Page 56 of Evil Queen

Just as he said it, I glanced up at the signs overhead and noticed one under the 28th Street Exit that had the words Left Lane Only in big, bold letters. I was all the way on the right of four lanes of traffic, and I immediately started to panic. Getting into a wreck while trying to follow these guys was not a good outcome, but I didn’t want to lose them. If I put on my blinker, I’d tip them off, so I waited for a good opportunity and slipped one lane over.

“Nikki, you gotta move faster. The exit’s in a quarter mile!”

“Shut up!” I barked.

Once again, I waited for an opportunity and moved my car over to the next lane. The far-left lane was the one designated for the exit, and it was bumper to bumper with cars getting off, but ahead of me, the van hadn’t changed over yet either.

“What are you doing?” Jaxon said.

“I think they’re baiting us,” I quipped. “They’re hoping we go.”

Jaxon didn’t respond but kept glancing ahead to the exit. “This is our last chance.”

I didn’t know what to do. If I hopped over, they’d no doubt stay in the current lane and remain on the highway, but if I stayed, they could pull a last-minute switch and hop off. I kept my hands braced on the wheel as the exit got closer and closer, preparing to react as soon as I knew what was going to happen. Right at the last second, the van hopped into the left lane, just barely cutting a car off to take the exit.

“Fuck!” I barked and then cut my car to the left. A car blared at me as I nearly hit it, sliding to the side and onto the shoulder to avoid an accident. “Sorry!” I screamed as if they could hear me.

“Shit, Nikki,” Jaxon hissed, then pointed ahead. “Look! They’re turning toward North Postings.”

Trying my best not to do a whole lot more that would definitely result in my license plate being sent to the sheriff, I changed lanes, used my blinker, and tried to keep up, but a red light threatened to foil me. The van got just ahead of the light and turned left, and I had to slam my brake as cars immediately started to file out, cutting off my turn.

“Damn it!” I screeched.

Both Jaxon and I craned our heads, trying to see where the car was going, but Jaxon gasped. “They aren’t getting back on the highway,” he said. I was sure they would, but the van carried on straight into South Postings. “Is there any possibility they didn’t see us get off the highway after them?”

It was doubtful, but when my light finally turned green, I made my way around the corner and down the street as the van turned into one of the neighborhoods up ahead. We followed, turning right. The van was traveling even slower, and I just caught a glimpse of it turning right again, heading even further into the neighborhood. I turned to the right, and this time, the van was just reaching the light at the end of the street. It turned red, and the van stopped to obey the light.

“I don’t think they see us,” I murmured.

There was another car on the road, so I let it go ahead of us and started to creep my way down. The light turned green, and I started to pick up my speed until Jaxon reached over and took my hand.

“Back up!” he yelled, staring out his window.

“What? Why? We’ve almost got them!”

Jaxon looked over at me with the most serious look he’d ever given me before. “Nikki. Back up the car.”

Frustrated and watching as the van carried off down the street, I threw my car into reverse, made sure there were no cars behind me, and then started to back up. I kept going, waiting for Jaxon’s sign to stop when he smacked my leg and pointed. “Look! Isn’t that Brayden?”

I looked around him and out the window and saw someone down the street who was walking down the road with no real sense of direction. I craned my eyes, and sure enough, the person was none other than our missing friend, Brayden. “Oh my god.”

As quickly and safely as I could, I turned my car down the street and parked, and Jaxon and I jumped out. We raced down the street, and I walked in front of Brayden. His eyes were sunken and empty, but they widened a bit when he saw me. “Nikita?”

“Oh my god!” I couldn’t stop myself from pulling him into a huge hug. “Where the hell have you been? You’ve been missing for two weeks!”

“No,” he murmured, much more muted than his typical self. “I just needed to take a break.”

Jaxon dropped his jaw. “Just needed to take a break? You didn’t think we’d be worried?”

“Did Kyle do something wrong?” I asked.

A little life fluttered into Brayden’s eyes at the mention of Kyle. “Kyle? No, he’s…” His voice trailed off. “No, he didn’t do anything wrong.”

I exchanged a look with Jaxon and then hooked an arm around Brayden’s shoulders. I was relieved when he allowed me to lead him back toward the car. Jaxon helped me dump him into the backseat, and then we walked around to our respective doors. Before we got in, Jaxon looked across the roof at me.

“That’s not true, right?” he asked. “It had to have something to do with those guys. Do you think they dumped him?”

“No. If they had taken him, he would have gotten out of the van,” I said.

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