Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
I unbuckle and get out of the car, pausing to look at him one more time. “Thank you, Mischa.”
He swallows and nods. “Don’t forget your bag.”
I shut the door and grab the backpack from the trunk. Mischa is gone in a blink, and I’m left standing on the curb, feeling as lost as I’ve ever been.
I glance up the street. The bus depot isn’t far, but I need to get to the crosswalk. It’s a busy intersection, and the middle of the day, so traffic is thick. Attempting to blend in, I join the other pedestrians waiting to cross. My heart is racing, but I try to make it look like I do this all the time.
The light turns, and I move with the crowd. So far, so good. On the other side of the street, we disperse. I’m in the clear, but I feel more vulnerable walking down the street alone. The traffic is at a standstill, so I keep my head down and try to avoid attention as I pass the cars.
It feels like an eternity until I make it to the oddly shaped building, even though it’s only a short distance. I’m almost to the glass door when an eerie feeling creeps over my skin. Something prompts me to look up, and when I do, my heart stops.
There’s a blue sports car idling in the street, waiting for the light change up ahead. And it isn’t so much the car, but the face behind the wheel that I recognize. I saw him at the Christmas party, and I remember him because he was one of the men ogling me at the door. He does a double take, and I know that he’s seen me too. The tattoos peeking out above his shirt collar only confirm my fears. He’s a Vor.
I duck my head and dart inside the building, walking as fast as I can. Every few feet, I pause to look over my shoulder. He isn’t there. But he saw me, and I’m certain he recognized me. Didn’t he?
I don’t know what to do. It was always going to be a risk in any of these small towns. The Berkshires are crawling with Vory, and I should have known better. I should have walked faster. There were a lot of things I wished I’d done differently, but right now, I’m at a loss.
Adrenaline, not reason, has me walking to the ticket counter and glancing up at the bus schedules. It’s late in the afternoon, and there aren’t many left for the day, but I need to choose. The decision is suffocating, so I pick the first one that I see. There’s a bus going to Boston and it’s leaving in thirty minutes. From there, I can get another.
I get in line to purchase my ticket, clutching the straps of my bag in my hands. Every few seconds, I look around, and I’m certain it’s probably only drawing more attention. I try to calm my nerves, waiting thirty seconds between passes. The people in front of me are taking forever.
Another glance out the window. It’s quick, and I think I’m all right. But then I see him. He’s on his phone, and he’s got his hand up to the glass, his eyes squinting as he searches the faces in the crowd.
I’m screwed.
I’m so screwed.
I exit the line and force myself to walk normally to the opposite side of the station, moving with the flow of other travelers and praying he doesn’t see me.
I need to get out of here, so I take the first exit I can find. Back on the sidewalk, I walk in the direction that I came from, making a right onto the first available cross street. I need to stay calm. Running will only draw attention, so I walk. And as I do, I retrieve the coat Mischa packed for me, shrugging it on and rearranging my backpack.
I don’t know where I’m going. There are businesses along the way. Shopping marts, coffee houses, and even a medical center. But none of them feel safe. I need to get somewhere I can hide. And after fifteen minutes, I finally do.
It’s a baseball park, and it’s walled by trees. Enough that I can disappear and catch my bearings while I figure out another plan. The grass is cold and hard beneath my feet, but now that I’m off the main street, I decide to run. My ankle hurts with every jarring impact, and I worry that I might trip, but I also worry that if I don’t run, I won’t get there at all.
Behind the field, I find a heavy and full cluster of trees. It’s the best cover I could hope for right now, so I pick the thickest one I can find. Flattening my body against the ground, I army crawl beneath it. It isn’t the least bit comfortable, and one thing is apparent now that I’ve executed my plan. Even if I do manage to go undiscovered, I won’t survive the elements for long with the clothes I have on. My only hope is that I will be able to move from this area before dawn. I’ll return to one of the shops I passed along the way and buy some different clothes, and then I’ll go back to the station and take the first bus out of here.