“I can’t,” Lily sobbed.

“Not alone, but together we can. I’m beside you. I won’t let you go. Shade is here and so are Beth and Razer.” As Rachael spoke the words, Lily felt Shade standing behind her, and Beth and Razer each taking a hand, holding tight. “We’re all here for you, Lily. Lead us home.”

Lily cried, taking a hesitant step forward, one after the other, each of them holding her, not letting go.

Lily’s tortured scream filled the dark-filled silence as she stepped into the flames, the pain consuming her.

“The pain will lessen as you go through the flames. You’ll leave the pain behind, Lily, because they can’t hurt you anymore. Keep walking.”

Rachel was right. The flames were reuniting her with long-lost memories. The pain was there, but it wasn’t devouring; stinging but not burning.

Lily walked through the hell she had barely survived once, enduring it now for a second time to find her only way home. She emerged on the other side, unscathed and free at last of the monsters she had been hiding from for so very long.

“You can open your eyes now, Lily. You’re home.”

Chapter 24

Lily opened her eyes. She was lying on a soft bed in another strange room. She turned her head on the plush pillow at a slight sound to discover Beth sitting on a chair by the window. Shade’s room didn’t have a window, so they must be in one of the bedrooms upstairs.

“You’re awake.”

“How long was I out for this time?” Her voice was hoarse and her throat felt raw.

“Just a few hours, actually,” Beth said, getting up from the chair and coming to sit next to her on the mattress, taking her hand in hers.

“There was a fire last night.” Lily looked down at herself and saw she was wearing a white nightgown.

“Yes. Thank God for Viper’s security system. If not…” Beth broke down crying, laying her head down on Lily’s chest. Her hand reached out to smooth down her sister’s silky hair as she wept.

“I remember, Beth,” Lily said softly. Beth raised her head, looking into her eyes. “I remember,” Lily whispered, turning her face away from her sister’s searching gaze.

“Did you know?” Lily asked.

“During your worst panic attacks, you would let a few things slip past your guard. Over the years, I pieced together what happened.”

Lily turned back to her sister. “Did you…” Lily licked her dry lips. “Did you tell Razer?”

“No, Lily. I swear I didn’t tell anyone. No one.” Lily saw the truth in her eyes. “But Razer and Shade have both been around you a couple of times during your panic attacks and I think they’ve guessed some, if not all, of it.”

Lily squeezed her eyes tightly closed to prevent herself from crying. She refused to cry anymore. Tears were useless and weak like she had been.

She sat up in bed, leaning back against the headboard.

“I laid some clothes out for you. Yours all smell like smoke.”

“How bad is the basement?”

“The front part is gutted, but because we live so far out of town, Viper had several water hoses and the factory had fire extinguishers. If they hadn’t been so prepared, you and Shade would have been trapped.”

“That’s twice I’ve almost died in a fire,” Lily said softly.

“Do you want to talk about it? Your doctor came out and checked on you last night and I called your therapist. I can take you to her today if you want,” Beth offered.

“No.”

“Okay.” Beth stared back at her.

“Beth, I want you to know I couldn’t have asked for a better sister. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” The sisters hugged, thankful they were able to do so. The night before could have easily separated them forever.

“Now, I’m going to get dressed. You go take care of what you need to. I’ll be fine.”

“I just need to do a few patients then I’ll be back. If you need anything, there’s a cell phone on the nightstand.”

Lily nodded her head as Beth got up from the bed, going for the door.

“I was supposed to help Rachel in the store this morning, could you…?”

“I’ll give her a call,” Beth promised.

“Thanks.”

Lily got up from the bed, pulling on a pair of jeans and a bright pink sweatshirt that fit well, if not for being too short. A pair of sneakers was there, also. They were tight but not painful.

A shopping trip would definitely be on the agenda now with her clothes damaged. She didn’t think it would be easy to get the smoke smell out of them and most of them were old enough that it wouldn’t be worth the bother.

Going downstairs, she found the house was eerily quiet. She was beginning to think she was the only one home until she went into the kitchen.

The women members were sitting around the kitchen drinking coffee. There were none of the usual smells of cooking food, though.

When Lily walked through the doorway, they went silent and everyone’s eyes turned toward her.

Lily hated being the center of attention. She wiped her sweaty palms against the side of her pants and said, “I was going to get a cup of coffee.”

Jewell and Evie both turned toward the coffee pot. Raci started to get up, but sat back down when she saw the other two women doing it. Bliss got up from her chair, motioning for Lily to take a seat.

“That’s okay. I…” Seeing the crushed look on Bliss’s face, Lily took the seat. “Thanks, Bliss.”

“No problem.”

Jewell sat the coffee down in front of her.

“Thanks.” Lily took a sip.

“Well, that was some party. I think I’ll give next year’s a pass,” Lily joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

The women chuckled, but Lily heard several sobs mixed in. Looking up, she knew they had all witnessed much more than the fire. Lily’s eyes watered and she clenched her hands so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.

“Where are the men?” Lily asked, determined to lighten the atmosphere.

“Downstairs ripping out the damaged wood. They took pictures of it before they did anything. Knox came out early this morning,” Evie informed her.

“Knox?” Lily questioned.

The women stared at each other before Evie replied, “Someone deliberately set the fire.”

Lily absorbed the shock of someone trying to kill a whole houseful of people.

“Do they know who yet?”

“Knox and Shade are looking into it.”

At that, the men came through the basement door, carrying with them the smell of smoke. They were covered in soot and grime, so Evie ordered them upstairs to shower before eating lunch.

Lily looked around the kitchen at the mention of food. “We ordered pizzas,” Raci answered her unspoken question.

As if on cue, the front door opened and closed, and Shade and Knox came in carrying pizza boxes. Shade glanced at her before setting the pizzas on the counter, quickly coming to her side.

“Hungry?”

“I could eat,” Lily admitted, getting up from the table while avoiding his concerned gaze. Getting in line, she took a slice of pizza before resuming her seat. Shade, on the other hand, filled his plate before sitting down next to her.