Janice glanced at me, her hold tightening.I thought over what he’d said.
“I never called her name around you,” I finally whispered.
Laurens stilled, a dangerous calm falling over him.He was too composed, his usual charm replaced with something sharp and dangerous.His eyes flickered between Janice and me before lingering on her.
He sighed.“I didn’t quite think it was going to turn into this, but I can’t lose out on this opportunity.”
“What are you talking about?”I whispered, my voice cracking slightly as fear flooded me.
Laurens tilted his head as he looked at me.“It’s not personal, Cadence, and I truly wished we could have worked together.The movie is such a great idea.But you know the wrong people.Janice knows too much and I can’t afford to leave her alive at this time.”
Before I could process his words, he reached into his coat and pulled out a gun.My stomach dropped as I noticed how long the end of it was.If I’d learned anything from the shooter games the guys liked to play, it was that I was most likely looking at a silencer.The sound around us seemed to vanish, replaced by the deafening rush of blood in my ears.
Chapter Thirty-One
Janice yanked me backward, her voice sharp.“Run!”
But my legs wouldn’t move.For a moment, I was back in the basement, tied to the chair, powerless to do anything.
“You have no idea what you’ve stumbled into,” Laurens said, his focus entirely on Janice.“This isn’t just a gang, Cadence.It’s bigger.And I can’t afford a loose end like little Janice here.She should have been handled a long time ago.”
Janice shoved me hard, finally snapping me out of my paralysis.“Go!”she shouted.
“No!”I cried, grabbing her arm as Laurens leveled the gun at us.
“Enough!”he barked.“Stop making this harder than it has to be.Janice, you’re a liability.You don’t get to walk away.”
Janice didn’t waste any time, lunging forward and grabbing the wrist holding the gun.She twisted it sharply.Laurens grunted, but he didn’t drop the gun, trying to pull away from her.
“Run, Cadence!”Janice yelled again, struggling to wrestle the gun away.
This time, I was able to move, but I didn’t obey her.I stumbled back and moved to the wall.My hands shook as I lifted the cover over the fire alarm and then pulled it.
The school came alive as it blared for an evacuation.Lights flashed, the alarm nearly deafening.It practically pounded inside of me.
Behind me, I heard a loud scuffle and a muffled shot.I turned to see Janice pushing Laurens against the wall, his gun scuttling to the ground.There was a broom leaning against the wall.I grabbed it and ran back toward them, adrenaline pushing my fear away.
