Run Bad Boy Run

Chapter 28

"Hurry!" Hayden urges. The sound of tires screeching blasts through the park. Camo Boy 1 and 2 speed around a bend in the road lightning fast in their broken-up pick up truck.

He grabs my hand. "Forget it! Come on!"

"I got them!" I tell him, throwing my jacket aside. Derek roars another string of gruesome threats. Sliding to a halt in front of my car, I throw the door open and jump inside as fast as I can. Hayden does the same, barely able to close his door and lock the car before Derek can grab him. The drug dealer slams his fists into the glass as hard as he can.

"We don't have all day, Emmy!"

More sirens follow.

My car roars to life.

"Hold on!" Blue and red lights dance in the reflection of my mirrors and Derek stops his assault on the window, disappearing into the trees in a flash of movement. Behind us, the truck slams to a halt as well. Police cruisers fly into the parking lot at ridiculous speeds and I take it as my queue to get the hell out of here.

"Where are we going?" Hayden asks me, twisting around to watch the scene unfold behind us.

"Derek said my mom is involved in this!" I say, the panic coming back with full force. "He said she's Marked!"

Hayden swears under his breath. "How?"

"I don't know!" Fuck speed limits. I have to find her now! Throwing my phone at the bad boy, I scream, "Call my mom!"

"She's not picking up!"

"Try again!"

"I am!"

Tears blur my vision and Hayden lets out a long string of curses when I accidently swerve into oncoming traffic.

Snap out of it!

When I get home, her car is still in the driveway, but the front door is left unlocked.

"Ember! You can't just barge in there!" Hayden calls from behind me. Too late.

"Mom!" I shout, ready to tear anyone and everyone in half if anything has happened to her. "Mom! Where are you?"

Silence. A sob wracks my body. This can't be happening!

The groceries are where she left them on the kitchen counters. Her purse is still on the island. It's like she just disappeared. "She's not here!" My chest is on fire. The kitchen begins to tilt onto its side. There's no room for air in my lungs. "Hayden! Where did they take her?"

A series of loud bangs makes me jump. Hayden flies downstairs. "She's not upstairs," he gulps. "Where is your brother?"

"He—he's out of town," I wheeze, taking a step towards him when my legs threaten to give out. "Oh My God." Suddenly, the floor disappears from under me. Pain blossoms in my head.

The world goes back.

* * *

"Ember."

At first, it's a startled whisper. But then it grows louder and louder with every second until I can't ignore it any longer.

"Dammit, Ember! Snap the hell out of it!" A sharp sting on my cheek rips me into reality.

Opening my eyes, I lift a hand to my stinging cheek in disbelief. "You slapped me." I say, voice thick. And then my disbelief is replaced by confusion. "Why are you upside down?"

Hayden rolls his eyes and I can hear the panic in his voice. "You fainted and almost cracked her head open on the counter." He adjusts my head in his lap.