Page 40 of Colin Gets Promoted and Dooms the World
Looking up from the pathway, he hesitated, then offered a faint smile. “Yeah. Just thinking.”
“About what?”
After another brief pause, he said, “Why don’t we get out of the city for a little while?”
I blinked at him as my steps slowed. “Like…on a holiday?”
“Sure. Yeah. You, me, and Amira. I’ll rent a car and we can drive upstate.”
I stopped walking, gently pulling him to a halt next to me. “Where’s this coming from?”
He didn’t meet my eyes, looking instead at his shoes. “Something bad is happening in the city,” he said quietly. “I know you don’t want to talk about it, but I’m worried that it’s only going to get worse.” His gaze lifted to mine as he reached out to grasp my other hand in his. “So let’s go. Now. Toss some clothes in a suitcase, persuade Amira to play hooky for a few days, and go someplace safe.”
“You don’t feel safe here?” I asked, my voice sounding strained to my own ears.
“I’m starting not to.”
My fingers tightened around his. He was right, of course—something badwashappening, and it was my fault. He was scared, because of me. My heart broke a little. This wasn’t right. The last thing I wanted to do was cause Eric pain, but that was exactly what I’d done.
The silence stretched until Eric said quietly, “I’m sorry to ruin the mood. It’s just—I’ve never fallen this hard for anyone before. Maybe that’s what really scares me. All I want to do is keep you safe.”
“I want to keep you safe, too,” I whispered, and it was true. I did. Stopping the Thing suddenly felt urgent in a way that no promotion ever could.
He stared down into my eyes as he slowly, hesitantly, brought his lips to mine. Our noses bumped, there was a quick scrape of his stubble against mine, and then I melted into his arms. It was by far the best kiss of my entire life—gentle but passionate, strong but yielding, a hint of tongue but nothing sleazy. I pressed myself into his warm body, my hands low on his hips, and drank him in.
When we finally came up for air, there were a couple of sardonic wolf whistles from a group of people walking past. Dazed, like I’d been hit over the head, all I could do was give him a tremulous smile as we drew apart.
“Wow,” he said.
“Yeah,” I breathed.
“That was…”
“Yeah.”
We looked at each other as a cold wind tugged at our hair. My fears of a moment ago weren’t gone, but they had receded a little. “I wish I could get in a car and drive away,” I said, a little awkwardly.“But I can’t. Not yet, anyhow.” If I was going to stop the Thing, I couldn’t run off to Poughkeepsie for some light antiquing.
Eric gave me a sad little smile. “Okay. Whatever happens, we’ll get through it together.”
By unspoken agreement, we turned and started walking toward the 190th Street station, clasping hands once more. The skies had darkened enough that the lamps lining the park’s paths had started to flicker on, leaving deep pools of shadow between them. Trees and greenery crowded close as we rounded a bend, and I leaned into him as I said, “Why don’t you come home with me? Amira and I were going to make something simple for dinner, and she’s an amazing cook.”
“That sounds nice, actually,” he murmured, giving me a smile that seemed more genuine this time. A moment later, his steps slowed and then stopped, his hand tightening on mine as he stared at something ahead.
“What’s up?” I came to a stop as well, looking from him to the path stretching ahead of us. We were alone, the only sound that of leaves sighing and fluttering in the wind.
Rather than answering me, he called out, “I know you’re there.”
Nothing happened. I was holding my breath, I realized. Exhaling a little shakily, I was about to speak when two people stepped into view from either side of the pathway, materializing out of the gloom. They were dressed identically in black, masks pulled up over their lower faces and gloves on their hands.Muggers, I thought with a sudden surge of fear. Then I saw the steel-rimmed glasses the taller individual was wearing, and my heart stuttered painfully in my chest.
It was him—the man from the subway, from outside my building.
From the Firing Squad.
A hot wave of panic rose up within me. Dark Enterprises had finally realized what I’d done, and I was about to disappear. Frantically, I turned to Eric. I’d put him in terrible danger, again, but if he ran now, there was a chance he’d survive. Surely the Firing Squad didn’t need to terminate him. “You need to go,” I tried to say, but my throat had closed so tightly that I managed only a strangled grunt.
Eric didn’t look frightened. In fact, he looked weirdly calm as he shifted his left foot forward and leaned back a little on his right, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze before releasing it. “Turn around and walk away,” he said loudly to the people in front of us.
The man’s brow furrowed. “Don’t be stupid,” he called back in a deep voice muffled slightly by the mask over his nose and mouth. There was a hint of an accent—Slavic, maybe? “Give us what we want.”
