Page 89 of Havoc

“Go where?” It’s not just the clubhouse that’s the issue when it comes to trying to escape—it’s the compound.

Every corner of it is guarded. And even if it wasn’t, the clubhouse is surrounded by miles of empty desert. I learned that the hard way the one and only time I managed to get out. There was nowhere to hide and nowhere to run to.

Titan found me within the first ten minutes and spent a week showing me what would happen if I ever tried again.

“There’s nowhere to run out here.” I climb out of bed and slip on my shoes as Dad shoves a sweater into my arms.

It’s not cold, but I put it on.

“A friend came to the party tonight.” Dad zips the bag and hands it to me next. “He’s about to leave. All we have to do is get you to the back of his truck. He’ll take you into the city.”

“What about you?”

“Aimee, listen to me.” He grabs my arms, and the defeat in his expression has tears burning behind my eyes. “All that matters is that you get out. I’ll be fine.”

“I can’t leave you.”

“You have to, honey.”

My throat burns, and I’m ready to argue, but Dad grabs my hand and leads me to the closet. Sure enough, there’s a hole where a panel used to be. He guides me through until we’re in a storage closet, and then he peeks out the door before dragging me into the hallway.

Through the thin clubhouse walls, I hear the party escalating. Hopefully, that’s enough to keep them distracted.

Dad slips me out the back door, and like he said, a truck idles on the property.

Bikes, trucks, and cars are parked everywhere, but luckily, no one else is around.

“Who is that?” I ask, seeing the silhouette through the rear window.

“Someone who owes me a favor.” He pops the bed of the truck open.

I hop up but don’t release my father’s hand. “We can both go. Why would you stay?”

Dad frowns, opening his mouth to answer me when a shout comes from behind him. One of Titan’s men spots us and swings the door open to yell for someone inside the clubhouse.

“You need to go now.” He guides me to the truck, and I hurry inside. “Lie down.”

“Dad—”

“I love you, Aimee.” The tailgate slams closed behind me. “I’m sorry it had to go this way.”

Dad slaps the side of the truck, and the driver starts to peel forward.

My knees ache as I kneel in the truck bed and grab my father’s hand. Until our fingers stretch with the distance, and then there’s nothing but his hand reaching out.

Bodies begin to flood out of the clubhouse, and I duck down. But I don’t disappear entirely as I watch my fatherat a distance. He spins to face the men who surround him, until at last, he’s face-to-face with Titan.

They speak for no more than a few seconds before Titan lifts his gun, sending a shot echoing into the empty desert.

My father falls to the ground, and the night swallows him up.

Tears stream down my cheeks as I lie in the back of the truck waiting for them to follow. It’s only a matter of time before Titan’s men will catch up if they saw what my father was doing—who he was smuggling out. Part of me hopes they get here sooner rather than later to end this.

I just want it to be over.

But they never come.

And in the silence, I don’t know if that’s any better.