Page 155 of Magic or Madness

Oliver couldn’t have seen her stab the bodyguard, and nobody needs to know that it was her. The blood on her legs can easily be explained by the first man that I shot, which landed right where she was sitting. I can’t stand to hide things from my crew, but right now, it’s for the best.

“We heard you two fighting, are you guys alright?” Pepper interjects, and sometimes I forget how sound travels through here.

“Again, just adjusting. We’re okay, she went through a lot,” I explain, and everyone’s eyes are glued to me.

“So Mom and Dad are okay? Because I’m not taking sides in a divorce,” Oliver laughs, and everybody chimes in to agree with him.

“We’re not Mom and Dad … but no, you kids don’t have to decide which house you want to live at,” I tease, and they all lose it, the laughter healing us all a little bit.

I sip my beer, enjoying the company now that things are seemingly back to normal, and I put my worries at ease for the night, letting the concerns racking through my mind go for the night.

Just as I feel the tension in my body easing away, Lex’s laptop dings on the coffee table and everyone in the room falls silent.

All eyes land on the device, and Pepper jumps off Lex’s lap, joining me on the couch.

“Can’t the ominous emails wait until the morning, this is killing my buzz,” Oliver says, but I shake my head, nodding to Lex for him to open it.

“Girls, can we have a minute?” I ask, and they head off to the bathroom, giving us privacy.

I look behind me, ensuring the bedroom door is still closed, and give Lex the green light to read what we’ve got out loud.

We’re all silent, besides Lex, who recites the words to us, and the rage slowly creeps through each of us as the ultimatum we’re given is fucking harsh.

Mr. A is pissed, and he sent us two videos, both of which implicate Oliver and Journey in what seems like a perfect string of murders.

“I wasn’t even there today,” Journey mutters as we watch the first clip, and I realize how dedicated this man is to our demise.

He photoshopped the video, erasing me, and adding Journey’s face so flawlessly that I’d believe it, if I weren’t there myself.

The second video is of Max and Journey at the storage unit, and I’m not sure how it connects, but it’s not good.None of it is good.

Another message pops up, laying out instructions very simply, and explains the picture he’s painting. The murder of Doc, the money, leading up to the murders of his two men. The crimes cross state lines, making the punishments even higher, especially in Florida, where the death penalty is still legal.

Either the three of them go down for murder, or we leave town. Start fresh with new identities, and our debt is forever his. We have two days to decide before these videos go mainstream, plastered on every news station with wanted posters drawn up for each one of them.

“We have to run,” I say, and everyone’s eyes flick to mine.

“Ozzy, wait, let’s think this through,” Lex says, but I shake my head.

“They’re not going to prison for murder. At least if we run willingly, we can do it without being hunted. We run now, or we run with cops, and feds, behind us.” I throw my hands in the air, telling them to take it or leave it.

“What about the girls, and this place?” Oliver asks somberly, and I slam my beer on the table.

I don’t fucking know.

The last time we did this, it was only five of us. Now, we have other people to consider, and my mind is drowning in possibilities.

“Do we want to keep dragging them through this? Or do we protect them by leaving them behind? I think that’s the question we sleep on tonight,” I say, giving everyone their own choice regarding their significant other.

Neither choice is ideal, but the situation we’re in is desperate, and so are the possibilities.

Suddenly, it feels like the air is being stolen from my lungs as I try to work through everything in my head.

I’m suffocating in here, and I need fresh air before I pass out. I head towards the stairs, taking them two at a time until I reach the roof, the cold air instantly bringing relief.

I dangle my legs off the edge and stare up at the stars, the clouds in the sky blocking most of them, but I see the North Star shining brighter than all the rest.

My phone vibrates with a new message, which is strange, since anyone who has access to my burner cell is downstairs. Out of curiosity, I check my texts, and there’s one from an unknown sender.

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