Classified ☑

[ chapter 39 ]

Cole moaned as he stirred awake, touching the back of his head as he pushed himself up with his other hand. "What happened?" he mumbled.

Shelly glanced from him to me, taking in a sharp breath. Her face, red and blotchy with tears still running down her cheeks, showed every sign of anger and hurt. She lowered her voice so Cole couldn't hear. "Mark knocked him out because Cole was trying to stop him from going."

Dante's body went rigid. "We have to go now." His voice was cold and stern, the urgency written all over his face. Whatever he thought was going to happen must've been bad.

"I'll go with you, I know where the closest police station is," Joseph said, surprising all of us.

"I'll go too," I added.

As I stepped to move, Dante blocked me from moving further. "No, you're staying here."

"But-"

"Nina, this is one thing I agree with him on." Joseph narrowed his eyes at me, daring me to argue with him.

"There's another police station on the edge of town, if y'all go to the closest one, there's no way you guys would make it to the other one in time." Cole stood up now but his back was slightly hunched over.

"We need to go," I said. I would not get stuck on the sidelines when I could help.

"You are staying here and that's final," Thomas declared. He looked at Joseph and Dante. "Go, I've got them covered."

Dante and Joseph gave quick nods before they took off, their footsteps pounding down the stairs as they left.

Once we heard the door slam shut, Thomas looked at Cole and me. "You two go to that other police station."

Cole looked at me and slowly turned his eyes towards Thomas, the disbelief clear on his face. I was with him on that, I couldn't believe Thomas was telling us to go.

"But you just said-" I started, confused by my uncle's sudden change of heart.

"Nina, go." His eyes were pleading. "You need to save that kid's life. If there's a chance he went to that other police station, you two need to get to him and stop him. If he dies, this town will never be the same. Now go!"

In that moment I felt so much gratitude for my uncle. He was letting me go, knowing Cole and I needed to save Mark.

I wrapped my arms around Thomas and he hugged me back just as tight. As we pulled away, I pulled the flash drive out of my back pocket and put it in his hands. "This is the flash drive that will bring Lucille and the TIA down. You have to get it to Gracie, she'll know what to do with it."

"I will," my uncle assured me.

"Nina, we have to go now," Cole begged, already halfway out my bedroom door.

Thomas nodded his head for us to leave. "I'll take care of Shelly and get the flash drive to Gracie. Now go."

I nodded my head, feeling tugged in both directions. I wanted to stay and help Shelly and get the flash drive to Gracie, knowing it got to her. But I also knew Cole and I had to get to Mark before it was too late.

Cole sprinted down the stairs with me trailing behind him. I tossed him the keys to my truck since Dante and Joseph had taken the other car. We both slammed the truck's doors and Cole turned on the engine, peeling out of our gravel parking lot.

Adrenaline and fear of the unknown coursed through my veins as Cole sped down the road and towards the edge of town.

We'd been silent since we got in the truck and I needed to hear from Cole. I couldn't stand the unknown any longer. "Cole, what do you think-"

Before I could finish my sentence, the engine made a popping noise and white smoke started to drift out from underneath the hood as the truck slowed down.

"No, no, no!" Cole yelled, slamming his fist against the steering wheel.

I leaned over to look at the dashboard and saw that the old rust bucket had over heated. "How far away is the police station from here?" I asked, not being able to hide the fear in my voice.

Cole had a million emotions brewing in his brown eyes, but he answered me anyways. "A couple of miles."

I opened the door. "Let's run then."

All those years of running had paid off in that moment as Cole and I sprinted to the police station. By the time the sign came into view, Cole and I were drenched in sweat.

My jeans hugged my legs in an uncomfortable way as we rounded the building, spotting Mark walking up the steps. "Mark!" I yelled as loud as I could, hoping it'd get his attention.

He paused, placing his foot on the first step as he turned around looking confused.

"Don't go in there!" Cole yelled as we sprinted the rest of the way to the building.

As we got closer, I could see Mark narrow his eyes in disbelief. He wasn't having it. He didn't even answer us before he turned to walk back up the steps.

"Mark!" Cole and I yelled at the exact same time as a loud shot rang out in the air.

The sound seemed to echo before the glass windows to the police station shattered instantly as the bullet went straight through it. Screams rang out as everything seemed to play out in slow motion.

My heart sank even more just as Mark's body fell limp to the ground before Cole or I could get to him. The glazed look that was in his eyes was the only thing that I had to see to know he was gone. And just like that, I was brought back to the night in the car with my dad along with all of the other unwanted emotions.

Everything hurt. Everything went black. I felt nothing, yet all at the same time I felt everything.

Cole's body crashed into mine, dragging us both to the ground in the middle of the street. "No, no, no," Cole kept repeating. "No!" he cried out.

"Cole, we have to go." Tears were already running down my face as I tried to get him to move. His body was on top of my legs, keeping me trapped underneath him.

Whoever just shot Mark was still out there. If he was a target, I'm sure Cole and I were too.

"Please," I begged Cole, pulling at his t'shirt's sleeve. I hated seeing Mark go down like that and I didn't want Cole or I to be the next one. I didn't think I could take it if I saw the same thing happen to Cole. It'd haunt me for the rest of my life.

I sucked in a deep breath as Cole turned his eyes on me. They'd grown several shades darker, the shock written all over his face.

A slow, ear shattering siren started to wail, drawing Cole's attention away from me. People from inside the police station started to yell at one another about the invasion that'd just happen at their station.

Cole stood up and pulled me with him as he started to slowly back away. "We- we have to- to go," he stuttered.

He was unstable right now. "Look at me," I said as I grabbed his shoulders. "I need you to focus."

Another shot fired into the police building, close to where we were standing. Cole and I both ducked at the sound and before I knew it, Cole had thrown me to the ground with him on top of me.

That second shot had seemed to pull him out of whatever trance he was in because he whispered in my ear, "On three, we're both going to get up and sprint back to your truck."

I nodded my head to let him know I understood. On his count we both got up and sprinted for our lives.

Cole glanced back once more at Mark laid out on the ground. The look on his face clawed at my insides.

We were too late because of me. Had I waited to give Thomas the flash drive, we probably would've made it.

And I was going to have to live with that guilt for the rest of my life.

A/N: Sorry for the slow updates. Life's been crazy busy.