“No,” I whisper, crawling over to her, gently touching her pallid face. “Jade?”
Her eyes pop open and she gasps, fisting my shirt with her bloody fingers and pulling me close.
“They took her,” she sobs. “They took my baby.”
“Who?” I scramble to catch up, my brain short-circuiting as I try to comprehend this.
Jade’s been hurt.
She’s bleeding.
So much.
Has she been shot?
She needs help.
I need to call an ambulance or—
“Listen to me!” she screeches. “You have to get her back. Cruz… he found me.”
“Cruz was here?”
“No,” she whines, her head tipping back.
“Jade!” I gently shake her, wriggling my hand beneath her shoulders so I can lift her into my arms.
“They work for Cruz,” she manages to whisper. “I know they do. He’d never let me get away with keeping her.”
“How did they find you?”
“It doesn’t matter,” she whimpers.
Her lips are so pale. Her skin is losing all its color.
She starts to shake in my arms, and I hold her a little tighter. “It’s okay. It’s gonna be okay. I’m gonna get you help.”
“Too late.” She sighs, closing her eyes.
“No! Jade!” I lightly slap her cheek and she wakes up again, her eyes honing in on me.
“You’re her father.”
“What? No, I’m—”
“Your name’s on her birth certificate.” Her voice is failing, and I have to strain to hear her. “I couldn’t put Cruz. I couldn’t do it. Legally… she’s yours.”
The information shocks me so bad I can’t even speak.
What is she saying?
What is—
“Jade,” I breathe, panic scratching my insides raw.
My jeans are damp; my T-shirt is wet with blood.
Her blood.
“I need to get you help.”
“Get her back.” She grips my shirt. “Promise me you’ll get her back.”
“Of course I’ll get her back.”
Jade’s expression softens, her eyes lighting with a smile. “And take care of her.”
“I will. We will.” The words die off, evaporating into the still air around me. “Jade?” I whisper, shaking her again.
She doesn’t respond.
“Jade!”
She won’t open her eyes. Her head lolls against my elbow.
Her lips are turning a faint blue color.
“Come on,” I whine, shaking her a little harder. “Jade! Wake! Up!”
Her floppy body jostles in my arms, her slack head tipping back. Her grip on my shirt is no longer there.
Because she’s gone.
I know it.
I’ve seen death before.
“Jade,” I whimper, tears trying to get the better of me.
I rest my forehead against hers, clutching her lifeless body to my chest.
Clenching my jaw, I wrestle the emotion coursing through me.
It’s a black rage that shoots out of my throat as an angry growl. “Ahhh!”
I’m gonna kill Cruz.
I’m gonna kill every one of his fucking crew!
My head is buzzing so loudly, I nearly miss the footsteps behind me, nearly don’t see the guy appearing in the doorway.
The second our eyes connect, something inside me sparks, and I lunge at him, just the way I lunged at Dad.
He doesn’t even have time to pull out his gun.
I’m a wild animal, attacking without thought. Punching him square in the face, I do a leg sweep and drop him to the floor. My arm becomes a piston, and I hammer his face until he’s a rag doll beneath me, blood spewing from his nose and lips.
It’s only then that I recognize him.
My brain comes back online, and I realize I’ve just beaten Pablo to a pulp.
I’ve had drinks with this guy. Played pool with him.
Slumping back, I land against the end of Jade’s bed, puffing and reeling.
My hand starts to ache, and the pain brings me right back to Earth.
“Arley,” I rasp. “Where is she?” I grab Pablo’s collar and shout at him, “Where is she!”
But he’s out cold.
Shit! I should have asked him before I took him down so quickly.
His head droops to the side, and I let him go, standing up and snatching the gun out of his holster.
Who am I kidding?
I know where she is.
With Cruz.
That bastard never could stomach the idea of Jade taking something he thought belonged to him. But Arley’s not something you own. She’s a little girl who needs to be cared for and cherished.
Shoving the gun in the back of my jeans, I spin around and spot Jade’s bare foot. Bile surges up my throat. She was doing such a great job being a mom, and now she’s gone.
I fist the front of my hair, forcing myself to focus.
“Breathe,” I rasp. “Think!”
I can’t let the red haze stunt me now.
Arley.
I need to get Arley.
I need to keep my promise to Jade.
“Hey!” Someone shouts behind me.
I whip around and spot Ricky.
He’s pointing a gun at me, his eyes darting down to Pablo, then back up to my face. “I gotta take you to Cruz.”
“Like hell,” I growl, ducking out of the way and racing for the window.
It’s already open and I dive through it, smashing into the metal railing before jumping down the fire escape ladder.
Gunfire spits behind me as I land on the concrete below with a grunt.
My body radiates with pain, but I force myself up, pumping my arms and heading down the alley behind Jade’s building. I’m running with a limp that’s starting to ease as I near the street.
Yeah, I need to get to Cruz.
That’s where Arley will be.
But I’m not gonna be dragged in there by Ricky and whoever else is firing at me.
I’m getting Arley back on my own terms.
I’m breaking into Cruz’s compound when he least expects it, and I’m gonna kill him and every other asshole who gets in my way.
Then I’m taking Arley some place she can never be found or touched or hurt again.
9
Never Linger at an Intersection
I drive beneath the El Cajon sign, smiling up at the welcome banner.
It’s weird. Since having breakfast and hitting the road, I’ve felt this overwhelming sense of freedom. It keeps creeping over me, and I start to laugh in spite of the fact that I’ve just run away from my guardians and there’s a chance I’ll never visit my parents’ gravesite again.
I should be crying, but I’m… I’m liberated.
Is this what I’ve been needing all along?
It’s like my old life was this prison and my new life is this… unknown adventure. All I have in front of me is the horizon, and I’m breaking free with no idea what I’m going to do.
Okay. Happy gone.
This is terrifying.
But I can’t go back.
Back is so much worse.
I have to keep moving forward, right?
I mean, I can’t go to all this effort and then slink home with my tail between my legs. Aunt Valerie’s house is not my home.