BANG.
The sound, although distant, vibrates through my chest, and I launch to my feet, whipping my head left, then right. I’m searching for the direction of the crackling and popping that intertwine with the claps of thunder. Each sound creates a musical symphony to fill the bushland I’m trapped in, and as it does I run again.
I need it to rain now.
“Rain! Oh my God, rain!” I scream.
A blanket of orange and red silk catches the corner of my eye. It’s racing towards me from the left-hand side. It’s a magnificent yet terrifying beast of flames I fear will engulf me before I get a chance to find safety.
Fire is never a gentle master, and it’s not something any human or animal can outrun, but I don’t stop trying as I will the storm to release its fury before these flames swallow me whole.
“Rain!” I scream again.
The coolness I felt only moments ago is replaced by a heat so intense it feels as though my skin is melting away from my flesh. A grey ash cloud billows over the top of me. I blink excessively to ease the instant scorch to my eyeballs, but it’s pointless because now I can barely see. A thick front of smoke drifts and traps me.
Every breath I take scalds my airway, and as I splutter and cough, I panic.
What do I do? I don’t know what to do.
I throw my arms into the air and drop to my knees. The agony that rips through me is nothing compared to my inability to take a breath due to the suffocating pain wrapping around my lungs.
Holy shit. I’m going to burn to death.
I cough. I splutter. I wrap my arm over my mouth and nose for protection.
“Help me.” There’s no sound.
Boosh, boosh, boosh, boosh, boosh.
I fall as the sound rings out like gunshots from behind me. I find my feet and aimlessly amble forward. A massive roar of thunder shakes the sky, causing me to jolt …
And then I feel it. Liquid slides down my arms.
One foot in front of the other. I have no idea where I’m walking to, but I just keep taking step after step. The hard pounding of heavy rain stings my skin. I’d know this feeling anywhere, and although I can’t see the droplets, I can feel them.
This is my only chance to survive.
I don’t look back. I don’t dare give my mind the chance to spy how close the flames of this fire lick at my heels. I just keep moving.
Four hearts are all that matter in my life. Three of those hearts wait for me to come home, the other one thrums intensely, trying not to stop. I can’t give up now. I have no choice but to outrun this fire. I need to outrun the wolf.
Reid
It’s late afternoon, and thunder cracks as rain buckets from the sky. It’s been pissing down for hours. I’m restless. I pace the floors, and I’m sure if I keep going this way I’ll burn a permanent track in my wake. My stomach churns, and my heart thumps viciously. Nothing can bring me calm. Nothing can take away this overwhelming fear pumping through my blood. Cruise is still nowhere to be found, and with every minute that passes I think more and more that he, my brother, is responsible for the disappearance of my wife. He has been given all the tools to carry this out. His fucking role as Frank Turvay, a once friendly face on the Bay, now turned serial killer, seeking revenge against those who loved him. I can’t shake the feeling that this is what’s been right under my nose the entire time. Has Cruise snapped? And if so, why Morgan? Cruise had the hots for her, he made sure I knew it the moment he met her, but he never acted on it. Or did he?
West, Gleaton, and Dyson have not made a peep regarding Morgan’s condition, safety, or if they’ve located her yet. Why haven’t they called? What are they keeping from me? Where are they?
The stress of the day is doing me in. Morgan. Where is she? Is she coming back? Why is no one calling? It’s been too long. Panic steamrolls through me. I need this to end now. Morgan needs to be in my arms, not in some bushland, not fighting for her life. I can’t help her. I’m useless, pathetic, and tortured.
I can feel Morgan slipping away from me. She’s fading, just as the day will soon enough. Another night without Morgan awaits me. We have no time left.
“What’s happening?” I yell the moment Maloney walks from the direction of the kitchen right into my view. “What do you know?”
Maloney shakes his head. His lips are pressed hard together. His chest rises and falls slowly.
He’s calm. Why is he so fucking calm?
“Come on, son.” Dad places his hand on my shoulder, and as I flick him away, I glare at Maloney with red-hot flames burning around my irises. I’m so fucking mad I know that if Maloney doesn’t say something, anything, I will drill his thick body through the wall, gun or not.
“That prick knows something, Dad.” I glare at Maloney. “Go on—deny you do. Lie to me. Lie to my face.”
My feet slap on the floor as I march until I’m standing nose-to-nose with Maloney. I want him to look into my eyes and tell me he doesn’t have any new information so that I can knock his fucking lights out.
“Reid, they have a location, but it’s broad. They’ll have to search it all.”
“It’s pissing down rain. How can they help her?”
“It may not be raining where she is.”
My eyes widen to saucers. I stop breathing. My head spins. I’m going to faint.
I stumble backwards. The room whooshes around me, and as I reach out my arms to grab onto the blurry shadow of Maloney in front of me, I fall.
“I’ve got you,” Dad says, and I can hear his sobs. Is he crying? My dad never cries. Never.
His hot breath rushes against my neck. His arms strangle my chest. “I’ll never let you fall, Reid. Not on my watch. They know where Morgan is. Reid, they’re bringing her home.”
“Morgan,” I whisper. It’s barely audible.
I sit on the ground with my head tucked between my legs. I’m trying to suck air into my lungs in small quick breaths, yet nothing seems to be filling them. Hyperventilation.
“Sssh. Sssh. Sssh. Come now. Come on, just breathe, love. Just breathe. Mamma’s here.” Mum hugs my head.
I hear tortured howls. They rumble and roar around me. I want to look to where the sound is coming from, but I can’t—I can’t move. I’m howling. I’ve lost all control. My mind has finally broken. I’ve lost my marbles.
My legs wobble as Mum helps me to stand. The room spins around me until the back of Dad’s head comes into view. I can’t do this anymore. Where’s my wife?
The sound of the door hitting the wall has me reaching out my hands. Thick arms push through Dad and John who stand in front of me. “Get out of my way,” he roars. “Reid, Reid.”
I’d know his voice anywhere. It’s the voice of the man who shares the same blood as me, whose job it is to protect me, to show me the way in life, to be my guiding light. My two-faced wife-stealing brother.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.” A soaked light blue shirt with a pocket half torn off takes my vision. The colour of crimson marks his collar. Cruise’s nose is swollen and bruised, and his left eye blackened. There’s a cut to his cheek. “Brother, I only just found out.”
I press off my heels and launch myself at Cruise. I curl my arms around his neck and fold my legs around his waist to bring him down to the floor. I’ll mess his face up more than it already is.
We hit the ground the moment Cruise’s wet feet slip out from under him. I land on top of his chest, but he flips me underneath him before I have time to blink. Finding a strength I’ve never had, leads me to grunts and groans that see me back on top of Cruise and hunched over his face, straddling his waist.
Cruise gives up fighting. Cruise never gives up.
“Get off me.” He reels in pain. “What are you doing?”
“Where’s my Morgan? Where did you put her?” I strangle his collar. My knuckles turn a shade of white. “Tell me where she is!”
“Break it up.” Maloney’s voice booms. “Get off him.”
“No! Not until he tells me where Morgan is.” I slip my hands around his neck and press down, applying pressure that will cut off his airway.