Fuck no.
I never thought of how her being here could mean her end too.
I completely forgot about the consequences, about what would happen if she talked …
If she really escaped the facility, she’s a stick of dynamite that just needs to be lit.
Fuck.
“Fuck!” I push past him and grab my coat on the way to the door.
“Hurry!” Winston yells, but I’ve already slammed the door shut behind me.
I know I’ve gotta be quick.
It’s only a matter of time before she talks to someone, and if it’s a cop and she tells him where she’s been … we’re both done for.
***
Alexis
I run through the woods, being chased by what feels like an invisible ghost, trying to make it to the other side as fast as possible. I don’t know where I am or where I’m going; I just know that I need to find a road. Roads have cars. Cars can take me back to the city. Back to my sister. Back to where I belong.
My legs keep me going, adrenaline coursing through my body as I ignore the pain in my feet. I just keep pushing. Even though I feel a pang in my stomach, I don’t look back. I feel like I’m abandoning him, but at the same time, I know I shouldn’t worry. He let me go. It was his choice, not mine. At least, that’s what I tell myself as I run past the trees.
A few minutes later, I reach a dirt road and walk onto it. Panting heavily, I raise my hands at the first car that comes by. First, I’m afraid it’ll just drive straight past me because it’s going so fast, but luckily, it stops right in front of me. Not so lucky … it’s a freaking cop.
I would be lucky if I were a normal girl, but I’m a hooker, and that isn’t exactly a legal profession. But when he rolls down his window, I ask for help anyway. What else am I supposed to do?
“Could you please give me a ride back to town?” I ask.
“What’s this all about?” he asks. “Where’d you come from?”
“Does it matter?”
He raises a brow. “Of course, it does. Why would I give a ride to a random stranger?”
“Because you’re a cop and I need your help.”
His eyes narrow, and then he unbuckles his seat belt and opens the door. “Wait there, please.”
Fuck.
He gets out of the car, the engine still on, and I wonder what the fuck he’s going to do. He walks over to me, his hands casually in his pocket as he leans back and looks at me. “A girl doesn’t just randomly walk out of the woods like that. Tell me where you came from.”
I lean back, sputtering my words. “From … somewhere. In the woods.”
He laughs. “Right. Why do I get the feeling you’re lying?”
I cross my arms. “It’s none of your business.”
“All right then.” He shrugs and turns around. “Your call.”
“No, wait!” I walk after him. “You gotta help me. Please.”
“Why would I?”
“Because you’re a cop,” I say, slamming my hand on the car. “And I’m telling you I need help.” I know my story is flimsy, and that he doesn’t have any reason to trust me or even believe me, but I still need him to.
“I’m serious,” I say. “I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t. I don’t have any money, and I can’t get home.”
He purses his lips, a simple smile on his lips. And then he grabs my arm. “I think you’ve said enough.”
Gripping the back of my head, he pushes me down onto the car and folds my arms behind me. I yelp from the pain, but he holds me so tight that it’s impossible to fight him.
“I’m bringing you in.”
“The fuck? I haven’t done anything!”
“Yeah, you and all those other girls I’ve seen around here,” he muses, and he spreads my legs with force. “Spread.”
I sigh when he puts his hands on my shoulders and starts to pat me down. But then, out of nowhere, he stops … and his finger briefly drifts across the back of my neck.
“Oh …”
The sound makes all the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
His grip on my neck fastens, his nails digging into my skin as he leans over. “You’re … one of them.”
“Them? What are you talking about? Are you done yet?” I snarl.
“You’re one of the girls from that place …” he says softly. “You’re one of them.”
“What?” I growl. “Enough. Let me go!”
He grabs my wrists tight. “You thought you could escape, did you? I bet they’ll have a nice reward for the person who finds you …” he whispers in my ear. “But first …”