Chapter 33
CHAPTER
THIRTY-THREE
WES
Raptor shoved me toward Pick and Lindy. “Help her get Pick in the cabin.”
Crouching down, I curled my hands in Pick’s jacket.
“Wes…” Lindy’s raw whisper crackled in the air between us. A plea, a prayer.
Keeping my focus on Pick, I said, “You’ve got to run, Lindy.”
Her hand slid around her dad’s arm. We were both making a show of helping Pick stand up. “I can’t leave you.”
“You got to.”
“It’s not worth?—”
“You’re worth everything,” fell from my lips, from my heart, my soul.
“Wes, I?—”
“Stop yapping and move!” Raptor’s voice boomed.
We got Pick on his feet and he leaned his weight on me.
Raptor pointed the gun at Lindy. “You—grab the backpack and stay put out here. Don’t you dare fucking move. There’s nothing and nobody around here for miles.” Wincing, he shoved his gun in his waist. His shirt was seeped with blood down his arm. He tracked over to Minty and on a grunt hauled him into the house by his arms as if he were a heavy sack of garbage. “Let’s go, Junior!”
Holding onto Pick, I glanced back at Lindy. One last time. She stood tall and stiff as a soldier on watch, my backpack clutched in her embrace. I lifted my chin at her. Run.
Pick and I hobbled toward the small house. Images raced through my brain…
Mom’s wicked laugh.
Lindy’s sensational smile lighting up her pretty face when we first met. “Hey, you.”
Butler yelling my name as my bike spun out.
Dad next to me as I got ready for a race, my palms sweaty in my gloves. “You got this, Flash. All you gotta do is feel it and fly like you always do. Just like we do together on the road. We fly, don’t we?”
And I’d always respond with: “Yeah, Dad, we fly.” And that exchange, along with the weight of his heavy big hand on my shoulder, would kick away any tension. The track would clear. My focus would sharpen once more.
The past few years I sure hadn’t lived up to Dad’s nickname for me. Put everything on hold, put the brakes on everything that mattered. Shut it down.
Then Lindy appeared in Meager, blazing in the sunlight on that sidewalk, and I’d blinked in the fierce and dazzling brilliance of her.
The blinders got ripped off. Everything got tossed up in the air and landed different, felt worse and better, because I was feeling. Suddenly there was so much to fight for, breathe for. So much that was sacred. So fucking much to live for.
So fucking much to love.
In the smoke-filled darkness, Raptor tore Pick from my grip and shoved him to the wall, where Minty was crumpled on the floor. His fierce gaze on mine, Pick struggled to stay on his feet. Raptor clawed at my jacket and pulled me, my back slamming against his chest. I willed my muscles to relax. A sense of heightened calm seeped through me that I knew wasn’t only adrenaline.
Purpose.
From behind me, his heavy breaths filled my ears as he wrapped an arm around my chest. “Say hi to Daddy for me.” His free arm swung out.
Bringing my hands together, I bashed my fist against his injured shoulder. He hollered, his grip on me releasing. I darted forward, but he grabbed me by the arm, pulling me back in. Suddenly, a roar rang out and Pick surged in the darkness, thrusting his weight on Raptor like a football defensive end. Minty was at our feet, pummeling his fists on Raptor’s legs.
I twisted out of the way, but a fiery sting tore down my jaw, skidded over my chest, and I shouted out. He’d cut me. I clutched at Raptor’s wrist and twisted his arm with all my body weight, yet he still wouldn’t let go of the fucking knife. His blood seeped over my hands.
Chaotic punches and curses flew in the darkness. I held on, and my teeth clamped down on his thick hand. Red light flashed around us, fresh smoke filling the cabin, throttling my lungs. The blade finally clattered to the floor, and Minty grabbed it and jammed it into Raptor’s leg. A vicious tornado of grunts and punches and curses. Raptor got hold of his knife again.
Heat and flames crackled and fizzed around us. The house was on fire. This was it. The end of the world. And we were all going to Hell together.
A fist jammed the side of my face, and my head swung, my vision darkened, my jaw slackened. Everything tilted and hung on a thread.
Raptor’s wide hand found my throat and he pulled me close. His eyes, red and monstrous, gleamed at me through the haze. The medieval assassin. Fuck you.
You got this, Flash.
Raptor twisted back under Pick’s assault, and my hands raked down his torso. There. My sweaty fingers clamped over the butt of a gun. My gun. I yanked it back. Pick collapsed, and a fierce sting ripped down my side. My body seized. Raptor’s blade had gashed me. My grip on the gun loosened.
Fly!
Gritting my teeth, I willed myself to stay upright. My knee shot up between his legs, and Raptor fumbled. Pain throttled through my chest, I couldn’t breathe. I leaned in. One last time.
An explosion rang in my ears.
My body stilled.
Fly.