Page 37 of Crow
The water was cold, and the chill went straight to my bones. Suddenly, I couldn’t stop shivering, my teeth clacking together and goosebumps covering my arms. I was so cold that I missed the hot, sharp pain tearing at my muscles.
By the time I could think properly again, the sun had risen. I had been only vaguely aware of the world around me, the movement of people as Lab Rat was replaced by Breaker, who was replaced by Reaper, and now Lab Rat was back again. I looked around with bleary eyes and realized that for the first time, Lab Rat’s attention wasn’t solely on me. He was standing by the door, listening to the sounds of movement from outside.
“What’s goin’ on?” I mumbled.
“Shut up,” he hissed. “Everyone’s preparing for the attack later today, and I’m fucking stuck in here watching you.”
“I need to pee.” My words slurred together, the truth only hitting me when I said it out loud. I bit my tongue, trying to think of anything but my bladder.Lab Rat scoffed, finally turning to look at me with a sneer on his face.
“Yeah fucking right. That’s the oldest trick in the goddamn book!”
“No, really,” I insisted, fidgeting a little. “I haven’t gone in about two fucking days, and that water Jess gave me is making itself a problem.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake,” he growled. He grabbed me by the upper arm and dragged me out of the bedroom, down the hallway to the toilet. He pushed me inside and closed the door behind me. “Be quick,” he snapped through the door.
Looking at myself in the cracked mirror above the sink as I washed my hands was like a slap in the face, and I’d experienced enough of those to know. My skin was almost gray, except for the bruise-like circles under my eyes, and my hair was tangled and greasy. I had red scratches on my face and down my arms, and when I lifted my trembling hand to my cheek, they matched up perfectly with my own nails.
“Shit,” I mumbled, turning away. When I opened the bathroom door, Lab Rat wasn’t outside. I blinked, confused, and looked down the hall to where I could hear voices. I could see him talking to Reaper. When I looked in the other direction, I could see the stairs with no one in my way. I blinked again, my mind slowly turning an idea over. I looked back at Lab Rat. He still hadn’t seen me. It couldn’t be that easy, could it?
I’d never know unless I tried.
I sucked in a deep breath and took off running. I was halfway down the stairs before anyone noticed me. There were confused shouts and cries of “Get her!” as I raced through the house. My knees shook and my lungs burned, but I forced myself to go faster. The front door was already open, a startled-looking Breaker coming through it with his arms full of guns. I couldn’t believe my luck. I shoved past him, knocking the guns to the floor, and then I was out of the house. I was breathing fresh air. I was free.
“Leave her!” I heard Ray bark behind me. “It’s too late to change what’s about to happen. Just focus on finishing up preparations for the big showdown.”
I didn’t look behind me. I didn’t want to take the chance that it would slow me down, or that it was a trick and they were just waiting for me to look so they could grab me. Each step sent pain shooting through my bare feet and my vision was fuzzy around the edges, but I pushed myself to keep going. My breathing was little more than harsh pants that scraped up my throat as I ran down familiar streets, muscle memory taking me toward Crow’s place.
I could hear the rumble of bike engines and fear closed my throat. I threw myself behind a bush as two bikers approached, and then I saw that they weren’t wearing Freeway colors. I was so tired. Now that I had stopped, I wasn’t sure I could start running again. I stumbled into the road, hoping to flag them down, get a ride. They swerved at the last minute, tires screeching against the road as they swore loudly. One of them stopped only inches away from me, and I just blinked at them as they tore their helmet off, revealing a youngish face with brown curls.
“Jesus Christ!” he shouted at me. “Are you fucking crazy?”
“What the hell do you think you’re doin’?” the other added, tugging their helmet off as well. He was blond like Crow, but clean-shaven where Crow was scruffy. I swayed toward him.
“Hey, lady, are you all right?” the first one asked, squinting at me. “You don’t look so good.”
“C’mon, man,” the other one said, frowning. “That’s fuckin’ rude.”
“What? She doesn’t!”
“That’s not the point.”
“I want Michael,” I muttered, ignoring them both. “I need to… get to… Michael.”
The two bikers looked at each other.
“Who the fuck is Michael?” the blond one asked, reaching out to steady me. The curly haired one shrugged.
“Beats the fuck outta me.” He thought for a second. “Wait, isn’t Michael Crow’s real name?”
I tried to nod, but I wasn’t sure how successful I was. I slumped into the blond’s hold, and he picked me up. I closed my eyes. It felt good to be weightless.
“It’s worth a shot. I mean, we can’t just fuckin’ leave her here. C’mon, help me get her on the bike.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Crow
I grimaced at my reflection, tugging at the collar of my shirt. I may have been able to get out of wearing a monkey suit for the bachelor party, but Archer had made it very clear that I had to wear one for the actual wedding. I’d had to rent one; the last suit I’d owned was for my wedding, and I’d changed a lot since then, both mentally and physically. The label of the shirt rubbed uncomfortably at the back of my neck with every movement, and the jacket was too tight around my armpits. I briefly considered ditching the ridiculous getup and just wearing my cuts, but picturing Rose’s furious expression quickly put the idea out of my mind. I shuddered as I secured my hair into a ponytail at the base of my neck. For such a sweetheart, Rose could be vicious. I wished Archer luck. I searched for a tie to complete the costume of Respectable Wedding Guest. I eventually found it at the bottom of my sock drawer and looped it around my neck, trying not to feel too much like I was tying my own noose.
