AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Almost in unison, all the officers descended to the floor and put their hands on their heads.
The moment they were down, Morty dropped Michaela, who hit the floor with a heavy thunk, and he sprinted for the fire exit.
Before I could take a breath, Ben had darted out from our hiding place and lunged at Morty.
The glint of an athamé under the iridescent light made my heart stop. I reached for Ben, but he was already out of range.
Morty spotted him and raised the athamé, waving it wildly in Ben’s direction. The blade sliced across Ben’s chest just as I seized his shoulders and yanked him back.
Morty’s second swipe aimed lower at Ben’s abdomen, but it only found air. Ben toppled onto me, knocking us both onto the ground in a heap.
I grunted as Ben’s elbow dug into my stomach. That was the thanks I got.
Morty darted for the fire exit as Mallory shouted at her officers to move. He slammed through it as three officers sprinted past it, and they all disappeared into the night.
“Come on.” Ben tried to struggle to his feet, but I held him back.
“Don’t be stupid, you’re hurt.” I rolled onto my knees and yanked his bloodied shirt open.
My insides jolted at the sight of his bare chest as a flashback of the night we had spent together surfaced.
Gods above, could there be any worse time to think about that?
I placed one hand above the slice in his chest and one below and leaned in to have a closer look. Ben winced, and this time, I actually felt bad.
“It’s not deep,” I said.
“Good, then let’s go.” Ben hastily buttoned his shirt back up.
“Don’t you two go anywhere!” Mallory’s command seized our attention.
She knelt at Michaela’s side with a handful of other officers, while a few others ran back toward the reception area, hopefully for backup.
Ben’s gaze met mine.
“Are you coming or not?” he asked.
The corner of my mouth twitched into a smile. “Someone’s got to stop you from doing something stupid.”
With that, we got to our feet and ran out of the fire exit together.
The police stuck out even in the night. Their hi-vis jackets glowed under every streetlight at the edge of the trees bordering the car park.
It didn’t take us long to catch up to and overtake them. The amount of gear they were required to carry didn’t add up on an island where little to no crime happened.
“Hey!” An officer reached a hand out to me as I passed him, and I tried to duck out of his way.
Ben stuck out a leg, and the officer tripped, planting face-first into the ground.
“Stop right now!” another officer shouted at us, but we breezed past them.
“Who’s looking out for whom now?” Ben asked.
“Shut up,” I said.
Up ahead, Morty had taken a lead on the officers, but he couldn’t hope to outrun two people thirty years his junior.
As we darted between the trees, the rush of water up ahead reached my ears. The river. Excellent. That would cut him off before we had to.
