Page 56 of Redemption

Zoe walked on the railroad rail, one foot in front of the other, holding Ryder’s hand. They had three hours until they needed to be back at their house, and they’d walked for the last hour one way down the rails. Now they had to head back to where he’d stashed his motorbike.

If it were his call, they’d do nothing but ride the back roads with her wrapped around his waist, but that cost money, and petrol wasn’t cheap.

She jumped off the rail. “Let’s walk into town.”

He eyed the streets and would rather she didn’t. But telling Zoe to not do something would only make her want it more. He knew what they would find: homeless and hungry blokes who sometimes weren’t much older than they were but weren’t as tuned into where to scrap for food—or skilled enough to lift it.

Zoe like to help as much as she enjoyed the rush, and given the choice, she’d choose the safer option, but she never refused a tough choice because the odds weren’t stacked in their favor.

They rounded the corner, and as Ryder expected, two boys their age but living behind the buildings were hunkered down. He recognized them, and Zoe trotted up to say hello. Ryder scooped down, nabbing a rock, and skipped it into the street, taking his time. He didn’t want to talk.

Zoe spun back. Her bright eyes said she was now a girl on a mission.

He caught up to the three of them. “What’s going on?”

“They haven’t had anything great to eat in days.”

He could’ve called it.

“We’ll be back.” Zoe yanked. “Don’t move.”

“Zoe,” Ryder cautioned, but he knew there was no point. They moved farther up the block and onto the main street. The end of the day would help out their prospects. Shops would toss leftovers, and they’d grab what they needed.

“The bakery closed half hour ago.” She pulled him toward the back alley off the main street.

Time wasn’t on their side. If this wasn’t a sure thing, Ryder was going to have to sell her on leaving those guys to fend for themselves. If they didn’t want to go to a shelter or figure it out on their own, they couldn’t wait for his girl to feed them. But still, he felt for them.

“Look, there!”

Piled on the back entryway of the bakery was the days’ worth of food to be discarded. “Not tossed yet.”

“But it will be.”

This was when word on the street was gold. The rule was to shoplift it, grab it from a dumpster but not from a loading dock or back breezeway. He didn’t know the specifics, but something about that was a big deal, where a look-the-other-way crime became about taking a business’s merchandise. Ryder didn’t pretend to understand or even know if it was true, but he knew he didn’t want to test the unwritten code.

“Let’s find a shop that’s dumped already.” He grabbed her hand.

“It’s right there.” Zoe checked around them, and the backdoor light was dark. “No one’s around.”

It was almost as if he could feel another set of eyes but couldn’t see them. “I don’t know. Let’s go.”

“Come on.” She dropped her hold on him and ran toward the stairs, summiting the bakery’s platform, and grabbed an armful of their stash.

Out of the dark, an arm reached, grabbing her shoulder, and Zoe yelled. She spun and pushed, but the arm didn’t let go.

“Shit!” Ryder sprinted, hopped the rail, and bounded up the stairs, ripping the hand off her. “Run.”

They took off, him keeping his head on the swivel, back and forth, as the man emerged, hollering for the girl to stop. They didn’t. They ran as fast as they could until they rounded the corner, and heart bursting in his chest from fear of another’s hand on her, he erupted. “Zoe! I told you!”

She clung to the food, eyes wide, her breath racing for what had to be many reasons.

“I didn’t see him,” she finally admitted.

“I know.” He urged them forward. “I never should have let you.”

She stopped abruptly. “You never could have stopped me.”

Wasn’t that the truth… “Fine. Let’s go. Come on.” Time was ticking away. They jogged back to where the other guys were, and their faces lit up at the sight of Zoe’s offerings, so much so that he felt like a fuckwit for complaining.

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