11

good girls go bad - cobra starship & leighton meester

"you're that guy i'd be stupid to trust"

Falling into a flower bed hurts.

But at least I was alive, I told myself as I staggered to my feet shakily, amazed that Nate's plan had worked. Other than a few small scratched on my cheeks from landing next to a tomato plant, and a few dirt stains on my shirt, I was perfectly fine.

Nate followed behind, sailing down the sling in the dark, a vicious ripping sound following him as Lords' men finally broke into the master bedroom, their shouts echoing as they ran over to the window. Nate tucked his body into a ball, rolling over his shoulder and almost landing on his feet as he tumbled over the wooden fence, the sling a tattered and slashed mess behind him.

"You cut the sling." I said breathlessly, reaching for his hand. "You're a goddamn genius, Macauley."

Nate laughed, dragging me over the expanse of the dark, unknown backyard. "It'll slow them down, but not for long. Can you climb a fence?"

"Who do you think I am, Nate?" I rolled my eyes before surveying the backyard, grinning when my eyes found the white metal frame in the darkness. "Of course not. But, whoever was gardening last left their step ladder in the flower bed, probably to deal with the maple tree. We can climb over the fence and exit the gate on the other side of the street."

"Now who's the genius, Forrester?" Nate laughed, lunging for the ladder. "You go first, I'll kick it over when I go."

"Be careful, Nate." I pleaded, clambering up the small ladder and swinging a leg over the wooden fence. A little splinter in my palms would be nothing if it meant that I got out of this night alive. Casting one look back at the blond, I threw my other leg over, dropping my body into the backyard.

The confused shouts of the family of four currently sitting around a firepit and listening to Kid Rock barely registered to me until I turned around, staring at the group like a deer in headlights.

And then the child screamed.

I hate screaming children.

The girl couldn't have been any older than nine or ten, her hair tied back in poofy pigtails, a blanket with the characters from Ever After High draped over her midsection.

"What are you doing in our backyard?" Her mother screamed. She was a serious looking woman, with high cheekbones and dark hair. She would have scared me if she hadn't been brandishing a long metal stick with three marshmallows on the ends. "Regis, call the police!"

"No, no! I promise, I'm not here to hurt you!"

Nate decided to take this moment to fall over the fence, almost knocking me over in the process. "I kicked the stepladder over; they can't follow us this way."

"Who are you people?"

"Oh, fuck." Nate cursed. "We were just leaving. We got lost on our way to..." He floundered, looking over at me for reassurance.

"The frat party!" It was the first thing that came to mind, and Regis and his family didn't look like they believed me. At least the daughter had stopped screaming.

Regis snorted "Well, it's not here. Lauren, take the kids inside. I'm going to call the police."

I needed to go on disaster control. The longer we stayed in this backyard, the sooner Lords would find us. And when they found us, we'd be six feet underground. I thought it was ridiculous that they hadn't made their way to the neighbouring backyard yet, but I had to hope that maybe they got caught up trying to turn off the car alarm that still blared through the neighbourhood.

Actually, how the alarm hadn't disturbed the family in front of us was news to me.

"Mommy, are they going to hurt us?" A little boy asked, huddling close to his mother as Lauren backed towards the sliding doors on the patio.

"I don't know, sweetie." Lauren said. "But daddy's going to take care of it."

"Please, just let us leave." Nate pleaded. "We don't mean you any harm."

Regis shook his head. "You're trespassing, and you've scared my kids."

There was a crash behind us, followed by a gunshot. The maple tree hanging over the fence shook, and Lauren screamed, clutching her children to her chest. My own heart stopped. That meant that Lords had found us again.

"Where are they?" A thick voice shouted behind us.

Nate and I exchanged a look. A look that meant we were so totally fucked.

"Lauren, take the kids and run!" Regis shouted, lunging for the fire extinguisher next to the fire pit.

"We should do the same." I said to Nate, grabbing his arm and running towards the back gate while Regis chased us with the fire extinguisher, iPhone held to his ear with the other hand as I fumbled with the gate latch, my hands shaking and chest tightening as my vision blurred with tears.

We were never going to make it to sunrise.

Nate put his hand over mine, forcing the latch open. He took my arm, and we ran, weaving through the cars in the driveway before we found ourselves out in the street, running hand in hand in the dark with Regis still shouting after us, and another gunshot echoing through the air.

I didn't look back, but I had a horrible feeling that it had hit Regis.

____

Detective Henley Roy sat against the hood of her Dodge Charger, cellphone in her hands as she finished her call with the computer division that had run background checks on their victim. Ivan Lasku had been a second-generation Albanian born in Detroit who had moved out to Bayview to expand the family cocaine empire.

Clearly, he hadn't been too successful, since Iain Lords had put three bullets in his chest.

"Do you have anything at all on Charis Forrester?" Henley asked softly as her partner came to rest next to her.

Duncan Lamante shook his head. "Nothing. We tried to get in touch with her brother Tyrone, but he's not answering the phone. I'm reluctant to call the parents, because there's a good chance they didn't know she was buying drugs, and that might just make more problems. But we need to find her."

"She's with Macauley. He knows how to handle himself on the streets." Detective Roy wasn't sure if she was trying to convince herself or Detective Lamante of that fact.

"But is that enough to keep her safe until the sun rises?"

Duncan opened his mouth to answer when a harried uniform officer came running over, cheeks pink with exhaustion.

"What's going on, Houseman? Has something happened?" Henley asked, springing up from her perch.

The officer, Houseman, nodded, still getting her breath back. "Dispatch just got two calls. One for a break and enter at Agustin Staedtler's house."

"Pastor Staedtler?" Henley asked in surprise. "He's my priest. Is he okay?"

Houseman shook her head. "The family is out of town. And the Johnsons live kitty-corner, connecting backyards. Lauren Johnson just reported two trespassers. Teenagers matching the descriptions of Charis Forrester and Nathaniel Macauley."

The two detectives exchanged looks.

"Lauren Johnson also reported gunshots. You'd better hurry, those kids are probably long gone."

Henley nodded, thanking Houseman before looking over at Duncan. "I'll drive, you get me the directions."