Page 37 of Better Run

“Why does he hate me?”

“He doesn’t hate you.”

She laughs. The sound is husky and beautiful. “Yes, he does.”

I shrug. “Okay.”

We work in silence again for a long time. I occasionally help her with little questions. She’s making a bowl of ice cream. Finally, I hear her stomach grumble.

I hold out my hand for the knife. She seems hesitant. Like it’s a life jacket and she’s drowning in the ocean.

“My mom gave it to me,” I say.

She looks at me. I don’t tell her that it’s cut the lips, eyelids, foreskin, and asshole off a man before. I wanted a dull knife to draw out his agony. Like he did for me.

She hands it back silently. I put it back on my desk and make sure she hasn’t swiped anything else. The beautiful little thief. Before I take her back upstairs, I put my project back into the shoebox. It’s looking an awful lot like the little blond woman who has stormed into our lives.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Mary Jo

Jayden stands over my bed. “Time to get up. We’re going out.”

“What?” I rub my eyes.

“Get a jacket. It’s cold out.” His voice is cold. Colder than normal.

I sit up. The room is dark. Did he say we were going out? I was going out?

I scramble to my feet and grab a jacket. Jayden is already out in the kitchen.

“Where are we going?”

He looks at me but doesn’t say anything. Cole comes up from the basement. He also seems unusually sober.

Dread pools in my stomach. What is going on? I take a step back.

“Now, now.” Jayden glares at me. “You wanted to leave so bad. Now you’re going to. Let’s go.” He motions at the front door.

I look at Cole.

He lifts an eyebrow. “You gonna obey, little one?”

I look back at Jayden and notice something in his waistband. A gun.

Adrenaline fills me, and I take a small step back. “You going to shoot me?”

Jayden cuts his gaze to me. He looks lethal. “Go.”

I don’t want to. Every instinct is screaming at me not to go. But somehow, I do.

We walk out to the truck in silence. My thoughts are going a thousand miles an hour. I pushed it too far yesterday. Would he tell me to get a jacket if he was just going to kill me? Why am I not running right now?

Cole must sense my indecision. He grabs my arm and tucks me into him. With horror, I realize he also has a gun tucked into his waistband. He keeps my arm pinned to him and away from it. We get to the truck, and he opens the back door, pushing me in. Jayden jumps in on the other side. Cole goes to the driver’s side and gets in, starting the car.

“These are the rules: you sit there like a good girl and be quiet. It’s pretty simple. Do you understand?”

I look down at his waistband. I nod.