Arson & Ache (Surrender to Them 8)

“Kincaid! Hey, I need you to do something for me, and you can’t ask any fucking questions.” I spat the words into the phone and started running towards my car.

“What’s going on?” His voice sound almost as disturbed as mine, but there was no comparison to the despair churning inside me.

“I need you to trace my sister’s phone. I’m going to send you the number.” I hopped into my car and cranked up the ignition. “Don’t ask—please. Just do it!”

I slammed the phone down and cranked up my car. My head was spinning. My heart was beating in my chest to the point that I thought I was going to end up in the hospital next to my father. My sister—my little sister was Fireball? How as that even possible? I hoped I was wrong. I had to be wrong. There was no way my little sister could be responsible for those atrocities. She wasn’t ruthless enough to kill someone, much less burn someone alive in front of a camera while the whole world watched. That was pure evil—that was hate. But my sister did have hate inside her. She hated Veronica Stone more than anyone else in the world. I remembered the dark days that proceeded her exit from Livingston Capital. Was she completely out of her mind and seeking revenge? My thoughts spun as my phone lit up with Kincaid’s number.

“Hello?” I pulled the phone to my ear.

“Hey, I have it. I’m sending you the address.” He sighed angrily. “Are you watching this Fireball shit?”

“I had to leave. What is—he doing?” I switched my phone into speaker mode and stared at the address.

“He’s just going off about greed and shit. I think he’s going to do it though. Fuck man, he’s going to set Marissa’s boss on fire and there’s nothing we can do! The police tried to trace the signal, but it’s bouncing off of towers in five different countries. It would take a week to find it.” I heard Kincaid exhale sharply.

“Come to the address. Just trust me.” I slammed the phone down and hit the button for the GPS.

Okay, she’s nearby. It’ll take Kincaid a while to get here, but I’m not far away. Thank god. Don’t do anything stupid until I get there, Janine. Please fucking god let me get you the help you need before you murder someone on live television.

Marissa

“Oh my god!” I stared at my phone in shock as I watched Fireball’s broadcast.

Ms. Stone doesn’t deserve this! What the hell is wrong with this asshole?

I was on my way home after working late on my first day actually managing my own account when Fireball’s broadcast started. I had to pull over to the side of the road to watch, but as soon as I saw Ms. Stone’s face, I hit the gas and started driving towards the fire station. Kincaid might not be able to do anything, but I just needed to know the reality of the situation—whether it was good or bad. My stomach was a pit of despair. My heart was beating in my ears. I almost had to pull the car over and throw up at one point. I thought about all the times Ms. Stone yelled at me.

Yes, she was a tough boss, but that didn’t mean she deserved to die. She clawed her was to the top of an empire at a time when women weren’t often given the chance to do so. Her ruthlessness was a product of the environment she was forced to navigate in order to become the CEO of Livingston Capital. She might have been feared, but she was well respected. I couldn’t imagine a version of Livingston Capital that didn’t have Ms. Stone sitting on the top floor. The company became the top investment firm in New York City because she never stopped believing it could be.

This feels like a nightmare.

I walked into the fire department and the place was in absolute chaos. Some of the firefighters were gathered around the television screen, but others were gearing up for action. I hoped that meant there was a chance they could locate Ms. Stone and save her. Fireball was still talking, which I thought was a good sign, but I didn’t care what he had to say. I just wanted to know if there was a chance that my boss could be saved. I saw Kincaid at his desk and he looked like the weight of the world was on him. The fi

refighters didn’t even seem to notice that someone was there that didn’t belong, so I just walked through the chaos to get to Kincaid. He was on the phone when I got to his desk, but he motioned for me to come closer. It was a quick conversation and as soon as he was done, he immediately turned to his computer screen.

“Give me a minute. I need to do something for Donovan.” Kincaid pulled up some sort of program on his computer and started typing in a phone number.

“No problem.” I nodded quickly.

“Okay, this will take a second to run. Come here.” Kincaid walked towards me and we embraced.

“Is she going to be okay? Please tell me that you’re going to be able to save her.” I felt my emotions spinning out of control and I almost broke down in tears.

“I don’t know. I wish I had a better answer.” He exhaled sharply and squeezed me tighter. “The police are the only ones that are going to be able to trace that signal, and they’re not having any luck”

“Was that Donovan on the phone?” I looked into Kincaid’s eyes when I pulled back from our embrace.

There’s so much turmoil in them—just as much I’m feeling.

“Yeah, I don’t know what’s going on, but he asked me to do something for him.” Kincaid turned towards the computer screen. “Hold on, I need to call him back.”

Kincaid called Donovan and I listened to the conversation. I had spoken to Donovan earlier in the day before Fireball’s broadcast started. His father was doing better, but he was going to be in the hospital for a couple of days. I wished I could be there for him. Everything felt like it was falling apart around me. The conversation between Kincaid and Donovan had something to do with the phone number and address that popped up on Kincaid’s screen. I had no idea if it had something to do with Fireball, but as soon as the conversation was over, Kincaid wrote down the address and grabbed his jacket off the wall.

“I need to go.” He grabbed me for another hug. “Stay here. We don’t know what the hell Fireball has planned, but there’s a chance Ms. Stone might not be his only victim tonight. You’ll be a lot safer here than anywhere else.”

“Where are you going?” I leaned back and stared at him.

“I’m—I’m honestly not sure, but Donovan needs my help.” He finished sliding on his jacket and started walking towards the door.