Chapter 17: Questions in the rain
302 Words
Chapter 17: Questions in the Rain
Firefighters arrived within minutes.
Red and blue lights flashed across the wet street.
Neighbors gathered on sidewalks, whispering among themselves as crews battled the blaze.
Serena wrapped an arm around Lily while they sat beneath an emergency blanket.
The little girl trembled.
Not from cold.
From shock.
"It's okay," Serena whispered.
Lily looked up.
"Was somebody trying to hurt us?"
The question struck Serena like a knife.
Because she already knew the answer.
Yes.
Someone had done this.
Nobody accidentally started a fire this fast.
Nobody accidentally turned an apartment into an inferno within minutes.
Before she could answer, a familiar voice interrupted.
"Serena."
She turned.
Adrian.
He moved quickly through the crowd.
The moment he saw them alive, relief appeared briefly in his eyes.
Only briefly.
Then he looked toward the burning building.
His expression darkened.
"What happened?"
"The apartment caught fire."
Adrian shook his head.
"No."
His gaze swept over the building.
"This wasn't an accident."
Serena stared at him.
"You think so too?"
"I know so."
For several moments neither spoke.
The reality was becoming impossible to ignore.
Someone was following them.
Watching them.
And now attacking them.
A loud cracking sound echoed from above.
Part of the building's roof began collapsing.
Several people screamed.
A burning piece of metal detached from the structure and plummeted toward the crowd.
Toward Lily.
Without hesitation Serena lunged forward.
She shoved Lily aside.
The metal crashed onto the pavement exactly where the girl had been standing.
Gasps erupted from nearby witnesses.
Adrian stared.
The reaction had been too fast.
Almost impossible.
Serena had moved before anyone else even realized danger existed.
Like a trained operative.
Like someone who had spent years surviving threats.
And once again she had absolutely no idea how she had done it.
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