Wistful Remembrance (Wattys 2014 HQ Love Award Winner!)

17. You'll Always Be My Favorite What-If

***I posted chapter 16 just a few hours ago, so, for the love of all that is Jemmy, if you haven't read it...read it first!!!1***

Chapter 17

You’ll Always Be My Favorite What-If

 

 

Breathe, Emmy.  Just keep breathing.  That’s all you can do for now.

“Now, I’m going to give you another chance to tell me what you know,” Connor said, holding the lighter between the two of us.  He was slowly lifting it to my face, toward the cut on my cheek. 

I swallowed hard, still tasting blood, and shook my head. 

A whimper escaped me as the blue flame came in contact with my cheek.  At first, I couldn’t feel it, just like everything else that he’d inflicted on me so far.  But as he held it there, that manic smile growing on his face, the searing pain started, radiating over my cheek, over the cut, and through my head. 

I tried my best to pull my face away.  Connor quickly stood, though, grasping my chin in his other hand, keeping the flame to my skin.  When we both started smelling it burning, he finally pulled it back, flicking it off, but kept hold of me.

“I’ve got to hand it to you, Emmy Alexander.  You’ve gotten tough.  I wouldn’t have pinned it down the first time I saw you in Paris, back when you were a naïve blond bitch who didn’t know how to keep out of things that weren’t concerning her.”

He not-so-gently patted my now burned cheek.  “I was there, you know.  We were following John to see just what he was after.  We’d heard about the break-in in Hong Kong and decided to do a little digging.  We were going to go for him then, but then those Knights were able to create a diversion.  I would have finished him off there…but then you came along…and I knew you would be the one to change everything.

“We just watched during your first assignment with him…watched how you two worked so well together…how he changed…how you changed…how you grew to love each other.  That’s when I had a thought:  Why not go after you, the person he loves most in this world?  Juliet knew that you were an important piece to this new puzzle, which is why she chose to take you away, pretend to kill you off.  I give her credit, that’s for sure.  We truly believed that you were dead…until Florence, that is.  Bad move on your part, Emmy Alexander.

“Because now...”  He chuckled darkly, flicking on the flame again.  “Now, your world is going to burn right down to the ground until there is nothing remaining.”

He didn’t bring the lighter to my face again, but to the left sleeve of my shirt.  I could smell the fabric start to burn before the small flame started eating at the fabric even after he pulled the lighter away.  I could feel the heat as the fire not only ate the shirt, but started licking at my skin, which burned and blistered along the top of my arm and shoulder before reaching my neck. 

A scream ripped through the air, piecing even in my own ears.  It took a moment before I realized it was mine, only because I was going into shock.  The small flames were growing, eating more of my shirt as it started crossing over my chest.  I wasn’t thinking about decency then, just that I was burning. 

“Emmy!  Emmy love, wake up!”

“Do you mind if I say something to those in the room first?”

She contemplated for a moment…before dropping the gun back into her lap.  “Make it quick.  Because this is the start of the final round…and I plan to make Emmy shatter.”