Page 48 of All Twisted Up
“No. If he was, he probably would’ve taken out a gun and shot us right then, but that phone call means he’s called in the cavalry.” He sped up. “Walk faster.” Cold fear filled me as I realized Nash was pulling me in the opposite direction of the parking lot.
“Where’re we going? The Jeep’s in the other lot.”
“Can’t take the Jeep. It’s too easy to identify…dammit!” He let go of my arm and shoved his gym bag at me. I watched him pull out his gun and phone at the same time. “Don’t leave my side, Joshua.” He sped up until we were jogging down the street. Every few seconds he glanced over his shoulder. I didn’t dare look back as he spoke into the phone.
“Hey, Siri!”
“Uh huh,” the electronic voice replied.
“Call Candy.”
He glanced over his shoulder and then at me as we reached the end of the block and rounded the corner. “Candy!” There was a split-second pause before Nash spoke again as we broke into a full run. “We’ve been spotted. I need the team.” We slowed only a second as Nash looked side to side, probably getting our bearings. “We’re at—” He abruptly stopped talking. “You pinged my phone?” He paused. “ETA?” I held my breath as he listened. “Thanks.” He pocketed the phone and glanced back over his shoulder. “There!” He grabbed my arm and pointed to an alley that ran along the back of the gym as we reached the corner.
“Where are we going?” I asked, hating the panic in my voice.
“Anywhere but here. Gotta find a place to hide until the team gets here. Gonna take a few minutes,” he replied in rapid, clipped tones.
The alley was filthy, littered with an old couch, dirty dumpsters, and trash. A tract of homes ran alongside it to our right, the backs of the commercial buildings including the gym were to our left. A rusty five-foot chain link fence formed a barrier to the residential homes. When we reached a tree overhanging the alley, Nash reached out and pulled me to a stop. He glanced back again and for the first time, so did I. My heart jumped into my throat as a black car turned into the alley, fifty feet from us.
“Up!” Nash barked. I stared at him for a second, not comprehending what he wanted. It must have been a second too long because he dropped his bag, ripped mine off my shoulder, and tossed it to the ground. He raised his voice. “Climb, Joshua!”
I shook myself out of my fog as I reached for the tree, hauling myself up and dropping to the ground as Nash effortlessly followed. The car tore up the alley toward us, closing the distance way too quickly. Nash took me by the hand and beganrunning. His legs were long, and I had to work doubly hard to keep up as he pulled us through the backyard of a house.
In the distance, I heard a car’s brakes screeching to a halt on the asphalt. We rounded the far side of the house just as several car doors slammed shut.
I pushed the sound out of my mind as Nash dragged me around the side of the house and down to the front. He kicked the gate, crashing through it, and I followed, clinging desperately to his hand. We ran down to the street, stopping only momentarily as Nash frantically looked around.
“Come on.”
A second later, we took off running down the street in the ancient Hollywood neighborhood. I noted few cars but several shade trees dotted the landscape. In a matter of seconds, he was pulling me up the side of a house a few doors down and through another gate. He shut it quietly as he stopped and turned to me.
“We’ve got to hide, Joshua,” he panted. “My team will be here in a minute and by now, they’ve called in an LAPD airship to assist.” I nodded and was surprised when he reached out and brushed my cheek. His thumb came away wet and for the first time, I realized tears were streaking down my face. “It’s gonna be okay, baby.”
I swallowed hard as my eyes swam. He grabbed my hand and pulled me around to the back of the house. I followed numbly, heart pounding, this time for an entirely different reason. A small beagle was sleeping in the shade. The dog opened one eye and then the other as he lazily got to his feet, obviously just waking up from a nap. We both stopped in our tracks, praying the dog wouldn’t start barking and give away our position. Instead, he started wagging his tail.
Nash tugged on my hand and pointed to a pile of painter’s tarps which were sticking out from behind an old jacuzzi. “There!”
We ran over and he moved them aside so I could squeeze in behind the tub. I cringed at the sheer number of spiderwebs and dank odor but pushed away my revulsion as Nash quickly followed me. He drew the tarps back down over us as we crouched in the near darkness. I noticed he’d positioned himself to box me in, no doubt using his body to shield me if the worst happened and we were betrayed by a barking dog. Of course, his gun was at hand, pointed outward so he could at least take one of them out if we were discovered. He was so brave, and I felt safe in the knowledge that he’d protect me with his life if the worst happened.
I counted the seconds as they ticked by, feeling the strain in my calves from squatting, but doing my best to ignore it, though, the urge to stand just to stretch my legs was strong. Sweat poured down my back as the sun beat down on the tarps. I heard a noise and then something slammed, making me jump.
“The gate,” Nash whispered, turning his head ever so slightly toward me. “Be silent.”
I lifted a shaky hand to his shoulder in response as fear washed over me once again. Outside the barrier, I could hear boots walking across the patio and murmured whispers in Spanish. I laid my other hand on Nash’s back, needing the comfort of his nearness as I remained quiet, focused on keeping my breathing silent.
When the sound of an approaching helicopter suddenly broke my concentration, the footsteps stopped. A second later, they started running back the way they’d come. The gate crashed open, and a moment later, I felt the muscles in Nash’s back relax.I blew out a long, slow breath, dropping my head to rest on his shoulder.
“Jesus, that was too close,” I said.
He looked over his shoulder as I lifted my face. As he reached back, I grabbed his hand, comforted by how warm and solid it was. “Way too fucking close.”
Chapter Thirteen
NASH
I kept Joshua with me under the sweltering tarp until Candy called me by name. I threw the foul thing back and stood, bending to pull Joshua out of the cramped space, relieved beyond all reason that my team had arrived so quickly. Obviously, the captain had housed them somewhere near us after my phone call with him. I could only thank my lucky stars that Candy was always thinking ahead. Joshua was red-faced and sweating profusely when he finally righted himself, wincing. I frowned. “You okay?” I asked, steadying him with both hands on his shoulders. He nodded vigorously as he turned to look down at our hiding place.
“Just stiff.” He looked back and suddenly grinned, stomping his feet, probably to dislodge several spiderwebs. “Glad I didn’t become a stiff.”
