Page 66 of Desecrated Saints
“Watch your tone. I’m still in charge here.”
“How come you didn’t get locked up then, huh? My life got ruined instead.”
She blanches, seeming to deflate. I immediately want to take my words back. I did the crime, so I had to do the fucking time. There’s no way I would’ve let Nana go down for all the shit we’ve done.
“I’m sorry.” I pull her into a hug.
She sniffles emotionally. “Me too, kid. Missed your goofy face around here.”
“I’ll come back, I promise.”
Her response is cut off by dirty dishes rattling in the sink. We all stop and stare, noticing the mini earthquake. Liquor bottles and chipped glasses are shaking in the kitchen cupboards.
“What is that?” Kade exclaims.
Nana’s glass of vodka vibrates and falls off the table. The house is overcome by a heavy beating sound, and it takes a moment for the penny to drop. It sounds like the spinning rotors of an incoming helicopter.
“Is that what I think it is?”
Kade shoves cables and paperwork into his backpack. “Let’s get the fuck out of here. Quickly, move!”
Seven bursts back inside, his caramel eyes wild as he gestures towards the garden. Leaves and branches are flying everywhere in the choppy wind. It must be right above us. Terror and panic sweep over the entire room.
I shove Brooklyn towards the door and grab Eli, directing everyone towards the front of the house. With a bit of luck, we can use the gang to conceal our movements. If we can get to one of the cars, at least we have a slim chance of getting the fuck out of here.
“Nana! Go home,” I yell above the noise. “Stay out of this.”
She pulls me into a fast, frenzied hug. “Run and don’t look back, you hear me? Take this. Call me when you’re safe.”
Shoving one of the phones we use for dealing into my palm, I press a kiss to her cheek. If I was her obedient leader, she was the empress of us all. Neither a hero nor a saint, but family, nonetheless. That’s something I won’t ever take for granted again.
“I love you, Nana.”
“And you, boy. Get out of here.”
She hobbles towards the garden where she can slip out through the back. The others will get her to safety. It pains me to see her go like this, but I don’t allow myself the luxury of emotion. We can mourn all that we’ve lost another time.
We race through the chattering house and onto the street, where the glow of overhead lights sweeps across the concrete to search us out. Travis is lurking nearby in the cab of his truck. My heart stops when I catch sight of the girl in the passenger seat, her long brown hair and chocolate eyes matching mine.
“Phoenix!” Charlie shrieks.
Waving her off, I scream at the top of my lungs. “Char! Run!”
She yells at Travis, gesturing towards me.
“Go!” I shout again.
“Not without you! I’m coming!”
We’re all nearly swept off our feet as more ferocious wind whips the street. The helicopter is preparing to land. A sudden rush of fluorescent lights blinds me, and I stumble into the unknown. I’m dragging Eli with me until our hands are viciously ripped apart.
“Eli!”
My family vanishes in the brilliant white light. I can’t see a fucking thing, searching around with my hands and tripping on a curb. The world slows to a snail’s pace in the blinding unknown. All I can hear are the shouts. Screams. Bellowed orders and begging cries.
Charlie’s desperate voice grows ever closer, parting the blazing light. Her strong hand grasps mine before it’s torn away again. Blinking hard, I clear my vision long enough to spot her flying through the air, far away from me.
“Phoenix! Help!”