Page 84 of Revenge & Ruin

I have no water, no supplies. But right now, I have a bigger problem.

I count the seconds as the engine gets louder and louder before sailing past me at break-neck speeds. Far too fast for me to catch the driver but I know, inherently, who is behind the wheel.

I avoid the main roads after that.

My arm stings as I dart between residential yards, sporadically changing directions until I reach a cluster of closed storefronts and lit-up bars. Checking over my shoulder, I beeline to the fullest, hoping to lose myself in the crowd.

But there are very few patrons when I enter. Most of them look at me as I enter, as if my mere presence offends them. Still, the relief of being inside is instantaneous, and I stretch out my frozen fingers a few times to try to warm them up.

That’s when I finally notice that I’m dripping blood.

I curse under my breath as I push into the bathroom. The cut is far deeper than I would like it to be, and the blood has begun to congeal on top in a way that doesn’t look particularly healthy.

After a few minutes of running it under the tap to make sure there aren’t any lingering pieces of foliage within it, my entire arm has taken on a pinkish hue.

It’s ugly and noticeable, so I do my best to hide my arm as I finally leave the bathroom to approach the bar. There are a few other men sitting at it, seemingly fixated on the football game playing on the screen behind it.

“E-excuse me? Could I borrow your phone?”

The bartender looks me over lazily before gesturing to the corner. A decrepit-looking payphone hangs on the wall, demanding a dollar to be used.

Right. Money.

I stretch out my fingers again and straighten up. I might look half frozen, but I did shower yesterday. I’ve worked with less.

“Hey,” I say sweetly as I tap the shoulder of the guy at the bar. “You wouldn’t be able to lend a girl a dollar, would you?”

Then he turns around.

And my heart sinks to the floor.

“Well, well, well. What are the odds of this?” Luis smiles with his teeth.

I back off, already beginning to run to the door.

But Luis whistles and the patrons that were glaring at me before get to their feet and block my path.

“You’re a long way from home,Isabella,”he sneers. “You didn’t come all the way out to Long Island to see little old me, did you?”

Long Island?

But I keep my gaze steady as I watch him finish his drink and slowly stand. “You left in such a hurry last time. I thought maybe I’d given you the wrong impression.”

“I tend to bounce when things get a bit heated,” I quip back, sparing a glance at the only other exit behind the bar. A staff-only sign is plastered over it. “I don’t really have the stomach for it.”

“But your little boyfriend does,” Luis continues. “Did you see what he did to my men? I bet you watched, didn’t you.”

I swallow back a retaliation. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“How much do you think Teo Vitale would pay to get his little plaything back?”

Everything within me is screaming at me to run, to get away. This isn’t a situation I can talk myself out of. This is a situation I’ll be lucky tosurvive.

But I’m outnumbered and unprepared, and there’s no way that I can make it behind the bar before Luis can grab me.

So instead, I say, “I have no business with the Guild.”

A few of the cartel snigger at this.

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