Page 98 of Three, Two, One [321]

You’re scaring her, JD.

Take it easy, JD.

“—when he’s taken it too far. Or he’s called me afterward and I got her help.”

“Who?”

“Whoever, Blue. Whoever. But he was so good with you. He was so… normal.”

“He never beat me, Ark. It wasn’t like that.”

“He did beat you. He just did it from the inside out.”

And then Ark gets up and walks out of the room.

I’m not sure how much time passes as I listen to Ark on the other side of the loft. But I know he’s packing a bag for JD. He talks to that Ray person they do business with. He talks to JD at one point, and even though I only hear Ark’s side of the conversation, and that side is calmer than I expected, I know JD’s end is not.

I know the other end is rage.

Ark walks back into the bedroom. I’m lying down, under the covers, still naked and ashamed. “We’re leaving,” he says.

“What?” I sit up in bed as he starts pulling clothes out of the drawers. He throws me a hoodie and a pair of jeans.

“Get dressed. We’re leaving in five minutes. I know where JD is, so it’s gonna take him twenty minutes to get here. So five minutes.” Ark walks out with a gym bag filled with clothes.

I get up and put on the clothes, then find my winter boots and slip those on too. Ark comes back with my fancy winter coat. “Put it on, Blue. And I don’t want any bullshit about leaving this loft, you hear me?”

I nod as he holds the coat open for me and I slide my arms into the smooth satin lining the sleeves. He waits as I button it up and cinch the belt at my waist. “Where are we going?” I ask as he takes my hand and tugs me down the hallway.

My heart is pounding as I’m led through the front door and we wait for the elevator. “Where are we going?” I ask again.

“A friend’s place. But she’s at work, so we need to stop there first.”

When we get to the garage, he stops and looks both ways, like someone might be following us. When he decides it’s clear, we run towards a Jeep. He opens the passenger door and I climb in. Then he closes it up and walks around the front of the vehicle, his eyes darting around, looking everywhere he can in those few moments.

It’s only when he gets in and throws something in the center console that I realize he’s got a gun. “What’s that for?”

He ignores me, just starts the Jeep and throws it in reverse, the tires screeching on the parking garage floor. We zoom around and hit the street. He stops before pulling out, looking left and right for what seems longer than necessary with the light traffic. Then he pulls out onto the street.

I have not been in a car since I was taken to the party the night before I escaped, and the motion makes me a little dizzy, especially since Ark is weaving in and out of traffic.

We drive for about fifteen minutes, and then stop at a Radio Shack. He grabs the gun and jumps out, leaving the Jeep running. “If anyone approaches you, honk the horn.”

And then the door closes and he takes off inside.

I look around. I have no idea where I’m at, but we are a little ways out of the city. It’s a big strip mall with tons of cars. We are parked right in front of the store, but honestly, how fast can Ark get to me if someone came up?

Who would try to get me? And just as I’m thinking that, I realize who we’re running from.

Not JD.

The people I escaped from.

My heart starts to beat faster. Because even though I might’ve been holding myself prisoner in the loft with Ark and JD, I always knew I was free to go. I just didn’t have the courage to walk out the door.

But if those people get me again, I’m done. They’ll beat me. Rape me. And then sell me or kill me or God only knows what. I twist around in my seat, trying to see all sides of the parking lot at once, but it’s too big. Several minutes go by, and I’m just about to reach for the door handle and go join Ark inside before I die of paranoia when he comes back. He throws a bag on my lap. “Open it up, Blue. Stick the SIM card in it and activate it for me as I drive.”

“What’s going on?”