Trembling(37)

Mr. Sutherland looked a little taken aback. "Five?" he asked.



His grip on my hands loosened a little bit. I kept talking.



"Five," I said. "And Jason and I took out an entire church full of them in Shiloh. Did you hear about that?"



"I always wondered about that incident," said Mr. Sutherland. "What did he do?" His grip was a little looser still.



I yanked my hands away from him as hard as I could. "We did it together," I grunted as I freed my hands. I clenched them into fists and forced them up into Mr. Sutherland's body, right below his rib cage.



He made a strangled noise in the back of his throat and his eyes got wide.



I rolled away from him, off the couch, feeling for my gun.



Mr. Sutherland recovered quickly. He was behind me, his arms reaching around me, trying to pin me down.



I elbowed behind me as hard as I could. I made contact with some part of his body. Some soft part.



Mr. Sutherland let out a cry of rage. "Maybe you are imbued with the spirit of demon," he growled.



Where was my gun?



Well, there was no time. I scrambled to my feet. "Think about that the next time you plant a stolen bell in a girl's purse," I said, running for the door.



Mr. Sutherland was right behind me.



I tugged open his door, threw myself through it and ran out into the street. I didn't look back, and I didn't hear Mr. Sutherland running after me.



But I did hear him calling after me from his doorway, "Azazel, I didn't put that bell in your purse!"

* * *

I ran and ran. There were no footsteps behind me, but I ran anyway. I ran, taking streets at random, hoping that if he were following me, I'd lose him. My breath went ragged and quick. My lungs started to hurt. The joints in my knees ached each time my foot hit the pavement. Eventually, I stopped, looking around me. There was no one there. And I wasn't entirely sure where I was.



I tried to catch my breath.



Damn.



What was wrong with me? Was there a big sign on my head that said, "Please attempt to violate me sexually"? First there was Toby. Then there was the veiled threat of that guy on the beach. Now Mr. Sutherland?!



I wasn't even that pretty. I wasn't ugly or anything, but if anybody should be getting all this negative sexual attention, it should be someone like Lilith. Not someone like me.



But I couldn't ponder that. I was lost on the streets of Bradenton, out of breath, and I'd lost both my purse and my gun. That really sucked. I'd lost my fake ID. I'd lost my driver's license. And I'd lost my check card. I was going to have to get that cancelled immediately. On top of everything else, I'd lost my phone.



And just when I really, really, really wanted to call Jason, too.



What was I going to do?



If I could find my bearings, I guessed I should go back to my apartment. Luckily, my keys were in my pocket, so I could get in.



But Mr. Sutherland knew where I lived. Was there any reason that he wouldn't have just gotten in his car and driven there? He was probably waiting for me.



I rubbed my face with my hands. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't. My eyes were dry. My chest was loose. I wandered to the end of the street to look at the street signs.



Oh. Well, I wasn't that far from home after all. A few blocks.



I didn't have anywhere else to go, so I guessed I'd go home. I'd be very careful. Look around for Mr. Sutherland's car. Then, as quickly as possible, I'd get inside, find the other gun, load it, and hide in a closet somewhere until Jason or Hallam got home. We didn't have a landline phone, so I couldn't even call anyone.



I walked the few blocks to my apartment and cautiously approached, looking around for Mr. Sutherland.



And then I saw Jude. He was standing outside my door, his phone to his ear.



Dammit. Jude was probably calling me. What was he doing here, anyway? Well, if Mr. Sutherland was around, he might go after Jude. Jude could be in danger.



I broke into a sprint again, snatching my keys from my pocket and feeling for the one to the front door as I ran.



"Jude!" I yelled as I approached.



He looked up and half-waved, confused because I was running towards him.



"Azazel?" he said as I approached. "Why are you—"



"Don't move," I said, fitting the key to the lock of my door and swinging it open. "Inside," I ordered.



Jude obeyed, his eyes wide.



Once we were safe in the house, I slammed the door after us and locked it.



"What's going on?" Jude asked.



I shook my head. I dashed back the hallway and went into Hallam's room. He kept his gun under his pillow, and the bullets in his top bedside drawer.



"Azazel?" said Jude, following me.