Chapter 4 #3
He lifts a shoulder. "Sounds like the perfect plan to me."
I smile sweetly at him. "Too bad it didn't work."
"Didn't it??" His lips peel back into a malicious grin. "You're outnumbered, and I'm not letting you go until I get some money." His gaze roves over my shoulder at something.
I peer behind me, thinking one of his guys has snuck up. But it's River.
Stupid, sweet guy.
Now, he fits the profile of a hero.
"Like I was going to let you do this alone," he says when I scowl at him.
"You'd better be ready to run," I whisper, causing his brows to furrow.
I don't have time to explain. I rotate back to Will.
"You remember how someone stole from your boss, and no one could figure out who it was?
You tried and tried to figure it out, but failed.
Well, here's a little incentive to chase me instead of them.
" Grinning, I back away, urging River to do the same.
"I know who stole the money and where it's hidden. All twenty thousand dollars of it."
Will's expression sharpens, his eyes narrowing as he snarls, "You're lying."
"Am I?" I bat my eyelashes innocently at him. "I mean, it's not like I know anyone who would steal from a drug lord." My tone oozes with sarcasm.
He glares at me because he knows what I'm referring to. My father has stolen from drug lords multiple times.
Here's the thing: Will could probably get more cash from River in return for letting us go. But the bait I set up is more than just about money. It's about power and credit, which Will hasn't had since the incident.
Will points the knife at me. "Your father took that money?" he growls out, his face red.
I honestly don't know if he did. But my father—the man I spent most of my life believing to be my father anyway—has a tarnished reputation, so all it takes is a grin from me for Will to take the bait.
I start running backwards, and River follows suit as Will charges at us.
"Get them!" he yells at his crew, his voice roaring with rage.
"It's time for us to use our running skills," I tell River, hoping his stitches won't rip open.
He shouldn't have stayed behind. I had it handled, but I am touched he did, even if I now have to worry about him injuring himself.
Both of us spin around and run. Footsteps barrel after us, along with shouting.
"Can you sprint?" I ask River as we veer around a corner, heading deeper into the murky, run-down shadows of the city.
River nods, and we quicken our pace, sprinting across the street and heading for a cluster of two-story homes that are worn out enough to be condemned, but aren't. Music is flowing through the air as the noise of parties going on fills the streets.
People are loitering outside on front lawns and near cars parked.
I grab River's hand as I tug us toward the closet house.
"What're we doing?" he whispers as I steer us into a crowd crowding around two guys fighting in a gravel driveway.
"Blending in," I whisper as I slow to a powerwalk. I throw a glance over my shoulder. Will and his crew are a ways back, so I quicken my pace and let the crowd swallow us.
"Fight! Fight! Fight!" people are chanting as I steer us through the mob.
River's other hand finds my waist, and he skims his finger along the sliver of flesh peeking out from between the hem of my shirt and the waistband of my jeans. It brings me a drop of comfort, but I remain on edge as we brink through the last of the crowd and hightail it toward the river.
Gravel crunches under our boots as we make our way down the shoreline with nothing but the glow of the moonlight to light up our way. The space between the edge of the river and the bushes beside us is narrow, and occasionally, my shoes end up in water.
River stays near me the entire way with his arm curled around my waist and his chest pressed against my back.
"Where are we going?" he finally whispers when we're far away enough from civilization that the only noise is from the swishing of the water flowing over the rocks.
Mud and water seep through my shoes as I accelerate my pace, swinging around the branches of trees.
"There's an overpass right up here," I explain, hoping that Will didn't see where River and I went. "Finn can pick us up from there. Just ping him our location."
"Okay, I'll give him a heads-up now. Plus, I want to make sure they made it to the car safely," he whispers as he removes his arm from my waist to get his phone out of his pocket.
We keep hiking up the shoreline as he sends Finn a message, and I cross my fingers that we're going the right way.
"He's already sent me like ten messages," River mumbles. "Wondering where the hell we are."
Branches snap under my feet as I climb up a shallow incline. "Are they okay?"
"Yeah, they made it to the car. He says he's parked in a grocery store parking lot." The glow of his phone is making me nervous that if someone is close by, we'll be seen.
Thankfully, he puts it away fairly quickly. "They're just waiting for us to send them the exact location."
"Okay, good." My foot slips in the mud, but River steadies me by placing my hands on my hips.
Once I make it up the incline, the trees and bushes thing and the glimmer of the city lights are bright enough that I can spot the overpass in the distance.
River and I jog toward it. Once we arrive, my nerves skyrocket.
"There's nowhere to hide," River notes my worry aloud.
"Hurry and ping Finn our location." I hug my arms around myself as I scan the sidewalk for shelter for us to duck behind.
A row of trash cans is across the street next to a dumpy motel. I take River's hand and pull him with me as I cross the street, clumps of mud falling off my shoes. It's like a trail right to where we're hiding, but there's nothing I can do except hope Finn gets here quickly.
River and I hunker down behind the garbage cans and wait.
"Did he say how far away he is?" I whisper as I peer around.
A dog barks from somewhere, and someone shouts at it.
"He's only a few miles away.” River gives an edgy glance at the motel behind us.
We're crouched down low, facing each other, and the light of a lamppost is spotlighting down on us. It's not ideal, but the only alternative is to walk somewhere else, and that's too risky.
"Do you think Will and those guys are still looking for us?" He shifts and sits down.
I nod, sitting down on the gravel, too. "After what I told them, they definitely are."
"Was that true?"
"Could be. But I don't know for sure. I just knew if I said it, Will would go after me so he could get his street cred back.
Speaking of which…" I lightly shove his shoulder.
"Why did you come back for me? I could've handled it.
And you're not even supposed to be running. What if you popped a stitch?"
His gaze is more intense than the beam of light above us. "Like I'd just leave you. I care about you. I'm not going to bail on you."
His words make me squirm. He's so nice, and I'm not used to it.
"And I didn't pop a stitch." He extends his hand toward me and brushes his thumb along my jawline. "How's your head?"
"Fine," I murmur as I struggle to process the emotions flooding me.
I've always been in this alone.
And now I'm not.
And it's almost as frightening as being alone.
Because alone is familiar.
And familiar, even crappy familiarity, is easier to process than the unknown.
"Are you sure?" His fingers continue to explore my face.
All I can do is nod. And think about kissing him.
But that thought hastily dissolves at the sound of a deafening engine.
"That's probably Finn," River says as he carefully pushes up and peeks over the trash cans.
I hold my breath and prepare to dig out my taser, just in case.
"Thank god," River breathes out, some tension evaporating from his muscles.
Taking my hand, he effortlessly pulls me to my feet.
Parking in front of the curb is Finn's sleek car with an engine that is too deafening to bring me comfort.
The headlights are on, lighting up the dark night-kissed street, and the windows are so tinted that no one inside is visible.
The driver's-side door opens, and Finn hops out, worry etching his features.
"Are you guys okay?" he asks as River and I jog toward him.
"Yeah, just get us out of here," River tells him as he hurries around the front of the car.
Finn climbs back in while River signals for me to hop into the backseat with Noah and Lily. I'm about to duck in when a shout echoes across the air.
"Don't you fucking dare take off!" Will yells.
River's and mine's attention darts across the street. Will is standing with his crew, rage is pouring off of him, and he's still holding the knife. Our eyes briefly lock, and then I ungracefully dive into the backseat. Stupidly, I end up kneeing Noah in the stomach.
"Are you okay?" I sputter as I sit down.
He nods, his face contorted in pain.
"I'm sorry," I tell him as River climbs into the passenger seat.
"Go!" River shouts at Finn as he moves to shut the door.
Right before it closes, Will yells one final thing that sends enough adrenaline through my body that I almost jump out of the car.
"Hey, Maddy! How's your aunt Ellie? I heard she just up and left you! Or did she?" His voice pierces the air like a needle through flesh. “If you want to find her, I can help you.”
I stiffen and then shove at the back seat. "Let me out."
But Finn is already peeling away, taking me with him and leaving a potential answer behind.