Keeping Me (Spy Chronicles Book 2)(6)

There is another noise, and I hear footsteps running in the opposite direction.

Sebastian physically relaxes, moving his hand away from my mouth.

“He’s gone,” Sebastian whispers.

I let out a sigh of relief, but my chest still hurts. Nolan was my friend and his betrayal still hurts.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

I nod my head once. But I’m not okay. How could I be? But, we don’t have time for me to have a mental breakdown right now. Not when we are still running for our lives.

“Okay,” he says. “We’ve got to keep moving. We’ve got another mile to the clearing. A helicopter is waiting for us. It’s going to fly us to an airport in another town.”

“Airport?” I ask. “Where are we going?”

“Home,” he answers.

“Home?”

“The United States,” he clarifies.

We’re going to America.

It’s weird for him to call it home.

We take off again, this time at a slower pace. I’m a little worried that Nolan will find us, but Sebastian doesn’t seem at all worried. I trust Sebastian to take care of me. I know he will protect me at all costs. He proved that by standing in front of me as bullets whizzed by.

“Can I trust you now? Since you saved my life twice,” I ask. “And since you basically made me jump from a two story window...”

“I think I’ve proven that you can trust me,” Sebastian answers.

“What about you?” I ask. “Do you trust me?”

The leaves crunch under my feet as we walk through the woods. Sebastian doesn’t answer for so long that I’m certain he’s not going to. It’s probably an awkward question anyway.

“I’m working on it,” he finally answers. “I think that if I could trust anybody, besides myself, it would be you, Serenity. Karlie. Whatever name you want to go by.”

I grin. “You didn’t call me princess.”

“Don’t get used to it,” he says.

“I think I prefer Serenity,” I say.

“I think I’ll stick to princess,” he says.

I roll my eyes, but smile. He can’t see me since it’s so dark, but he probably knows, anyway. I’m so easy to read.

Somehow, the nickname that Sebastian originally meant as an insult has grown on me. I like it. And I just don’t think he means it as an insult anymore, even though he would never admit it to me. I think he likes me. Maybe, just maybe, Sebastian and I are friends.

A few minutes later, I follow Sebastian into a clearing where a helicopter is waiting for us. We get in as the pilot starts it. Sebastian buckles me and then buckles himself. He barely gets it done when the helicopter is lifted from the ground. He grabs a helmet and hands it to me. I put it on as he puts one on himself.

“How did we take off so fast?” I ask him, but he can’t hear me over the sound of the helicopter.

He pushes a button on the side of my helmet.

“Now you can talk,” he says, his voice coming through my helmet.

“Oh, my gosh! This is so cool,” I say.

He laughs.

“How did we take off so fast?” I ask. “I thought the engine had to warm up or something.”

“It was preset for a rapid start,” Sebastian explains.

“Okay,” I say, not at all understanding what he’s saying. I know nothing about helicopters. In fact, this is my first time on one. I look down from the window as we fly, seeing the school, the walled city, and all the trees. It’s beautiful, and I’m sad to be leaving my home behind.

Sebastian doesn’t say anything else to me, and I don’t say anything to him. If I tried, I would probably cry. Leaving my dad behind, hearing Nolan’s voice... it’s all too much. I just hope that my dad fixes everything so I can have a new normal. I’m tired of running away.





Not weird at all.





Sebastian shakes my shoulder, waking me up.

“We’re almost there,” he says.

I stretch, looking out the window of the plane. “Where is there?”

He never told me. He just said we were going to the United States.

“We are landing in Los Angeles,” he answers. “Then we are going on a road trip.”

Los Angeles? Why did we fly to the other side of the country? Wouldn’t it have been easier to just land on the East Coast?

Wait... road trip?

“Road trip?” I ask, sitting up straighter. “I’ve never been to California before. Or anywhere besides Florida and Switzerland.”

“Well, you’re about to see a lot more of our home country,” he says.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” he says.

I look out the tiny airplane window as we make our descent into Los Angeles International Airport. It’s dark outside, but everything is lit up brightly. I’ve seen this view in movies, but in person it’s so much bigger.

“Whoa,” I say, putting my face against the glass so I can see better.

I hear Sebastian laugh behind me, but I don’t care. This view... it makes me feel alive. Like I really can survive this mess and take over the world. I mean, my dad has taken over the world. Why can’t I, as well?