No Exit by Taylor Adams 2

The scrawny kid who’d worn an Army surplus helmet and
combat boots to junior high school, who loved ranch sauce on
his Famous Star cheeseburgers, who’d re-watched Starship
Troopers until his VHS copy strangled the VCR with black
ribbons — he was gone now. Gone forever. He’d never play
the new Gears of War on Xbox One. All because he got
sucked into a school bus driver’s ill-fated little ransom
scheme. Because between the changed locks, the cops, and the
blizzard, this entire week had careened wildly off the rails.
And it all would’ve been manageable, still, were it not for
Darby.
Darbs. Darbo. That fiery little redhead from CU-Boulder
who broke into their car with a shoelace, of all things, who
handed Jaybird a knife and tipped an already volatile night
irreversibly off-course. He suspected his entire life had been
building to this confrontation. Hers, too. She was his destiny,
and he was hers.
In a better universe, perhaps he’d marry her. But in this
one, he’d have to kill her. And, unfortunately, he’d have to
make it hurt.
Oh, Lars, Lars, Lars.
I’ll make this right.
I promise, I’ll—
He heard a whoosh to his right and he whirled, aiming the
cordless nailer, expecting to see Darby and Jaybird cowering
behind the coffee stand. But Espresso Peak was empty. Pierced
with nails, dripping with gasoline, messy with tipped cups and
plastic fragments, but empty. They weren’t here.
He noticed the toaster was crammed with brown napkins.
The noise he’d heard?
A cloud of gray smoke, curling from the toaster’s glowing
coils. A sizzle as the napkins ignited. Ashley ran his tongue
along his upper lip, tasting gasoline vapor, and then it all made
sense.