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I creep to the door and wait. It’s quiet again. Maybe they’ve moved on. And then they’re back. I strain to listen to the words, my heart hammering in my chest. Suddenly, someone tries to force their way into the room. With a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I move to the window and carefully peek out of the curtains and see them. One of the men I recognize from the airport. “Oh shit,” I murmur.
There's no time to waste. I shake Paige awake. “Paige,” I whisper close to her ear. “You have to get up.”
She moans as I pull on my underwear. “Paige. Get up.”
She sits up right away. “What?”
“They’re here. Get dressed.”
She throws off the blankets and jumps out of bed, scrambling for her clothes. “What’s happening?” she asked.
“I don’t know. There’s a bathroom in the window. We need to get you out of here.”
“Me? What about you?”
“I’ll be right behind you.”
I stuff my feet into my shoes and together we go into the bathroom. The bathroom window is our only hope. It's small, barely big enough for one person to squeeze through, but it's our best chance at escape. I can hear the men outside; they’re going to break down the door at any second. They’ve proven how desperate they are to get to her.
“Go,” I tell her, pushing out the screen.
I help her up and shove Paige through the window just as the door is kicked in with a deafening crash.
"Run!" I shout, my voice raw with desperation, as I'm left to face the intruders once again.
With adrenaline coursing through my veins, I grab the back of the toilet, my hands trembling with the weight of and rush into the room. Two men walk through the door. I know what’s coming. I’m not going to sit around and see what happens next. I swing the lid at one of the men, rendering him unconscious with a sickening thud.
But before I can catch my breath, the second man comes at me, a gun glinting in his hand. Time slows to a crawl as I stare down the barrel of the weapon, my mind racing with a thousand thoughts at once. I can try to kick him, but it’s likely to end with me being shot. If I rush him, I get shot. I’ll never make it out the bathroom window.
I don’t know what to do.
But then, just as he's about to pull the trigger, a gunshot rings out from outside the room. I see my window and take my moment. I launch myself at the man, tackling him to the ground with all the force I can muster.
With a burst of adrenaline-fueled strength, I snatch the gun from his grasp and sprint out the front door. I stumble out of the hotel room, heart pounding in my chest. The gunshot leaves me terrified. Did they shoot Paige. I scan the parking lot, seeing a black car with the engine running. I see the door open and a man emerge from the driver’s seat.
“Shit,” I mutter, knowing it’s another man who would like to see me dead.
The car Paige and I drove in is gone. I’m happy and disappointed. She got away. That’s what I wanted. Suddenly, headlights cut through the parking lot. It comes to a screeching halt.
“Get in!” Paige screams.
In the back of my mind, I feel like I’ve done this before. I jump into the passenger seat and what is quickly become our norm, she hits the gas and we’re tearing down the highway once again.
Paige's hands are steady on the wheel as she speeds down the road, her eyes focused ahead with a determination that sends a shiver down my spine.
“Well, this feels like deja vu,” I say.
“I’m so sorry,” she sighs.
I look behind us and don’t see anyone.
“They won’t be following us,” she tells me calmly. “Not this time.”
“Why?”
“I shot out the front tire,” she replies calmly.
“Good job,” I tell her. “Smart.”
