Page 46 of Overkill

The stripes of the crosswalk whizzed under my feet as I ran and ran, hands out and heart in my throat. I pushed Miriam back.

She landed hard as she fell, her hands scraping the sidewalk as metal drove into my thigh. I twisted and hit glass. I rolled over the roof, falling off the back end, face-down on the concrete, forehead cracking on the unyielding asphalt.

“Call the police!” someone shrieked.

The world went blinding white, then brutally came back into focus. Blue sky, white clouds. Yelling. Doors opening. Feet on concrete.

Miriam was saying my name over and over again. She was crying.

I twitched, my fingers instinctively reaching to her, halted only by the sudden pain that shattered through my shoulder, across my back, crawling up my spine to the base of my skull. I tried to call her name.

I knew this town would kill me one day.

Chapter 15

Easy Choice

Vedder

“Oh, my giddy Aunt Sally…” I said under my breath at the absolute chaos down Main Street. The sun was already setting, laying long, dark shadows on the asphalt.

Goose hadn’t responded to my texts, or my phone calls. Now I saw why. Ambulances, SUVs, a shuffling crowd. I shouldered past the gawkers, looking for Goose and Melody.

What the hell happened?

It took minutes—entire, long minutes—for my pea brain to figure out what the hell had happened.

Melody was sitting on the back of an ambulance, her face bruised, hair disheveled. Miriam was beside her, tears down her face.

I froze, unable to breathe, my eyes traced down her arm, over her shoulder, to the tear on the collar of her flannel shirt, and the scrape down her jeans.

Ian Gray hovered over her in his damn Volunteer Firefighter shirt, his lips pursed to the side as he fidgeted from foot to foot.

Sitting on the open back of an ambulance, she held her elbow in one hand.

“Melody?” I opened my door and left the damn SUV running as I rushed to her. I gave Ian a pointed look, and barked, “What the hell happened?”

He shrugged. “She got hit by a car.”

I wanted to smack him across the face.

“So why are you acting like she scraped her knee?” I was ready to get in his face. “Who the fuck did it? She got hit by a car, damn it. So why is no one in fucking handcuffs?”

Getting hit by a car merited a scream, a look of panic. Pitchforks and torches!

Ian was acting like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“She’s alright, brother. Calm your tits.” Goose grabbed my arm, pulling me in. “It looked intentional. Like they were going for the little sister, and Mel jumped in.”

I blinked at him. “The car was aiming for Miriam?”

Who the hell would have it out for a teen girl?

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Two attacks in a short amount of time. That was enemy action.

I shouldered past Goose to Melody, my heart pounding in my ears. “Darlin’, are you alright?”