Page 121 of Indigo Sky

He barked a laugh. “Fat fuckin’ chance. I’m not leaving you alone to do this shit yourself.”

“Yes, you are,” I argued.

“Nope. I’m not leaving you. We’re brothers, Rev. Brothers don’t abandon each other. They might … grow apart for a while or—I dunno—need space, but we don’tleave. And I’m not fuckin’ leaving.”

“You’re a stubborn asshole—you know that?”

He slugged me in the shoulder. “Yeah, but you need me. Now, tell me what to do.”

I swallowed, full of premature regret and guilt. “Distract Donny.”

He grinned, his eyes wild and mischievous. “Aye, aye, Captain.”

“Take the gun,” I demanded.

“Nah, you take it. I have a crowbar in the trunk. I’ll take that.”

“No.I’lltake the crowbar. I don’t want you walking into a fuckin’ gun fight without a gun.”

He rolled his eyes. “Fine.”

So, I gave him the code to get into the community, and I climbed out of the car as he got behind the wheel. He extended his hand, grasped mine, and held tight. “I love you, Rev.”

It was the second time tonight that he had said it. I thought about rolling my eye, thought about telling him to shut the hell up and to get out of here before we wasted any more time, but I stopped myself.

“I love you too.”

“All right. Get the fuck out of here. I’ll see you on the other side of this shit.”

I took off running for the fence as he drove forward. There was a decorative boulder, one I wasn’t sure would hold my weight, but I used it to give me a leg up and jumped the fence, falling to the grassy ground with a thud. I watched for a moment as Nate stopped at the gate, and I waited to see if he remembered the code. When the gate lifted and he drove through, I took off running again. Avoiding the lampposts but appreciating the light they shed over the dark grounds, dodging barbecues and lawn chairs and Belgian blocks until I reached the row of townhomes where I knew Kate's house was.

At first, I worried I wouldn't know which one was hers from the rear. These units were less discernable from the back than they were from the front. Every one looked identical without the house number or the odd bird feeder to give it away.

But I found it anyway.

All I had to do was follow her screams.

I hated the sound. Hated how she cried. But she wasalive. That was all I told myself. She was still alive, and as long as she could scream, there was hope.

I tiptoed between the shadows as I approached the back door. There was a lantern beside the kitchen window that threatened to give me away had anyone pulled back the curtain, so I held tight to my crowbar and swung it as hard as I could. The sounds of the busting glass and the popping bulb, of the iron crashing against the brass fixture, rang through the night, and just as the light blinked off, I ducked, hiding behind a bush, and waited.

And I guessed the sound could've alerted Donny. He might've come to the back door, could've looked outside, searched for a minute, and found me behind this shrub that did little to conceal my identity.

All of that might've happened … had Nate not made his presence known at that exact time. Almost as if we'd timed it perfectly … but we hadn't. It was pure, dumb luck. Some might even call it fate.

"The hell is going on, Donny?" Nate asked from deeper in the house.

"How the fuck …" Donny was stunned.

Kate cried, "Nate! Oh my God, Nate! Help us, help—no, no, stop!"

She screamed; another scream joined hers.

Angela.

"Shut up! Shut up! Everybody, fucking shut up!" Donny shouted.

I couldn't wait any longer. I stood, my back hunched, and quietly went to the back door and tried the knob. Locked.

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