Yarrolam launched himself at the two men holding Cherron, slamming
sideways into the man with gun. Both Cherron and the man who held
her fell backwards under the impact. Turning slightly, he slashed
down with his thick claws across the first man’s wrist, severing the
hand holding the pistol. Before the second man could worm his way
free from underneath Cherron, Yarrolam twisted his body and brought
his Ruinos hand down on the guy’s Adam’s apple. The man released his
grip on her and clasped his neck in a vain attempt to staunch the
flow of blood.
All of this
happened within a span of less than three seconds. The man by the
car stood there in surprised shock. By the time he realized what was
happening, Yarrolam had managed to bring his feet underneath him.
With a single lunge, he closed the nearly twelve foot gap between
himself and the guy, ramming him against the car. The impact knocked
the man out, and he slipped to the ground like a sack of soft putty.
Yarrolam turned to
Cherron. “Come on! Get in!”
She took one look
at the two men lying bleeding by her heels, and hurried over to jump
into the car. Yarrolam found the man’s gun and dropped it into his
pants pocket before sliding under the wheel.
They sped out of
the parking lot. He took the interstate and headed north. Neither of
them spoke as Yarrolam kept to the speed limit. Eventually, they
reached the outskirts of the city. By that time, he allowed himself
to relax. As far as he could tell, no one was following them, but
that didn’t mean they were out of danger. If anything, the worst was
just beginning.
“Who were those
men?”
He glanced over at
where she rubbing her arms with her hands. The red marks on her
wrists would soon turn a bruised blue.
“Are you cold?”
“No. I’m
terrified. Who were those men? Why did they…” Her voice broke but
she didn’t cry. She was fighting back fear with anger. Trying to
find reason and sanity after what she’d witnessed.
“I don’t know,
Cherron. I have no idea what the hell is going on, but we’re going
to find out. I promise.”
Once they reached
Mississippi, Yarrolam pulled off the highway and into the first
small town. Finding an ATM machine, he withdrew the maximum amount
allowed. Getting back inside the car, he held out a hand.
“Give me your
phone.”
“Why?” she asked,
but dug inside her purse and relinquished it to him. She watched in
disbelief as he left the vehicle and walked over to the small trash
receptacle next to the bank machine. He deftly broke the cell phone
into pieces with his bare hands, dumping the remains, then returned
to the car.
“Was that really
necessary?”
“I don’t know, but
would you want to take that chance?”
Their next stop
was at a local Gas-N-Go where he filled up the car, bought a
disposable phone, and withdrew more money from the store’s ATM
machine. He also got a few snacks and some bottles of water. Getting
back under the wheel, he handed the bag of items to Cherron. Once he
pulled the car up to the side of the store, he took the cell from
the bag, activated it, and placed a call.
“Aaron? It’s Liam.
Call me at this number.”
Hanging up, he
dialed a second number.
“Aaron? It’s Liam.
Call me at this number,” he repeated and hung up again.
She gave him a
questioning look.
“I called his
personal cell and the office,” Yarrolam answered. “You probably
noticed he didn’t answer either one.”
She gave a loud
sigh. “What do we do now?”
“Well, we can’t go
back to Aaron’s place. Or mine. They’re probably under
surveillance.”
“Who’s watching
it?” Cherron drew a hand through her hair. “This is unreal.
Thirty-five thousand. That man said Aaron owed him thirty-five
thousand dollars.”
“His first
payment,” Yarrolam reminded her. He looked at his hand resting on
the steering wheel, the other holding the disposable phone in his
lap. In the semi-darkness, they were human hands again. Although he
couldn’t see any blood on them, he could smell it. The human-like
skin was covering the worst of it.
“Liam?”
“What?”
“Let’s find
someplace to spend the night. Hopefully we’ll be able to think more
clearly come morning.”
He nodded. She was
right. They could keep running, but it wouldn’t solve their problem.
“Liam, we need to
tell the police what happened.”
“That…may be a
problem.”
“Why? How?”
“I attacked those
men. For that alone, they could arrest me.”
“They attacked us
first!” she countered.
“The police may
not see it that way. Cherron, if they arrest me, that would leave
you vulnerable for more of those men to come after you. Plus, we
have no idea what kind of trouble Aaron is into.”
“Are you telling
me you don’t want to tell the police what happened because of what
they might do to
you?
What an asshole!” She made no attempt to hide her disdain.
Yarrolam gripped
the phone so tightly, he almost crumpled it. Looking her full in the
face, he dropped his voice. “You have to trust me when I tell you,
going to the police isn’t going to help Aaron.”
“Oh, and you think
just the two of us are going to be able to do what the cops can’t?
What do you suggest we do, then? Keep running?”
Rubbing a hand
over his face, he glanced out the front windshield. “For now, let’s
go with your idea. Let’s get a room somewhere and let clearer heads
prevail in the morning.”
“I’d rather go to
the police station now,” she insisted. “Aaron could be dead in the
morning!”
“I don’t think so.
Cherron, the more I think on it, the more I believe he deliberately
sent me to pick you up at the airport to keep us out of harm’s way.”
She scowled at
him. “Are you saying he knew those men were after him?” She reached
for the door handle to exit the car. He reached out and grabbed her
by the upper arm. Not hard, but enough to detain her momentarily.
“Cherron.”
“We have to help
him! We have to tell the police!”
“Tell them
what?”
Yarrolam almost yelled. “That three men accosted us in a restaurant
parking lot with a cryptic message?”
“They were going
to kidnap me!”
“Yes, and I
crippled one of them and nearly killed the other one! Who do you
think the police are going to make their number one person of
interest when they can’t find Aaron? Say Aaron’s already dead. No,
no,
listen
to me! Hear me out. What if
Aaron’s already dead? I was the last person to see him alive. You
don’t think they won’t hold me for questioning? Those men who came
after us, someone sent them. Someone who is out thirty-five grand,
and then some. If I’m held for questioning, that will leave you wide
open to another attack. And if those people get their hands on you
again…” His throat suddenly closed up, and he felt his heart shrivel
at the thought. “Cherron, it’s been a long, terrifying day for both
of us. Let’s get a room, talk it out, and make a decision tomorrow
morning. Please.”
Several long
seconds passed as she studied his face. “Okay,” she finally
relented. “Okay. You risked your life to save me. The least I can do
is allow you the benefit of a doubt.”
Relief washed
through him. “Thank you,” he whispered, and started the engine.
|