 of these books while in lockdown, which made a frustrating time even more difficult. But I do all of this for you four. Thanks for putting up with my long hours, average dinners, and I’m sorry I was a sucky homeschool teacher. It’s much better when mum gets to work while you’re at school, huh?
Thank you to my author besties, Jo and Zoe. And to my awesome editors, Emmy and Karen. Thank you Wander and Jeff for the awesome cover image.
Huge shoutout to Dana, Louise, and Sam for beta reading this one. Your feedback and enthusiasm is always appreciated And finally, lots of love to my Promo and ARC team. I love you guys. Thank you for jumping on board with whatever I throw at you.
Love, Elle xxx
About the Author