Page 55 of Madness & Mayhem
Glancing over my shoulder, I watch as Lakyn stabs the mother in the back, again and again. The mother is dead, her eyes open as a trail of blood seeps out of the corner of her mouth. She lays face down on the bathroom floor, her knee-length dress wrinkled with blood splatter across the creamy material.
“Lakyn, she’s dead,” I grunt, pulling the knife out of the father’s chest. He chokes, and his wide eyes begin to narrow, growing cloudy with each passing second.
“She’s not dead enough,” Lakyn breathes, stabbing her yet again.
I bring the knife to the father’s neck, swiping it across his jugular and watching as the rest of his blood quickly flows from his throat.
I wipe the knife on his expensive suit jacket and turn to Lakyn. “We don’t have time for this. If the police are on their way, then they’ll be here any—"
The sound of sirens ring out down the street, and I tense into stone.
“Lakyn, stop. We have to go,” I growl, leaping off the dad and glancing around the bathroom, making sure I’ve left nothing else behind.
She pulls the knife from the mom, her face covered in blood splatter. “What are we going to do?” she whimpers, glancing through the doorway, as if they are going to come pounding up the stairs at any moment.
“We can sneak out the side of the house, but we have to go now.” I grab onto her wrist, hauling her out of the bathroom.
This shit is really testing my patience.
We race across the hall and down the stairs as the sound of sirens grows closer. Our heavy pants with our pounding footsteps are the only things heard as we race back through the mudroom and through the garage. We rush out the side door, and the lights light up the trees in the yard.
They’re close. Too close.
“Lakyn, you have to run as quick as you can,” I snap as I glance at her. We race through the yard and across the street, just as three squad cars pull up on the street, followed by dark SUVs behind them, which I assume is the FBI. Their headlights shine on us, and we both freeze.
“Oh shit,” Lakyn whispers.
“Run!” I roar, picking up my pace and running into the yard across the street.
“Stop where you are!” a megaphone shouts through the night.
“Don’t stop. Don’t stop,” I breathe, my feet keeping their pace. I glance toward Lakyn, seeing her running with me, her arms pumping wildly from side to side. Tears flow down her face, pure terror painted in her eyes.
“I’m going to get you out of here, Lakyn. Just fucking run,” I grunt.
“We will shoot. Drop to your knees right now!” an officer shouts in the distance.
“Reign! They have guns!” Lakyn screams.
“Just keep going. Don’t look back.”
If any of them shoot Lakyn, I will light this entire fucking town on fire.
Bang, bang. Bang, bang, bang.
Shots fire through the air, and Lakyn jolts beside me.
“If you stop, you’re dead. Don’t fucking stop,” I snap.
“They’re going to shoot us. We’re going to die. Oh my God,” she cries out, and I reach out, squeezing her hand as I glance at the woods in the distance.
“We need to get to the forest. Once we get there, we’ll lose them. Don’t stop, Lakyn. We’re so fucking close.”
She shakes her head, letting out a cry as she picks up her pace.
Bang, bang, bang.
A searing fire roars through my shoulder as I’m jolted to the side, but I don’t fall off my feet. I keep running. I refuse to give up. I can’t, not with Lakyn by me.