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my toe. I glance down at its bright red hue and black dots cloud my vision. I stumble backwards into the door as more blood falls. I groan, unable to speak coherently, and my legs collapse, dropping me to the floor as I crash into unconsciousness.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Three
     
     
    Jai
     
    Rubble
     
    “Shit!” Joel jabs me in the thigh, and I jolt out of my dreamless state.
    I don’t know if I was asleep. Maybe I was. Maybe I wasn’t. I’m so tired, so stressed, that I keep drifting in and out of some kind of depressing stupor. I rub my face as I push myself into a seated position. “What? Are we here?”
    I drop my hands. Billowing smoke is all that fills my view of the lake house. The gentle wind pushes the smoke around, allowing me to see the bright licks of the flames as they burn through the first floor of the house, growing bigger and bigger.
    “Is that…?” Monique pushes her stringy, blonde hair out of her face as Joel squeezes the steering wheel in his hand.
    “Yeah.”
    I slide along the backseat and over to the window closest to the fire. Sweat bubbles along my forehead and across my top lip as the heat from the blaze warms the car.
    I can’t believe it.
    “Skull?” Monique whispers, and the side wall of the house, the one that lines the kitchen, crumbles, sending a burst of embers shooting into the night sky. I look at the side of Monique’s face. Her cheekbones are prominent; her lips are parted in fear. I can’t ask these two for help. They just got away.
    Joel looks at her, his brow furrowed. “I’d say so. Could also be—”
    Exhaling, I grab the door handle and tug it before kicking it open with my boot. Smoke swoops in, burning my eyes and singeing the hairs in my lungs. Joel calls out at me, but I shut the door and turn away from the car. Stuffing my hands into the pockets of my pants, I stroll down the drive.
    “Jai!” I can barely hear Joel over the roar of the flames and the crackle of burning wood. He slams a door. “Where are you going?”
    I keep my head down and keep walking, getting further and further away from the smoke. Joel clamps his large hand on my shoulder and pulls me back.
    “Hey. I’m talking to you.”
    I whirl on my heel. “What? What do you want?”
    He frowns. “Where the fuck are you going?”
    “To see Joker. To get Emily back.”
    “That’s where we’re going. Get back in the car, and I’ll drive you there.”
    Laughing under my breath, I peer over his shoulder and stare at the lake house. For a short while, this house was our sanctuary. No one knew where we were. We were out of harm’s way. Now look at it. Somehow they found it—whoever it was—and they’ve destroyed it…just like they’re going to destroy us. I glance at Joel. Look at him. He’s covered in cuts and bruises. His eyes are heavy, and he looks like he’s seventy years old. I don’t know how much more he can go through. If Skull gets him back, if he gets Monique back, this would have all been for nothing. I don’t think I can handle doing all of this for nothing.
    “You’re free,” I tell him, and his brow twitches. “Take Monique and go meet Jessica in Italy.”
    He flinches. “Italy? Jai, I’m not going anywhere without you. You’ve risked everything for me.”
    “I—”
    “You didn’t have to, but you did…and I wanna do the same for you.”
    I exhale.
    “Look, you can keep walking all the way to The Twisted Sons’ bar, but I’ll be waiting for you when you get there.” He smirks. “Besides, I can’t go to Italy. They’re not going to let me on a plane with this head injury.” He points to a spot above his ear and touches it with the tip of his finger, darkening it in blood. “Anyway, we gotta go. Fire and rescue will be here any second, and they’ll bring cops with them. Are you walking? Or will you get in the car?”
    I peer over his shoulder, and the roof of the lake house caves in with a loud crash, once again shooting embers into the