“Manchez. He’s tryin’ to get hold of you. He’s clever. So fuckin’ smart. He knows where we are now.”
“Oh God, I don’t feel so...” Jenny begins, then her eyes roll back, and she passes out. Ace catches her in his arms.
“One down boss,” he mutters, glancing at the bathroom window. “What do we do?”
“They’ll be waiting. Angel, go and get our guns and our clothes. Cover your mouth, hold your breath.”
Angel nods and puts a towel over his mouth, then rushes out. I turn to Jagger, who is now staring out the window, too.
“Where does this go?” he asks me.
“Out into the back area. There’s a gate that leads out onto the street.”
“We need to get you girls out.”
“But....”
“There’s no other choice.”
Angel returns with the guns and our clothes. Jagger takes the gun, making sure it’s loaded, then he peers out the window. We quickly dress ourselves and we cover Jenny as best we can.
“Is she going to be okay?” I ask Ace as he scoops her back into his arms.
“Yeah, she should be.”
Should be?
“I think they’re around front,” Jagger mutters. “Chances are they’ll barge in in a matter of minutes.”
“Do we get them now boss?” Angel asks.
“No, it’s too risky. It’s a public street. We just need to get the girls out of here. Take them to a random hotel, pay with cash. At least until we can figure something out.”
Angel nods and pulls the window open. He gets out first and I wait anxiously to hear if gun shots will fire off. My stomach twists as I wait, anxiously, praying we don’t hear a single thing. I take Ava’s hand and squeeze, she’s white as a ghost. Ace adjusts Jenny then climbs out next, followed by Ava. I look to Jagger, and he gives me a nod.
“Are you coming?”
“I’ll be there.”
“Jagger, I need my handbag,” I say quickly, suddenly remembering the information in there.
The information my father left me.
If they find that...
“What for?”
“It contains some, ah, information about my mother. If they get hold of it...”
“Where is it?”
“On the kitchen counter.”
“I’ll get it. Just get out of here.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be fine. Go.”
He shoves me towards the window before I can say another word. Angel grips me around the waist the moment I’m halfway out and pulls me quickly into the dark. My heart is racing, and my mind keeps returning to Jagger. What if he doesn’t get out? What if they kill him?
“Will he be ok?” I ask Angel as we move to safety.
“He can handle himself. Don’t speak again, Willow. It’s crucial we get out of here alive.”
I don’t say another word as Angel leads us behind some bushes and then peers out. He scans the streets around us, and his eyes fall on the car parked over the road from the apartment.
“They’re watching. We can’t get out this way. Are there any other exits?”
I nod and point to the other side of the yard where a small fence joins our place to the neighbors. “If we climb into their yard and go over their fence, there is a big open field on the other side. We can get out that way.”
Angel nods and we begin quietly shuffling out. After a huge struggle to get over the fence with a passed-out Jenny, we finally manage to get into the field. We hurry across it and take some back streets into town, until we can safely flag down a taxi. When we get in, Angel watches behind us to make sure we aren’t being followed, then he gives instructions to a hotel.
We drive in silence for what feels like hours, but really, it’s no more than half an hour at the most. Jenny is stirring on and off, Ava is staring blankly out the window and my mind keeps going back to Jagger. What if something happened to him? What if he thought we went out the other side of the yard and got shot? I fight back my panic and feel a rough hand reach over and squeeze mine. I glance at Ace, who is staring at me.
“He’ll be fine.”
“What if they got him?”
“He’ll be fine...”
We arrive at a small, secluded hotel and check in. Then, we all quietly sit for a few hours, all of us scared, all of us wondering what happened. During that time Jenny wakes up groggily and we encourage her to drink lots of water and rest. We have three rooms, but they’re connected, so we tuck Jenny into the bed in one and we wait with the guys in Angel and Ace’s room. I’m sitting in a chair, just staring at the window, when we hear the pounding on the door. I leap to my feet, but Angel grips my arm, stopping me.
“Wait here.”
He takes his gun and walks over, peering through the hole. A moment later he swings the door open and Jagger steps in. He’s covered in blood and pale. Anxiety grips my chest as I rush towards him.