Page 32 of Blade
We had spent a little time in Georgia, then Tennessee, before moving down into Mississippi. We never spent more than three weeks in any one place. Call it paranoia, but I kept thinking I saw Luis or his men.
Wherever we were staying, I would work construction jobs for cash, and Sage would also work for cash at small businesses, or for tips in small diners. I didn’t want us to burn through all of my money right away. We were going to need some to get started when we got to California.
We had left a small town in Mississippi and decided to lose ourselves in Louisiana for a bit before finally heading toward California.
“Are you sure it’s safe here?” Sage whispered as we sat in the little cafe on the outskirts of New Orleans. She was rightfully frightened—in the last place we’d been staying, weboththoughtwe’d seen one of Luis’s guys, prompting the last quick move from Mississippi.
There’d been no sign of them for days, so I was hoping we had imagined seeing them because we were both so afraid they would catch up and we were finally in the clear.
Stop acting suspicious and we’ll be fine, I spoke into her head. I’d done it for so long it was second nature, but it had sure freaked me and my mom out the first time I’d done it. Neither of us knew how I could do it and neither of us told a soul.
Until Sage.
She had started out as a bit of a pet after I found her digging in my trash. Sure, it made me feel useful having her to take care of, but she’d quickly become my best friend. The first time I’d spoken to her telepathically, she just blinked at me, then asked me how I’d done it.
“I’m—” Sage started to say when a woman with creamy brown skin and curly hair piled haphazardly on her head, sat next to her, effectively trapping her in the booth. My senses went haywire, and my heart raced. I poised to bolt. Something didn’t seem right, but I couldn’t just leave Sage.
The woman stared at me with pale blue eyes as if she saw into my soul. It was unnerving. “I was told you would be here,” she announced in a heavy Creole accent.
Chills raced across my skin. Sage froze and her face went ashen.
The woman slowly smiled making the light brown skin by her eyes crinkle. “Sorry, I should’ve started with introductions. I’m Adelaide Laveaux. And you’re Finley.”
“How the fuck do you know who I am? And who told you we would be here?” I demanded as my blood ran cold.
Don’t be scared. I’m gonna get you out of here, I said to Sage, though I had no earthly idea how I was going to accomplish that.
“I know lots of things, boy. One of which is that you’re running from some very bad people and without some help, you aren’t going to make it much farther.” She cocked her head as she studied me further. One curl fell over her brow, but she made no move to push it back. A chill skated over every inch of my skin.
Sage was practically hyperventilating as Adelaide turned her strange gaze on her. “It’s okay, girl. I’m gonna make sure you’re safe.”
“Why?” Sage croaked in a near whisper.
“Because I wasn’t given this gift to squander it. If the spirits tell me to do something, I sure as hell do it,” the woman replied.
Stay calm. She’s probably just crazy. We’ll hear her out, then get the fuck outta Dodge. Okay?I tried to reassure Sage.
“Now that’s downright rude. Didn’t no one ever tell you that’s akin to talking behind people’s backs?” she scolded, and I froze.
“What?”
“I told you I have a gift. I know you got one too. Now do you want help, or do you want those people to catch up to you?” she asked with an arched brow.
“What do you want us to do?” I reluctantly grumbled.
“I want you to follow me on that there thing you call a bike. I’m gonna take you to someone who will help us.”
“How do we know we can trust you or them?” I demanded.
She stood up from the booth, then leaned forward until she was inches from my face. “You don’t. But the people you’re running from? They just pulled in across the road. So, you can either follow me out the back door and out of town or stay here and wait to see what they got to offer you.”
Both Sage and I whipped our gazes toward the windows facing the street. A car with dark windows had indeed parked across the street. Three men got out and my heart stuttered. Sage whimpered.
They were definitely Luis’s men.
Adelaide was already walking down the hall toward the single bathroom. I grabbed my backpack, then Sage’s hand and dragged her out of the booth. We followed Adelaide out the back door where I’d parked my barely road legal dirt bike.
“The girl can ride with me. Safer in case you gotta cut off the road,” she murmured.