Take Me Tomorrow

Chapter 24: I Was Dead

I gritted my teeth as the truck skidded out of the parking lot onto the road. I didn't have to look behind me to know that the Traveler's Bureau had successfully gone up in flames, burning all of Topeka's records as it fell, including Rinley's. That is, if they didn't have a digital copy somewhere, which I'm sure they did. But we didn't. We didn't have anything.

I closed my eyes, but they still burned. Every part of me burned. Even my memory burned. I could see Lily running and Broden getting arrested. Even worse, I could hear the gunshots as Noah screamed my name. He had been shot. He was bleeding. And my mother. I had seen her. I had seen something.

"Don't cry now, dear," Anthony cooed from the passenger seat. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"I'm not crying," I spat, opening my eyes only to glare.

Anthony had turned around from the passenger seat to look at me. As his eyes moved over me, he grinned maniacally. He didn't have any soot on him. Not a single spec. For being so close to the fire, I couldn't understand how he looked so collected, so calm, so untouched.

"You're a tough one, aren't you, Ms. Gray?"

I looked away, focusing my attention on the streets. If I knew where we were going, I could escape. Get back to Lyn, or Miles, or anyone that I knew from school. Anyone but Anthony—or Tony—or whoever he was. But the windows were purposely tinted too dark to see out of. I wouldn't be able to memorize the streets. I had to find another way.

I turned my attention back to him. "I know who you are, Tony."

Anthony's eyes lit up the same way Noah's did when I defied him. "I'm glad my cousin had a chat with you. He seemed to like you enough to protect you, but I didn't think he'd tell you any of that." His head tilted to the side. "You must be special."

My cheeks burned. For the first time, I was thankful I was covered in ash. "He isn't the one who told me," I corrected, refusing to bring up the twins.

Anthony's smirk fell, but I bit my lip to prevent myself from talking. I could taste ash, but my words would taste worse. Anthony had a gun on him. I wasn't helping anyone if I was dead.

"I forgot to introduce you to my friends." Anthony tried to gain the upperhand in the conversation.

He gestured to the men next to me, one on my right, one on my left. The man on my right was the burly man that had tackled me. His nose still bled, and his hands curled into fists as if he would strangle me at any moment. The other was a younger man—impeccably serious but strangely familiar now that he was close. He didn't say a word. Instead, he kept his focus locked on Anthony as if expecting more orders.

I eyed them, but I didn't look at them too long. I didn't want them to think I was planning an escape.

The truck drove on and on, and I refused to speak. Anthony stopped taunting me as the tomo cleared his system. He answered his phone a few times, but none of the calls revealed details of the incident. Was Broden in jail? Were Noah's injuries fatal? Did the others get caught? Nothing was said, and Anthony kept it that way.

I ignored the searing pain in my ankle and glanced at my hands. My palm was cracked and cut, but blood splattered over my fingers. My throat tightened, and I flipped my hands over to look for an injury that explained it.

The younger guard leaned into me. "I'd like to handcuff her, sir," he said, as if I had a way to attack them.

Anthony growled. "Did I ask for your opinion, Pierson?"