Chapter 13
I slammed on the brakes.
"Stay in the car," I told Ethan.
I jumped out and ran toward Richard.
He was standing in front of my building, a gasoline can in one hand, a lighter in the other. The smell of gasoline filled the air. He'd already poured it all over the front porch.
"Richard!" I yelled.
He turned around. He looked terrible. Thin. Pale. His eyes were wild.
"David," he said. He smiled. It was a broken, desperate smile. "You ruined my life."
"You ruined your own life when you hurt my son," I said.
"Sarah ruined my life," he said. "And Vincent. And you. You all used me. And now I have nothing."
He raised the lighter. The flame danced in the wind.
"If I can't have anything," he said, "then neither can you."
"Richard, don't do this," I said. I took a step toward him. "Think about what you're doing."
"I have thought about it," he said. "I've thought about nothing else. I'm going to burn this place to the ground. And then I'm going to burn everything else you love."
He looked past me, toward the car.
He saw Ethan.
His eyes lit up.
"Is that him?" he said. "Is that the little brat who started all this?"
"Leave him alone," I said. I took another step forward.
"Stay back!" Richard screamed. He waved the lighter. "Or I'll light it up right now!"
I stopped.
I had to think.
I had to keep him talking. Keep him distracted.
Until help arrived.
"Why did you do it, Richard?" I said. "Why did you hurt him?"
He laughed. A horrible, wet sound.
"Because Vincent told me to," he said. "He said if I did what he said, I'd be rich. I'd have everything I ever wanted."
He shook his head.
"But he lied," he said. "They all lied. Sarah used me. Vincent used me. You used me. I'm just a pawn in everyone's game."
"You don't have to be a pawn," I said. "You can make a choice. Right now. Put the lighter down. Walk away. Start over."
"Start over?" he said. "I have nothing to start over with. No money. No job. No family. Nothing."
"You have your freedom," I said. "If you put that lighter down, I won't press charges for this. I'll tell the police you were confused. That you needed help."
He stared at me. The flame flickered in his eyes.
"You'd do that?" he said. "After everything I did to your son?"
"Ethan is a forgiving kid," I said. "And I... I know what it's like to be manipulated. To be used. You're not a monster, Richard. You're just a man who made some terrible choices."
It was a lie. I thought Richard was a monster.
But I'd say anything to get him to put that lighter down.
He stared at me. The lighter shook in his hand.
"I hurt him," he whispered. "I hurt him bad."
"I know," I said. "But you can make amends. You can testify against Vincent. You can help us make sure he never hurts anyone again."
Richard looked at the lighter. Then at me. Then at the gasoline-soaked porch.
Slowly, his hand started to lower.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
And then.
Ethan opened the car door.
"Dad?" he called.
Richard's head snapped around.
His eyes went wild again.
He raised the lighter.
"No!" I screamed.
I ran at him.
Richard lit the gasoline.
WHOOSH.
Flames erupted along the porch.
I tackled Richard to the ground. The lighter flew from his hand.
We struggled. He was strong. Desperate.
The flames grew higher. They started to climb the walls of the building.
People started running out of the building. Screaming.
"Ethan!" I yelled. "Get back! Call 911!"
I punched Richard in the face. He went limp.
I stood up and looked at the building.
Flames were pouring out of the first floor. Smoke billowed into the sky.
And then I heard it.
A baby crying.
From inside the building.
On the second floor.
I looked up.
A woman was leaning out of a second-floor window, holding a baby. The flames were behind her.
"Help!" she screamed.
I didn't think.
I just ran.
I ran into the burning building.
The heat was incredible. The smoke burned my eyes and lungs.
I found the stairs. They were starting to burn.
I climbed them as fast as I could.
The woman was in the hallway, coughing, holding her baby tight.
"Come on!" I said.
I took the baby from her. I grabbed her hand.
We ran back to the stairs.
But the stairs were gone.
May you like
Completely engulfed in flames.
We were trapped.
