Falling For A Criminal

Falling For A Criminal - Chapter Twenty Four

We've been driving for what seems like days, but was probably just a few hours. I woke up not too long after the sun came up the night I fainted, and I almost wanted to try and convince myself that everything that happened was just a dream. That my brother was alive and that it wasn't his blood all over my hands and my clothes, that Jayson had died when Trace shot him the first time, but I knew that all of this had actually happened, and there was no getting my brother back at this point.

I grinned humorlessly to myself as I thought about everything that happened last night. Me shooting a gun, taking part in a gang war that would probably have the media all over my dad's ass if they were to find out. The worst part of all of it was that Haydn watched as Jayson shot at my brother and didn't so much as fire back before he limped away and hid somewhere, probably trying to escape the warehouse, but I doubt he had enough time. I had been in the warehouse enough times to know that there was no escape aside from the front and back door. We were at the very front of it, and to have managed to make it all the way out to the back—even without three gunshot wounds—would have been nothing short of miracle.

Chase noticed that I was grinning and he shot me a puzzled look that I didn't even acknowledge. He mumbled something to Haydn, but I tuned them out and continued to just grin to myself. Sure, they'd think I was crazy, but what did it matter? The only person in the world who really had any of my trust had become a bitch over a guy, my only sibling had just died in my arms, and Andrew? I don't even know what'll happen to him!

Then again, he told me a few weeks ago that he had a boyfriend, and I'm sure that he's in good hands. If he thinks that my brother and I are dead, I guess that's for the better. He'll be hurt for a while, that much I know is true considering we practically grew up together, but he'll get over it after a while. All I brought to his life was trouble, and I'm sure he'll be better off without me there to mess everything up for him. Who knows, maybe he and his boyfriend are becoming a huge serious thing at school and he's the cause of a homosexual uproar.

That thought alone brought a genuine smile to my face, and I felt my eyes tearing up at the thought of not being able to see him after this. We had drifted a lot in the past few weeks, and I didn't even really get a chance to say goodbye to him, but would that be for the better? Maybe a goodbye would have just made things harder. . .

Not wanting to think about it anymore, I wiped the one stray tear that was rolling down my cheek and I looked out the window. The sun was just rising over the horizon, and while I would have admired it any other day, all it did was remind me that I had to start over from scratch. I didn't trust Cassandra, I didn't trust Chase, and I definitely didn't trust Haydn. Of course, they were life line right now, and I wasn't going to die because my mind was telling me to ditch them and just go on by myself.

I could always just get out of the car whenever we made a gas stop and run off in some random direction. Sooner or later, I'd find someone who was willing to help me, and then I'd be fine. They'd return me to my parents, I'd be away from Haydn and all this gang BS, and everything would be just fine. . . I wouldn't have to worry about getting shot at or having to shoot anyone anymore, and I could just go on with the life that I know I'm supposed to be living.

It was a risky plan though.

Haydn has people all over the place who would jump at his command to do something for him, even if that meant driving all the way across the state just to keep me safe. 'Or to keep an eye on me until he needed me for another mission. . .' My eyes narrowed, and I almost contemplated smacking him in the face, but he was driving right now, and I wasn't about to say that I survived a warehouse explosion just to have died a few hours later in a car accident. I'd die feeling like a complete dumb ass, not that I didn't already.