Gunshots ring through the air and I twist my body around to see who is shooting. Fear grips my heart, sinking its claws into the muscle. I know I shouldn’t care if they live or die, but a part of me does. As soon as my eyes find Wes and Trey crouched behind the car with guns in their hands, I feel something as close to relief as it will get. There are three guys shooting at us from the side of the car that crashed into us.
Declan all but drags me farther into the alley and through the back entrance of a store. He continues pulling me, his grip on my arm bruising until I’m in a standing position. We practically run through the store without stopping, even with people screaming at us. Some salesperson comes running toward us yelling to get out or she’ll call the cops, but we are way ahead of her. My lungs burn as our pace quickens until finally we reach the front of the store.
Once we are out the front door, Declan slows down, his face is a mask of emotions, his eyes wild, as he scans the crowd, as if the three guys that were back in that alley are going to find us in this huge crowd.
“Walk normal, we need to try to blend in.” He leans into me, his hot breath fanning against my cheek. After a moment we step into the crowd, moving with the people as they do. The streets are busy, and for a fraction of a second, I had forgotten what the city was like. I try and skew my facial expression, keeping it neutral. I don’t want to draw attention, not that I think we would, but it doesn’t hurt.
We walk like this for a while. I try to stop myself from looking over my shoulder, which is easy with Declan’s arm draped around me, and my body pulled in tight to his side. Even though I’m wearing clothes that are way too big on me, to an outsider we must seem like a normal couple merely walking down the street and checking out the shops. If only they knew how false that was.
My heart rate is almost back to normal after a short time of walking. I’m nearly certain that we lost them. Now the only fear I have is for Wes and Trey.
“Do you think Trey and Wes are okay?” I ask, my voice a whisper.
“You worried something might happen to us, Princess?”
I shrug, even though I know there’s no point in hiding it. They might not care about me, but for some strange reason, I’ve grown to care about them.
“Don’t worry, my brothers and I have outrun far worse. We’ve looked death in the eyes without blinking. We can handle your father’s security team,” he says, rolling his eyes.
We continue walking down the sidewalk, and I consider asking him where we’re going when Declan suddenly stops mid-step and tightens his grip on me. When I look up at him and see him staring down the road, I follow his gaze.
Two men in suits are staring at us, two men I know, because they are both part of my dad’s security team. These are two men that watched me grow up. That I considered to be like family. For a second everybody stands still, then the two men start heading for us, their steps eating up the distance that separates us.
Adrenaline courses through my veins, the need to run is damn near consuming and I feel myself wanting to pull away, but Declan is faster and must be thinking the same thing because he spins us around to run in the other direction. We weave through the crowd, my feet barely able to keep up with him, when he makes an abrupt stop and pulls me to the side.
“Listen to me and do exactly what I say. You’re going to go into this store, go out the back and then take a right, walk all the way down that alley, turn and then go into the first store. You’re going to hide there until I come for you. Got it? No funny business Jessa. My life, your life, my brother’s lives, they’re all on the line.”
“Through the store right down the alley, turn, first store, hide, got it,” I repeat before he pushes me into the storefront. My body is shaking, a nervous sweat coats my hands, and I rub them down the front of my sweats as I make my way through the store. It’s one of those stupid container stores. I look around making certain no one has seen me before I sneak out the back door. Air enters my lungs, but it never really feels like I’m actually breathing. I’m exhausted, beyond exhausted, but what am I to do? I can’t stop. If I do, then I’ll die, and so will the brothers.