If I Should Die_ A Novel of Suspense - Allison Brennan [2]
But others depended on him. He had responsibilities and obligations. If he disappeared, the town he had once loved, the town that had once saved him, would be doomed.
His soul was already doomed. There would be no forgiveness, no redemption. Truly, the only thing that kept him alive was the fire of vengeance burning inside.
He pulled a limp white flower from his pocket. He didn’t know what it was called, he wasn’t much into gardening, but she had loved them. It was wilted from being frozen, then being stored in the warmth of his pocket. Before leaving, he placed it on her chest, barely able to resist touching her.
ONE
Present day
Sean Rogan watched Lucy stretch with the grace of a cat, her thick, wavy black hair falling across his bare chest. She sighed as she relaxed on top of him, her dark eyes closed, a half-smile on her face.
There was little Sean enjoyed more than early-morning sex with Lucy.
For the first time in months, they were alone—no friends, no family, no stress—sharing a secluded cabin in the middle of the Adirondacks. Just the two of them. Lucy didn’t seem to realize how much she’d needed this vacation—already, after one night, she was looking more rested than he’d seen her in months. Sean hoped their change of plans to help his brother Duke’s friend wouldn’t put a damper on their week together.
“This is perfect.” Lucy kissed his chest. “I wish it could last.”
A faint, nagging fear that such unadulterated happiness would come at a cost marred Sean’s good mood. He knew Lucy was talking about their time alone, but he couldn’t help but think she had been reflecting on their relationship.
“Luce?”
“Hmm?”
What should he say? That their vacation could last forever? Should he call her out on her skepticism? If he asked her to explain her comment, she’d overthink her response, and worse, she’d put her shields back up. He’d worked hard at getting her to put down her armor; it was these rare moments when she was entirely comfortable that he savored.
“Up for a hike this morning?” he asked instead.
Lucy didn’t sound as though she noticed his hesitation. “After breakfast. I’m starving.”
Sean laughed.
She leaned up and looked at him, her eyebrows raised. “What’s funny?”
“In the four months I’ve known you, not once have you told me you’re hungry, let alone starving.”
He grinned, then reached up and tickled her ribs. Her spontaneous laugh was genuine, such a rare sound that every time he heard it he remembered how much Lucy needed him to remind her of the good in life, and forget the evil from her past.
“This is war!” she declared. Before Sean could tighten his abs in resistance, she tickled the sensitive sides of his stomach. He tried grabbing her hands as he laughed, but she enjoyed winning far too much to make it easy for him.
“Stop. Please.”
“Say Uncle.”
“Uncle.”
She stopped, and he flipped her onto her back. “Now that you woke me up—”
“You mean you weren’t awake when we were having sex?”
“That was just a prelude, Princess.”
She tensed, and for a moment Sean thought he’d done or said something wrong. He was about to ask her what it was when she said, “Do you smell something?”
Her hair, their sweat … and something else he recognized only as she spoke. “Smoke.”
They jumped up and pulled on the clothes closest to them.
He grabbed his backpack and they ran out the door, the scent of burning wood palpable as soon as they stepped outside.
They sprinted down the shadowy trail to the main lodge. Dawn had just broken over the mountain ridge, casting a fresh but pale light all around. A growing plume of dark gray smoke rose from the trees, and as soon as the lodge came into sight Sean saw smoke pouring from an open kitchen window. Several flickers of orange flames glowed through the thick smoke, but the fire hadn’t reached the external walls.
Sean instantly took in the scene: twenty-two-year-old Adam Hendrickson at the water tank struggling with the hose