Real Girl (Aston Creek High 4)

Understanding dawns in her eyes as she steps back out of my way. “Bring my girl home.”

I nod before rushing past her and back through the open door. “I’m not leaving without her.”

I get back to my truck and fly up through the door before hitting the gas once again. I see the curiosity in Damian’s eyes but he doesn’t get a chance to say a single word before my phone is in my hand and I’m madly hashing in the number written on the piece of paper.

I put the phone to my ear as I race through the streets of Aston Creek, desperately trying to get out of here.

“Hello,” the voice says after the second ring.

“Is this Rivers?”

“Who the fuck is this?”

“Slade Cruz, my girl is Skylah Daniels.”

His tone changes as if instantly understanding the desperation in my tone. “What do you need?”

“It ain’t going to be easy,” I warn him. “But if you truly want to redeem yourself and make up for the shit you’ve done to her, then you’ll get in your fucking car and start driving.”

“Done.”

Rivers ends the call and I hand my phone to Damian, telling him to message him with the details of where to meet us. Within seconds, Rivers confirms that he’ll be there.

I let out a breath. I don’t know what’s about to go down but knowing we have the extra back up goes a long way in settling something within me. These guys aren’t the kind to just hand her over willingly and if she managed to get out, then I can guarantee that they’re coming after her and will stop at nothing to get her.

We need to be prepared and the more guys on our side who are willing to give up everything for her, the better.

For eight hours straight, I speed through towns, red lights, and break every traffic law known to man until I’m a few miles out of the town she so wrongly called home for too many years.

She’s got to be around here somewhere.

We’ve searched every gas station in the area and are just pulling up to the last one when I see the payphone across the street.

“This has to be it,” I tell Damian, pulling into the gas station and hitting the brakes, hard enough to leave two thick black lines on the road.

He sits up straighter, frantically looking around and trying to find her. “I don’t see her, man,” he says, panicked.

“She has to be here. I feel it.”

I get out of my Dodge RAM and start searching when I remember that Blake had said something about her hiding out by the payphone.

I spin round and start jogging across the road. I don’t see her but there are many places she could be hiding around here. It’s been eight hours since that call. She could be anywhere. “VIRAGO? WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?” I call out, feeling it in my gut that she’s here. “Sky? Baby, come on.”

“Slade?”

A broken sob is heard behind me and I spin around to find my girl standing before me with tears streaming down her beautiful face. She looks fucking exhausted but it doesn’t stop her from running at me with everything she’s got.

I race toward her, desperately needing to feel her in my arms.

Skylah’s body crashes into mine as her arms are thrown around me. I curl her into my chest holding her tight as she begins sobbing into my shirt, fisting her hands into the material as though she’s desperately trying to forget something.

I glance up over her head to see the very moment Damian realizes that I’ve got her. His body sags, his hands on his knees, breathing deeply as the relief courses through him.

My arms curl more securely around Skylah and I pick her up as we stand in the center of the road. I take her back over to the gas station as she continues crying into my chest and Damian is quick to meet us halfway.

He steps into us, quickly wrapping his arms around her while she refuses to let go of me. “You’re safe now, Skylah,” he promises her, making her shake her head into my chest, not believing him for a second, and she’d be right. She ran once before and look what that got her. Running a second time is not going to end well for any of us, but we have to give it a shot.

Damian releases her and I take her over to my truck, sitting in the open passenger side with my girl curled in my arms.

Needing time to just cry it out, Damian goes into the gas station and purchases painkillers, water, food, and some first aid supplies for her feet. It looks as though she left in such a hurry that she didn’t even have time to find shoes. Considering this was all after celebrating her wedding, she’d be absolutely exhausted.