Burned by Deception (The Dark Side of Springwood Book 2)
Page 21
Lyn could not handle this. She had to. Who knew if anyone would come to their rescue now?
She coughed again, trying to focus on finding the phone. She slowly struggled around the counter, hearing glass breaking. She gasped, realizing it was the counter display glass growing black and breaking from the heat of the fire.
When she found the phone, her heart sank. It was already deformed, the receiver melting from the fire.
The smell of burning flesh mingling with the scent of melting plastic made her gag. She tasted bile and kneeled down, trying to get her bearings.
****
Somehow, Becky managed to drive herself home where she called the police and told them everything that had happened. She argued the facts over in her head, feeling it was her best course of action. The police could not possibly tack anything on Lyn with this new incident. She was the victim all the way around. After being on the phone for nearly twenty minutes to give them a report, the call ended.
Becky found herself laying in bed and praying for the first time in ages. An hour later, after tossing and turning, she finally drifted off to sleep.
****
Dan quickly pulled over behind what appeared to be Toby’s car in front of Cyber-Fix as smoke billowed from the store. “Call 911.” He demanded, not even hearing Sarah’s response as he got out of the car and rushed over to the side entrance of the store. It was one rarely used, but it appeared quite possible that would be the best way to enter the store.
Using his key, he unlocked it feeling himself tremble inside. What the hell was going on with Toby? He didn’t do this, did he? Dan felt agitation growing within him. He sensed there was more going on with Toby that day. He just didn’t expect anything like this.
“Don’t jump to conclusions, Dan. There was some trouble with the furnace not very long ago, remember that.” He said to himself as he unlocked the door and went inside.
****
Sarah had just gotten off the phone with the 911 dispatch who informed her a fire engine was on the way. She looked toward the shop, which now had thick smoke pouring from it.
She’d tried to suggest waiting for the fire department to come first before he tried to do whatever was going through his head, but he didn’t listen. She wondered if this had been the call he’d gotten that had him so distracted. If so, why couldn’t he have just told her?
She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering as the sound of sirens was heard approaching in the distance.
****
“Lyn!”
Lyn moaned, hearing her name. It sounded like it was coming from miles away.
“Lyn! Oh, my God, Lyn!”
It was much closer now. Her head was in such a fog, though. She tried to open her eyes. Smoke filled the air and stung them a little. She blinked, looking right into Dan’s eyes. “Thank God you’re alive. Let’s get you out of here.”
Her head still in a fog, she let him help her up as the smoke disappeared again, leaving her in darkness.
****
Jacob and Justin were both standing over the body lying in front of Jacob’s car, staring at the big dent on the hood and the blood stain there as well. Neither of them could move, not even when Jacob’s phone started ringing.
They would both find out almost an hour later, after finally deciding to hide the body so they could really focus on looking for their sister, that she was indeed okay. She was a little shaken up, but going to recover, despite being drugged by her brother, who was now in critical care with third degree burns all over his body.
Jacob was floored to discover Toby Matthews’ real identity. Leo Blake was the real name of the young man he’d interviewed nearly a month before. He had hired him having no clue who he was or what he was really intending to do a month later.
Torch Cyber-Fix. And try to kill Lyn in the process.
Epilogue
When Lyn came to, she was in a bright room with oxygen under her nose. Her head still swam, and things seemed to tilt a little. She heard a voice nearby and saw a nurse and doctor talking off to the side. She couldn’t make much out of their words except for ecstasy and overnight. Whatever that meant.
She closed her eyes again and drifted off. Not long after, the dreams started.
She saw fire. She saw the evil reflection of Tammy’s expression as it stared at her, laughing. Then she saw Leo, who was snarling at her, before his face morphed into Davis Cauley’s as he smiled at her.
Then she was in bed again. It was in that same hotel room in her flashes. Dan was inside of her, and she couldn’t say anything, being rendered speechless. She held her head back, closing her eyes, feeling a climax come on.
She gulped, looking into his eyes. She remembered when she was younger writing in her own diary how she thought Danny Nixon, her big brother’s friend, was so cute. No one ever knew, but she wrote short stories where they went out for dates and eventually got married. He was her fictional boyfriend that no one ever knew about. She knew he was way too old for her.
He moaned aloud as he came inside of her, and she caught a whiff of alcohol. He was drunk.
He didn’t even know what was going on—let alone who—he was having sex with.
Dan seemed to deflate onto her as everything went black.
****
Onlookers had gathered in front of Cyber-Fix as the firefighters got the blaze tapered down. Someone was already there from The Springwood Daily Newspaper getting the next big story. As Laney Burke interviewed both a policeman and fireman, the girl who had posed as Melissa Fairbanks stood nearby listening to the officer fill Laney in on the condition of Leo Blake.
Once the reporter left so did she. She walked down to the end of the block, telling herself that what happened was meant to be. Tears streaked down her face anyway.
She wiped her eyes as she crossed the street. The Don’t Walk sign blurred before her eyes. She ignored it and just kept walking.
****
Upon reaching the hospital and giving Dan a heartfelt hug for saving his sister, he found it hard to speak, clamping a hand over his mouth.
“Jacob, man, it’s all right. Really. I’m glad I was the—“
“Dan, I think I killed someone.”
Dan stopped in mid-sentence, growing quiet. He stared back at Jacob, knowing he could not have heard him right. “What?”
Jacob raised his head to gaze at his friend with panic and sadness. “I…think I hit and killed someone in Mercy Park tonight. By accident.” He said, as a group of staff near the front desk of the ER said, “Happy New Year!” breaking into a chorus of Auld Lang Syne down the hall from them.
Extras
From Devious Intentions, Book 3 of The Dark Side of Springwood.
Jacob Barnes slowly walked through the blackened remains of Cyber-Fix, running a hand through his mussed dark hair. The insurance agent was by his side as well as Max Criden, the fire chief in Springwood. It turned his stomach seeing the damage to Springwood's only computer repair shop that he had been running for close to eleven years, soon after getting custody of his younger brother and sister when their parents were killed in a car crash.
“It looks like most of your stock room is pretty intact and salvageable.” He heard one of them say, and he managed a vague nod. Dan, his best friend and business partner was supposed to be there too, but he hadn’t seen him. Where was he?
He followed Max over to one far end of the charred remains, where a sales shelf had once been, holding electronic cleaner. Most of the cans had combusted in the heat and were now a melted mess. Max was pointing upward, and saying something about a suitable smoke alarm. Jacob followed the direction his finger was pointing and took note of some wires protruding from the wall, where a smoke alarm had once been. Before he could say a word, his cell phone rang. Excusing himself, he grabbed it from his pocket, saying hello.
He definitely wasn’t expecting what he heard on the other end of the line.
About the Author
Jennifer Brown li
ves in Springfield, Ohio. She has written since third grade. She was taught to read at an early age and fell in love with books, mainly mysteries. Her love of books grew, and in the summer before she started high school, she wrote her longest story, halfway filling an old school notebook. In high school she started to enter writing contests, and in her junior and senior years joined the Herald staff becoming entertainment editor over her high school newspaper.
After graduating, with a few writing contest awards under her belt she attended college a year later, and was urged by her English instructor to join the college paper. She did, writing a few reviews of restaurants and movies, as well as writing a review of her first Alanis Morrissette concert. A few years later she was asked to take the position of entertainment editor.
Jennifer has written several stories and has many more in store for readers. When she is not writing she likes reading, working on computer graphics, editing photos, listening to music, and brainstorming for new ideas!
About the Publisher
Kingston Publishing offers an affordable way for you to turn your dream into a reality. We offer every service you will ever need to take an idea and publish a story. We are here to help authors make it in the industry. We’ve been hurt by publishers in the past and we want to provide a positive experience that will keep you coming back to us.
Whether you want a traditional publisher who offers all the amenities a publishing company should or an author who prefers to self-publish, but needs additional help - we are here for you.
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Table of Contents
Copyright
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Epilogue
Extras
About the Author
About the Publisher