Sweet Obsession (Ruthless Games 1)

Oh, shit.

Smoke pours from an upper-story window of the apartment, and I can see flames licking over the old wood. Sirens wail in the distance, and Natalie is still screaming about how the place is on fire, as if I haven’t been able to figure that out now that I’ve seen it with my own damn eyes.

Everything I own is in that building.

I packed enough clothes for three days when I came here, and I still have my wallet with the picture of me and my brother, thank fuck. But every other worldly possession I own is inside that apartment. My prosthetic arm, keepsakes from the few bright spots in my childhood, medical records, journals and books.

Everything.

My mouth goes dry as I lift the phone closer to my face, trying to tell where exactly the blaze is coming from. The whole building hasn’t gone up yet. Maybe if I can get there, I can salvage some of my things. The fire trucks are on their way. They’ll help me save it. They have to.

“I’m coming.”

That’s all I say before hanging up on Natalie. I’m glad she called me, but one nice gesture doesn’t make up for years of being a bitch, and besides, my stomach is churning too hard for me to worry about being polite.

I stuff my phone in my pocket and run downstairs, grabbing the car key off the hook before darting into the garage. Marcus’s car is an automatic, and I say a little prayer of gratitude for that. If it wasn’t, I’d be fucked.

It’s been a while since I’ve driven, and my heart slams erratically in my chest as I back out of the driveway and turn onto the street. I don’t drive as fast as Marcus, but my foot is heavy on the gas as I race down the now-familiar route between his place and mine.

When I pull up outside, my stomach clenches into a tight knot.

The fire has spread. I still don’t see any flames in the window of my unit, but the entire west side of the building looks like it’s starting to burn. Panic floods me, and I shove the car door open. The fire department has arrived, and the scene is chaotic as they start to fight back the blaze. I don’t see Natalie as I race forward, trying to get closer to the building.

“Ma’am, you need to stay back.”

A firefighter steps in front of me, blocking my path. I skid to a stop, craning my neck to see around him. “I know. I know. I

’m not gonna go inside. I just need to—is there any way to—”

“No, ma’am, I’m sorry. You need to stay at a safe distance. Let us handle it, all right?”

“Yeah. Right.”

My throat is dry. I know it’s stupid to be so worried about my stuff. It’s just stuff. But I’ve been a self-contained unit for so long, living on my own with no one else. It feels almost like if I lose all those little pieces of myself that have accumulated over the years, I’ll start to fade away too. There will be nothing left to ground me.

Fuck. I wish Marcus was here. I wish they all were.

The vehemence of the thought shocks me, and I jump when a hand wraps around my upper arm.

“There you are!” Natalie’s voice is still high pitched, and she’s talking to me and clinging to me like we’re besties. I guess in her mind, a crisis has united us, sweeping all the other bullshit under the rug. “I can’t fucking believe this.” She looks back up at the burning building. “All my stuff.”

Sadness rises up in her voice, and when my gaze follows hers, I realize that both of her units are definitely burning already. Whatever fancy new furniture she filled them up with, it’s all gone now.

“I’m sorry,” I mutter.

Her eyes widen a little, as if she’s shocked I can spare some basic human decency despite the fact that she’s always been a bitch to me. Then she shakes it off and tugs on my arm. “Come on. They told us to wait over here.”

I glance back at the chaos and noise that surrounds the burning building as she pulls me across the street and up onto the sidewalk, away from our apartment. “Wait. I want to—”

But I never get to finish the thought.

Natalie releases her grip on my arm just as something sharp and painful jabs my neck. I lift my hand up to clap it over the sting, spinning around quickly.

The world keeps spinning.

I keep spinning.

Strong arms catch me as my legs give out, and everything goes black.