Page 128 of Ride or Die

Clara’s SUV is parked up out front, and behind it, so close so that there’d be no way for her to get out if she tried, is a dark blue sedan that looks like a rental.

I crouch down, staying low, trying to hide in the shadows, my gaze flitting about, adjusting to the darkness.

“Billie?” I hiss, searching the bushes.

Nothing.

“Billie?” I try again, the lump in my throat swelling to the point of pain.

Please, no. Fuck.

“Cole?”

I turn, all the air ripped from my lungs with my relieved exhale when I find both Billie and Tommy huddled together at the base of the redbuds, concealed by the overgrown brush.

Sliding my gun into the waist of my jeans, I drop down, crawling in to get to them, tears threatening to spill over.

“How you doin’ Miss Billie?” I ask, trying so damn hard to keep my voice firm, my grin casual. Looking her over, she doesn’t appear to be hurt, just a little dirt on her face and her dress.

“You okay, darlin’?” I ask, cupping her cheek to get a good look in her eyes.

She nods, pushing her wild curls back from her tear-streaked cheeks.

I turn, looking over Tommy, my gut clenching to see he’s bleeding from a nasty looking spilt above his left eye. His gaze is hazy, face sheet white. And I know all too well that he’s concussed.

“I got you, my guy.” I wrap an arm around Tommy, heaving his lax body up, careful not to further harm his already casted arm. “Billie, hold on to me, darlin’. Don’t let go.”

Billie clutches onto the back of my shirt, following closely as I carry Tommy back out to the road, to my truck. I pull open the back door and ease Tommy inside before turning and hoisting Billie up, securing her in there too.

“Now, I’m gonna need y’all to stay put, okay? Don’t say a word and keep your heads down.” I look between the two of them, the heartbreaking fear in their eyes causing my throat to close up. “I’m gonna lock the doors and you do not, underanycircumstance, get outta this truck, y’hear?”

They don’t respond.

“Do you understand?” I press, my words emphasized with the tremor in my own breath.

“Yeah,” Tommy gruffs softly, Billie nodding almost frantic as she nestles into her brother. And the last thing I want is to scare them any more than they already are, but I need to know they hear me.

I gently close the back door with a click before opening the driver’s door and reaching in, switching on the stereo and turning up the music loud enough so that, hopefully, it helps to drown out the sound of whatever the hell it is I’m about to walk into.

Glancing at the two of them huddled low in the back seat, both their bodies trembling, I meet their eyes, offering up a smile I know they don’t trust for one second.

“I’ma be right back, okay?”

“Bring back my mommy.” Billie’s face cracks as she all but sobs out the words, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“I promise.” I nod, looking to Tommy to find something knowing in his eyes, something resigned in the way he presses his lips together.

“Lock this when I leave,” I tell him, handing him the fob. “And remember…” I don’t repeat myself, but I need him to know how imperative it is that they both stay in the truck.

Looking down at the fob in his shaking hand, Tommy meets my eyes again, and nods just once. And I close the door, taking a step back. I can’t see them too well through the tint, but I know they can see me, and it isn’t until I hear the lock engage that I release the breath I’ve been holding. Yanking my gun from the waist of my jeans, I hold it steady and run with everything I have back toward the house.

I make it around the back of the house and flatten myself against the siding, right by the door to the mudroom. Nothing. No voices, no footsteps, no movement.

The silence presses in from every direction, thick and unnatural. My grip tightens around the gun, finger poised on the trigger, ready to shoot because fuck askin’ questions first.

Cain’s here. I know he is. But where the hell is he?

I force myself forward, staying low beneath the windows. Every step feels just a touch too loud. Every crunch of gravel beneath my boots echoes through the air, bouncing around the silence of the night.