Read Online All Is Bright by Colleen Coble - Free Book Online Page A

with everything that’s been going on, I was worried.”
    â€œIt’s nearly one in the morning. I’m sure she’s in bed.” Then he frowned and his eyes widened. “But the door was unlocked just now. And the porch light is on. She usually turns it out when she goes to bed. Let me check. Come on in.”
    A shudder went down Tom’s back and he shook his head. “I’ll look around outside while you check.” Reversing direction, he went to his truck and grabbed a flashlight, praying all the while that she was safe.

    Delilah’s arm sockets screamed with pain. Keith had wrenched them behind her back, and no matter how much she tried, she’d been unable to loosen her bonds even a little.
    â€œWe would have been happy if you hadn’t interfered.” His teeth were gritted as he splashed something from a soda bottle around the gazebo. “Even the sheriff can’t save you now.”
    The odor of gasoline burned her throat and eyes, and she swung her head frantically from side to side looking for something to help her get away from this madman. Her nail clippers! They were in the tiny right pocket of her dress, and she didn’t know if she could reach them or not, but she pulled her left arm around as far as she could and managed to slide her fingers into the fabric.
    The small metallic piece slid away from her, and she sucked in a breath through her nose. The sting of gas in her eyes made them water, but she concentrated and tried to reach just a little farther with her fingers.
    Just a little more.
    He threw the empty bottle to the gazebo floor where it bounced, then rolled toward her. “Once you’re out of the way, Delilah, Vanessa will see how right we are for each other, especially with that idiot Gage out of the way. I’ve got it all planned out.”
    Her eyes widened at his mention of Gage. Vanessa had said she tried to call Gage and hadn’t been able to reach him.
    He must have seen her shock because he smiled. “I cut his brake lines.”
    The giggle that escaped him raised the hair on the back of her neck, and she struggled to reach the nail clippers again. The nail on her middle finger just barely touched it, and she wiggled on the gazebo floor to push the tiny tool a little higher in her pocket. She managed to pin it between her thumb and index finger.
    A tiny flame flared in the darkness. He stared at it with a bemused expression, waving a lighter back and forth. “Fire is cleansing. It will clear out all traces of your prejudice against me and will wipe the slate clean. I can start fresh with Vanessa. Everyone deserves a second chance, don’t you think?”
    She nodded as she managed to get the clippers open, then nipped at the duct tape. If only she could talk to Keith. Despair settled in her limbs. She would be too late. He was going to start the fire any second, and the sea breeze would fan the flames quickly.
    Her throat burned with the stench of the gasoline as the knowledge of her impending death settled in her chest. Maybe the end would come quickly, and she would wake up in heaven with no memory of what she had to pass through to get there. Maybe there would be enough smoke that she’d asphyxiate before the fire engulfed her.
    He turned to stare at her one last time, then knelt and put the flame to the gasoline. A huge whoosh knocked him back on his heels and into a pool of gasoline. In seconds the flames circled his jeans and scampered up his shirt.
    Screaming, he rushed through the door and began to roll in the grass. The open door beckoned her as her last possible chance of escape. She tried to stumble to her feet, but her bound feet made it impossible. She’d have to crawl through the flames to escape, and she couldn’t do that without setting fire to her clothes.
    She worked the nail clippers against the tape again, then flexed her arms. The tape gave a little, and she set the edges of the metal