Chapter 7

Chapter

Seven

GRACE

S tanding in the middle of my living room was surreal. Nothing here had changed. A book I’d been reading sat on the coffee table. It was an old favorite, the spine long since cracked and even the pages had an almost cloth texture to them.

Three magazines lay fanned out. I was on the cover of one of them. It was a glossier one for fashion, but it was a nice image and came with a tidy paycheck. The colorful blanket lay over the back of the sofa where I’d pushed it after I made myself get up and go to bed.

Everything in the room was almost too white, too pristine, too—too sterile. The only splashes of warmth seemed to exist in that colorful blanket and the photos on the mantle. The blanket was one Maman had knitted when Am and I were little. We shared the blanket. A few months with me. A few months with her.

I should have taken it to our weekend and handed it over for her turn. At the same time, I was so damn glad I didn’t. It would have been sitting in my car after I’d been taken. Maybe it wouldn’t have survived.

The thought nauseated me.

“Come on,” I said, my voice unnaturally loud in the silent place. Why was I just standing here? I needed to do something…

Glass broke somewhere and I turned toward the doors that led to the kitchen. On lead feet, I made it two steps before a masked man appeared in between the sliding barn doors that separated the living room from the dining room.

Shock rolled through me.

Shock, and then hot on its heels, pure fury.

“Get out,” I yelled, as sound and color rushed in, puncturing the bubble that had kept me so separate. I reached for the first thing in range—a vase and I threw it. The book next. A crystal glass bowl. Everything was a weapon.

That was what self-defense class taught. I even threw my book. The projectiles barely seemed to slow the masked man down as he advanced toward me. I retreated.

A lamp became my next weapon. Then a fake plant. Then an old clock, it was heavy as hell and he was right there. So I just bashed him with it. The blow staggered him.

But he jerked the clock out of my hand and threw it. Parts went everywhere as it smashed against the brick. He fisted my hair and yanked me forward. I tried to slam my knee into his junk, but he avoided it—narrowly.

A whistle cut through the chaos and my captor jerked his head up. “Catch,” Lunchbox said as he launched something. The grip on my hair fell away as the air fryer from my kitchen slammed into my assailant’s chest.

“Come on, Pixie,” Alphabet was just there. “Time to go.”

“No…” I didn’t want to go. The man on the ground was getting up. But Lunchbox was already there and he delivered four hammering blows and the man collapsed.

“It’s better to go,” Lunchbox said. “There were four others. We took care of them. But sending a five man team for you means they aren’t giving up. They know where you live.”

The explanation made sense and at the same time—we’d just gotten here. Alphabet clasped my hand. “Come on Pixie-girl. Goblin’s waiting and we can grab some food on the way back.”

Back where?

Before he could tug me another step, I yanked away and grabbed two of the photos from the mantle. One was of Am and I, the other was us with our Maman . I grabbed the blanket next.

If I was going, then I wanted things with me. The wreckage of the room around me registered then. There was a splintered french door leading into the kitchen.

There was another body there too. Maybe we should go out the front.

“Nope,” Lunchbox said, hooking my arm and turning me around. “Back door is better.” Then without waiting, he just picked me up. The man was a full body shield, my feet didn’t even brush the floor. “Lots of broken glass, I’ll put you down outside.”

Alphabet wasn’t waiting for us. He led the way and it was like walking through a war zone. I hadn’t even heard this fight. Had it happened while I’d been screaming and throwing things?

My whole world was turning upside down. They’d found the narrow alley behind the buildings and diverted down it. True to his word, Lunchbox put me on my feet. With one hand against my lower back, he ushered me toward the SUV.

The vehicle was parked exactly where I’d left them. Goblin was in the backseat, tail wagging as soon as I climbed in. “Buckle up and then keep your head down.” Lunchbox didn’t wait to see if I obeyed, he was already closing the door.

Alphabet was in the passenger seat. There was a slide and rasp of a gun being checked, then Lunchbox was in the driver’s seat.

“Chances for a backup team?”

“Not even going to risk it.” Lunchbox already had the vehicle started and we were pulling away. “Head down, Gracie.”

The snap in his voice had me pulling the seatbelt across me even as I slid my head down. Goblin sprawled on the seat next to me then moved to settle against my lap and I was laying against his back.

It was—nice.

“Three cars back,” Alphabet said.

“I see ‘em.” He shifted lanes. Manhattan wasn’t a great place for car chases, but they didn’t seem to be slowing down much.

“Dry river?” Alphabet said.

“Not in the city,” Lunchbox replied. “Too many civilians.”

“Could be a combo dry river with a little Pride and Prejudice.”

It was like they were talking a completely different language.

“Going for Dale Earhardt right now. Get Bones on the line. If we’re going to be on the run, I want to at least have friendlies on their way to us.”

The two went quiet for a moment, then Alphabet said, “Hey, we ran into a problem with the last delivery. Porch pirates tried to lift it before we’d even left.”

Silence.

“We cleared the building, but it’s going to need maid service—sooner rather than later. Might need to make sure there’s an exterminator with the maid. At least one of the pests was still breathing.”

My place. He was talking about my place.

“We’re playing follow the leader at the moment, and trying to get out of the conga line. How far are you guys from Manhattan?”

More silence.

Lunchbox turned left abruptly and if not for the seatbelt and bracing, I’d have flung off the seat. Goblin made a little whining noise. Yeah, he wasn’t a fan either.

“Sounds good. We’ll be there.” A pause. “Do you care how we deal with them?” Pause. “Good. Talk soon.” He ended the call.

“Head to Jersey,” he said to Lunchbox. “I’m going to make our friends a cocktail or two. It’s a little early for happy hour, but we should be ready by the time we’re out of here.”

Alphabet climbed between the seats. He slipped through like he wasn’t six foot plus, with broad shoulders. It was more like watching a contortionist as he seemed to shrink himself down, ducking his head to avoid the roof of the vehicle, while elongating his limbs to get past the tight squeeze. He might have been a bit clumsy in the execution but there was a kind of ease to it too. “Hey Pixie-girl.” The wink did not settle my nerves. “Goblin’s good for hugging, isn’t he?”

He paused to scratch Goblin’s ears, then he reached over into the backseat and pulled a case up.

“Need Goblin on the floor for a couple,” he said and I loosened my hold. Without complaint, Goblin slid down into the well. There he sat and pressed his head against my leg. It was nice to just pet him.

It also left me alone on the backseat with Alphabet as he popped open the case. I still had the blanket and photos so I pulled them to me and hugged them in lieu of Goblin, even if I kept one hand on him.

“What are you doing?” I asked. He had a glass canning jar, like Maman used when she made preserves.

“Putting together a little cocktail for our friends. They’re being very pushy. They need to understand that we are not that into them.”

“In the tunnel in three,” Lunchbox warned. We were slowing down, but still moving. I swore my stomach fell to my feet. At this rate, the people following us would be able to run up to the car. The lights helped, but it still felt ominous and oppressive.

When he was done, Alphabet closed the jar and sealed it. “Think you can hold this for me?” He held it out to me and I stared at it. Then I wrapped a hand around it. It meant letting go of the blanket. “Thank you.”

He twisted to put the case behind the seat again and stared out the rear window. A muscle ticked in his jaw that was utterly at odds with the casual tone he’d been using. We slowed even further.

“Dude,” Alphabet warned.

“I know,” Lunchbox said. “I don’t have much choice. There’s a bit of traffic in here, but we’re close to the exit.”

The thud of my heart echoed in my ears. Was I going to get these guys killed? I’d seen bodies in the warehouse. More outside the truck. Then the ones in my place. How many bodies were going to fall?

“Deeper breaths, Pixie-girl,” Alphabet said as Goblin whined. The dog was leaning all of his weight against my leg. The pressure helped. The shallow, sharp pants hurt my chest. It was harder to make them deeper. “That’s it. Just take them nice and slow.”

“Don’t worry, Gracie,” Lunchbox said over his shoulder. Unlike Alphabet’s shaggier look, Lunchbox’s hair was closer clipped, though it had a suggestion of curls to it. Maybe he had to keep it short to avoid them. The color was more burnished copper than brown, but that could also be the way the sun hit it. “This is just a little snag in the plan. We’re going to be in Jersey soon, then we’ll be able to shake them.”

My mouth was so dry, but I got my breathing under control.

“Get back up here,” Lunchbox ordered, then Alphabet grimaced.

“Hang onto the jar a minute longer,” Alphabet said. He had a little bit of a harder problem getting between the seats on the way back. When his leg got stuck for a second, he swore and bumped his head on the roof. The messy blond hair kind of stuck up in the back anyway. Still swearing, he yanked it forward and sat.

When he reached back for the jar, I passed it off. Goblin returned to the seat and crawled into my lap so I was laying over him and hugging him.

Eyes closed, I rubbed my cheek against Goblin’s fur. The sable and white dog with his short, square muzzle and rose-shaped ears that perked up kept me sane as we suddenly emerged into the daylight once again.

Gradually, we began to speed up. But not too fast.

“On our right,” Alphabet warned.

“Yep.” Lunchbox hit the gas and we accelerated as he began to weave in and out of traffic. “Come on, take the bait.”

Take the bait? They were insane.

Certifiable.

“You want them to catch up to us?”

“In about five minutes,” Lunchbox said, then we were taking an exit and he increased his speed. “This is the fun part.”

The fun part?

I squeezed my eyes shut and concentrated on breathing.

“Here they come,” Alphabet said, his voice a steady contrast to Lunchbox’s lighter-hearted tone. “Left lane.”

“Already planned on it.”

A moment later, the window on the passenger side opened.

“Five,” Lunchbox said. “Four…”

Three…

Two…

I cracked my eyes open in time to see Alphabet toss the jar of liquid out. A moment later there was a bright flash, a whoosh of fire and I sat up abruptly. What the hell was that?

The car that had been pacing us suddenly veered hard right with a squeal of tires and slammed into the concrete barriers that kept the lanes defined.

Fire plumed up from the engine along with smoke.

“Nice,” Lunchbox said, a deep compliment in his voice. “I love it when you pay attention.”

“Yeah, fuck off, I wanted to make sure they didn’t keep following us.”

My mouth was open as I stared from one man to the other. Unhinged. Insane.

Absolutely fucking crazy.

“You had me holding a bomb.”

“Not a bomb,” Alphabet said over his shoulder, shooting me a grin. “It’s a Lunchbox cocktail, kind of like a molotov but with a little zest.”

“I was holding it,” I repeated.

“Yes, you did.” He winked. “Excellent assist.” Then he straightened to look forward and sighed. “Back roads?”

“Yep,” Lunchbox said, and we were already leaving the highway. We were in Jersey. We were still in Weehawken, maybe. Or maybe not.

I stared out the window for a moment, but continued to pet Goblin. I wasn’t sure who I was trying to soothe, the dog or me.

“They were going to kidnap me again, weren’t they?” The men in the house. Then the men in the car. That was a lot of people.

“That seems the most likely scenario.” Lunchbox glanced back at me.

“Why?” The man in the warehouse—the one they’d said wanted me specifically. He even told me he’d coveted me. But I didn’t know him. Did he command this many people? What about the people who broke into the warehouse when I was there? The men who’d driven the truck?

None of this made any sense.

None of it.

“No idea,” Alphabet said, this time there was a rough sympathy in his voice. “But you’re safe for now. We’ll rendezvous with Bones and Voodoo. Then we’ll assess and make a new plan.”

New plan.

I leaned my head back.

Something dug into my hip and I shifted to pull the framed photograph out. Am stared up at me from where we stood, arm in arm. It had been her graduation from law school.

“I need to call my sister.”

The guys didn’t say anything.

“Please,” I said. “I just need to call her and make sure she is all right.”

“We’ll take care of it, after we’re secure,” Alphabet said. “I didn’t see another team, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t out there. Running silent and fast is the best thing we can do right now.”

“Is your sister in New York?” Lunchbox asked.

I shook my head. “No.” I wasn’t sure where she was, that was the problem.

“Good, then we don’t have to worry about her going into your place.”

“If someone is after me…” That meant they could be after her too. Or they already had her. More and more, that reality settled into my bones and I wanted to cry.

The more the tears burned in my eyes the angrier I got. Am had to be all right. She just had to be.

“No ifs,” Lunchbox said and I caught his gaze in the rearview mirror. “Don’t know why, but you were definitely the target. We’ll get you secure, don’t worry. Then we’ll reach out to your sister. If necessary, we’ll pull her out too.”

If necessary…

Then what? What were we supposed to do? Just stay with these guys? I didn’t barely knew them. They barely knew me.

And they still came in to save me.

An immutable fact. They could have just left after they dropped me off. They didn’t.

They’d gotten me out. They dealt with the pursuers. Goblin bumped his head against my hand and I glanced down at him.

Fine, I would trust them for now.

“How long until we get somewhere secure?”