Page 64 of Run Little Killer
Kevin eyes me suspiciously as I start for Holly’s bedroom, the weight of his stare lingering as I turn down the hall and disappear from sight.
I enter her room to find that it looks exactly the same as it did before, creams and pale pinks with hints of gold. Going right for her dresser, I slide open the drawer and rifle through her swimsuits, pulling out the one with the least amount of pink. Then I pivot around and go to shut the door, but Kevin darts out a hand to stop it from closing.
"What's the hurry?" he asks, raising a brow. "Briarwood got a curfew you'll be late for?"
Air whooshes from my lungs, his words making my blood run cold.He knows.Bile rushes up my throat and I start to wretch– it happens before I can stop it, vomitspilling from my mouth and splashing against the wood floor.
"Fucking gross," Kevin grimaces, jumping back.
My vision swims, everything suddenly off-kilter as I swipe the back of my hand across my mouth.
"What's going on–," Holly starts, pausing in the doorway when she sees the pile of puke at my feet. "Oh Lennon!" she exclaims, clapping a hand over her mouth. "Are you okay?"
"She isn't feeling good," Kevin answers for me, giving me a pointed look that says to shut the fuck up and play along. "She asked if I could give her a lift to where she's staying."
"Oh," Holly breathes, disappointment heavy in her tone as her shoulders droop. "Probably for the best, I don't want you to overdo it."
"Yeah," I say, voice cracking. "I think I should go. I'll come back another night."
"Promise?" she asks innocently.
"Of course," I lie, the words bitter on my tongue as a pang of guilt settles in my gut.
"Better get going then, huh Lennon?" Kevin asks, motioning towards the hall.
I nod solemnly, abandoning the blue tie-dye swimsuit on Holly’s duvet and wrapping my arms around her. "Take care, babes," I say, sidestepping Kevin to leave her room.
My pulse ratchets higher, the itch to run stirring beneath my skin as I reach the front door of the house. As if he knows I’m considering making a break for it, Kevin slaps a hand down on my shoulder as we step out beneath the flickering porch light. "Gonna turn you into my ticket out of this shit town," he murmurs as he forcefully guides me towards his beat-up Toyota Tundra.
"What are you gonna tell Holly?" I ask, glancing back at him.
"Nothing at all,” he scoffs. “With the reward money I'll get from you, I won't need her anymore."
My jaw drops at the goddamn audacity of this man, the thought of adding him to my list niggling in the back of my mind.
With one arm braced against the truck, he yanks the passenger door open, caging me in with his body and giving me no choice but to climb in. As soon as I do, he slams the door shut with a loud thud, and as he rounds the hood to take the drivers seat, I think about running. But then I see Holly standing on the front porch, brow creased with concern as she tosses me another wave, and I decide against it. I don't want her to see me run, to see Kevin chase me, or worse, have the cops swarming her house.
Fuck, I never should’ve brought her into this.
The bill of Nix's hat hits the headrest as I lean back, exhaling a slow breath.Dammit, I wouldn't be in this position if I'd just stayed with them.
Kevin reverses down the driveway, pulling out onto the street and turning left at the stop sign. Numbness creeps in as he drives past the side streets, the stoplight at the main junction going straight from green to red.
"Fuck," he shouts, the seat belt digging into my hips as we jerk to a stop. I unfasten it, letting it fully retract before attempting to rebuckle, and once again, I consider running.
That's when the heavy rumbles of not one, buttwomotorcycles rattle around us as a pair of masked bikers come to a stop across the intersection. Black bandanas are wrapped around their faces, but I’d know those eyes anywhere.
Like a strike of lightning, adrenaline crackles throughme, fingers scrabbling to grip the door handle and fling it open.
"Lennon!" Kevin shouts as I stumble out of the truck, ripping open his own door.
The soles of my sneakers slap against the pavement as I take off like a shot, and for once in my life, I feel like I'm running towards something instead of away from it.
27
NIX
My jaw's set tight, engine idling roughly between my thighs at the stoplight. Anxious energy hums beneath my skin, fingers curling tighter around the hand brake as I glance across the empty intersection at the red Toyota idling opposite us.
