A thud hits the floor.
Roderick’s headless body drops to the hardwood.
Simon throws his arm around Ambrosia’s shoulders and leads her toward me. I move to meet them.
Sirens blast louder outside the window.
“We better move—now,” Simon says.
“Let’s get out of here,” I say.
Ambrosia nods her head, patting her stomach, looking shocked that she’s unharmed and whole.
Simon grabs my hand and leads the way through the hole in the bookshelf.
A clang echoes through the room—iron poker lies on the floor, followed by the sound of feet scampering. A blur rushes out the window.
Roderick’s body remains on the floor, but his head is gone—along with Desirée. Into the night and fire.
Ambrosia’s hand lands flat on my back—trembling, and it stays there as we exit the room and run quickly through the hallway.
Going down the stairwell behind Simon is a much different experience—looks so different watching the surroundings appear over his broad shoulders with each step he takes ahead of me—like being flown out of a cave in hell on the broad wings of an eagle.
Getting close to the bottom now—on the last set of stairs. Orange and red burst through the giant hole in the door—blowing the few remnants of the door wide open and shattering the glass completely out of the windows beside it.
The flames reach into the house like fiery vines—the old, dry wood readily feeding its ravenous tongues. They flicker and reach their way onto the staircase, covering the last few steps at the bottom.
Simon stops and says, “We’re going over the rail.”
He grabs me behind my knees and at my back—lifting me into his arms.
“Ambrosia—jump on my back—arms tight around my neck like you’re trying to choke me.”
As soon as her arms clasp around him, he puts a foot to the rail, and shoves off the step with his other foot. Clearing the railing, we fall to the floor.
His feet pound the wood; his knees buckle—absorbing the shock of the jump, all his weight, all of Ambrosia’s, and all of my own.
Ambrosia lets go of his neck and drops to her feet. Simon puts me down.
“To the backdoor—fast!”
He grabs my hand, and we sprint down the hallway, him leading the way again.
“Lookout—there’s a couch on the left side,” Simon calls back to us over his shoulder.
“Yeah, the couch and I are old friends,” I say.
We breeze past my dusty, upholstered nemesis and delve further back into the hallway than I’ve been before.
Feel an opened hand flat on my back between my shoulder blades. Panic is nearly given birth in my chest; then I remember it’s just Ambrosia following close behind.
Sirens wail much louder—bright flashing lights make their way through the blown-out windows and front door—even faintly reaching us so far in the back of the house.
Finally, I can see the backdoor—where I was so desperately trying to reach earlier—just a little while ago when I was alone and terrified in the darkness—but now feeling Simon’s electric touch in my hand—safe by his side, it feels like it was a whole separate lifetime ago.
He turns to me and pulls me to his chest while looking over my head at the intruding, spinning light from beyond the fire somewhere in front of the house.
“Not going to be able to get past them easily. There’s a dead body upstairs—drugs everywhere—stolen car crashed into the porch—they’re not going to let us leave—don’t want to have to hurt them either, but we can’t let them take us.”
“What’re we going to do?” I ask.
Ambrosia says, “I’ve got this.”
“What?” asks Simon.
“I’ll go running out the backdoor and up the driveway screaming my head off—coughing, yelling—everything.”
“What are you going to tell them?”
“The truth.”
“What?” Simon shouts.
“Some jerk guy took me here after dancing. We drank—danced—hooked up. Next thing I know, I wake up and the house is burning down. Scream my chest hurts, and I can’t breathe. When they’re busy with me, you guys slip out down the street. Got it?”
I ask, “You sure, girl? Are you gonna be okay?”
Bats her eyes and smiles, “I could steal the show at a circus, sweetheart. They won’t even see the fire when I’m done.”
As she turns and runs to the backdoor, her blue ponytails bounce—colorful and unreal—making me believe she can do it.
Stopping with her hand on the handle and looking back at me, she says, “Ruby, call me tomorrow—gonna need some help with a few things.”
“You got it.”
Ambrosia looks as though she may cry for a moment, but she takes a deep breath, and says with a smile, “Hot, sexy firemen, here I come.”
Chapter XX
Into the Teal Moonlight
“Imagine a beach.”
“Yeah.”
“Deserted—except for you and me.”
“Hmmmm,” I hum.
“The two of us lying under the stars, wrapped in each other’s arms, no sound but the whispering of the waves.”
“Mmmmm…sounds wonderful, but I thought you guys hated the beach.”
“No more than any other pale person—love to be there with you right now. Got a car that can get us there in no time.”
Seems so odd that after all we’ve been through, we’re walking side by side down the sidewalk under the dark night sky. After all the horror, a gorgeous guy holds my hand, talking of whisking me away for a late night date under the stars. Feel his hand gently squeezing mine—hasn’t let go of me since we left the house. He loves me—he really loves me. Amazing—how far I’ve left my old life behind in just a few days.
Quickly he steps in front of me, still holding my hand, bringing his other up to my cheek, “Tell me you’ll come away with me—tonight—we could use a moment—just the two of us surrounded by nothing but beauty—your lovely eyes in the moonlight, the dazzling center of it all.”
Never dreamed I could feel this way. Just three blocks out of a nightmare, and I’m about to burst with joy, blushing like a peasant girl meeting the handsome prince.
“Come on, Ruby, my lovely one—sparkling, emerald-eyed, resplendent all the way to her fingertips,” the words so smooth, so inviting as he raises my hand to his mouth, kissing the ends of my fingers.
“Anywhere, Simon. Anywhere with you.”
He lets go of my hand, and just as my heart is about to begin to sink, he brings the touch he just removed to my other cheek—now caressing both sides of my face.
His kiss brings my lips alive—filling me, electrifying me to my fingertips, tingling down my legs to the ends of my toes.
Another police car passes—its siren loud—its lights spinning and bright.
Taking my hand in his again, he says, “Better get you to the beach before we run out of night to enjoy.”
“There’s always another night—there’ll be many of them for us. I’m not going anywhere.”
He looks ahead, trying to spot the car down the street, but I can see the smile growing on his face.
“By the way,” he says, “I need to tell you something.”
“What? What is it?”
He stops and looks seriously into my eyes, “There’s a pack of werewolves that live between here and the car—they’ve been hunting me down at every turn ever since I met you.”
“Oh, God—werewolves? You can’t be serious.”
That painfully sexy smile returns, bringing to life the gorgeous contours of his face, “Of course not. Vampires and werewolves fighting over the same girl? That’s just ridiculous.”
He looks into my face, waiting for the smile he’s trying to bring out. It comes bursting through, and I know he sees it as his own grin grows brighter—completely thrilled to see me happy.
“Although,” he says, “I’d have fought the whole world for you. You know that, don’t you?”