Page 46 of Baby Me

“But we’re a nobody. I’m anobody.”

“You’re definitely somebody. You’re somebody confident and strong who’s going to do exactly as I say because she wants to get back to her daughter,okay?”

“Okay, but I’m not sure how long I can run inthese.”

Evie lifted her leg. In the dim morning light, I noticed that she was wearing her highheels.

“Give me those.” I slipped them from her feet and broke the heels off and handed them back to her. “Now put them backon.”

“Those are nine-hundred dollarshoes.”

“How much will they be worth when you’re wearing them in yourcoffin?”

“Okay, okay. I get the point. Now are we going to chat some more or get out ofhere?”

Somewhere in the distance we heard my brother pushing through the shrubs, calling, “Come out, come out wherever youare.”

Fucking turd. Howcliché!

“Okay. I can do this,” she said in a lowered voice. “But he’s an ex-cop, and he’s got a gun. He’s really good,Kate.”

“I know, but I’m just as good, and he doesn’t know theterrain.”

“Just get us out ofhere.”

I squeezed her hand in reassurance. “Follow me. Do not veer off the path, and try to make as little noise aspossible.”

I picked up a rock and threw it as far as I could to the right. Mike fired the gun in the direction of the rock’s noise. As the echo of the shot carried, I jumped a few steps down the hill. Evie followed me like a mime. When the echo settled, I put my finger to my lips and Evie nodded. Dawn was approaching quickly, and we’d soon lose the night’s cover. More importantly, I would soon lose my only chance to trap mybrother.

Judging from the distance, I had three, maybe four more tries to lure Mike down into the valley, so I threw another rock, this time down the hill. He fired again, and we took another opportunity to head down. I did it once more and he fired again, but this time waited a bit longer to doso.

We bolted toward the denser part of the forest and stopped before the echofinished.

“Evie, you stay here behind this tree now. Do not move until I say so,okay?”

“Okay.”

I threw another rock. Mike didn’t fire this time, but I took off anyway. The motion caught Mike’s attention this time, and as soon as he could make me out, Mike fired gunshot after gunshot. The echo carried over and over and all I could do was pray that I wouldn’t be hit and that the trees were enough to keep me covered. When I reached my spot, I hid behind a tree and listened to his descending steps. “I have enough ammunition,Kate.”

I believed that hedid.

“If you’re trying to get me to waste the bullets, it’s not going towork.”

Yeah, that wasn’t what I was trying to do. I gauged where he was standing and tumbled down the hill to the next tree over. As expected, Mike moved to his left, where I wanted him to, and then I heard himscream.

“Ahhh!”

I hurried toward the trench I’d fallen into the day before and pulled up the rope before he realized he could use it to escape. He fired some shots blindly, but none came close. Although I was certain he couldn’t get out, I still crouched down to the forest floor. He grunted in frustration as he tried to climb out of the trench, and I couldn’t help but laugh. There was no way in hell that he was gettingout.

“Fire all you want, asshole!” I yelled. “If you’re lucky, you’ll rot in thathole.”

“This isn’t over,Kate!”

“Like hell itisn’t.”

I was done looking over my shoulder wondering whether Cortez or anyone else would come and find me. I was done running away. It was time to take control of my life. Whether that was in New York or back here, I wanted to have the choice without fearing for my life. It was time to use my skills to find Aaron Cortez before he foundme.

“You can come out, Evie. We’refine.”

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