Chapter 33
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
acelynn
The strong stench of gasoline filled the inside of my nostrils.
I continued my methodical task of pouring another gallon of gas through the home I grew up in.
The liquid sloshed across the tile floor, leaving deadly puddles in its wake.
Every inch of this place had to be saturated if I had any chance of it burning to the ground like Alec wanted.
I stepped into the main kitchen, letting the red container slam onto the ground as I dropped it.
My hands dug in my pocket for the box of matches I had found in the drawer of my father’s desk, right next to his favorite lighter and pack of cigars in his study. There was a single match in the box.
One chance to light up the Spade legacy.
One chance to change both Alec and my entire lives.
I couldn’t fuck this up. Pulling open the matchbox, the cardboard creaked as it went, and I came upon my one chance.
Striking down hard on the ignition pad, the flame burned quickly.
I drew the match up to eye level with me, staring it down as I debated my decision.
The heat of the flame began to lick the pads of my fingers, and I sucked in at the sting, drinking in pain as it grew.
A single gunshot rang out in the yard behind me as I flicked the match into the gasoline-covered room.
Quickly, I turned, my feet carrying me out the kitchen’s back door and into the desert. When I was a good distance away from the house, I turned over my shoulder to watch the fire grow higher and higher as it caught on the accelerant. Then the screaming began.
The little brown package in the passenger seat of Nolan’s car felt like a bomb just waiting to be set off.
When I was a few blocks away from the nightclub, I veered off into a church parking lot and killed the car’s headlights.
My fingers brushed against the cardboard as I picked it up and set the box on my lap.
Kaius would know if I opened it, but I honestly didn’t care very much. I wanted to know what I was carrying around. The way Pierce hadn’t wanted me to linger made me think this wasn’t just paperwork left behind.
The rip of the tape coming off the box had my heart skipping a beat.
I tossed it aside, peeling back the lid from the box.
Inside were the golden gems of Muze. Their almost iridescent coloring seemed to sparkle in the dim streetlights.
I reached down, plucking one pill from the container.
There must have been hundreds in this tiny box.
I had never done drugs recreationally, not when I knew that addiction ran in my family.
Though some may say dosing myself with hemlock could turn into needing to chase that high.
But for now, that wasn’t a problem. I knew girls who had done Muze in college.
They said it made parties more fun as it held them in a euphoric state where everything was neon colors and bubbly personalities.
It was why the drug was so popular on the club scene, and when something was popular, it made it lucrative.
Kaius knew this. That was why he made sure the Knights were the only ones bringing in Muze, the only ones distributing it.
The pill fell from my hand, landing in the center of the pile.
I closed my eyes, took in a shaky breath, and tried to calm myself.
Alec had been strung out the night of the fire.
I could see it in his dilated pupils and erratic behavior.
He had been acting strangely my last few visits, and I had caught him taking something at the auto body shop, but I didn’t dare question him.
What if that was the reason this all happened?
What if Kaius wasn’t to blame but Alec in his crusade to get that next high?
I couldn’t help but feel like I hadn’t gotten the full truth from him in the hall.
Maybe my brother had played his final ace that night, and it had burned any answers without hesitation.