Page 98 of Leave Me Behind
“I’m shocked he gave in to her demands. I didn’t think he’d just… let us go like that,” I said with an extinguished breath and hung my head.
Eren had let out a cruel laugh. “You idiot. He’s infatuated with her and if he didn’t let us go, he knew she’d go out fighting until either she was dead or he was. Letting us go was an easy choice for him… but you need to remember those two were together for years. She’s loyal to him, Bradshaw.”
No, she’s not, I thought. I don’t give a fuck what she said. She only said it to hurt my feelings.She gave herself up for us.
“I’m going to get her back with or without you.” I stood and walked to the door.
Eren groaned and snapped at me, “Fine. But we can’t just march back in there. He’s going to be prepared and he has nothing to lose. His queen is tucked safely under his arm now.”
I stood facing the door for a few moments before turning back to him. “How then?”
He lit a cigarette and breathed in smoke slowly. “Leave it to me. I’ll get some of my buddies in Europe to stir things up. But it’s going to take time, Bradshaw. We’re going to need to be careful and wait. Patience is Jenkins’s ace. We need to pull strings where we can and hope for the best.”
My heart split at that moment.
“How long?”
Eren gave me a weary, pitiful look that tore through my soul.
“HOW LONG?” I closed the distance between us in a few strides and fisted the collar of his shirt. My brother plucked the cigarette from his lips and sighed.
“At least two years.”
Two…
Then three.
Then I was done waiting.
I couldn’t wait any longer, even if it was risky to push the timeline. I needed to come back for Bunny. To hold her and kiss her. To tell her I died more each time I watched her waiting for me to show up. Her sad eyes when Jenkins kissed her.
I’d left her small things that I hoped she’d see and know I was watching her. That I was with her always.
A bunny in the field. The drawings through the condensation of her hotel windows. The bunny stickers on restaurant menus where she frequented.
“Ready?” I ask, hand on the door, admiring the fierce expression I remember take its place back on her face.
She nods and I open the door.
forty
. . .
Nell
We movethrough the west wing like we didn’t miss a beat together, silent and lethal. I pray that we won’t have to kill anyone. But I know if it comes down to it, we might not have a choice.
Our luck holds out as we slink through the last hall, but it ends abruptly when Paul and Drake turn the corner. I freeze, gun aimed up, finger caressing the trigger.
I’m not a monster anymore. Not when I know their dreams.
I set my hand on Bradshaw’s shoulder and he looks back at me. “Not them. They’re my guards.” His jaw flexes but he nods with understanding. I’m sure he saw them trailing me constantly. We squat low on our haunches and wait to see what they’ll do. For a while, they just linger in the hall and chat.
Please just keep moving. Don’t make us confront you.
An alarm rolls through the hall.
“Fuck. Sorry, Bun. We’ll have to?—”
