Safely on the other side of the road, I slammed on the brakes, skidding to a stop beside Tallus’s car, only to realize he was no longer in it.
“Tallus?” I shouted, registering heavy breathing coming from his end of the line. “Where the fuck are you?”
“I… told you.” He panted and gasped. “I’m… on it.” I glanced at the building in time to see Tallus vanish around the back at a sprint.
20
Tallus
Running was the bane of my existence, and this was twice in two days because of this kid. My ankle wasn’t happy at the abuse after only one day of healing. My hip complained, but I pushed the ails aside. The second I hit the service road behind the strip mall, I scanned for any sign of Darcy.
Lighting was sporadic. Shadows swallowed details. Inlaid fixtures dotted the rear exits of each shop, emitting faint yellow pools under the steel doors used for emergencies or deliveries. The café was the third one in, but the door was firmly shut. Had I missed them? Perhaps Diem was wrong, and Luke had taken Darcy into a back room to chat.
Without considering what I might do if they suddenly burst from inside, I raced toward the door, intent on intercepting them if they came out. Before I made it to my destination, red taillights cut the darkness thirty yards farther down. An engine roared to life a second later.
“Shit.”
“Tallus!” Diem had been screaming curses through the phone since I left the car. “I’m coming.”
“Hang on… A car. Let me… Fuck my life.” I picked up speed, making a mental note to buy running shoes and join a fucking gym, as I closed in on the vehicle. I needed a license plate number, a make and model. Something.
Heavy feet pounded the pavement behind me. Diem, I presumed. “No… Get… in the… Jeep.”
“What?”
“Jeep. Go.” I couldn’t explain and run at the same time, so I growled, a language my snarly boyfriend should have understood.
He didn’t and kept right on chasing after me.
The car pulled away. I picked up speed and squinted at the license plate, making another mental note to set up an eye appointment because I couldn’t see shit with this prescription. I angled my head, directing my better eye at the car while trying not to trip on my feet.
“Got it. Alpha, Linda… Fuck. I don’t know the letters like this. What’s G? Gregory? Um, Martha? Goddammit, it’s A, L, G, M, 6, 1, 2.”
“Make? Model?”
“It’s a… Christ almighty, it’s a fucking Bentley Continental. This guy must be loaded.”
“Color?”
“I don’t know, D. I’m fucking colorblind. It looks dark gray or blue. Could be red for all I know. D, he’s gone.”
The car rounded the other end of the strip mall and vanished from sight. I staggered to a halt and bent, bracing my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath and not puke.
“Did you… get the plate?” I gasped, lightheaded, lungs burning.
“Yes. What way did he go?”
“I don’t know. I couldn’t catch up.” I calculated the distance between my position and the corner and knew I wouldn’t make it in time to see which way he turned onto Lake Shore.
Diem cursed again. The angry kind that told me he was skating the limit of self-control. A squeal of tires and a bark came through the phone line.
“Hurry up and get back to your car,” Diem ordered. “The light’s green, so I’m going west. You head east. Stay on the phone and update me if you see him. We can’t let him get away.”
I glanced over my shoulder, peering back from where I’d come, and whimpered.Get to my car,he’d said.Hurry, he’d said. Did he know me at all? I wanted to curl into a ball and die.
Whimpering, I jog-limp-shuffled as fast as I could along the service road toward the Jetta. Two days of cardio. In a row. At this rate, I was going to break out in hives. Or put myself in the hospital. My weak heart couldn’t take it.
It was no use. By the time I reached the car and aimed east, Darcy and his abductor had gained a solid three- or four-minute head start. I drove regardless, searching.
