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I was up and scrambling.
He went for the gun. I went for him.
Fuck him. Fuck this. Fuck everyone.
I was totally and completely embracing that darkness in me, because right now, this guy was the same as the guy at the gas station who’d put a gun against my head, the same as the guy who’d pointed a gun at me in my cousin’s apartment, the same as the guys who’d chased me in traffic, and I was not letting them win.
Never.
I would be standing at the end. I declared it. Every damn time.
Knowing that, remembering all of that, I accepted the last part of me that I’d been hiding from, the part that helped connect me to Ashton because he had it too.
I reached out, and slammed my foot down on his arm, then pivoted and delivered the best soccer kick straight to his face. If it’d been a ball, it would’ve sailed halfway down the field. I was sure of it.
I wanted to do it again.
His head snapped back from the force.
“Hey! Stop. Stop right there.”
I twisted around.
Jess had the guy’s gun, but she had it up and pointing at Pialto, who was running for us.
“No!” I reached for her, then froze. I didn’t want to set off her shooting Pialto. “That’s my friend. He works for me.”
Pialto made it to us, and gasped, panting. “We—” Pant. “Have to—” Pant. He tried to point back. “That way. Bad guys.”
“What?” Jess clipped out.
That churning feeling was back in my gut, and it was swirling, snarling, flipping upside down. I felt it rising, almost overpowering me. We had to go, and we had to go now!
I yelled, “That way.” I pointed in the complete opposite direction of anywhere.
“What?” Jess looked my way.
“Move!” I screamed.
“Wha—” But I shot past her, leading the way.
She cursed.
Her mom kept asking what was happening, and I heard, “Here, Mrs. Montell. I got you.”
I looked back. Pialto had Jess’s mom hanging over his shoulder, his face was determined. “Go! Lead the way.”
“Uhhh. Okay!” I jumped, turning and racing anywhere but where they expected us to be.
Jess was right behind me. Pialto and Mrs. Montell after her.
We wove through hallways and offices until I found another exit door. It was small and off to the side, and it looked like where nurses would go for smoke breaks. I took it, shoving it open, and we were running down a small ramp of stairs.
We were somehow between three parking lots and another building.
“Where are we going?” Jess ran next to me.
“I’m winging it.”
“That’s obvious.”
I was looking around and saw an SUV slowly casing the parking lot nearest the hospital. “There. We have to get down.”
Jess looked, saw them, and cursed. “They haven’t seen us yet.” She turned to Pialto. “Get down.”
He did, or tried. Mrs. Montell was slapping his ass, but he was ignoring her.
“Mom, stop.”
“You stop! This guy’s bony shoulder is pressing on my bladder. I’m two seconds from drenching him in piss.”
“Oh, god. No.” Pialto’s face turned a bit green at the idea.
“Mom,” Jess clipped out. “Rein it in, or we’re dead. Get that in your head.”
“You’re—” Mrs. Montell tried to twist around to see her daughter, and she did, but whatever she saw stopped her words.
“It’s like Bear and Leo all over again. This is real shit, Mom. Stop it.”
Her mother’s mouth pressed into a firm line, and she nodded, visibly swallowing at the same time.
Pialto swore in relief but still tried to hunch over. “We have to keep moving. I ran in because two other mofos came in and shot your guards. I was screeching like a banshee, but they didn’t know who I was. They didn’t shoot me. They could’ve, and they will now if we don’t get going.”
Jess swallowed. “We have to get moving.”
“Agh. Agh. Agh.” I didn’t know why I was saying that, but it made me feel better. I kept saying it as we moved forward in the parking lot.
An SUV began to back out of a slot but hit its brakes when the driver saw us.
She had reversed right in front of me. Dr. Nea Sandquist. Her window was between us. She rolled it down, looking at the rest of us. “What are you guys doing?”
“Nea.” Jess moved forward, looking in her vehicle. “We need a ride out of here. Will you help?”
Nea, not Dr. Sandquist, looked at Jess’s gun but said, “Sure. Yeah. Is that your mom?”
“Hi, Dr. Sandquist.” Her mom tried to wave but couldn’t and hit at Pialto’s back instead.
“Great.” Jess reached for the back door and opened it, motioning for Pialto, who was trying to snarl over his back. “Put my mom here.”
He did, saying, “Gladly.”
“Hey!” Her mom held up a closed fist at him.
Jess said, “Mom, you need to lay flat. Okay? Keep hiding so those men don’t see you.”
