AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Dante scoops the phone off the table and pauses with that I’m about to give you orders look in his eyes. He’s always been responsible for us, ever since we were children. When I beat up a kid on the playground at school, it was always Dante who sweet-talked him out of telling on me. When Elijah and I went on missions alone, it was always Dante who stuffed an extra clip of ammo into our side packs while we weren’t looking. I think I might miss it.
“We’ll be careful.” I smile.
“I know,” he says.
I stand up from the table and move to wrap my arms around him. He returns the embrace, wincing at my strong squeeze.
“Take care of each other,” he says.
I pull back and look between him and Lucy. “Ditto.”
Elijah slides in. “Please, stop letting Lucy hurt herself…” He scolds him with a smile. “My medkit is only so big.”
“I would if I could,” Dante says, staring daggers at Lucy’s devious face.
She laughs and shrugs her little shoulders. “I’ll try and behave.”
“Liar,” he says.
I offer Lucy a hug and I lean close to whisper in her ear. “Give him hell, girlfriend.”
“Oh, I will.”
We chuckle and I move away to allow Elijah to give her wrist a final perfectionist tweak before heading for the door.
I stand for a moment in the living room, glancing around at the house I grew up in. Coming and going from this place has always been bittersweet. I feel the need to stand and memorize every detail because any time could be the last time I see it.
Sure, things are different now. Snake Eyes is gone. We’ve barely heard anything from them since February. There are no more missions. No more bullets to be dodged or stitches to tear loose.
There’s just life.
I’ve never felt so unsure. So utterly directionless.
Elijah nudges my arm on the porch. “Ready?”
I exhale the breath I’m holding and reach into my bag for the keys to my bike. “As I’ll ever be.”
A cool wind eases through the trees around us, combating the early summer warmth lingering in the air. My spine tingles, but after taking several steps toward my motorcycle in the driveway, I realize that it’s not the weather giving me goosebumps.
I spin around and scan the woods for watching eyes.
We’re not alone here.
“Lilah?” Elijah glances at me from his bike. “You forget something?”
I shake my head, taking my time looking from one tree to the next but I see nothing out of the ordinary no matter how many times I check.
Finally, I give up. We’re five miles from any semblance of civilization. Maybe I need a vacation more than I thought I did.
“No,” I answer, securing my duffel bag to my bike. “I’m good.”
I pull my helmet on and turn the keys in the ignition, feeling my bike purr with life beneath me.
Chapter 3
Archer
Well, that was close.
