Page 25 of Madness & Mayhem
My eyes blur with unshed tears, and it feels painful as Reign nearly lifts me off the ground and carries me out of the window.
He climbs into the tree, and I watch as Archer comes to the window. He shuts it, giving me one last look before he turns away from the window and out of my bedroom.
A bedroom I’m not sure I’ll ever be going back to.
A silent sob rips through my chest, and I clutch my neck as Reign’s weak body shakes as he pulls me down the tree.
“I need you to be very quiet for me, Lakyn. Not a fucking sound,” he whispers. All I can see are the police lights in the distance, and I focus on them as they flicker off the shadowed houses. Nearby, a cat lets out a shriek before what sounds like a garbage bin gets knocked around.
The world sounds and looks the same, but everything is so different.
“We’ll have about five seconds to get across the street before we get caught. I’m not going to be able to carry you. So I’m going to put you down, and when I say run, you have to move as fast as you ever have in your entire life. Do you understand?”
My breath wheezes from my chest, a shiver working through my body. I didn’t even realize my teeth were chattering until Reign snaps at me to quiet down.
I bite my tongue.
“Got it? I need words, Lakyn,” he growls under his breath.
“Yeah,” I croak, just as Reign sets me down into the grass. My bare toes curl around the dewy green blades. They’re cold against my skin, and I glance down at my feet, wondering how far I’ll be able to get with no shoes on.
As if just noticing, Reign cringes a bit. “There isn’t any time to get shoes, Lakyn. We have to go. Now.”
One of the officer’s walkie-talkies blares static from nearby, and Reign’s eyes widen as he reaches out, grabbing onto me and pulling me to the side of the house.
“All clear,” one of the officers says from around the corner.
I can sense another officer farther off in the yard. A few more steps and he’ll see us, both of us.
I hold my breath, staring straight ahead as my chest begins screaming for relief.
The blades of grass crunch as the officer grows closer, and I can feel Reign tense up beside me, ready to strike. Ready to kill.
When suddenly, the officer turns around, making his way back toward the front of the house.
Reign lets out a breath, and I follow behind him, my body loosening, only slightly.
“Okay, we need to go.” Reign grips my hand, pulling me forward. “Go, Lakyn, now,” he clips, giving me a tug.
AndI run.
I stumble slightly over a root that has grown out of the ground, and lights flash over me.
“There! They’re right there!” one of the officers shouts.
“Hey! Stop!” another one says.
“Move, Lakyn, move!” Reign snaps, giving me a harder pull.
I pick up my pace, and we race across the street just as I hear the police car turn on. Sirens come on shortly after, and it lights a fire under my ass.
We run, as quickly as possible between houses and backyards. The woods aren’t far away, though it’ll be hard with Reign injured, and me with no shoes on.
Every step brings pain, a poke or scratch against the soles of my feet.
“We’re almost there, baby. Once we get into the woods, we’ll be able to escape them,” he wheezes, a pain in his voice. I know he must be in horrible pain, and I feel bad, though I can’t take a look at his stitches now, that will have to come later.
“Lakyn Ashford and Reign Whitmore, stop this second!” one of the officers blares through their window.