The Girl Who Punched Back (Death Fields 2)
Page 42
Heavy footsteps tramp down the stairs and Wyatt’s face appears in the dim light. Davis and Jude walk into the hallway and I feel Parker at my back.
“We’ve got a problem,” Wyatt says, uncharacteristically out of breath.
“What now?” Cole snaps.
“Jane sent soldiers to the compound.”
“What kind of soldiers?” I ask.
He ignores me, instead leveling a hard look at me. “They’re looking for Paul.”
Chapter 22
A sinking feeling settles in the pit of my stomach. After a moment I ask, “How do they know he’s here?”
“They’re not dumb. God knows what kind of Intel Jane has set up,” he snaps. It’s the most flustered I’ve seen him. “The simple fact she knows he’s alive means someone reported back.”
Paul isn’t the only li
ability here. I glance at Cole and worry is etched on his face. My sister will take out anyone that stands in her way, and right now Paul and Cole are both a problem. They know too much. We all do.
“How long do we have?” Davis asks.
“They won’t wait long.”
“They?”
“I suspect her full army is just beyond view.”
“Can’t we just wait it out down here?” Parker asks.
Wyatt shakes his head. “You saw what happened to that school.”
“You think they’d do that?” Jude asks from the doorway next to Davis. Sweat lines the top of his shirt from his workout. He looks between me and Wyatt for answers.
I’m the one that replies.
“Without a doubt. She’ll kill everyone, if that’s what it takes.”
*
Everyone packs quietly, gathering our gear and weapons. Cole fills in Paul once he gets out of the shower. I’m in my room, checking my backpack again, when Wyatt enters the room and closes the door behind him.
“What’s going on?” I ask, trying to make my two extra pairs of socks magically smaller. I refuse to leave without them.
“I just wanted to tell you one more time that I’m sorry you got dragged into this. I’ve made a lot of bad decisions over the last couple years, but involving you was the one I regret the most.”
The apology makes me stop my packing and focus on the man in my room. He’s got a weird look in his eye, and I’m not sure where this is headed. “Look, if you hadn’t taken the job of following me around, Jane would have found someone else to do it. I’m glad it was you and not some creeper.”
I think about the night we met, barrel to barrel in that old farm truck. I’d asked him if he planned on raping me. I can’t imagine what he thought about me in that moment.
“I do have one question,” I say.
“Okay.”
“Are you sleeping with my sister?”
A pained expression crosses his face. “Uh, no. Definitely not.”