Page 90 of The Boss

He breaks off as a new volley of gunshots fire behind him. He puts his forehead on mine and, eyes closed, he pleads, “They can’t find you, baby. Please, please run for me.”

“O-okay,” I say and it’s my voice that breaks this time. “To the back fence?”

“Trust me. Tink will take you.” He barks an order to his dog in Irish and then pulls two guns from his back. “Now, Luna. Tink,rith go tapa!” His eyes lock with mine and he screams, “Run!”

For maybe the first time, I obey him.

•••••

“Damn it, you’re fast.” I say to the dog as we reach the fence. I’ve kept up using adrenaline and shock but I feel the burn in my legs. “Now what? We’ve come here a million times, there’s—”

But…the dog is still moving. Tink goes down into the ditch and barks back at me. I follow, taking careful steps so I don’t fall in the mud. I’m already wet from sweat and I’m getting cold since it’s almost totally dark now. Tink looks like nothing but huge, sharp white teeth. Terrifying. But I can see her, at least.

I get down almost fully into the trench and then I see what she’s barking at. A little tunnel tucked into the side of the ditch. Like a circular drain pipe but not as perfect. Crude, smaller and under my feet this whole damn time.

“You sneaky bitch,” I say to the dog. I follow in total darkness, feeling my way and listening for Tink ahead. I’m grateful the tunnel is mostly smooth and relatively short. After five minutes of crawling that felt like five hours, we arrive through an openingthat looks much more like a natural cave. The woods look exactly like the woods we just left on the edge of Quinn’s land.

Or not the edge. The false edge. Damn. Smart.

Tink’s still going so I stand and run after her. In just a few seconds, I see it. A building. Well, shack. Old rickety cabin. No fortress. No wires or lights.

I sigh.

“I bet there’s no heat on in there,” I say to Tink as I go up the steps. The door is unlocked, making this place look less and less like the keeper of all Quinn’s secrets that I was hoping it would be.

Quinn!

I keep moving. If I think about it, I start to tremble. He’s back there, bleeding. He’s under attack. And Marlon. I fucking left my little buddy behind!

I fight a wave of nausea and take in the cabin around me.

It looks like every abandoned shack in every chainsaw killer movie ever made. A few cabinets and a basin, though no running water, a work table, some random rusted tools.

“Nothing. Nothing! I thought he told you to take me somewhere,” I look at Tink. She’s laid out on the floor panting. It’s clear she’s been here before the way she’s at ease on a spot by the wall.

Now what? No stove, no fireplace. Not even a blanket.

I start to pace.

Why the hell would Quinn send me here?

They can’t take you. They can’t.

The way his voice broke. That kiss. He can’t die back there. He won’t. He’s fucking Skulls Quinn. He’ll probably kill all of them before sunrise. But he said more were coming.

“Damn it!” I say out loud. Tink stirs, then flops back down.

If he dies…

No. I’m not going to think about that.

He’ll be fine.

He sent me here to keep me from being captured, tortured, ransomed.

But why is this place a secret? It’s a trash heap.

There’s got to be more out here. But I can’t explore it in the dark. It’s clear Tink thinks she’s reached her destination.