I grab the bottle of high-proof rubbing alcohol from the first-aid kit in my bag and douse the heavy polyester curtains.
“Noah, stop! You’re going to get us killed!” Rue lunges for my arm, but I catch her, pinning her against me for one searing second.
“I’m saving you, Rue. Whether you like it or not.” I touch the flame to the curtains.
The fabric whooshes, a wall of orange heat erupting instantly, licking the ceiling and casting monstrous shadows against the walls. The smoke is thick and black, stinging my eyes, filling the room with the scent of melting plastic and old regrets.
The sirens are louder now. Much louder. The red and blue flashes are starting to pulse against the smoke-filled window.
“We’re leaving,” I growl over the roar of the fire, which I’ve now spread to the bed. The room heats up instantly, and I turn to Rue.
“I won’t go!” she cries, coughing as the oxygen thins.
I don’t argue anymore. I don’t have time for her conscience or her goddamn stubbornness. I wrap my arm around her waist and haul her toward the back window, the room behind us turning into a screaming furnace of orange and gold.
I kick the bathroom door shut behind us to buy thirty seconds. I wrap my fist in the sleeve of my hoodie and smash itthrough the frosted glass of the window, tearing the screen out with my bare hands.
The cold night air hits my face, thick with the wail of police sirens pulling into the front lot.
“We’re going,” I bark, lifting her off her feet and shoving her through the jagged window frame into the dark alley behind the motel.
And then I dive out right behind her.
60
RUE
Blueand red lights strobe against the side of the building. Doors slam. Shouted commands echo from the front parking lot.
Oh my God. Oh my God.
“Move,” Noah hisses, dragging me upright. “We have to fucking hurry!”
I’m lightheaded, my throat burning from the smoke, but the instinct to survive is a traitorous thing—it kicks in despite my resolve to just…die.
Noah keeps his arm locked around my waist, half-carrying, half-dragging me through the shadows of the neighboring dumpster. We crouch behind the F150 we parked hours ago, just as a cruiser screeches into the motel lot, missing us by seconds.
“We have to get on the road before they notice the back window.” Noah jerks me toward the truck, ripping the door open. He throws me into the passenger seat and slams the door, locking it before I can even reach for the handle.
He’s behind the wheel an instant later, the engine coming quietly to life. He doesn’t turn on the headlights. He rolls out of the shadows, navigating solely by the dim glow of the moon and the raging fire he started behind us.
Firetruck sirens wail, screaming past us in the opposite lane as Noah violently cuts the wheel, heading south.
I cling to the door handle, my lungs burning as I try to steady my frantic breathing. “Why the hell did you come back for me?” I turn to him, but his jaw is locked. He doesn’t say a freaking word.
“I will jump out of this moving truck,” I warn him, my voice shaking.
“No, you won’t.” He keeps his eyes on the road. As we hit the desolate stretch of highway, he flips the headlights on and pushes the truck harder, the speedometer climbing. “We have to make this meeting.”
I chew the inside of my cheek, tasting ash, and peer out the window. We’re deep into the black throat of the desert now, the highway a narrow ribbon of grey. The adrenaline that kept me fighting him begins to drain, leaving behind an exhausting heap of complex betrayal.
“You ruined it,” I whisper, staring down at my soot-stained hands. “I had a way out. I was going to give you your freedom, and you fucking burned it.”
“I burned a lie, Rue,” he grits out, his grip so tight on the steering wheel his knuckles are white. “You think you would’ve been some sort ofhero?You think they would’ve just let me go?” He turns to look at me finally, meeting my gaze. “You would’ve just turned into anotherSnappedepisode, and they’d have written you off.”
“I don’t care!” I shout, turning in the seat to face him. “You lied to me. You were going to leave me in that room like a piece of baggage you didn’t need anymore once you got where you needed to go. I get that I fucked up your life, butfuck,that’s what I am to you? An afterthought?”
“You were the only thought!” he roars. His eyes are raw, reflecting the dashboard's green glow. “Everything I did—all of it—it was because I thought you were too good for this. I thought if I pushed you away hard enough, you’d find a better life again. I thought you could go back to your family, and just…” His voice trails off, the anger suddenly bleeding out of him, leaving him looking hollowed out and exhausted. “I’m sorry, Rue.”
