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“But how? They’re blocking our only way out.”
Sam knew better. He hadn’t been in the building long, but the first thing he’d done was to check for possible and impossible escape routes. He hadn’t expected an attack, in fact, he hadn’t expected living long enough to see one, but experience and old habits were too strong to ignore.
“Out your front window.” Without waiting for her answer, Sam went and slid it open. The cold wind felt like a slap, but Sam ignored it. “On the ledge, six feet to the right, just grab the escape ladder’s railing.”
Ellie pressed by his side, and gasped. “No way. The ledge is just a few inches, I can’t...”
“I’ll hold your hand until you reach it. You’ll be safe.”
Objection was all over her face, but a booming noise from the other apartment meant there wasn’t another option.
Sam was surprised by how Ellie, trembling and pale from fright, climbed out without a word, her hand in his in a death grip.
Time was against them, but Sam didn’t dare push her. “Just focus on the railing, Ellie. Just that.”
A whimper escaped her lips, but she kept going until her fingers brushed the cold metal in front of her.
Faint knocking could be heard from behind him, but Sam didn’t turn until Ellie finally got a hold of the staircase. “Don’t go down. Go up and wait for me.”
Sam didn’t wait for her answer as the door behind him burst open to three men, armed and thirsty for blood, and certainly money.
It was strange how he never had to think what to do in these situations. The first mercenary was dead before he thought about it. It was like a dance to music of fire and blood.
He felt the blows he received and the ones he gave in return, his muscles screaming and bones crunching until he was the last one standing in the room.
As he looked for IDs, he found none, confirming that his father still had enough money to buy killers with half a brain. It was a frightening thought, and one he’d need to revisit when their lives weren’t on the line. Replacing the broken door as best he could, Sam didn’t hesitate to climb out of the window, and two steps later, he was climbing the stairs.
Ellie was standing a few feet away in the snow, arms around herself. Sam should have thought about bringing a coat, but he’d had more pressing matters on his mind than the weather, even Chicago’s penetrating cold.
“Are they coming after us?”
Sam knew it was cold, he saw her breath and her body tremble, but survival came before her comfort. “This bunch won’t, but the next wave will.” As he talked, he circled her waist to steer her toward the roof’s edge. The gap was only three feet, but Sam knew better than to allow Ellie time to think about what he wanted to do. Instead, he took the leap and brought Ellie with him.
She was small and light, almost fragile, like a fairy with her black hair, clear blue eyes, and skin pale as snow. For an instant, she clung to him and it felt right. Too much so. Sam stepped back, the fear of lingering, and maybe allowing himself to feel again, strong.
“Come, we must get out of sight quickly.” Releasing her, Sam went to the roof’s access door and pulled a key from his pocket.
Ellie frowned, peeking over his shoulder. “You have a key? How did you get that? You only moved in a couple of days ago.”
What could he say? His past had been tainted by too many atrocities to begin to explain. It was cowardly to avoid her questions, but he’d prefer not to add to the burden he suspected she carried from her voice and sadness in her eyes.
The door led to a service staircase and down to a workshop with a small side door in an alley. If their luck held it would be vacant, and whoever was after them would assume they were no longer in the area.
The area smelled of sawdust and oil, but its warmth was welcoming. He knew he shouldn’t but Sam turned and rubbed the arms of his shivering fairy.
In the faint light, with her wide, wandering eyes, she reminded him of a legend his mother had told by the campfire under the desert stars, about exquisite, winged beings calledperi, benevolent angels who came down to earth seeking penance by helping humans.
“Why aren’t you afraid of me? You know nothing about me and I’ve brought death to your door.”
With one last shiver, Ellie blinked up at him, and it was as if he was falling. Only his survival instincts made him take two steps back and reach for his phone.
As usual, Lazarus answered on the first ring. “Sam.”
“We need a way out. It seems our father has decided he’s had enough of me.”
“We?”
Sam didn’t want to discuss his folly over the phone. “Me and a friend. You can pinpoint my position now. We need a safe place to hide, especially her. I want her protected and safe.”
