Page 23 of Reclaiming Adelaide

“Is it the jail kind of trouble or the regular rebellious variety?”

“The kind that kills.”

“Damn. Stay safe,Felicity,” she said with a wink. “Here, give this to Rodolfo.” She handed me fifty bucks. “Tell him I want it with spicy peppers and anchovies.” Then handed me a switchblade as I grimaced at the thought of little dead fish with their eyes baked into their skulls. “And you keep this.”

I gave her a tight-lipped smile. “Thanks for everything, Rachel.”

She nodded, and I turned, bouncing down the metal stairs with a metallicclankon each step. Pushing open the back door, I looked in both directions, left to the back of the alley…clear. Right to the street…Odd. A parked car with its lights off sat across the street where the illumination of street lamps didn’t touch it. The sun had made its way down, so not even shadows walked the land, making the vehicle appear black in color and impossible to ID.

“Hey, Frodo,” I said, keeping the car in my periphery. Any movement, and I was out of here like a rabbit fleeing from a wolf. “When did that car get here?”

“The one behind you?”

“Yeah.”

“Just pulled up.”

I spun my lip ring. “You have another way outta here?”

“Behind me, through the hall, at the end, take a right. It’ll end with glass doors to the other alley. They here for you?”

“Hard to tell.” I handed him the cash and looked back at the car. “She said spicy peppers and anchovies.”

“She’s got the strangest tastes.”

“Whatever it is, I’m glad I’m not here to smell it.”

I slapped his open hand, fist bumped him, and then opened the door. Casting a glare toward the vehicle, I darted inside and followed his instructions.

“You okay?” Rachel asked as she came down the stairs.

“Just gonna take the scenic route.”

I continued running down the hall and paused before turning the corner. I took out my phone and smashed it against the brick wall. They couldn’t use that to find me now. Turning the corner, I darted down the hall and slammed the glass door open into an alley on the other side of the building, my ribs aching, my hips sore and throbbing.

“Hey, pretty lady,” a man cat-called me as I bolted to the right in the opposite direction.

When I hit the end of the alley and turned left to another alley, I froze.

“Shit.” He never told me about this.

Two industrial garbage bins blocked my path. They sat in front of a chain-link fence with razor wire over the top.

What the fuck are they trying to keep out…or in?

“Here, kitty, kitty.”

The man waddled closer. Days old liquor and a musk that only became that potent after weeks of not showering hit my nose from a faint breeze, causing me to gag as I jumped on top of the closed dumpster.

“Stay back, or I’ll make you wish you never laid eyes on me,” I snarled. More than likely, he’d overpower me, and we both end up smelling like last week’s garbage.

Taking my chances on the other side, I laid my bag over the razor wire, then carefully slipped over as the homeless man slithered up to where I’d been standing.

“You’re going to die over there,” he mumbled.

I jerked my bag off the wire before my feet hit the black ground with a thud. “I’d die overtheretoo.”

It was darker over here like someone had snuffed out the light.

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