Page 34 of Hart of Vengeance
Jade waved her hand at me. “Denim, get down!”
Sirens blared in the distance.
Once I got the lady next to Jade, I stood to my full height. If that day was the day I died, then so be it. At least I could go to my grave knowing I’d saved a life. By the time I zeroed in on the shooter, he was running, pushing people to the ground as he distanced himself from the scene.
I was tempted to chase him, but Jade’s voice stopped me. “Don’t you dare run after him,” she said as though she were in my head. She knew me well.
I heeded her advice. I really didn’t want to die on my first day out of prison. I also didn’t want to leave her alone in case the shooter had a partner lurking close by. I was certain the shooter was after me, which meant I needed to get the fuck out of there more than ever.
I held out my hand to Jade. “Come on.”
She surveyed the area as she took my hand. “Thank God no one is hurt.”
I double-checked to make sure before we left.
“Thank you,” the gray-haired lady said. “I was in shock and couldn’t move.”
“No problem. I’m just glad you’re okay,” I responded.
The cop cars were trying to muscle their way through the stop-and-go traffic.
“We should get out of here,” I said in Jade’s ear. “It’s not a good idea for me to wait for the cops.” Despite wanting to be a model citizen and do the right thing, I didn’t want to hang around for the cops. They would have too many questions, and if they ran my name, they wouldn’t hesitate to throw me in a cell until they got answers. That wasn’t the place I wanted to be on my first day out of prison. Besides, I hadn’t done anything wrong.
More importantly, I had to get Jade somewhere safe. Then I had to walk away and never look back—a repeat of high school. It would gut me to do that to her again, but her safety came first.
“Let’s go,” she said. “I’m sure the police will have enough witnesses to tell them what happened. You don’t need the attention.”
No one knew who the shooter was targeting, so the cops wouldn’t get much.
Five minutes later, we entered a coffee shop. The aroma of coffee hit me like a Mack truck. The trill of a coffee grinder competed with the buzz of voices from the chatting patrons scattered around at tables.
I ushered Jade to one of four booths along the window that looked out at the busy street. We probably should’ve grabbed a table in a dark corner, but they were all taken.
Jade slid into the black leather seat as I sat across from her.
A waitress bounced over. She had bright brown eyes and hair to match. Giving us a big smile, she set down a one-page laminated menu and two waters. “I’ll be back to take your order.”
The place was more like a diner than a coffee shop, not that I cared. I just wanted to be off the streets.
Jade reached for the water. “I’m thirsty.”
I did the same. I needed something harder than water, but the cool liquid quenched the dryness in my throat.
After we drained half our glasses, the waitress returned. “What would you like?”
“A soy latte,” Jade said as though she had the menu memorized.
That seemed like a fancy drink to me. In prison, our choices had been coffee made from acid and grinds.
I skimmed the menu.Definitely no Italian.I found mostly sandwiches and sweets plus a list of different coffee drinks.
“I’ll take a caramel latte.” I’d never had a latte, but I loved caramel.
The waitress collected the menus and moved on to her next table.
Jade gathered her black hair and draped it over one shoulder. Her cheeks were rosy, but she didn’t have a scratch on her.Thank God.I would die if she had gotten hurt.
I took a moment to scan every head in the restaurant even though the shooter had darted in the other direction. “We should be safe for the moment.” With the cops on the scene, I didn’t think the shooter would show his face, and we were far enough away that I wasn’t worried about anyone finding us.
