Page 21 of The Red Rider
“Leif loves it when they fangirl over him,” Aeron said.
“Be nice. I fangirl over Leif all the time,” I said. “I fangirl over all of you.”
“Well, we need to get our shit together and get to Florida because I’ve got some bombs to play with.”
That sobered up everyone in the room. Leif and Aeron went into full angel mode, and I just got terrified because I didn’t even want to be in the same country as Dice and bombs.
Chapter 13
T
here wasn’t much to pack. Everything I owned right now could fit into a rucksack. I didn’t even bother unpacking when we got to San Quintin. I thought developing a vaccine was going to take some time. Actually, way longer than it really did, but I knew we’d be moving again once it was done.
Leif packed his bag, and Aeron loaded up his rucksack. Dice came with no bags. He seemed to do that angel pockets thing to reach into his room back in Florida to grab new suspenders. I still didn’t think it was fair I didn’t get the angel pockets. Getting a nosebleed because I ignored a vision was just shitty.
Maria came in to say goodbye. She gave Leif a colossal hug and ruffled his hair.
“You’re disappearing, aren’t you?”
“I have to. We’re going to end this, Maria.”
“Will I see you again?”
“If you do, it will be because the Rage Heads are dead. Please spread the word. If you hear from us to stay inside, people need to keep inside their houses. It means we’ve found a delivery device to kill the Rage Heads. We’re going to try to do it so it drops in unpopulated areas, but we have less of a chance of civilian casualties if no one is out.”
Maria pulled Leif down and kissed his forehead.
“I’ll spread the word. I’ll miss you, Leif. I’m guessing when I walk out the door, all of you are going to mysteriously disappear the same way you came.”
“We’ve done what we came here to do.”
“I know. Peace be with you. All of you.”
Maria disappeared, and I went to wrap my arms around Leif’s waist.
“I’m going to miss her. If I could pick my mother, it would be her. We should go.”
Did I mention I hated it when they disappeared me places without warning me? In the time it took me to blink, I was no longer standing in Leif’s apartments in Mexico. I was in some sort of apartment that looked like a new age yoga studio. I was guessing this was Dice’s apartment.
“Why does an angel have a statue of the Buddha?” I asked.
Dice flopped on a Papasan chair and winked at me.
“He was a wise man. My space, my rules. I’mnottaking the couch here, and I get to snuggle with Ariel at least two nights a week.”
“The fuck you are,” Aeron growled.
Leif just laughed.
“We’re going to have to deal with it, Aeron,” Leif said. “Florida is Dice’s territory. His word is the law here. We’ll have to swap nights because I’m not giving up two nights snuggling because you’re a grumpy fuck.”
“Well, that’s settled,” Dice said, clapping his hands. He didn’t even give Aeron a chance to argue. “Who wants a tour?”
I actually did want one. I’d never been to Florida before. My father never took me, and after I ran, Florida seemed way too close to New York to risk a trip. Plus, I had beaches in California, and we had Disneyland. I had no reason to make a trip to Florida and get that close to Isaiah. Now that I was here, I wanted to look around a bit. I might only remember bits and pieces of my life, but I knew I’d never been here before.
I set my rucksack on the floor.
“I’d like a tour. This is some apartment.”
