Page 114 of Black Bird

Sarah felt the need to whisper, even though Rhaena had told her not to speak at all. “Do I need to get these officers? Is somebody after me?”

“No, Sarah, I'm asking you to sneak out. And yes. Several somebodies, actually. When you’ve packed up, dress warm and sneak out whatever window will give you the most cover. Stay around the back of these buildings and go as fast as you can until you make it to the corner of East and 5th. Make yourself invisible and get into my truck as soon as I pull up. You got it?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, call me if something happens, otherwise I’ll see you in about twenty minutes. When I get you, we’re stopping to get Wren before we meet Athan at the apartment.”

“H—He’s going with us?”

“Yeah, we got kicked off the case. I’m taking everybody to my uncle’s cabin in Concord until we figure out our next move.”

“Alright, fine. I’ll see you in twenty.”

It was finally happening. She knew as soon as she started digging too deep at EverLife that she was gonna end up on their radar. As unsure as she felt right now about being around Athan, she figured he’d be thebest possible ally as far as her protection at this point. She dragged a duffle out of her linen closet and packed her laptop, everything Athan had left on her bed, her necessities, and an armful of clothes from her dresser. She quickly dressed and dumped the rest of her coffee out of the pot, unplugging it and fishing out a plastic bag from beneath her kitchen sink. There was little in her freezer to provide any makeshift ice pack, but she managed to find a half-empty box of frozen waffles and swiped the bag of her blood from the fridge, wrapping it in a paper towel and placing it inside the box. She stuffed it in the plastic bag and carefully packed it in her duffle.

Packing in a hurry always proved to be futile, and it was almost a guarantee that she’d forget something. Sarah glanced around the apartment. Her eyes caught the charger plugged into the wall beside her bed and she hurried over to yank it out, bringing her eye-level with the photo of her and her mother. Sarah stilled, staring at it. She grabbed the photo too and added it to her bag. She opted for a thick black hooded pullover and made her way to the window she was almost certain Athan had used to sneak into her place last night. Draping the duffle’s strap across her body, she held her breath and let her nerves settle at the sight of the drop outside the window if she were to lose her balance. Sarah looked around, finding no one and checking the corner to see the shadows of the two officers talking in front of her building.

“Screw it,” Sarah whispered under her breath, turning, and backing herself out of the window. Crouching on the sill, she looked over and grabbed the metal drainpipe, holding her breath as she reached a leg around it and hauled herself onto it. She bit down on her lip, her stomach churning and her heart pounding when she stupidly looked beneath her and held on for dear life. “Shit …shit…” she panicked. The bag was an awful weight on her shoulders and did nothing to calm her nerves. She started lowering herself down the pipe, choosing to look up rather than down. One of the officers laughed loudly and she jerked her head toward the sound.

“I wanna hear the rest, man. Lemme take a piss, first.” The chubby one chuckled. Sarah started to hyperventilate when his shadow moved closer to the corner of the building.

“Fuck!” she whispered, clenching her teeth. She looked down, realizing how far she’d slithered down the pipe and squeezed her eyes shut as she let go and dropped to the ground. She landed on her feet, a searing pain shooting through her ankles as she toppled onto her side and rolled. She braced her palms on the cement and shot up, gritting her teeth as she disappeared around the back of the building. Just in time. She heard his footsteps echoing off the wall and then the sound of a steady stream of piss and an exhale of relief. Sarah let go of one of those breaths as she panted against the back wall and started walking into a jog behind the rest of the buildings until she hung a right.

Another block and a half later, she ended up right where Rhaena said she’d be meeting her and made her way to a dodgy-looking bus stop that was covered in graffiti. She pulled her hood up and tucked under it,pulling her knees up to her chest on the bench and stuffing the bag into the corner of the covered platform. Still a little short of breath, Sarah lit a cigarette and watched out for Rhaena’s truck. She pulled her phone out and shot her a text to let her know she was waiting and found herself about to press the call button on Athan’s picture before her phone started vibrating. A rush of nerves tainted with a sag of relief washed through her and she blew out a cloud of smoke as she answered it.

“Hey,” she breathed, closing her eyes.

“Are you safe?”Athan asked, his tone full of worry.

“Yeah, Rhaena’s meeting me here at the bus stop close to my place. What happened? She said you got kicked off the case.”

“We both did. Feds wanted us to give you up. Foley told us we should hide you.”

“How did this happen? What do they want with me?”

“There was another body, Sarah. Not to mention … I think you’re well aware of where I got that container.”

Sarah quieted and took another drag off her cigarette. “Did this one look like me?” she asked, not certain if she really wanted to know. He took a long time to respond.

“Yeah, it did. But worse. And this time, the message was directed toward me.”

A chill crawled down her spine. “I’m not safe, am I?”

“You’ll be safe with me.”

She knew what he meant but couldn’t stop thinking about the horror of what she could remember the night that he attacked her. “Will I, Athan?”

She knew he caught her meaning when he remained quiet.“I’m not gonna let anything happen to you. I’ll give you whatever space you need at the cabin. I’ll stay away from you. But nobody will get anywhere near you. You have my word.”

She pulled again, softly blowing the smoke away from the phone and looking around for Rhaena’s truck. “Rhaena said we have to stop at your place before we head to Concord. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

“Alright,”he said, lingering on the other end like he had the night before. She did too. This time she ended it first. She slid the phone back into the front pocket of her hoodie and took another hit before flicking her cigarette into the street. Rhaena pulled up a moment later.

Wren had gotten the other shoe thrown at her when she had finished contacting the rest of her clients on her schedule for the rest of the week and had either rescheduled a few or passed them onto another artist. Dominic bitched her to kingdom come and told her that there were so many other hopefuls that would have leapt at the opportunity he’d given her, and she was blowing it. She was almost inclined to start packing up her booth, until Rhaena walked into the shop. Leigh raised herbrows as Northwood slid her round sunglasses off her face and clacked toward the counter.

“Wren Vintorri?” Rhaena asked, looking every bit as stressed as Wren felt right now. She knew Leigh was piecing together what the detective looked like beneath her close-fitting pantsuit. Leigh didn’t draw any lines between males or females. She enjoyed both. Sometimes at the same time, according to a few flavorful stories she’d shared over lunch. She nodded toward Wren’s spot and Rhaena offered a soft smile when she approached, though Wren couldn’t find one to give back to her. “Where is he?” she asked.

“Down the hall. Last door on the right is his office. You really don’t have to—”

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