Page 2 of Sir Avery's Wish
Eli was about to make a retort, but the words stuck in his throat. Lenny had hit too close to home.
Lenny dragged his palm across the top of his head. “Look, man. I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be a dick. But you can’t keep going on like this. You still live with your parents, and…” He pressed his lips together. “It’s cool that you pay rent there and help out, I’m sure they appreciate it. But wouldn’t starting your own life before you’re a quarter of a century old be even better?”
Ouch.
Eli sucked in a breath to respond when the sound of squealing tires behind them stopped him short.
“What the…?”
Lenny twisted around, looking over his shoulder. “Fuck. It’s a black SUV. I bet it’s the cops busting us for being parked in the alley.”
Eli drew his eyebrows. “That’s a crime?”
Lenny huffed. “If they think we’re hiding in the alley to do a drug deal, it is.”
Before Eli could argue that they had nothing to worry about because they weren’t doing anything wrong, a blonde woman in a white mini dress came tumbling from the passenger side of the SUV. Eli gasped, and Lenny called out, ‘Holy shit!’ as the woman raced past them, screaming. Eli barely registered the shot to her head before she face-planted in the alley a few feet beyond his car.
The urge to vomit was real.
“Go, Eli! Get the fuck out of here!”
A gunshot shattering the glass of his rear windshield jolted him into action, and he revved up the engine of his restored Chevy Nova before tearing down the alley, swerving around the woman and sideswiping a dumpster before righting the vehicle again. He gritted his teeth, his fingers clutching the wheel in a death grip.
His heart hammered as another shot rang out behind him. The sound of metal hitting metal—his bumper, maybe his trunk—sent ice through his veins. Eli floored the accelerator, his small sedan lurching forward as he burst from the alley onto the residential street.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!”
The words tumbled from his lips in a breathless chant as he checked his rearview mirror. The black SUV's headlights blazed behind him, gaining ground. His hands trembled on the steering wheel, slick with sweat.
He had to get to the main road. Traffic. Witnesses. Safety.
Eli took the corner too fast, his tires squealing against the asphalt. The SUV followed, its engine roaring like some predatory beast. His mind raced—should he head for the police station? But where was it? He knew of one at the other end of the Valley, but he wasn’t sure they’d make it that far before they were toast.
“Go faster!” Lenny yelled, one hand splayed against the passenger side window, the other against the dashboard.
“Call 911!” That seemed like a better plan. Then a chilling, gut-churning thought hit him. “No, don’t!”
Eli smacked Lenny’s phone out of his hand, and it went flying into the backseat. “Hey!” Lenny leaned over the seat, his butt in the air as he felt around for the missing phone. “What the hell did you do that for?” Eli took another corner too fast, the rear of the car fishtailing before righting itself again. “Whoaaaa…” Lenny tumbled around in the front seat, his body slamming against the door. “Dammit, Eli. That was a stupid move.”
“We witnessed a murder!” Eli wracked his brain, desperate to outrun the SUV, needing to hide somewhere so he could have a chance to think straight.
“Yeah, no shit. That’s the point of calling the police.”
Eli checked the rearview mirror, noting that the SUV was further back now. If he could only make a few more turns without the killers catching up again, he could lose them and pull in somewhere to hide.
“No way,” Eli could barely catch his breath as if he were running rather than driving. “Don’t you get it? We have no idea what that was all about. What if it’s like a big gang, or organized crime, or whatever? Once they found out who we were, they’d send someone to wipe us out before we could testify.”
Lenny dropped his head in his hands. “Oh, God. I’m going to puke.”
Eli shook, his body vibrating as though he’d jumped into an icy lake. “I think…” He licked his lips, his eyes darting back and forth between the rearview mirror and the road. “I think we might’ve lost them.” He slowed a little, making the next several turns without the sound of screeching.
And without leaving tread marks.
Eli took several deep breaths, trying to slow his breathing. He glanced around to get his bearings, amazed at how far he’d traveled so quickly.
“Okay, I don’t see them anymore. But I’m going to head north instead of continuing west, just in case.”
Lenny raised his head. “Back to Hollywood? Let’s just go to your place. You can put the car in the garage to hide it. It’s not like they know who we are.”
