Chapter 3
Chapter Three
It was more than Kennedy expected as she looked around the small storeroom.
A small loveseat was tucked against the far wall, with a few tattered blankets laying across the arm.
“This must be where they take breaks.” Shuffling over to the sofa, Kennedy dropped down onto the lumpy piece of furniture.
Letting out a sigh, she reached down and gently tugged off her shoes.
Blisters covered her heels and toes. Her legs were covered in cuts and scratches.
Shrugging out of her ruined jacket, her shoulder burned as her blouse pulled at her skin.
Glancing at the area, Kennedy saw her blouse was covered in dried blood.
Moving the fabric aside only tugged more at the skin it was stuck to, causing her to wince.
Covering her face with both hands, Kennedy cried silently.
She’d learned how to swallow her emotions when she was little.
Her stepfather’s words shouted in her head.
Crying won’t get you anywhere or anything.
Resting her head back, Kennedy wondered how in the holy hell she’d gotten into this mess. Oh yeah, she mistakenly thought she forgot her phone at work and went back for it. That was the precise moment everything went down the toilet.
She’d been running ever since.
Two days ago . . .
Needing to buy herself some time, Kennedy drove through the city and managed to find the restaurant. Sitting in the parking lot, she gave herself a moment to decide what she needed to do. Run, that little voice screamed in her head. Her boss had too many prominent friends to go to the police.
Looking around the crowded parking lot, she climbed out of the vintage car and locked it. Wrapping her winter coat tightly around her body, she took off on foot. If Mr. Angelini or his thugs came looking, they’d see the car parked in the lot and she hoped it would give her time to get home.
She ran eight blocks, zigzagging through crowds of people and happy shoppers. She cut down side streets and back alleys, not wanting to be seen on a main road. The entire way, she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket.
When she stopped to catch her breath, she pulled it out. Standing on a dark corner on a side street, the screen lit up her face. The message came across from her boss.
Mr. Angelini: Kennedy, I could really use your help. Could you come back to the office after your date?
Hell no! With the message glaring at her, Kennedy knew they were onto her.
Taking off, she ran another block before answering the message.
Kennedy: Can I come in tomorrow?
Mr. Angelini: Of course.
Shutting off the phone, she put it away and ran the last three blocks home, tripping over a curb and landing on a knee. Shoving off the ground, she barely looked at the large scrape that covered the area before running into her apartment building.
Climbing the stairs, her knee throbbed and burned. Kennedy wished the damn place had an elevator so she wouldn’t have to run up three flights of stairs, but living in the older part of town didn’t grant you luxury. It granted you lower rent.
Once at her door, she looked around before opening it and entered quietly.
Closing the door just as quietly, she moved through the apartment without turning on any lights.
When she was sure no one was hiding in wait, she rushed into her closet and grabbed the go bag she kept there.
Looking around, she didn’t have a lot of time to pack anything else.
Dino and Chuckie could have figured out she wasn’t at the restaurant by now.
Grabbing the cash she kept taped to the back of a wall decoration, Kennedy headed for the kitchen for a bottle of water.
She barely had the bottle to her lips when she heard male voices coming up the stairs.
“Shit.” Setting the bottle down, she pulled the backpack on and headed back to her bedroom.
Closing the bedroom door, she went to the window and opened it.
Crawling out onto the fire escape, she closed the window and made her way down the ladder, one rung at a time.
On the second-floor landing, she saw her downstairs neighbour trying on his wife’s dress.
To each their own, she thought as she made her way down the next ladder.
Dropping to the ground, her knee buckled slightly, causing her to almost hit the pavement a second time.
She dashed down the alley, only to be spotted.
She heard one of the men yell her name, and as she glanced back, she heard a shot ring out.
Instantly, Kennedy felt something impact the top of her shoulder. Reaching up, she grabbed the area as a burning pain told her she’d been hit. How bad, she didn’t know and didn’t have time to check. Blood covered her hand when she pulled it away.
Another shot rang out, hitting the ground close to her, sending debris against her bare leg. Terrified, she made her way to her parked car. Hitting the unlock button on the door, she jumped in, fired it up, and slammed it into gear.
She mistakenly thought she’d be safe driving. She only stopped long enough for gas and to pee until she got to Provo, Utah.
Foolishly, she thought she could walk around to stretch her legs for an hour.
Maybe purchase some clothes and medical supplies for her shoulder.
Maybe grab a hotel room for the night. Standing inside a store, trying to purchase clothes and a phone charger, Kennedy looked out the shop window.
To her horror, she saw Dino and Chuckie by her car in the parking mall across the street.
Leaving everything on the counter, she ran through the store and found a back exit.
She ran until she saw a cab, and from there, she went to the bus station and bought a ticket for the next bus leaving.
Thankfully, one was about to pull out. She didn’t care where it was headed as long as it got her out of there.
That bus ride landed her in Casper, Wyoming.
She’d barely gotten in line for another ticket when she spotted a blacked-out Town Car like the one her boss drove pull into the parking lot.
Glancing at her phone, she saw it was about die.
She didn’t have enough battery to call for help, and no one in the bus terminal looked like they’d get involved.
Running out a side door, she saw a bus being loaded.
She waited until the driver stepped off and was checking the luggage compartment doors to climb on board.
Making her way to the back of the bus, she ducked down between the last seat and the bathroom.
She knew how to hide and could stay tucked away until the next stop.
Glancing at her phone, she watched as it went dark.
Five hours later, she stepped off the bus in Rapid City and started walking.
She didn’t know how far she walked when she tripped and fell in high grass.
Sitting there, she looked around, realizing she wasn’t in the city anymore.
She somehow had walked herself right out into the middle of nowhere.
If it hadn’t been for a nice older couple picking her up, she’d still be out there alone.
They dropped her off in Hill City, where she spent the rest of the night and most of the morning walking the streets until she saw the diner’s lights come on.
Now, sitting in the small storeroom of the diner, she knew where she’d made her mistake.
She had been using her credit card, and they had to have been tracking her purchases as she made them.
It wasn’t hard to think her boss had that kind of pull.
After all, he seemed to be more than just an accountant.
If Dino and Chuckie didn’t find her, it would only prove her right because she hadn’t bought anything since the ticket in Provo.
Her last hope was the man her brother was sending to get her.
She wasn’t surprised Stephen hadn’t dropped everything to come for her.
After all, he’d lied when she was five, telling her he’d come back for her then, so why would he show up now?
Pulling one of the blankets over her, Kennedy lay down on the sofa.
She was too damn tired to care if they found her.
Too tired of running. The last forty-eight hours had reminded her she’d been running her whole damn life, literally and figuratively.