Monroe, Melody S. - Verdict (Siren Publishing Classic) by Melody S. Monroe

poked his head back in the room. “Never meant for it to be.”
    Furious Stone would take such aggressive action, she turned off the light by the bed with her free hand and fumed for at least an hour, hoping he’d change his mind and uncuff her.
    He never did.
    For at least three hours she stared at the glowing numbers on the clock as they changed one by one. Her eyelids eventually drooped as her mind relaxed. Her nightmare returned. Flames burst through the picture window, glass everywhere. Pain seared her body and blackness met her. Her breath lodged in her throat. She tossed and turned until the images left, replaced by gentle rolling waves, warm silky sand, and long conversations. She drifted off to sleep.
    Hunger must have awoken her, for she jerked to a near sitting position. Given she couldn’t go downstairs for a bite, she kicked off the sweat soaked covers and turned over. The house was too damned hot. Why did the FBI have to send her to Florida? She liked the cold, liked her old, leaky home near DC, where she slept with lots of comfortable blankets.
    Sweat beaded her forehead and arms. She repositioned the pillows but couldn’t get comfortable with her wrist shackled to the bed. Her fingers had fallen asleep. Damn Stone.
    She drifted off again until an acrid smell poked her subconscious. Her mind wouldn’t engage. At first she thought her recurring visions had returned, but nightmares didn’t come with the smell of sulfur burning her nostrils.
    Forcing herself awake, she sat up. The wall opposite her bed glowed yellow. What the…? Hallucinations must have taken over her mind. Her chest pounded.
    Heat and light blasted her. She blinked. What kind of dream was this?
    A flame stabbed through the wall and she came fully awake. Ohmigod . The house was on fire! She tried to scream, but her throat had closed up both from fear and from the smoke. Stone’s bedroom was behind hers, away from the fire. He wouldn’t realize they were in danger until her bedroom was destroyed.
    Her stomach revolted and bile raced up her throat. Had Stone set the fire? Or paid someone to come in while they were at the beach and set up the job? Could he really want to kill her? He’d been so nice, so gentle.
    Panic nearly locked her muscles as she rattled the chains against the bedpost. Swallowing a few times loosened her vocal chords. “Fire! Help me! Stone?”
    Light flickered outside her window. She yanked on her cuffs, needing to get free. The metal scraped her skin as she tugged and pulled. Refusing to give in, she bucked and kicked, anything to get his attention.
    Flames engulfed the far wall, heating the room to near impossible temperatures. She gagged and coughed. Why wasn’t the fire wall working? Or the smoke alarm?
    “Help me! Stone, help me!” She pounded on the wall behind the bed with her free hand.
    She placed her feet on the floor and pulled on the bed to get it closer to the door. The damn thing wouldn’t budge.
    Her throat swelled and her pulse raced as the flames danced across the room toward her. She only had minutes before the fire found the cotton bedspread and incinerated her.
    “Stooooooone.”
    She couldn’t breathe. Susan used all her strength to force air through her mouth. Her vision fogged. Oh, God. No one was going to save her.

Chapter Five

    Susan couldn’t see and could barely breathe. Smoke clogged her lungs and heat burned her chest. She yanked hard on her hand, hoping the sweat would help free her wrist. Half her palm slipped out and adrenaline pumped through her veins.
    “Please God, save me.” She tugged again, trying to ignore the pain tearing her skin raw.
    Pounding feet raced down the hall, and she choked out a sob.
    Stone dashed into her bedroom. “Jesus Christ.”
    Her mouth too dry to talk, she merely moaned. Tears streamed down her cheeks. He’d come. He would save her. Or was he here to see his handiwork? She choked, not wanting to believe the worst of him.
    “Hold on.” His