Page 14 of Virtue & Vengeance

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EDEN

ALLEN.

I wasn’t sure it was him before, but now I knew it was him. The person Zander described.

Shady.

Dirty.

Missing teeth.

There was no doubt about it after hearing that description. It was definitely Allen.

He was looking for me at Empire Sevens.

But how had he known where to find me?

Did my mother know I was with Aunt Kennedy?

Did my mother even know where Aunt Kennedy lived now?

And if so, would she tell Allen where to find me?

Would she hand me over to Allen so he could get to me?

I knew in my heart that was a definite no. My mother would never do that.

My mother wasn’t the woman she used to be, but I had to believe she wouldn’t hand me over to Allen. Especially since she knew what he was capable of, and especially since I was sure she knew I’d stolen his money and his car. She had to know he would kill me or at least leave me for dead somewhere.

I left Empire Sevens like I was being chased, and in a way, I was. The Oldsmobile’s tires screeched when I pulled out of the garage and I drove it toward the interstate like Allen and Zander were on my tail.

Maybe driving his car wasn’t the best idea?

He would know his car. And if he saw me, he could follow me. That’s if he didn’t already know where I was. But one thing was for sure; if Allen had come to Empire Sevens looking for me, then he knew Aunt Kennedy worked there. And if he knew Aunt Kennedy worked at Empire Sevens, it wouldn’t be long before he realized I worked there, as well.

He would find me.

There was no doubt about that.

I knew my leaving would hurt Aunt Kennedy, but this was for the best. I couldn’t stay there and bring her any trouble. She didn’t deserve that after everything she had done for me since I showed up unannounced on her doorstep.

I just needed to get out of the city, but I didn’t even get that far.

I’d been driving maybe twenty minutes before I realized leaving was going to be much harder than I thought it would be.

I heard the siren blaring behind me before I saw the bright flashes of blue lights. My heart dropped to the bottom of my stomach when I realized I was being stopped.

I’d been driving this piece of crap for weeks, and now I was being pulled over?

I slowed down before I pulled the car to the side of the road. The police car followed behind me, pulling up at my bumper. I didn’t think my nerves could be any more on edge as I waited for the police officer to get out of his car and make his way toward mine.

I had no idea how I was going to get out of this with no registration or insurance. I had yet to try and obtain either since I’d gotten the car out of impound. Honestly, I didn’t think I would need either since I rarely drove it. Most days I enjoyed walking in the Vegas sunshine.

The officer stepped up to the driver’s side door and tapped on the window.

Reaching out, I turned the knob and slowly rolled the window down.

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