Page 33 of Broken

“Over there.” Theo pointed at the bike parked just across the street. Therewas a lot of traffic, though, so when we rushed to get across, cars honked at us. We couldn’t stop and wait, since the Spiders were hot on our heels. Passersby stared at us, and police sirens were getting closer too. Just as we were about to reach the bike, a bullet came out of nowhere, narrowly missing Theo’s head only because he’d managed to jump aside at the last moment.

I looked up andsaw a man with a sniper rifle looking through one of the windows, and he was taking aim at me. Shit. I crouched behind one of the parked cars as Theo fired toward the attacker and a few windows burst into pieces. While the attacker was out of sight, Theo hopped onto the bike and I rose to my feet, bolting toward him. I climbed behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist, and we sped out of there,zigzagging between the cars as shots rang out behind us.

My heart rate was through the roof as I held onto Theo, hoping no one would come after us. The wind whipped against my face, and I shivered, but at least we were both still alive. Where would we go now? The sniper had probably been Walter, and the Spiders had definitely seen in which direction we’d gone. The cops would be onto themsoon, so they’d have to disperse, but would they still be able to follow us?

Did they have someone who could track us down working for them? And since Walter had been waiting for us right where the bike had been parked, it was possible he’d put a tracker on it. I was glad it wasn’t a bomb, but I assumed Walter needed proof he’d killed me if he wanted to take over the Rosa Nera, and collectingbits and pieces of me off the pavement wouldn’t be an easy task, especially with the cops coming.

“We have to ditch the bike,” I yelled. “They might be tracking us. If they figure out where we’re going...”

“I know,” Theo said. “Just hold on tightly.”

He weaved between cars and took a sharp left turn. I glanced behind us, but it didn’t look like anyone was following us. For now. Theoheaded toward an underground garage of a shopping mall, and if we were lucky, we’d be able to confuse our enemy and disappear in the crowd.

Chapter 19

THEO WASN’T OVERLY happy that he had to ditch his bike, but we didn’t have a choice. After making our way around the city and doing everything we could to stay out of sight, we stopped under an overpass and hid behind one of the supporting columns. This area was less populated, so the chance of someone spotting us aroundhere was lower, but we still couldn’t linger too long.

“Where are we going to go? Do you maybe have or know of a good hideout somewhere?” I asked, although I supposed he’d have already told me about it if there was some place we could go and hide from Walter and the Spiders.

“Not really, but we’ll have to find one and soon.”

I spotted a payphone just across the street and an ideacame to my mind. “I can call Vix. She and the Cobras might be able to help us. They might have a hideout for us that no one knows about.”

“Okay,” Theo said, “but be quick.”

I took a good look around, and when I was sure no one was watching us and that no one suspicious was here, I raced across the street. Theo was right behind me, and I knew he had my back, so I didn’t have to worry aboutsomeone attacking me in the middle of the call. I dialed Vix’s number, and she answered after the second ring.

“Hey, Vix, it’s me. I need your help,” I said.

“Chiara? What’s going on? Where are you? I was just about to check in on you to make sure everything was okay. Is this your new number or...?”

“I’m calling you from a payphone. The Spiders and Walter found Theo’s apartment andwe had to run, but now we don’t have anywhere to go, so I was hoping you might know of a place where we could hide or at least get some rest.” Theo and I had been on the move for a few hours now, and even though I didn’t feel particularly tired, probably because of all the adrenaline coursing through me, I was sure that wouldn’t last long. The last thing I wanted was to have to face the Spiders exhausted.

“Oh, my God! Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Vix’s voice was filled with panic.

“No, we’re fine,” I said, although I was sure she’d been asking only about me and not about Theo.

“Can you come to the club? I’ll call the Cobras and tell them to bring their best men. We can protect you.”

“No. It has to be someplace else.” Walter was probably aware of my connection to the Cobras and Vix,so the club and the Cobras’ area were the first places where he’d expect to find me. If he or the Spiders’ spies spotted me in that area, they’d attack Vix and the Cobras, and I didn’t want that to happen.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. And you should be very careful too, because Walter and the Spiders might come after you if they think you’re hiding me.” I didn’t think Walter would try to captureVix and use her as bait to draw me out, since it would be hard to get to Vix and he wouldn’t even know how to get in contact with me because I’d gotten rid of my phone so Theo and I couldn’t be tracked.

“Don’t worry about us,” she said. “I might have just the right place for you, but I need to arrange everything. There’s a room at a hotel and it’s reserved only for me. It’s not in my nameor in any way connected to me, but the owner likes the money I pay him. You can go there until we find a better place. You won’t have to check in. I’ll tell them to leave the door open for you, and they won’t know who you are. You’d have to make sure not to be seen and to avoid the cameras, because there’s nothing I can do about that.”

“Okay.” That didn’t sound too bad. Who’d expect us togo to a hotel?

“Great. I’m going to make a few calls. Can you stay where you are so I can call you back? I promise it won’t take long.”

I glanced at Theo, who was keeping watch. His shoulders were relaxed, which meant that there wasn’t any danger at the moment. “I guess I can. If I don’t answer when you call this number, then I’ll have to contact you when I find another phone.”

“Alright.”Vix ended the call.

Theo turned toward me and gave me a questioning look.

“Vix has a plan,” I said. “But I need to wait for her to call me back.”