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“Scarlett, wait!” Carl gasps, panting for breath.
“No!” I snap. “You can breathe later. We have to get the fuck out of here…now!” We burst through a door onto the roof, the cold night air stinging our faces.
“Jump!” I command, leaping across the gap between buildings. Carl follows suit, his face etched with determination. Together, we race across rooftops, until Carl puts a hand on my arm, gasping as he points down to a fire escape nearby.
“That’s our stop,” he manages to get out. With a quick nod, I swing down the ladder, half-climbing, half-sliding as I make my way down.
It’s only when I’m safely in the dark confines of the car and we’re speeding away that cold realization dawns on me. My throat tightens and I find myself struggling for air.
“Fuck!” I gasp.
How the hell could I have been so goddamn stupid?
“What is it?” Carl slants a look my way before turning his attention back to the road.
This is a disaster…a fucking disaster!
“My equipment… I left it in the room!” I feel my skin prickle as pure panic surges through me.
Carl’s eyes widen in alarm. “What? Are you fucking kidding me, Scarlett? What kind of professional would—?” He stops short as he sees my expression. “Can they trace it back to you?” he finally asks.
“Absolutely,” I mutter, cursing myself for being so careless. My mind races as I try to formulate a plan. Cartwright and his men will no doubt have their hands on my equipment soon, and it won’t take them long to identify me.
“We need to get it back,” Carl insists, urgency lacing his words.
“Too risky,” I argue, my chest tightening with anxiety. “It’s more than just the diamond…” I weigh my words. “I saw Victor Cartwright kill someone back there.”
“What?” he barks back at me. The car veers for a second as he spins to look at me. “Jesus, Scarlett! What the fuck? Do you have any idea what—”
“Hey! It’s not like I’m the one who did it!” My heart hammers in my chest. This is a disaster. I need to get away before they trace my equipment back to me. “I’m leaving town tonight.”
“Scarlett, you can’t just—”
“Listen to me,” I cut him off, trying to maintain my composure. “They’ll find my tools, and then they’ll find me. I’ve got to go.”
He hesitates, studying my face for a moment before nodding grimly. “Alright. What do you need?”
“First, take me past my place. I need to get some gear.”
Carl gives a curt nod, understanding the urgency as he spins the wheel and veers the car down a side street, and changes direction.
By the time we pull up outside my apartment block, I’ve filled Carl in on my very rough emergency plans. I’ll lay low until the heat is off, then move the stone and send the rest of the team their cut. There’s no question that I’ll do it. My father’s reputation in the industry precedes me. My team knows I’ll make good on my debt to them.
“Give me five,” I say as I slide out of the front seat and alight the vehicle. I can’t take my own car because it’ll be too easy to trace. Carl will drive me to the bus terminal and I’ll take the next trip out; destination anywhere.
I’m a bundle of nerves as I work quickly, gathering the essentials: cash, passports, clothes – just enough to allow me to travel light. When I get back to the car, Carl is tapping nervously on the steering wheel. He floors it as soon as my butt hits the seat and we zip through the late-night traffic. The trip passes in tense silence until he pulls up outside the terminal.
“Scarlett,” Carl says, gripping my arm as I gather my bag. “You don’t have to do this alone. Me and the others—”
“Will probably die too, if Cartwright finds out you’re involved. Leave this to me, Carl. I’ll figure it out.”
“Be safe,” he murmurs, a hand on my shoulder. I nod once, then I’m out of the car and moving quickly through the sparse cluster of waiting passengers till I reach the ticket booth. I force myself to walk calmly, taking deep, steadying breaths.
If the kid in the ticket booth finds it odd that I seem to have no idea where I’m going, he doesn’t say anything. Maybe he gets this sort of request often. It’s only as I stride up to the waiting bus that I finally allow myself to relax a little. There’s no way I’ve been followed here. No way they could know where I am right now. I’m safe. For now.
“Next stop,” I breathe, forcing my legs to carry me forward. “Freedom.”
I just hope I survive the trip.
