Page 72 of Madness & Mayhem

I watch him, frozen in place.

“Lakyn, go!” Reign roars, falling to his knees, putting his hands behind his head.

I let out a sob, choking on air as I start sprinting away from him.

“Run, Lakyn! Fucking run!” he roars, and I let out another cry as I run for my life. I book it through the woods, hearing officers follow me, but I weave in and out of the trees, quickly getting away from them. I don’t stop, though, don’t even slow down as I make my way through the forest.

“Lakyn Ashford, turn yourself in. You are under arrest.” The voice is spoken through some megaphone, echoing through the trees.

My breath wheezes out of me as I continue running, until my legs have grown numb and I no longer have feeling in my face. My tears on my cheeks have frozen against my skin, and my lips are cracked, bleeding.

Where the hell am I going to go?

There’s only one place I know where I can go.

I rush through the woods and make my way back into town. I weave in and out of neighborhoods and stay out of sight. The police are frequent, rolling down the streets and parking at the edges of the streets. But I steer clear of all of them, making sure I’m never noticed.

I’m so close.

I move from suburban neighborhoods to the other end of town, my entire body numb to the point I can’t even tell I’m running anymore. It just feels like I’m floating above the ground. The houses thin out and the trees grow thick as I make my way to the one person I know will always help, even if he hates me.

Archer.

I bend at the waist, my frozen hands on my knees as I tilt my head up, glancing at the house in front of me. The cars are in the driveway covered in a light blanket of snow. A crow caws behind me, and I jolt in place, nearly stumbling over my own feet. Glancing over my shoulder, I watch the oversized bird perched on the branch, staring at me, it’s mouth wide open.

“What?” I groan, not having the patience of being mocked by a bird. “I’m a fucking mess, I get it.”

Its wings lift, flapping wildly as it starts cawing again. It flies away, shoving snow off the branch and letting it flutter across my shoulder.

I brush the snow from my sweatshirt, my fingers a very alarming dark red, almost purple color. Turning around, I walk up the driveway. The front door opens as I’m walking up the steps, Archer’s arm snaking out of the door. He grabs onto my arm, an alarmed look on his face as he hauls me inside. Slamming the door shut, he locks it, slamming me against the heavy wood.

“What the fuck are you doing here? Where is Reign?” he snaps.

Whatever fluid is left in my body bubbles to the surface and I let out a sob, my cheeks instantly flooded with tears. “The police got him. They caught us,” I cry, and I can hear footsteps pounding down the stairs as Kyler and Posie come rushing toward us.

“What’s going on?” Kyler barks.

“They got Reign,” Archer growls.

“Holy shit, Lakyn.” Posie comes up to me, knocking Archer out of the way. She grabs my hands, lifting them to her face. “Lakyn, your fingers look like they’re about to fall off.”

“I can’t feel them,” I whimper, trying to curl them, but they won’t move. “I can’t feel anything,” I cry, another slew of tears rolling down my cheeks.

“Shit, we need to get you warmed up.” She pulls me away from Kyler and Archer, who are both trying to block her path.

“No, we need to figure out what’s going on,” Kyler snaps at Posie.

“Then you’re going to have to come with, because Lakyn is in serious need of warmth, and you yelling at her isn’t going to get any of us anywhere!” she shouts, pulling me up the stairs. I stumble behind her, staring at Archer and Kyler with disoriented eyes.

“Fine,” Archer growls, stomping up the stairs behind me.

Posie pulls me into the main bathroom upstairs, releasing me near the sink as she walks to the bathtub. Archer instantly invades my space, his fingers curling around my biceps. “Tell me what happened.”

“We left this morning, and we made it like an hour when all of a sudden, police surrounded us from all sides. Reign, h-he shoved me away from them and fell to his knees. He gave himself up so I could get away.”

“Why the hell would he do that?” Posie shouts from the bathtub. She shuts the water off, wiping her hands on a towel before stepping up to me. “Come on, Lakyn. Let’s get you in the warmth.”

“Obviously they wouldn’t both get away. He saved her,” Archer grumbles, and I keep my eyes locked on his as I’m being pulled away from him. “Just as any of us would do.”