Chapter 23
Mason
The sun had barely risen when I opened my eyes.
The previous night came back quickly, the bad overshadowing the good.
We were in danger. They were close to him.
They were ready to finish it. Chris thought they were just trying to frame Elijah, but I had no doubt he would be the final victim.
He would be framed as the killer, he would die, and they would be free. I had to get him out of here.
I lifted my head since he was still sleeping beside me.
His cat was standing at the foot of the bed, and she was staring at the doorway.
I hadn’t shut the door when we went back to bed, but the doorway appeared empty.
The house was still shrouded in shadows, but it was light enough that I could see.
I looked harder but still saw nothing unusual.
She suddenly jumped off the bed and the small movement woke Elijah.
He rubbed his eyes and looked at me. “What time is it?” he mumbled.
I shrugged. “I don’t know, it’s early.” I hoped he wasn’t too hungover.
“Do you need more water?” I asked him, seeing that his bottle was empty.
“We need to talk. We have to figure out our next move.” He shook his head and sat up, looking at me, so I went on.
“Chris thinks we need to leave for a bit. I know I didn’t want to run, but I’m starting to think he might be right. Just for a little while.”
Elijah bristled slightly at my words, and it seemed to be when I mentioned Chris.
I wasn’t sure what to make of it, but I said, “Look, I trust Chris. But I’m not worried about the same thing he is.
He’s worried about you going to jail, but you know what I’m worried about.
Hell, you have dreams about it. It’s not the jail part that makes me want to run.
They’re getting sloppy, and that means they’re almost finished.
I have a friend in Chicago. His place is secure, and he’s armed.
He’s a cop. I can work on it from there while Chris is working here.
You won’t be left alone without one of us.
I have to keep you safe, Elijah, I have to.
” I looked at him imploringly. I needed him to know how much was at stake for me.
“But Enyo,” he said weakly. “And my job.”
I gripped his shoulder. “None of it matters if you aren’t here. Your job will still be here when everything comes to light. We can bring Enyo. Miller won’t mind. I can’t lose you, Elijah. Please.”
He was still hesitating when my phone buzzed on the nightstand. I grabbed it. It was a text from Chris. Are you guys still at Elijah’s? They want to question him. I’m doing my best, but I need you to get the fuck out of here.
I showed Elijah the text. There was something in those crystal eyes I could almost read.
It felt a little like distrust, but I didn’t understand where it was coming from.
“Let’s pack you some clothes. We’ll run to my mom’s, I’ll grab a few more of my things, give an abridged explanation about why I’m leaving with Dad’s gun, and we’ll head out. ”
He looked into my eyes for a long time but finally said, “Okay. I need a shower.” I did too, because we were both kind of gross from the previous night, so we took a quick shower together with no fooling around. He was packing toiletries when I headed into his bedroom to grab my stuff.
I went to grab the lube from the drawer because that was a necessity in my eyes.
Miller could deal with it if we got loud.
That’s where I found the notebook, and it was open.
The first sentence made me wrinkle my brow, and it was the only reason I grabbed it.
I still wasn’t quite sure what I was reading.
This is where it ends.
He can’t protect you. There are two. They are coming. They are here. Listen for them.
The ending is unavoidable but other things can be stopped.
Everyone is important when it comes to fate. Your own is set but it can affect others.
Run for the place you love. She was sent for the time. Your sacrifice won’t be in vain. The breath of life can be taken, but new life can bloom.
You can’t stop fate. Death is coming.
“What are you doing?” I jumped at his voice, caught red-handed. I was pretty sure the notebook had never been in there before.
I replaced it and turned around. “Uh . . .”
He rolled his eyes. “My dreams,” he sighed.
“Or visions, or whatever, because some were when I was awake. At least, I seemed to be awake. I tried to write last night’s too, but I was too tired and still drunk.
Just . . . now you know why I’m always so fucking confused.
” He looked frustrated at his own confusion, but ignored the fact I was snooping.
He turned and started packing his clothes.
While he packed, I rummaged around his kitchen for some food to bring so we could limit our stops.
I found some trail mix and granola bars, grabbed some bottled water, and threw it all in a bag.
Elijah came out with his backpack full of clothes and necessities and grabbed some cat food.
We took everything out to my car and headed back inside to grab my duffel bag and get Enyo in her carrier.
I’d call Miller on the way. He’d be okay with it.
We wouldn’t overstay our welcome. I just needed to get Elijah to safety so I could focus.
As soon as Elijah opened the front door to go back in, that damn cat darted out between his legs and ran like a flash around the corner of the house. “Enyo, no!” he cried, and I immediately knew we were screwed. He ran after her and I ran after him.
I caught up to him at the edge of the woods she’d disappeared into and grabbed his arm. He turned to me with tears in his eyes. “She’s never run out!” he cried. “Never! Why today? Why now of all times?”
I pulled at him. “Please. We have to go.”
“I can’t just leave her out here! Do you know how many wild animals are out here? And the road . . .”
I scrambled to come up with a compromise that would also get Elijah the hell away from whoever wanted him dead. “Okay,” I said. “Let’s go to my parents’ place, get the rest of my stuff, and you can leave her food and litter out back. We’ll come back on the way out to look for her, okay?”
“Okay. But I’m not leaving town until I find her,” he said, jutting his chin out stubbornly.
“Fine,” I said. “Let’s just get all the way ready to get the fuck out of here.” I’d worry about talking him into leaving when it was time. If we didn’t find her right away, I’d handcuff him again if I had to. I had to keep him safe. His friends could come find Enyo while we were hiding in Chicago.
He conceded and we headed to my car. I was hoping my car wouldn’t get pulled over for the same reason I knew his would. Hopefully, if I avoided town and went in the back way, no one would notice us.
We were about halfway to my parents’ house when there was a thump and my car veered to the right. “What the fuck now?” I muttered, pulling over and opening my door.
Elijah looked at me, eyes wild. “It’s the universe,” he whispered. “It’s happening.”
“Stop it,” I demanded, even though the entire morning had been working against us, and it got even worse when I saw that the tire was flat, a huge gash that was beyond repair. Fuck.
Elijah was getting out of the car. “What is it?”
“It’s okay,” I said, but his face paled as he looked at the tire. “It’s going to be okay,” I repeated more firmly. “Let me just call—” But then I heard a car coming, and I wasn’t sure if I should stay calm or grab Elijah and run into the woods to hide him.
I moved to grab the gun that I’d stupidly put in the trunk with the rest of our stuff, but when the car came around the curve, it was a police cruiser.
I still wasn’t sure of my best option, but I didn’t want to pull a gun on a cop who didn’t know me.
The car pulled up next to us and when the window rolled down I let out a relieved breath when I realized it was Chris.
He’d been headed in the direction of Elijah’s house, and I realized I hadn’t replied to his text.
“Dammit,” he cried, “What are you guys doing here? I told you to fucking hide.”
“Well we’re trying to get out of here,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “But we’re having some problems this morning.”
Chris sighed and looked at me, like I was to blame. “What the hell did you do?” he demanded, putting his car in park right in the road and getting out. He let out an annoyed sigh when he saw the tire on the front passenger side. “What happened?” he demanded, looking at me again.
I shrugged. I hadn’t seen anything in the road. Looking back didn’t give me any clues either; I saw nothing. “You have a spare?” Chris asked me, rolling up his sleeves.
I scoffed. “Of course I do,” I said, opening my trunk. I was just pissed we’d been slowed down, again. When I opened the tire well, though, it was empty. “What the actual fuck?” I said aloud, staring at the space like a tire might appear.
Chris stopped next to me. “Did you use it and forget to put it back?” he asked in that same accusatory tone.
I looked at him. “No. I’ve never had to. I bought this car new. There’s no way there wasn’t a spare in there.”