AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What is it?” Tilly asks.
“That white car, I think it’s following us.”
Tilly turns in her seat and stares before her face pales. “It’s Keaton.”
I check my rearview again and see that she’s right. My blood turns first to ice and then starts to boil. My knuckles tighten on the steering wheel. A rage I’ve never felt before works through me, sending my arms shaking. I put my emergency flashers on and pull off the ramp. The white car does the same.
“Tommy, what are you doing?” But I put the car in park and grab the handle. “Tommy, no!” Tilly yells.
I ignore her and get out. Keaton does the same. I stomp over to Keaton’s car and grab onto his shirt.
“Why the fuck won’t you leave us alone?” I bellow, spit flying from my mouth.
Keaton’s face pales. I’m taller, not by much, but more solid, and I’m shaking with rage.
“I’m just doing what I’m told!” he says.
“Who told you? Tia?”
Keaton looks over his shoulder. Cars are zooming by, and I suddenly have the urge to toss the guy into the traffic. The thought scares me, and I let go of Keaton. He smooths his shirt down and puts his hands in his pockets, still white-faced. “Look dude, nothing personal, okay? They tell me to follow you, so I do.”
“Tia said we were in! Why would she say one thing and tell you another?”
Keaton purses his lips and shakes his head. “Tia’s not gonna be in charge much longer. And if you’re not careful, you’ll go the same way.” My fists clench at my sides.
“The fuck did you just say to me?”
Keaton laughs and leans against his car. “I said, watch yourself.”
The smug expression on his face only manages to further enrage me. Without thinking, I cock my right hand and connect with Keaton’s cheek in a loud thud.
Keaton collapses onto the dirt as I shake out my fist. “Stay the fuck away from my family!” I spit on the ground, wipe my mouth, and stomp back toward my car.
Inside, Tilly is staring, her chest rising and falling in shallow bursts. Without explaining myself, I put the car in drive and speed away.
Chapter forty-one
Tilly
Istare at the road as Tommy speeds through traffic, my face as white as a hospital sheet. What is Tommy thinking? I’ve warned him so many times not to lay a finger on my cousin, and now he has. It’s the excuse Keaton needed, and things are bound to get worse. Between my conversation with Papa and this, it feels like my entire life is crashing down around me.
I pull out my phone and send a quick text to Miranda, but it isn’t answered immediately, which only manages to worry me more. When the turn to our apartment arrives, Tommy speeds past it.
“Where are you going?” I ask.
“Not home. Surely Keaton will show up there.”
I don’t say anything, mostly because I agree. He keeps driving, but after a while, his shoulders loosen, and he has me call our DEA agent, Ricardo Lopez. After a short explanation, Lopez agrees: do not go home.
Eventually, I stop asking where we’re going. It doesn’t seem like Tommy even knows. How did things get so messed up? Just a few hours ago, we were consumed by thoughts of having two little boys; now it’s the furthest thing from my mind.
When my stomach starts grumbling, I finally speak up. “Tommy, I’m hungry. Can we at least stop to eat?”
He shakes his head. “I gotta get you safe, Tilly. Gotta drive until you’re safe.”
I put a hand on his arm. “Tommy, please. Pull over.”
The furrow in his brow lowers, but he casts a quick look in my direction, and his face softens completely. He pulls over at the next exit and finds the first fast food place. After he rolls through the drive-thru, he parks the car and hands me the bag of burgers.
