Deviation (29 page)

We make it to the street, but my relief is short-lived. We’re on the opposite side of the building from where Obadiah is supposed to be waiting.

I look around and wipe my sweaty palms on my dress. Linc is beside me, scanning the area warily.

“That completes my leg of the tour,” Daniel says in a hushed voice laced with exhaustion. He looks at Linc with heavy lids ringed in circles. He’s cradling his injured arm to his chest. “Now what?”

“This way.” Linc slips his hand. We make our way toward the main road at the front of the alley. Before we reach it, Linc leads us left into another side-alley.

Too narrow for a car, this one is no more than a footpath. We weave back and forth, dodging puddles of something that’s not water. I wrinkle my nose at the smell. Trash lines both sides until I have no choice but to walk through the puddles. I hesitate, wishing hard for shoes even if it means neck-breaking heels.

“Here,” Linc says, scooping me up and carrying me amid my protests.

“I can walk, Linc,” I say, feeling silly at the way Daniel watches me in Linc’s arms.

Linc glances down at me with a tender expression. “I know,” he says quietly before switching back to the path ahead.

I don’t argue again.

Linc keeps to the shadows against the wall of the building behind us. He moves slowly, careful of his steps. Behind us, Daniel is winded and sluggish. It’s clear he won’t make it much longer. I listen for footsteps or any other noise behind us but there’s nothing.

The path opens up and I recognize where we are. To my right is the side entrance Titus always uses when he wants to arrive under the radar. A mint green, boat-sized sedan idles at the curb. Its exhaust sends a cloud of whiteish smoke into our faces. The back windshield is foggy, making it impossible to see inside. I feel the first hint of victory and it makes me want to run.

Linc sets me down and I immediately move for the car.

“Wait,” Linc calls but it’s too late.

The moment I step out into the open, a shot rings out. I drop to the pavement. Nothing hurts yet but I know from experience that doesn’t mean I’m not injured. I roll to the side and brace myself for the pain that must be so bad it’s delayed its arrival to my brain. The blood on my arm is a startling and paralyzing sight until I remember it’s been there all along.

Hands catch me and stop me from rolling. Linc lifts me up and we all retreat back into the shadows. Daniel’s hands are on my feet and legs, moving steadily upward. “Where’s she hit? I can’t see blood,” Daniel whispers.

“I think he missed,” I manage to say.

“Get your hands off her,” Linc says through gritted teeth. He sounds desperate, on the verge of rage. I look up at him but he’s staring at Daniel in a way that leaves no room to notice anything else.

I pull his head down to mine. “I’m okay,” I say, holding his gaze until I can see my words sink in. “Okay?” I add.

He blows out a heavy breath. His eyes clear. “Okay,” he says.

“Can I stand now?” I ask.

“Don’t go anywhere.” He sets me on my feet and positions himself in front of me. I crane my neck to see around him but the alley looks empty. “You think it’s Emile?” I whisper.

“Most likely,” Linc says. He exchanges a look with Daniel. “If it were anyone else …”

“What?” I say.

Daniel finishes, “They wouldn’t have missed. And they wouldn’t have fired just once.”

I try not to think about that. “Well, we can’t just stay here all night. Obadiah’s out there. We can’t let Emile get him.”

“We need a weapon.”

Linc reaches around his back and brandishes the gun he swiped from Taylor. “We’re going now,” he says. His tone leaves no room for arguing—or doubt. “I’ll cover you both. When I say, I want you to run for the car. Don’t stop no matter what.” He looks at me, his chin jutting out and I know I won’t like whatever he’s about to say. “As soon as you’re in, tell Obadiah to go.”

“We’re not leaving without you,” I say.

“You will if I don’t make it to that car.” Linc looks at Daniel, his jaw and shoulders set. “If I don’t make it, take her away from here.”

Daniel nods. “You got it.”

“Linc, I’m not—”

“Go.” Daniel leaps out and begins to run. I don’t move.

Linc shoves me roughly. “Go!” he repeats.

The moment I step away, a shot rings out. Linc shoves me aside, aiming in the direction the shot came from. I don’t know if he can see Emile from here, and I can’t afford to stand here any longer to prove my point.

I run.

Daniel reaches the car first. He yanks the back passenger door open and dives in.

I hear another shot behind me. It sounds closer. I’m fairly certain it came from Linc’s gun but I can’t stop to look. Not yet.

My pulse pounds in my ears. Only a few more steps. I reach the car, but instead of diving in after Daniel, I stop and wedge myself in behind the door. Using it as a shield, I scan the alley for Linc.

He’s not far away but he’s not moving in this direction. Panic rises. He’s stalking along the wall, keeping to the shadows, creeping toward the back of the alley. I don’t see Emile but Linc seems focused on something only he can see.

Beside me, the window rolls down a few inches. “What the hell are you waiting for?” Obadiah hisses at me. “Get in here.”

I can’t tear my eyes from Linc. No more shots have been fired. I try to count how many bullets he’s used and how many he might have left. “I can’t leave without him.”

Obadiah makes a noise of frustration and smacks the oversized steering wheel with both hands.

Across the alley, Linc goes still and then abruptly, he darts forward. A shot rings out. I bite back the urge to scream his name, but a small whimper escapes. Linc makes it to the far wall and fades into the shadows.

“Holy mother,” Obadiah mutters from the driver’s seat. “I’m going to faint.”

“We have to get him,” I say, my eyes still glued to the alley.

I can’t see Linc anymore. My pulse speeds.

Obadiah swears again. From the backseat, Daniel lets loose with his own curse.

“Get in then,” Obadiah growls.

“Obadiah, I can’t—”

“We’re not leaving him, I promise,” Obadiah says, his voice rising. “Now, get in.”

I open the door and climb in next to Obadiah. Daniel pulls his own door shut with a soft click. “All right. Buckle up, everyone,” Obadiah says.

“What are you going to do?” I ask.

Obadiah’s mouth is set in a hard line that would’ve made him look tough if not for the heavy eyeliner ringing his lids. “We’re doing what you said. We’re getting Linc. Now hold on. My brakes are kind of touchy.”

Obadiah puts the car in gear and slams his foot onto the gas.

For a second, the tires spin and we don’t move. Then, they catch and the car shoots backward with a screech. Exhaust blows back against the window and I can’t see anything but foggy darkness as we hurtle into reverse. The car fishtails side to side as we shoot past the place I last saw Linc.

I would scream if any sound could escape my closed throat.

Obadiah gives up on his rearview and stares intently at his side mirror. Without warning, he takes his foot off the gas and slams it against the brake. The car skids and then I am thrown forward against the seat belt.

There’s a heavy
thunk
and then we lurch to a complete stop.

“What was that?” I ask.

“Shit. We hit something,” Obadiah says.

“Or someone,” Daniel adds.

Outside my window, a form materializes through the cloud of exhaust. It moves steadily closer, smoke and steam pluming around it, until I recognize the figure.

“Linc!” I wrench my door open and throw myself at him. He catches me easily and pushes me back toward the car. “Are you all right?” I ask.

“I’m good.” We wedge into the front passenger seat together. I’m half on his lap and half on the emergency brake. He yanks the door shut behind him. “Let’s go.”

Obadiah doesn’t need to be told twice. He stomps the gas and we shoot down the alley. I bounce and sway as he swings into traffic and accelerates. Linc’s arms slide around me and pull me more securely onto his lap.

“What did we hit?” I ask.

“Emile,” Linc says.

“You’re welcome,” Obadiah says with a whoop as we turn right and meld into downtown traffic. “Geez, I thought you guys were done for. What took you so long?”

I let myself relax against Linc’s chest as I listen to him tell Obadiah what happened with Taylor. Obadiah’s eyes bulge but that’s the extent of his shock. “Well, yeah, I mean, it’s Taylor,” is all he says before letting Linc continue.

The bass in Linc’s voice vibrates from his chest to my back. It would be comforting if not for the never-ending supply of panic shooting through me. One guy. We defeated one guy. Titus said everything I accomplish is because he let it happen. A ball of dread forms in my stomach.

“He never showed?” Obadiah asks Linc. “You don’t think that’s odd given he told Taylor they were on their way?”

“I do,” Linc agrees. “The whole thing was too damn easy. But we have to see it through. We can’t afford to go back now.”

“I’m not saying go back. But I think you’re right about the easy part,” Obadiah says. “He always has something up his sleeve.”

It’s too close to what I’m thinking and an image of Ida on a metal table threatens to crumble my defenses against the panic churning my insides. He’s right. Titus always has something up his sleeve. Who will he kill when he realizes he failed to kill me?

In the backseat, Daniel is quiet and unmoving. His head is tipped back, leaning against the seat. His arm is still bleeding, though not as heavily. His pants are stained with it where he’s pressed it there to apply pressure. His chest rises and falls in a rhythm far too slow to be healthy. I know he has a long road to recover from what Titus has done to him.

We navigate across town. The money slowly evaporates and gives way to forgotten warehouses and low-income housing. I recognize this street as the back way to the safe house. But this isn’t where we park. It’s too exposed. Too easy to spot.

“Why are we stopped?” I ask.

No one answers. I look over at Obadiah but his gaze is fixed on the horizon. I follow the path of his eyes but all I see are nondescript, abandoned buildings.

A glance into the back shows Daniel slumped against the seat. His eyes are dark against the circles of exhaustion ringing them. He’s awake, but barely.

Linc stiffens underneath me and I sit up, already searching for a threat. I open my mouth to ask again, but Linc interrupts. “Get closer,” he says. The bass in his voice is deeper. He’s stressed.

I face forward again, still searching. Like before, I see nothing but buildings. A plume of smoke rises in the distance. I dismiss it as steam or exhaust billowing from a factory but then realize in all my trips here, I’ve never seen smoke like that before.

Obadiah presses lightly on the gas and the car rocks forward. We turn left and then right again, a block closer now. The smoke is much thicker here. Just above the building in front of us, I see pieces of what looks like ash raining down from the tips of the smoke pluming upward. They fall onto the rooftop of the abandoned office building obscuring our view.