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Spotlights illuminated the area.
"Shit, something's happening," I said, refocusing on the scene ahead.
I scanned the perimeter, my heart racing as I spotted more guards patrolling with high-powered rifles. Asher and I were seriously outmatched. If something went wrong, we'd have to bolt as quickly as we could.
Just then, a sleek black SUV pulled up outside the safe house.
Omar stepped out, flanked by two heavily armed guards. I could see the shine of a metal bulletproof vest on his chest.
"Look at him," I muttered. "He's expecting something to happen tonight."
"Or it’s his nature to come prepared," Asher replied calmly.
As we watched Omar, Asher leaned forward to adjust his vision. "Wait, wait, wait, WHAT THE FUCK?"
I'd seen him too.
But before I could say anything, Asher accidentally hit the headlights switch, making them flicker for a split second before he turned them off.
It was too late. The sudden burst of light compromised our position.
"Shit, shit, shit," Asher muttered as we watched the security guards start moving in our direction. "We have to move now!"
Asher gripped the steering wheel tightly and put the car in gear. The engine roared to life, and we sped away from the safe house as fast as we could.
The security guards chased after us, their vehicles in hot pursuit. We wove through the back streets, narrowly avoiding collisions as we tried to shake them off our tails.
"Turn left, turn left!" I yelled, and he did as I said, taking a sharp turn that sent us skidding around a corner.
I heard the sound of gunfire in the near distance.Crack, crack, crack.
My heart hammered in my chest as we drove away, dodging bullets and swerving through the streets.
"Faster, Paladin, go faster."
"I'm trying," he shouted.
It took us a whole hour to lose them, and when we finally did, he and I pulled up near a rundown burger place.
"I need something to eat," I muttered hoarsely.
"Are we going to talk about what we just saw?" he asked, his breathing uneven.
I turned to face him, my eyes bloodshot. "What's there to talk about? Cole's alive, and we've got to tell Cap what we just saw."
24
Juniper
Iwoke up the following day, still sore from last night's plowing.
But it was a good kind of sore, the kind you feel knowing you've been fucking alive.
I made myself a cup of coffee, and still wrapped up in the warmth of my pajamas, proceeded to my living room.
My eyes met the kitchen table, and my first instinct was to blush in Southern Baptist outrage.
But there was no turning back from the lane I'd chosen to walk. And I refused to feel guilty for something that was making methishappy. Life actually felt good.
