“B-?but they sh-?shot at us. They tried to kill us. Th-?that doesn't make any sense. ”
He plucked something from the bottom folds of his T-?shirt. A long narrow metal tube with a pointed end.
“It caught in my shirt. It nicked me, but it shouldn't matter. It'd take a lot to knock me out. ”
“Knock you out?” I stared at it. “It's a tranquilizer dart?”
“I think so. Never seen one outside a nature show. ”
But we weren't animals. People didn't hunt kids with tranquilizer guns.
“I d-?don't understand. ”
“Neither do I. Point is, they want us back. Bad. All the more reason to keep going. ” He dropped the dart and moved past me to the edge of the bin and inhaled, making no effort to hide it now. “Simon's here. He's not close, but he's been past recently. ”
“You can find him?”
“Yeah. Right now, though, I'm going to trust he can look after himself and worry about us. He'll lie low until he sees you. We should find a place to do the same
until they move on. ”
He strode to the delivery doors, but they were locked and solid, the handles on the inside. I crept along the bin and scanned the factory yard.
“It looks like a warehouse back there. You mentioned something about that Friday? That it'd make a good place to hide?”
He glanced over my shoulder. “That one's too near the factory to be abandoned. ” He studied it. “But it'll do for now. I should be able to break in. ”
He surveyed the yard, then he hustled me along the dark wall, and we dashed across to the warehouse. A sharp wrench on the door and we were inside.
Derek was right: it wasn't abandoned. It was packed with rolls of steel, giving us lots of hiding places. I had to move slowly, feeling my way and following in Derek's tracks, testing each footstep for noise.
When we'd gone about twenty paces, he found a crevice and wedged us inside. We barely got in when a voice outside boomed.
“Derek? I know you're here. It's Dr. Davidoff. ”
I glanced at Derek, but he had his head turned toward the voice.
“Derek? I know you don't want to do this. You want to get better. You can't do that by running away. ”
The voice was moving, as the doctor walked through the factory yard. Derek cocked his head, listening, then whispered, “Four—no, five sets of footsteps. All separate. Searching. ”
Hoping we'd give ourselves away.
“Derek? You know you shouldn't be out here. It's not safe. We've talked about this, remember? You don't want to hurt anyone. I know that, and you know you need our help to get better. ”
I looked up. Derek's jaw worked, his gaze distant.
“I could go,” he whispered. “Create a distraction so you can escape. Simon's around. You just need to find—”
“You're going back? After they shot at you?”
“Just tranquilizers. ”
“Just? Just?” My voice rose and I fought to keep it down. “They're hunting us, Derek. Dr. Gill knows what I am. "
“She knew. That doesn't mean they do. ”
“Are you sure?”
He hesitated, his gaze lifting toward the voice.
“Derek?” Dr. Davidoff continued. “Please. I want to make this easy for you, but you need to make it easy for us. Come out now and we'll talk. That's it. Just talk. No disciplinary action will be taken and we won't transfer you. ”
Derek shifted against me. Considering.
“You can't—” I began.
“If you don't come out, Derek, we will find you, and you will be transferred . . . to a juvenile detention center for kidnapping Chloe. ”
“Kid—” I squawked.
He clapped his hand over my mouth until I motioned I'd be quiet.
Dr. Davidoff continued. “You already have a documented history of inappropriate behavior toward her. When the police see that, and hear our corroborating statements, you will be in a lot of trouble, Derek, and I know you don't want that. Even if she defends you, it won't matter to the police. You're a sixteen-?year-?old boy running away with a fourteen-?year-?old girl. ” He paused. “You do realize she's only fourteen, don't you, Derek?”
I shook my head vehemently and whispered, “He's lying. I turned fifteen last month. ”
Dr. Davidoff said, “To the police, it will be a clear case of kidnapping and interference, possibly even sexual assault. ”
“Sexual—!” I squeaked.
Derek's glare shut me up as effectively as his hand had.
“It's your choice, Derek. Make this hard, and you'll only hurt yourself. ”
Derek snorted and with that, Dr. Davidoff lost him. Prey on Derek's fears of hurting others, and he might be convinced to surrender. But threaten Derek himself? Like Simon said, it was a whole different matter.
“Stay here,” he whispered. “I'm going to find a way out. ”
I wanted to argue, insist on helping, but I didn't have his night vision. If I started stumbling around looking for an exit, I'd bring Dr. Davidoff and the others running.
I stayed put.
Forty-three
AFTER A FEW MINUTES, Derek returned and wordlessly led me to the back wall, where a window had been broken. It must have been boarded over, but the board was now resting on the floor.
“Hold on. ”
He swept the broken glass from the lower sill, then laced his fingers into a step for me. As I crawled through, my sleeve snagged on a leftover shard.
A nearby door banged.
“Chloe? Derek? I know you're in here. The door was broken. ”
I yanked my sleeve free, feeling a sharp sting. The shard tinkled to the pavement below as I scrambled through.
I tumbled to the ground, recovered, and broke into a run, aiming for the nearest cover—a tarp over a lumber pile. I dropped and crawled under it, Derek shoving me in farther. I found a spot where the tarp tented and stretched out on my stomach. The moment I caught my breath, my upper arm started to throb, telling me the glass had done more than scrape my skin.
“You're hurt,” Derek whispered as if reading my mind.
“Just a scratch. ”
“No, it's not. ”
He grabbed my arm and pulled it straight. A stab of pain. I stifled a gasp. It was too dark to see, but the sleeve felt wet against my skin. Blood. He'd smelled it.
He gingerly rolled up my sleeve and swore.
“Bad?” I whispered.
“Deep. Gotta stop the bleeding. We need a bandage. ”
He released my arm. A flash of white, and I realized he was pulling off his T-?shirt.