Page 47 of Sinners' Appetite
“Jessica!” Malachi calls out. “Get over here!”
A few seconds later, Nolan’s sister comes running around the side of the building. “You’re okay!”
“Stay with her until I get back out,” Malachi demands, helping me sit down.
“No! Don’t leave me!” I plead as he takes off running away from us.
“I’ll be right back, baby girl. I promise!”
I bow my head into my hands and let the tears fall as Jessica wraps her arms around me. “You’re okay now, Nikki. Take a deep breath. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Paul…” I manage to say.
“Who’s Paul?” She asks.
“The other guy. He hurt Sammi.”
“Where is he now?”
Before I can reply, Jeremy comes around the corner, cradling Sammi in his arms with Malachi following closely behind him.
“We need to get her to the hospital. Now!” Jeremy cries.
“I grabbed their keys. We can take their vehicle. Let’s get her into the backseat before she looses any more blood,” Malachi insists.
Jessica helps me to my feet and we all take off toward the car. She leads me to the front seat and then hops into the back with Jeremy and Sammi. Malachi starts the engine and speeds offtoward the entrance. As we make it further down the road, we spot a vehicle driving towards us in the opposite direction.
“Sammi, baby, wake up,” Jeremy pleads from the back seat.
“Is Nolan—dead?” I manage to ask Malachi.
Malachi looks over at me, nodding his head. “Well—if he isn’t already—he will be soon enough.”
I breathe a sigh of relief and close my eyes.
I thought I’d never get to see Malachi again.
“Where is the nearest emergency room?” Malachi asks.
“Take a left when you get to the end of this road. It’s not far from here,” I reply, my body still trembling. I can’t bring myself to look back at Sammi. It kills me that she’s in this condition because of me.
Malachi reaches over and gently places his hand on my leg. “She’ll be okay,” he assures me.
“I did this.”
Jeremy then speaks up from the back seat. “No, you didn’t, Nikki. You can’t blame yourself for any of this.”
After a moment of silence, Jessica speaks up. “Nikki—you mentioned someone named Paul…where is he?” she asks.
I take a deep breath before finally answering. “He left to pick someone up.”
“I wonder if that’s them.” Malachi says, pointing toward the car up ahead.
As it gets closer, Malachi moves over a bit and dims the headlights, allowing the car to pass by us. I glance behind us in the mirror, watching as the tail lights disappear over the hill.
“I think it was…” I reply.
“We have to ditch this car somewhere,” Jeremy says.
