Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
I watched from inside the garage as Micheal threw in a duffel bag into his black jeep. Dom was sitting in the driver of his Mustang, typing on a small laptop, I could hear the muffled voices from the police radio on top of his dash. So far there was a shooting on the west side and a car fire on the M-10 freeway.
Emery placed another bag in Michael’s car in the back passenger. They were all dressed for breaking and entering. Black attire with gloves, and black facemasks for extra cover. Emery was to be the one to break in while Micheal waited outside to drive them out. Dom would be there to watch at the front just in case, in constant contact if anyone was around that might be a problem.
Having three of them go to grab a nurse's keycard seemed a little overkill, seeing as Emery could do it on his own without problem. But Micheal was particularly cautious. Or “incredibly paranoid” as Lez put it. He wanted to make absolutely sure they weren’t caught or had any witnesses.
I’d feel bad for anyone unlucky enough to come across them. But if they did, they’d probably be scared shitless.
I hoped they were. Because I didn’t want Emery at risk. Not tonight. The last night.
He didn’t tell anyone we were leaving. He’d do this one run and when we got back, and everyone was asleep, we’d be gone before they noticed. We’d grab Lena, take her back home first, then we’d disappear.
Just for a little while, anyway. Emery wanted to keep in touch just like I wanted with my friends. They were like brothers and sister with all their trauma. I couldn’t blame him. We’d contact them when the time was right. But for now, we were back to the plan we’d made before. Only this time we wouldn’t be taking a boat, but one of the cars Lez and Dom had been working on. We’d still go South like we planned and make straight for the border.
While he’d been preparing to leave, I had been secretly packing, grabbing items when no one was watching. Unfortunately, it was too late to ask Andrea to get another prescription of the medicine Emery was taking but he had a month's worth at least and we’d find a way to get more.
It was hard coming to terms that I too would need to find something to stifle my ghost, but unlike Emery, I would have no problem shoving a pill down my throat to quiet him.
In time we’d both heal. I had to believe that.
Micheal got into the driver seat and started the Jeep. He pressed a button on a remote and the garage door opened.
I stood by, trying not to let anxiety take over, knowing they’d be back in only a couple hours.
Emery came around to me before getting in the car, moving in close enough I could feel his heat.
“You and me,” he whispered, putting his hands on either side of my face. “Soon.”
I grabbed his wrists. “Just come back.”
“I will, I promise.” He pressed his mouth to my forehead.
I let him go. He got in beside Micheal who nodded my way. Dom rushed out of the garage first with Micheal behind him.
As they disappeared down the road, the garage slowly sunk back down until it shut completely with a soft thud.
I took a deep breath, then forced myself back inside.
Lena and I sat on the couch watching Batman from Dom's projector screen, picked from what looked like an infinite collection of torrented movies on his computer. Andrea sat close by reading, playing guardian for the night. With the three gone and Lez having left before them to grab supplies, it was just us girls, except for Cassidy who was nowhere to be found, her car missing.
“Probably out on patrol tonight,” Andrea answered when I mentioned it.
It was quiet without the boys and with Emery gone my anxiety was at an all-time high. I sat there trying hard as I could not to let my mind go to a dark place, to not allow those images of Emery that had haunted me before to take over.
He was going to be okay. He had to be.
I squirmed in my seat, forcing myself not to get up and pace, to not look at the clock and count down each second.
Just a couple of hours.
“You’re really freaked about all this, aren’t you?” Lena said beside me.
“About what?” I asked without taking my eyes off the screen.
“What they plan to do. I wouldn’t blame you. Now that they're starting to take action, it didn’t seem real until now.”
I rolled my shoulders. “I’ve been through so much crazy shit it’s kind of numbed me out to be honest.”
“Yeah, no doubt.” Out of the corner of my eye, I caught her shaking her head. She paused, then added, “You didn’t deserve any of that. I’m still not feeling Emery—I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to understand him, let alone trust him. Not after what he did. And the others? They’re completely bonkers, bananas, fucked in the head. But somehow, all of this feels… I don’t know… right? Like, after everything they’ve been through, they deserve this.”
I looked over at her and felt a pang of guilt at not telling her that Emery wouldn’t be a part of it, and we were leaving them behind. But I was too afraid of anyone finding out. Something told me she’d understand in the end.
Leaning into her, I put my head on her shoulder. “I need to tell you. I plan on keeping it. The baby.”
She stiffened. I’d confessed to her sometime after I took the test that I was expecting, wanting at least one of my friends to know. She stiffened the same way then too. And I knew she was more than worried about me. “You’re not just doing it because Emery pressured you, are you?”
“No. He didn’t. It was my decision.”
“Are you sure you're ready for that?”
I laughed. “No. But I want us to have something normal, something bright, you know?”
“You really think a kid can do that?”
I frowned. “I don’t know. Not for sure. But I’m willing to try. I know Emery will be there every step of the way to help. And maybe we can make something good out of all this…ugly…ugly shit.”
“Just promise you won’t change. I hate to see you throw your life away.”
“I’ll still be me, I promise. It will be a fresh start for the both of us, a new life.”
Her shoulder lifted slightly, then sank back down. She rested her head against mine. “Jamie’s going to hate that you're staying with Emery, let alone having his kid. But if you're happy, and you're safe , which is just as important, then who am I to stop you?”
“You think he’d unfriend me?” I asked, trying to keep the worry out of my voice.
She snorted. “Nah. He’ll be pissed for sure. But he gets you’re kind of…well…fucked in the head too. He’ll just want you safe. Jamie knows you need him and me both.”
I smiled. “Thank you. I promise to stay in contact when we…”
“We what?”
“When we go away for a little while.”
She huffed. “You better call.”
We sat cuddled together, hardly watching the movie, and I calmed down enough in the moment to feel myself start to doze off.
Only a few hours…
I let myself sink a little deeper, let myself drift, hearing only the bangs and pops of the movie. Let myself feel Lena’s warmth against me.
Soon.
I heard Lena’s soft hiss of breath, which brought me out of half sleep. “Um, Lez, what are you doing?” she said.
I opened my eyes, confused. Blinking a few times, I looked up to see Leslie standing before us, blocking the screen. For whatever reason, he wore a police uniform and the clown mask from that night at the club.
“Um, can you move?” Lena asked.
Leslie didn’t respond. Andrea had stopped reading to watch him, her brows furrowed. “Lez?”
He bowed his head. With a slow, almost sluggish movement, he unholstered his gun. Gripping it tight, he kept it close to his side.
Lena shifted. “What the fuck are you—”
“I’m sorry,” he said.
We pulled away from each other and froze as he lifted the gun and aimed it toward me.
“Lez?” My blood went cold as I stared down the end of the gun.
Andrea shot up from her seat so fast it fell backward. She took a step toward us, then froze as well.
“Don’t move,” Cassidy said.
I dared to look over and saw Cass in her police attire, her gun aimed at Andrea. She moved into the room. “Sit down,” she ordered.
Andrea slowly righted her seat and sat back down, her face ashen. “Please, Cass, don’t do this.”
Cassidy aimed her gun over at me. “Get up.”
I didn’t move.
“I said get up!” she yelled.
I flinched but couldn’t bring my body to listen.
She gritted her teeth and lunged for me. She grabbed my arm and pulled me off the couch.
“What are you doing? Leave her alone!” Lena cried, reaching for me.
“Lez,” Cassidy snapped when Lena took hold of me. I cried out in pain as I swung my bad arm, trying to wrench Cassidy off.
Lez dropped his aim and came for Lena. She fought as he separated her from me, wrapping one arm around her waist and pulling her away.
“You asshole, let me go, let me go! Eve!” She struggled in his grip but he held her tight enough against him that her feet were off the ground.
Cassidy swung me around, making me stumble. “Let’s go. Don’t honestly think I won’t shoot you if you try anything. Move!”
Cassidy steered me toward the garage. I looked back at Lena who was still in Lez’s grip, her fists and elbows beating against him, but they did nothing.
As Lez was busy dealing with Lena and Cassidy had her back turned, Andrea bolted from her seat and rushed toward her room.
Lez aimed his gun past Lena’s head and fired.
A deafening bang shot out along with a bright light. Andrea went down a second later, falling on her face. Specks of blood splattered against the doorframe.
My ears rang and I felt everything slow down.
“Lez, leave her, let’s go!” Cassidy called, not missing a beat.
Lez pressed his mask up against Lena’s face as if he were saying something to her, but I couldn’t hear what it was. He put her back on the couch and left her, following Cassidy’s commands.
Lena dropped from the couch and tried to slide across the ground, but she was too slow. As I heard her scream my name, we were already out the door and into the garage. Cassidy pushed me into the back seat of her police cruiser and got in the driver seat while Lez got in the passenger.
I put my hand on the metal screen between us. No. No, why was this happening?
“Why are you doing this?” I cried.
They didn’t answer. Lez took off his mask and Cassidy started to back out of the garage.
“Why are you doing this? Answer me!” I pounded my fists on the metal screen. I tried the doors but they were locked. I beat my hands on the glass then tried to kick.
Cassidy stopped the car outside the garage and got out to handcuff me. I spit in her face and she wiped it away with little emotion. She got back in the car and shut the door.
“Where are you taking me? Tell me!”
As she put the car into drive and took off at an alarming speed, she only said one word.
“Severfalls.”