Page 79 of End It All

"Shit," he swore as he hopped to his feet and looked around. "Oh, fuck!" He shoved both of his bloody hands through his hair. "What the fuck do I do?"

My eyes darted around before I grabbed his hand and dragged him down a row of containers. Soon, they would find the bodies, but until then we had a little time. At least enough to make sure no one came after us. I spotted a canister and yankedit up. When I shook it, the sloshing and smell of gasoline made me grin.

"Stay here," I told Quincy. "I need to go inside that building."

He frowned as he ducked down beside me. "What? That's insane."

"Yeah." I gave him a smile as my confidence returned. "But I'm good at insane."

Before he could say a word, I slipped inside. Talking and laughter made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I listened out as best I could while I shook gasoline everywhere. The heavy Russian and thick accents were proof there were roaches in Benito’s warehouse. I’d have to apologize later for burning it down. By the time I made my way outside again, Quincy looked like he was a shade paler than before. He gripped my arm and refused to let me go.

"What did you do?"

"Set up a distraction," I whispered back.

I pulled out my lighter and tossed the piece of fabric I'd torn off one of their jackets. An inferno sprung to life.You know, I could get used to this if I got to set fires forever.

A smile tugged at my lips before strong hands grabbed both of my arms. I was yanked away and shoved into a car before I realized it was Quincy hustling to rush us away from the scene of the crime. As he climbed behind the wheel, he panted.

"Jesus, you're nuts," he growled.

I smiled. "Hey, apparently it runs in the family." I watched the city shoot by before I stared at him. "You okay?"

Quincy grunted. "Yeah. Thanks to you."

I tried to contain my smile as I slid down further in the seat and propped my feet up on the dashboard. Quincy was okay, because of me. I mean, sure, his hands were bloody and we both reeked, but it seemed worth it. We had just done somethingtogether, something insane and fucked up, but it was together none-the-less.

Damn, I felt like I was on top of the world.

The adrenaline hadn't subsidedfor a second, not when I knew things could get so much worse.

"Fuck!" I slammed my fist into the steering wheel the longer I was stuck in my own head. If Blake hadn't been there, I could have died, but what really had my stomach in knots and my heart feeling as if it was being stabbed was the thought that it could have turned out differently. It could have been Blake on the ground, staring up, lifeless.

"Hey, we got out of there," Blake said.

I shook my head and relief was a sweet moment that was instantly tainted with the what-ifs. I couldn't stop imagining Blake dead, and it was fucking with my head.

"No, I shouldn't have brought you."

"What the fuck?" Blake punched my arm, and I swerved slightly, nearly taking out another car next to us. "If I wasn't there you'd be dead."

I shrugged. That was part of the risk I took daily. I openly smiled in the face of death, but I wasn't smiling now.

"Don't be a dick. You were just happy that I was there to save your ass, now you're going to get angry?"

"Yes!" I knew it didn't make sense. I mentally screamed to shut my mouth to stop while I was ahead but my mouth moved anyway. "You were at risk. It was just supposed to be a hand off, nothing more."

"Yeah, so? I went because I wanted to and I'm glad I did." His feet slid off the dashboard and hit the floor. "Are you bipolar or something? You know as well as I do that you wouldn't have walked out of there without me.”

Fuck, he wasn't seeing it. He wasn't understanding the issue. "That doesn't matter."

"Like fuck it doesn't," Blake shouted. "Why are you on a goddamn mission to die?"

"I'm not."

"You sure about that? You're over here telling me I shouldn't have come, knowing you'd be dead if I didn't. Seriously, am I supposed to pretend I don’t see how depressed you are every day?”

I shivered. He wasn't wrong and I knew that. I made a hard right turn, heading further into the city. I checked all the mirrors, making sure no one was following us. This uneasy feeling wouldn't leave me, and the longer I drove, the more I recognized it for what it was.

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