Run Bad Boy Run

Chapter 42

Abigail woke from the sound of a loud crash that shook her apartment. It sent a jolt through her body and she sprung off of the bed, heart thundering in her chest. Specks of black and navy played in front of her eyes as they adjusted to the darkness and her skin pricked at the bad feeling in her gut. This time it wasn't her paranoia.

Derek found me.

That was impossible. She made sure of it. Another thump shook the apartment.

She reached for the baseball bat beside her nightstand and, cautiously, she crept for the door, ears on high alert. A low moan came from the kitchen and a lump formed in her throat. Hayden and Ember.

"God dammit!"

It was Hayden.

"Hayden?" Abigail whispered. When she stepped into the living room, a sob bubbled from her throat and the baseball bat slipped from her fingers. "Hayden! Oh my God!"

Hayden staggered clumsily across the living room, holding onto everything and anything to stay upright. There were two gashes near his temple, a split lip, and his raw knuckles were turning blue. "They took her! They fucking found us and took Ember!" he roared, colliding with a side table and sending a blue vase to the ground with an explosion.

"No," she whispered in disbelief. "No! It's impossible!"

Hayden dropped to his knees, clutching his side. "It's true," he whispered. "She's gone."

She rushed over to Hayden, pulling the tall boy off of the ground. "How?"

"I don't know," he hissed, his voice as distraught as he looked. "I don't fucking know." He spit the blood onto the carpet.

Abigail rushed to the kitchen to get everything she could to stop the bleeding. She was on auto drive, thoughts racing with who to call, what to do, and how she would skin Derek alive when she saw him.

I need to get help. Chase and Jensen aren't supposed to be here until tomorrow. We can't handle them on our own.

Too many people she'd cared about were hurt because of him.

"No! Stop—just—don't touch me," Hayden snapped when Abigail approached him with the first aid supplies.

His stormy eyes bore holes into her, a stricken sense of fear pinching Abigail's skin, and she took a step back. He looked deadly. But beneath the ice, Abigail saw grief on his face. There sat an upset seventeen-year-old boy on the brink of finally breaking. She couldn't help but marvel at how quickly he'd changed. How clearly his emotions shone through. For the four years Abigail had known Hayden Cross, he always had his emotions in check.

"You need to get cleaned up," she protested miserably. Hayden studied the blood on his hands, mumbling incoherently.

"I'm sick of being cleaned up," his broad shoulders shuddered. "I just want to find those assholes and break their jaws." Hayden jumped to his feet and stormed for the door. Abigail's eyes widened in alarm and she raced to the front door, blocking his way with her arms out.

"What are you doing?" Hayden asked venomously. Abigail looked up at him, eyes narrowing at the boy's recklessness. It was a trait both he and Ember shared annoyingly enough.

"Do you want to die?" she demanded. Hayden rolled his eyes as she continued. "One, you don't know where they could be. Two, you're not going around the city alone. I won't let you. In case you've forgotten, this is Brooklyn. There are other people you need to worry about besides the The Punishers. And three, you're freaking outnumbered by a lot! Derek won't hesitate to shoot you in the forehead. Now calm the fuck down and clean yourself up!"