Page 4 of Burdens
She didn’t wait for a response and hung up on whoever was on the other end of the call before shoving her phone in her back pocket.
“Are we almost there?” I asked faintly, my arm getting numb from holding the soaked fabric against my neck.
She paused in her steps. “Yes, baby. We’ll be there very soon and everything will be fine,” she said, but her voice wavered at the end as if she wasn’t sure.
She started walking again and I followed closely behind her, hoping that wherever we were going, we were almost there.Despite everything that happened tonight, this was the first time I started to wonder if we’d make it.
My father wasn’t a good man and if he knew she was leaving him and taking me with her, he would never let her or me live. His wounded pride wouldn’t let him find reprieve and he wouldn’t stop hunting us until we were either back with him or dead.
And I didn’t know which was more terrifying.
The screech of tires suddenly filled the quiet night and dust kicked up in the air. Once it settled, a rusty navy car came into view at the end of the alleyway. My mother grabbed my hand and picked up speed.
The passenger door flung open and my eyes widened when I realized who was behind the wheel. Reda, my father’s right-hand and most trusted man, yelled at us to get in as we closed the distance.
Too shocked to think of what him being here meant, I climbed in when the sound of two men laughing echoed in the dead air. My mother whipped her head around as two of my father’s night guards spilled into the back alley of our house.
We all watched with bated breath as they looked up. The glare of the street lamp illuminated their faces as their eyes widened when they realized who we were and what we were doing.
“Lalla?3Camila, stop,” one of them yelled at my mother as they both drew their weapons and broke out in a run toward us.
My uncle cursed under his breath as my mother jumped inside and slammed the door closed just in time before the first bullet hit the door. I flinched into her arms and she hunched herself over my body to cover me.
“Hold on,” my uncle Reda said before flooring the gas pedal, going from zero to a hundred. We were lurched forward fromthe sudden speed and my mother lay her hand on top of the glove box to hold us steady as Reda skidded across the dirt track.
The sounds of bullets erupted in the air as they ricocheted off the back of the SUV we were in. I squeezed my eyes shut, praying for this to be over. Eventually, one bullet fired at us made contact with the back window and blew it out, debris flying behind us. More bullets riddled the SUV with holes until the car surged to the left as we seemed to slide onto a road.
The dirt track shifted into concrete and my uncle Reda accelerated down the street, driving even faster until we were in the clear. I didn’t know how long we drove for, but I was just grateful for the short reprieve from having bullets targeted at us.
The car eventually slowed to a stop and the engine shut off. My mother lifted herself off me and exited the car. I finally opened my eyes and looked up to see her hand stretched out to help me out. I grabbed it and hopped off. She closed the door behind me and squeezed my hand in reassurance.
Uncle Reda had already exited and was at the back of the car, rummaging in his trunk. I glanced around and finally registered that we were on a landing strip. A small aircraft was ready and a tall man I’d never seen before stood at the bottom of the boarding stairs.
My uncle closed the trunk and walked toward the stranger, holding two duffel bags in his right hand. As they embraced, I glanced up at my mother and asked, “Mama, who is that?”
She kept her gaze on the small airplane and said, “Our ticket to freedom.”
I dragged myself out of the memory and turned the engine of my rental on. After exiting the hospital’s parking lot, I headed straight for the airport.
There was no more hiding from the truth.
We might have succeeded in escaping him all these years ago, but it was time for me to face my father one last time.
1 Come on, Noah. We don’t have a lot of time.
2 As far away from this hell hole as we can.
3 Lady (used as a title of respect).
CHAPTER 1
AMALIA (PRESENT)
“Lalla Ines,I swear it wasn’t me,” Mehdi sputtered, his voice rising an octave. My silence weighed heavily on him—it always made them squirm—so he added, “Please, I didn’t tell anyone where the drop would be.” The panic in his voice grated my nerves and I played around with the idea of killing him to save myself another fifteen minutes of interrogation.
The only reason I hadn’t yet was because I needed him alive for answers.
I released the bridge of my nose and flicked my gaze up to where he was hanging, blood pooling under him from the latest cut I inflicted him with.
