“Noah, I don’t want you dying because of me.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“They want me. You just happen to be standing in the way of that.”
The boy has absolutely lost his fucking mind. “I’m not giving you up, if that’s what you’re implying.”
“They’re not going to stop. Ascension is too important to Silas.”
“I don’t know what the fuck that is, and I don’t care. If you go down, I’m going down, too. That’s what you said to me.” I grab him by the shoulder and pull his head next to mine. “There’s a trail of bodies behind us. If I throw you to the wolves, then I’m dealing with that shit on my own. I’m not fucking doing that alone.”
I haul him in closer.
Close enough to plant a kiss on his forehead without breaking sight of the road ahead.
He braces a firm hand over my chest, his eyes looking up at me. “In this together?”
“Like Bonnie and Clyde.”
He jerks his head to the side. “You know they both died, right?”
“I’m not going to let you die.”
“What about you?”
“I said I’m not going to let you die.”
“I’m going to go do something really stupid.” He frees himself from my grip, retrieves the gun from seemingly nowhere, and cranks the window down. “Just keep your eyes on the road.”
And just like that, he believes himself to be a baddie.
I grab him by the shirt and pull him back. “What in the holy name of crucifying fuck do you thinkyou’re doing?”
He waves the gun in the air. “You’re my Bonnie. Leave the Clyde to me.”
He must have his characters mixed up because if anyone is Clyde, it’s me.
But he does as Clyde does—climbs halfway out the window with his knees braced against the inner panel. Wind tears through his hair and lifts the shirt up his back as he takes aim at the cultists trailing behind.
Bang!
The SUV swerves to the left, careening over dotted yellow lines.
Bang!
The tires of the SUV dig into the dirt on the shoulder.
Bang! And he’s zero for three. If the real-life Clyde had such bad aim, it’s no wonder they both ended up dead.
Click, click.
“Shit!” Seven climbs back inside the car. “Empty.”
Somewhere out there, I think there’s a rule about not taking a shot unless you know you won’t miss. Trying to shoot someone and failing spectacularly only serves to piss them off even more.
The SUV revs, pushing the engine to its limit.
It’s time to play. I push the pedal to the floor and tear away.
