Lighting a Match in the Rain

Chapter Thirty-Six

            My foot thudded against the floorboards as my leg nervously bounced. Trees lined the distance in front of us, creating a path too narrow for the car to trail through. "Why didn't he want to meet at the same place as usual?" I asked Reed, my anxiety raising my tone. "Why did he need to change the meeting location?"

Sitting in the driver's seat, he was too quiet. "I don't know," he finally answered. "But the sooner we get this over with, the sooner we won't have to deal with Porter again."

I tried to take a steady deep breath, but it felt like my lungs were sputtering the air out in wavered puffs. "I told you that I didn't want to see them again," I reminded him. I wanted nothing more than to stay put right here in this car while Reed trailed off between those trees and finished this up himself.

"He's insisting your presence, Ella," he reminded me of what he had just explained on the drive over here. "He won't take the money unless you are there to give it to him."

"Why me?" I asked, sounding pathetic and scared, which just made me mad at myself. "Ricky put you in this mess, not me. I was here on my own will. You should be the one that has to end it."

I didn't look at him as he didn't reply to my words. I couldn't take my eyes off the tree line. There wasn't a single sign of a building laying just out of sight, but we knew it had to be there. We followed the exact directions that we were given.

"Are you ready?" he asked me. "The sooner we get this bag to him, the sooner we can get out of here."

Sighing, I answered no, but opened the car door anyway. "How do we know this isn't some scheme to get us murdered in the middle of the woods?" I asked. "They could kill us both right here and no one would ever find us."

He climbed out of the car, shoving his keys into the pocket of his sweatpants and slinging the small backpack full of money over his shoulder. "I shared my location with Julian," he told me. "I told him to keep an eye on it and if I haven't moved in an hour, to send someone after me."

I looked over at him as he started leading the way through the woods. "Did you tell him what we were doing?"

He shook his head. "He doesn't even know you are here with me, but I think he's got a few ideas of what I've been up to lately."

I huffed. "If they are the same ideas your dad has, then I wouldn't be too relaxed about it."

He shrugged. "He trusts me more than dad does."

I didn't respond, lost thinking about what Julian suspected was going on with his twin. I wondered if he suspected that I had anything to do with it. It was likely.

"Wait."

His hand grabbed my arm, stopping me and turning me to face him. Looking around, he pulled something out of his jacket and handed it in my direction. It was a small pistol. I took a sharp intake of breath. "Reed..."

"I don't know what could happen..." he spoke softly, looking over my shoulder again to make sure no one was in sight. "Please. Just take it."

"I don't think I've ever..."

Lifting up my hoodie a little bit, he tugged at the waistband of my leggings before sliding the side of the barrel against the skin, tucking it in, but leaving it easy to grab. The front of my hoodie covered it. "Just in case," he whispered.

He wanted me to what? Shoot at someone? My eyes widened, feeling the cool metal against my tender skin. "Reed...I can't..."

"If you need to, you can and you will."