66. Lily

66

Lily

At first , I just ran. I needed to get far enough away that I’d be out of sight when Antonio came out of the bus. Fortunately, the darkness gave me cover. I headed down the dried-up creek bed, just like in my nightmare. I didn’t dare use a flashlight so I had to go by what I remembered of the terrain from my runs. Twice, I missed my footing and almost went flat on my face.

When I ran out of energy, I walked. After the first hour, I figured that Antonio wasn’t coming after me—not alone, at least. He’d said others were on their way. I needed to get the hell out of town before they arrived. I followed the creek bed south for three straight hours.

And finally, when my legs gave out, I stopped. And, sitting with my back against a rock, I cried.

All of my fears, all of my paranoia—it had all been real. They’d found me, somehow, and everything I’d built had been lost.

Oh, not my work. I’d taken precautions with that. I had enough money and fake identities in my Go Bag to get me out of the country. I had backups of my computer in the cloud—I could rebuild my business somewhere else. All of my careful planning had paid off, even if I’d had to resort to Plan C.

But Bull? The idyllic future I’d imagined? That was in tatters. I loved him and I was never going to get to be with him. Tonight had proven exactly what I’d feared. It seemed like Antonio had duped Bull into giving him my address. What would have happened if Bull had been staying with me in the bus, tonight, or had gotten wise to Antonio and tried to fight him? He’d probably be dead.

I loved him. That’s exactly why I had to leave and never come back.

It wasn’t that I thought he wouldn’t go on the run with me. It was that I knew he would—he’d put himself in danger and I couldn’t make that mistake again. Annette had already paid the price for my selfishness. I’d made my choice a long time ago—I couldn’t face witness protection and a trial, not on my own. The only option was to be out on my own, where I could stay free without hurting anyone.

Free. Funny how it didn’t feel very free, at the moment.

Mexico, I decided. I’d go to Mexico. I already had guaranteed customers there and the mob wouldn’t dare invade cartel turf, even for me.

There was another roll of thunder and the rain started to fall, drops as big as silver dimes splatting into the dust all around me. I knew I needed to get a fire going. I picked up some dried-up twigs and started to try to build a campfire, like Bull had showed me. But too late, I realized I had no way to light it. And I had changes of clothes, but nothing warm or waterproof. My Go Bag was meant for road trips and airports, not surviving out in the wild.

I didn’t belong out here. I never had and never would.

I pulled out one of my burner phones and dialed Bull.