Page 44 of Intolerable Bishop

“I can’t leave, I….” My brain was in a panicked loop of watching Nadia die in front of me. It happened again. The men came, and they murdered someone I loved right before my eyes.

Myles grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look at him as Theo tightened my helmet in place.

“Snowflake, listen to me. We’re gonna split up.”

“No.”

“Aye.” He gave me a little shake. “We already made an escape plan. Yer gonna go with Theo. He’s the fastest, and whoever this is, they’re not after us. They’re after you. We’ll separate and make it harder to follow any of us. Do ya trust me?”

“Yes.”

“Then trust me now. We’ll be fine. Just do as Theo says.” I nodded, terror making me shake. “You know we love ya, Snowflake. It’s gonna be okay. I promise you.” He kissed the front of my helmet.

“Okay.” I shoved all the fear down, picturing locking it in a box, and tried not to think about the panic in Nadia’s voice. I’d already lost so much, and now the last piece of my mum and my family who loved me was gone. Pushing the thoughts aside, I let Theo help me. Myles raced around the SUV and got in my dad’s car while Blake got in the Yukon with Ivy.

Theo grabbed my wrist, getting my attention, then patted the small seat behind him. “Just hang on tight,” he said as I got on. I wrapped my arms around his waist, but he pulled them tighter. “Tight. Don’t let go,” he yelled and then slapped his visor down.

There was still so much gunfire. We lived in the country, but the police had to be here soon, right? Someone would stop this. Money can buy anything, Snowflake. Oh my god, no one was coming.

Theo held his thumb up, and all three vehicles started at once. The wheels on the Yukon spun, screeching as Blake floored it. In a blink, I went from being a normal girl to living an action movie. My brain couldn’t seem to compute that any of this was real.

I jumped as the Yukon slammed into the garage door, peeling the track off the wall. Myles was right behind him, and we followed at the end of the line. Please let this be a nightmare, please let this be a nightmare. That was all that ran through my mind as Blake slammed into the front end of the black SUV partially in front of the driveway, sending the guys using it as cover, jumping in all directions. I realized then that a second vehicle had pulled up. The garage door flew off the hood, and both Myles and Theo pulled up beside the Yukon, putting it between us and the guns.

I held on to Theo for dear life, my fear for everyone skyrocketing as guns turned in our direction. As soon as we were clear of the gunmen, Myles pulled ahead of the Yukon, and Theo took the lead. I could still hear pinging, and I dared to look over my shoulder.

“Ren, you still with me?” I almost screamed at Theo’s sudden voice in my ears. “Speak to me, Ren,” he calmly said, like we weren’t racing down the street away from people trying to kill us.

“I’m here,” I said, only able to form those two words. “Blake…Myles…Ivy…my aunt….” I stuttered.

“This is nothing more than a test. You’re sitting down to take the most important exam of your life, and you need to focus. You know how to focus. You need to beat me, remember? It doesn’t matter what’s going on around you. The clock is ticking, and you don’t have much time to get a perfect score. You flip open the exam and pick up the pen, chewing on the end like you always do. You’re focused on the paper in front of you. Do you see it?”

I closed my eyes and laid my head against his back. “Yes,” I said, visualizing what he was saying. My breathing was still shaky, but I didn’t feel like I was going to pass out.

“Good, keep that image in your mind. Nothing else matters, just my voice, so listen carefully. There is nothing we can do for Nadia, but we will mourn her when we are safe. Myles is heading west. He’s in a much faster vehicle and will lose them easily. The car is fine. I can see it in my rearview mirror.” I took a deep, shuddering breath. I believed Theo. He wasn’t one to sugarcoat things for me, even if it would’ve been nice now and then. If the guys were in trouble, he would tell me.

“Your mom’s SUV is bulletproof. I hadn’t told you that yet. There was just so much other stuff to discuss. It’s why Blake went first and blocked the people shooting at us once we got outside. He is heading south.”

I opened my eyes as the motorcycle revved, and the world zipped by faster than I ever thought it could. We got on the freeway, and it felt like we were in a race as we flew past the few cars and transports on the road at this hour of the morning.

“Where are we going,” I asked, closing my eyes again so I didn’t throw up.

“East. We’ll meet back up once we get over the border, but for now, we need a place to lay low. I’m going to put on some music. Don’t think about anything other than the lyrics or the test in your mind. Okay?”

“Okay,” I said and bit my lip as I forced myself to keep the emotional turmoil from spilling out and turning me into a sobbing mess. I’d managed three lessons on fighting, and now I felt like I needed to learn how to shoot a gun. Hugging Theo tight, I couldn’t help but wonder what the hell my world was turning into and how I got off this ride because I didn’t want to be on it anymore.

JUNE 4 – SUNDAY 2:45 AM

Nash

Four weeks in a row was definitely a pattern. Considering my father hated to be predictable with his schedule because he was paranoid, this was fucking odd. I couldn’t take it anymore and had to know who he was meeting with and why.

I’d already scouted around the outside of the house and there were no guards or security. What the fuck was up with that? My father didn’t go anywhere without guards. Lawrence only visited houses loaded with state-of-the-art security and monitors. Unless it was so state-of-the-art that I didn’t even know about it. There wasn’t even an alarm system on the door. The back door looked new but had a basic lock, not even a deadbolt.

If that wasn’t fucking weird enough, breaking in had been a breeze. It looked like a model home. If you wanted spacious with no substance, this was it. A kettle, microwave, and coffee maker were the only things in the kitchen. The table was neat and clean, with fake bowls of fruit. What the hell was this place? There was no noise of any kind, which was also bizarre. I’d expected voices, at the very least.

It was a decent-sized home but not massive, and it took me no time at all to slink around and realize that there was nothing to find or see. Opening the basement door, I froze and looked up as loud music began to play. I didn’t recognize the band, but it was some form of death metal. Shining my light downstairs, I could tell from the thick wall of cobwebs that no one was down there, so I quickly closed the door.

One step at a time, I snuck my way up the stairs, keeping my back to the wall and my gun ready for anything. This was not my father’s type of music, but as I got closer to the room and heard the crack of a whip, I knew why it was playing. Shaking my head, I looked around at the empty rooms with beds. Could my father really have kept one of the trafficked girls and was torturing her every week? Then again, it could be a new girl every time. He could have one of his soldiers bring one and tie them up to be used for him.