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I caught the reflection in the back window of the taxi, my still-damp hair, my t-shirt sticking to my skin. I reached up, touching the mark on my cheek as I shivered. I'd been in the middle of a shower after straightening up the destruction the feds had left behind when mom tore into the bathroom screaming the place was on fire.
It's him!she'd screamed as I lunged from the shower and yanked on some clothes before stumbling down the stairs after her.He knows what your father's done!
Crack!Something in our house collapsed, flinging embers into the sky. I stared at the reflection of the inferno in the taxi window before climbing in. It was gone…everything.Tears filled my eyes, blurring the inside of the vehicle as I yanked the door closed behind me. We carried the stench with us, staining the already foul air. The driver rolled down his window before he shoved the car into gear and pulled out of our driveway.
"Where are we going?" I glanced toward her.
"Somewhere safe," she muttered, staring out the window.
"Safe?" The Rossis' dark sedan filled my head. "Where's safe?"
We had nowhere to go, all our friends were dad's friends, and right now they were...dangerous.
The word resounded as we left our world behind and headed toward the city.
"Are they going to hurt him?"
"No," she answered quietly. "They need him."
They might need him, but that didn’t mean they needed us. “But that won't stop them from coming afterus, will it?"
Silence.
That was the answer I was afraid of.
I leaned back against the seat.Jesus, dad. What the hell have you done?The last two days were a blur. First the argument and the sound of one of my parents' all too frequent shouting matches, before chaos…and then, the feds.
The ache in the back of my throat felt like a fist. I swallowed, watching the city lights brighten in the distance before we took the exit ramp and headed east toward the place where million-dollar homes lined the streets and where rich kids raced expensive cars for slips…and we didn't know anyone there.
Ten-foot wrought iron fences and CCTV cameras were all I saw before the driver pulled into a driveway where the black gates were open.
"Thank you." Mom reached out and handed him a fifty-dollar bill, pulled from a purse I hadn’t noticed until now.
"Mom?” I murmured as she pulled back to the seat. “Where are we?”
But she didn’t answer, just shoved open the door and climbed out.
I followed, finding a three-story house partially hidden from the street. A midnight Shelby Mustang sat outside, a dark blue Lamborghini beside it, leaving one other parking space empty. What kind of people had cars like that?
I stopped walking.
"It's just for a few days, honey." Mom never once looked my way. "Just until I figure this out."
A man stepped out of the door. Tall and intense, his gaze was fixed on my mom.
"Elle." He strode toward her and pulled her into a hug. "Jesus, I was so damn worried." He glanced my way and forced a smile. "Thank God you're both okay."
"I'm sorry, Creed.” Mom looked away, discreetly brushing her tears away. "I had no one else to call."
“Sorry?" He seemed confused. "You don't need to be sorry, Elle. That's what friends are for. Come on, let's get you both inside, you’re shaking like a damn leaf.”
He slid his arm around mom's waist, pulling her toward the front door. But it was that empty car space that nagged me, enough to make me glance over my shoulder before I followed.
Footsteps thudded upstairs before a door closed with a bang. I flinched and jerked my gaze upwards.
"Don't worry." Creed said as he met my gaze. “You won’t hear a damn thing inside. Double glazed windows.”
Like everyone else, his gaze drifted to the mark on my cheek. The ugly, disgusting strawberry disfiguration I hated. Heat flared as I tugged my hair across to hide it.
