Page 68 of Tesio
Jamie
The twitching curtains ofmy neighbours were my first hint, and I really wished I wasn’t already out of my car when I realised it. I turned fearfully toward my house, and saw alight moving in there. A torch maybe. Someone was in my house.Oh god.
They’d found me that fast, and why was I surprised by that? Why did I think they’d take longer than a few hours to find me? Maybe I’d already been on their radar, because I’d been linked to the club with my stupid, childish attempts to get noticed. Guess what… being noticed is not a good thing when mafia guys are involved.
I ducked down behind my car while I pondered my options. They’d have heard me parking up, and that means I had seconds before they wondered why I hadn’t gone inside, but if I started the car up again, they’d know they were busted, and… and what if they came out, guns blazing, and my neighbours were caught in the crossfire. I never thought guns, and risk of collateral damage, were something I’d bring to my quiet little neighbourhood.
The roaring of engines caught my attention, and I realised more were coming. More bad guys coming to kill the little copper who stupidly thought drawing attention to herself was a good idea. Hey, maybe I saved Eddie, but dying in his place no longer felt like a risk worth taking. It was fight or flight time, and I was opting for the latter.
In a moment of panic, I ran from the car, and down the street, ducking down behind the neighbour’s car on their drive. I just had to see who was coming. Once they saw I wasn’t there, they’d leave, right? They’d go and track me down elsewhere? They’d… oh god, my phone! I dug it out of my pocket and switched it off, frantically pulling it apart to remove the battery and everything, because I was sure there were ways of forcing it back on to track people. I didn’t want to do something that dumb.
The roaring sound was louder, and that’s when I realised it was bikers incoming. Three motorbikes came around the corner and passed me, stopping right outside my house!
As one of the guys got off his bike and strode toward my house, I could tell, just from the way he moved, that it was Grease! Oh god! I thought maybe I could find him and he’d keep me safe, but he was in on it. Whatever was going on, whatever they were planning to do to me, he was a part of it!
I swallowed hard, panic making my heart thud so loudly in my ears that I couldn’t tell what was going on over there, because I couldn’t hear over it.
“Oh god,” I whispered to myself, scrambling further back, so I was closer to the neighbour’s house. If, for some dumb reason, Mrs Overman opened her front door, she’d see me squeezing between her garage door and car, and probably speak to me, and from there, we’d both die. Please don’t come out. Please stay inside.
A loud bang made me jump, and the other two bikers scrambled for my door, going inside. They were all in my house! I don’t know why that fact didn’t hit me before. There were strange men in my house, probably trashing everything in there. My furniture. My photos on the wall. My books. My god, everything I cared about was in that small house right now, and I think I was focusing on those details rather than the bigger picture, because it was too terrifying to comprehend.
Grease suddenly strode back down the path, and paused by my gate, staring at my car, before he walked over and leaned down to peer inside it.
“She’s here somewhere,” he yelled to whoever he was with. Good guys, bad guys, I had no idea.
I suddenly realised that staying in one place was the mistake. I should run. I should be putting as much distance between me and these men as I could, because if they meant to find me, they’d search, and if I was found here, I might get someone else hurt. Or worse.
While he was focused on the car, I scrambled up from the drive, my legs weakening a little before they held, and I turned to make a break for it.
I ran down the street, catching the word ‘FUCK’ from behind me, and then heavy boots were thundering on the pavement behind me, gaining on me way faster than should have been possible. Was panic making me move too slowly? Was I about to pass out from the terror?
Strong arms caught me and dragged me back, before my momentum could pull us over.
“Shhh. Calm down, little pain, it’s just me.” Yeah, that was the problem wasn’t it? I focused on his body wrapped around mine, and the surprising looseness of his grip, and used my training to save my life.
It was the first time I’d really had to rely on it in a life or death situation like this. My elbow rammed into his gut, and he grunted as his grip loosened further, and I spun to try and punch him in the throat.
“Jesus fuck!” He dodged me, so my fist glanced past him, and then he grabbed me and slammed me against the six foot fence he’d caught me beside.
“Chill out, Jamie, it’s me, for fuck’s sake! I said it’s me!”
I struggled with him, and that struggle kicked up a notch, as I heard more footsteps approaching, and voices that I didn’t recognise. Or did I? Was that Micro with him?
“Thank fuck! You wanna get her on the back of your ride, so we can get the fuck out of here?”
“It’s only a matter of time before one of these old biddies calls the pigs, man.”
Pigs?I turned to glare at the guy with the shaved head, who looked, quite frankly, like the kind of guy you cross the street to avoid.
“Pigs?”
He squeezed his eyes closed, lifting his hands in apology.
“Sorry. I only open my mouth to change feet these days.”
“What’s going on? If you’re going to kill me, just do it here and leave, but please don’t hurt my neighbours.”
Micro snorted, and lifted his eyebrows at Grease.
