Thicker Than Blood (Thicker Than Blood #1)(14)
Leisel’s pain, I surmised, and the threat of losing her for good, must have been his turning point. The reason why he was willing to risk his life to get us out of here. Knowing what I knew, having seen what I’d seen, Alex’s behavior didn’t really come as a surprise to me.
It was Jami who shocked me. Never in a million years would I have expected him to aid in an escape plan, let alone already have a plan of his own. He’d liked his job, this life, or I’d always assumed so, and I’d never thought that I was more than a passing distraction for him. But his willingness to help us, to leave with us, was evidence of much more caring than he’d ever admitted to me.
“I’m going across,” Jami announced, his face hidden by shadows. “You wait here until you see my signal.”
The three of us watched as Jami took off quickly across the street. Reaching the other side, he slipped between two closely erected buildings and disappeared from sight. Moments later, he reappeared and waved us across.
Shooting Leisel one last glance, I mouthed the words, I promise, right before bolting out into the street. It was dark in this part of town, the darkness our ally, but without the shadows of the buildings to hide us, I felt overly exposed and vulnerable to anything or anyone that might be lurking. Rattling in my own ears, my breath sounded overly noisy, a neon sign to our whereabouts. But I stayed the path, never faltering, not daring to look right or left. My footsteps were quick, surefooted, until I’d reached the other side of the street, slamming into Jami as he pulled me into the dark safety of another shadowed alley.
Not bothering to catch my breath, I peered around the corner, checking to be sure no one had spotted my mad dash for safety. Flashing lights snagged my attention, a flickering light from the lanterns that our guards carried, and though they were off in the distance, they were headed in our direction.
When Jami waved Leisel and Alex across, she hesitated. Thank God for Alex, because suddenly he pulled her across the street, nearly carrying her since she suddenly couldn’t seem to run without slipping and nearly falling.
Checking back up the street, I noticed the lights were growing closer, the footfalls and quiet shouts sounding nearer. As Alex and Leisel finally reached us, I pulled her to me once again, noting that she was breathless and shaking with fear.
“This way,” Jami said, already walking off. We followed him, Leisel and me in the center, while Alex covered us from behind.
We found the end of the alleyway heavily barricaded, secured by rusty corrugated metal and reinforced by wooden pallets and chicken wire. Seeing this, I started to panic, thinking that we were trapped, until Alex pushed past me and Jami bent down, slipping his backpack off his shoulders and pulling free a thick blanket. After handing the blanket to Alex, Jami bent down to give him a boost. Using Jami for support, Alex tossed the blanket over the top of the barricade and hoisted himself over.
It was too noisy, metal scraping on metal, and the sound echoed loudly in the dark. My heartbeat headed into overdrive, but my will to survive—for us to survive—was firm. Even as the voices grew louder, the heavy footsteps came closer, even with the hopelessness of this entire situation, I refused to give up. In fact, I damn well demanded that we would get through this night.
The soft fall of Alex’s body thumping against the ground signaled to us that he was on the other side. We waited, the three of us, with bated breath, for what would come next. “Clear,” he finally called out softly.
Jami gestured for me to go next. Shaking my head, I pulled Leisel forward. “I’ll go once she’s over.”
Glancing up at the fence, her eyes as big and wide as a doe’s, she swallowed hard and looked back at me. “I can’t,” she whispered, and shook her head.
“You can do this, Lei,” I said to reassure her. “This is our chance, and you can do this, you have to.” Gently, I pushed her toward the fence.
Nodding halfheartedly, she reluctantly climbed onto Jami’s back. Immediately he lifted her, allowing her to reach higher so she could pull herself the rest of the way up. She fumbled clumsily for her footing, finally finding it, then heaved herself to the top. She soon straddled the wall and scrambled awkwardly over the top, and just before she was about to drop to the other side, she glanced down to give me a small, nervous smile, and then she was gone.
“Eve, you’re next,” Jami whispered.
The alleyway was darker now, more oppressive, the moon having hidden behind the clouds.
“Jami?”
“Yeah?” he asked, glancing back to the other end of the alley.
“Thank you for this. Words don’t seem enough. I—”
Jami looked at me, his cocky smile back in place. “You can show me how grateful you are later, but for now, I need you to get your ass over there.” Slapping my ass, he winked at me.
Suppressing a laugh, I grinned at him and shook my head.
After I climbed on top of Jami’s shoulders, he lifted me with a grunt, and I found myself flailing for a moment before finally managing to grip the fence. As I pulled myself up and over, Jami’s hands gave me the final push I needed to scale the remaining height. Just as I prepared to drop to the other side, I glanced down at Jami, finding him smiling up at me.
Freedom was so close, I could almost taste it, palpable on my tongue. Suddenly I found myself smiling back at Jami, grinning actually, my worry muted by the excitement I had for the future. Freedom and Jami had come at a price, but it was a price I was willing to pay, for both Leisel and myself.