Deadly Illusions(70)

Finn was moving now. Andrew caught sight of him out of the corner of his eye, turning to face him, but it was too late. Finn was on him, wrestling him to the ground. Andrew clutched the vial to his chest as Finn unloaded, punching him as hard as he could. Finn’s assault was so brutal, at one point he shattered the vial, scattering the liquid all over Andrew’s chest.

Finn jumped back, expecting the caustic liquid to start burning. He figured he could take his shirt off and roll around in the snow to wash it off if he had to.

Only his skin wasn’t burning. Finn lifted his hand up, touching some of the splattered liquid with his finger, and then bringing it to his nose. He felt Emma move in behind him, her body shaking. He held her back with his arm, relishing the warmth of her body as she pressed herself to his back.

“What is it?”

“I think it’s some sort of gasoline mixture,” Finn said, turning his attention back to Andrew.

If Finn’s arrival had taken Andrew by surprise, the loss of his vial was almost more than he could bear. “What did you do?”

Finn really wished he had a gun. Unfortunately, his was locked in the glove compartment of his Escalade. It was too far away to claim now. If he’d been thinking earlier, he would have stopped long enough to grab it. Getting to Emma had been more important.

“I’m not going to let you finish what you came here to do,” Finn said. “You just need to sit there until the police arrive.”

“The police aren’t coming,” Andrew scoffed.

“They are. I called them before I came outside. I wanted to make sure, even if something happened to me, that Emma would be safe.”

“You wanted to protect the daughter of a monster?”

“I wanted to protect the woman I … care about,” Finn corrected. “Lance Pritchard being her father isn’t her fault. You have to realize that. She was a victim, too.”

“Oh, she’s lying.”

“She’s not lying.”

“She’s a lying whore,” Andrew screeched. “She’s a lying whore!”

Finn wanted to hit him again. He wanted to stay close to Emma even more. The sound of booted feet on the snow filled Finn with relief. He glanced up to see two uniformed officers descending on them from either direction.

When they drew near, Finn warned them of Andrew’s predicament. “He had a vial of something. I think it’s flammable. It spilled all over him.”

One of the police officers nodded. “Sir, we’re going to ask you to face the wall and spread your arms out so we can cuff you. When we get you back to the station, we’ll get you out of those clothes.”

Andrew looked like the last thing he wanted was a peaceable surrender. “I’m not going with you.”

“Sir, you have to come with us,” the cop replied. “You’re wanted for questioning by a few different districts.”

“I’m not coming with you,” Andrew repeated.

“Sir … .”

Andrew turned so he could focus on Emma. “You did this. You did all of this.”

“I … .”

“I want you to see what you’ve done.”

Andrew reached into his pocket, rummaging around until he ultimately pulled out a lighter.

“Sir … .”

“I’ll see you in your nightmares,” Andrew said, holding the lighter to the front of his sweater and flicking it, never moving his gaze from Emma’s face.

His sweater ignited almost instantly, swallowing Andrew in a ball of fire. Finn reached for Emma, pulling her to him so he could shelter her face. The fire spread over Andrew quickly, engulfing his entire body. While the flames hid Andrew’s face – his screams were another story. Those echoed throughout the snowy courtyard so everyone in the adjacent apartment buildings had no choice but to listen.

“Oh, God,” Emma moaned.

Finn pulled her tighter to him. “Don’t look, sweetheart. Don’t look.”

Andrew’s screams were primordial, animalistic. The police officers tried to direct him to the half frozen water of the manmade lake, but they couldn’t get close enough to physically prod him.

Andrew flailed about for what seemed like forever, finally collapsing onto the ground. The snow put the flames out from the front. The flames on his back continued to burn until the police shoveled snow on top of him to stop it.

Finn watched, impassive, as one of the officers checked for a pulse. He looked up, meeting Finn’s gaze as he shook his head.

Finn kissed the side of Emma’s face as she sobbed. “It’s over, sweetheart.”





Twenty-Seven


James, Grady, Mandy, and Sophie descended on the apartment complex – everyone in separate vehicles – when news broke of what had happened. The police kept them away until they were done with their questioning, finally relenting and letting everyone reunite in the back of the apartment building.