Ruby Revenge

“If you have a chance for the door—take it. Don’t worry about me. At least one of us is leaving this house tonight,” Jamie murmured quietly, and I shook my head. We would both leave. Together.

Jamie started after one of the men. He leaned down, charged, and then slammed into the man. He wrapped his arms around the guy’s large waist and sent him to the ground. Detective Thomas started to kick Jamie, trying to get him off his friend. I ran up and jumped on Thomas’s back, wrapping my arm around his throat.

He grunted, his hands going for my arms as I held on as tightly as I could. After a few seconds, he pried my arm off his neck and flipped me over him and onto the floor. I landed on my back and hit hard enough to knock the wind out of me. I lay there, trying to suck in a breath and calm myself when no air filled my lungs. Tilting my head to the side, I watched as Thomas went to help the other man, who was still in a fight with Jamie. I willed myself to stand up, but my body wasn’t responding.

Something wet seeped into my hair, and I could smell it before I gazed at the empty rum bottle that had spilled all over the floor. I began to scoot to the door as my breathing slowly returned.

“Jamie,” I cried out hoarsely.

He looked at me and shoved Thomas away from him as the other man lay on the floor unconscious. We were only a few feet from the door with nothing blocking our escape. Except Thomas, who was hesitating about who to come after as his eyes darted between Jamie and me. Hope filtered through me until the dining room door slammed open and two more men came barreling through.

My fingers brushed my pocket as I remembered what I’d taken from the basement. I pulled out the matches and looked at the alcohol-soaked floor. With the old wood and curtains that brushed the floor, it wouldn’t take much. Without another thought, I lit the match and threw it down onto the spilled rum. The floor was instantly in flames, separating us from the two men who had come in from the dining room.

Jamie got a hold of Thomas and threw him toward the growing fire. His screams echoed through the house as the flames touched him. I faced the front door and tried blocking everything out as I took the key out. The air was quickly filling with smoke, and it was already nearly suffocating. I started crying when the lock clicked open.

“What the—”

I whirled around to see another man racing down the stairs, heading straight to Jamie, who was a few feet behind me. I flung open the door and stepped out, sucking in breaths of fresh air.

“Come on, Jamie,” I screamed, waiting for him to move. “We can make it to the truck. Forget about him. Get out of the house.”

Jamie looked over his shoulder at me as he put his hand on the door. The man was off the stairs and within feet of Jamie. Panic sliced through me, and I moved to pull him with me.

“I told you one of us was getting out of here tonight. Get justice. For Lacey. For whoever else these men have hurt. Go. Now,” he told me calmly. Then he slammed the door before I heard the lock click.