by Katie LaRoux
About fifteen minutes later I hear a car pull up in the parking lot outside our room. I look out through the curtains and it’s Kim’s car. I can see my little sister Lindsey through the windshield.
“You stay in here, Ryder,” I tell him. “I’ll bring your jeans in first so you can get changed.”
Introducing Ryder to my little sister in his boxers and with a bloody bandage around his leg wouldn’t exactly be the smart thing to do. I want her to grow up less traumatized than me, after all.
I rush out of the hotel room just as Lindsey is getting out of the passenger side door. I scoop her up in my arms and cover her in kisses, so happy to be here safe with her. She giggles and returns my kisses, oblivious to all the danger I’ve been through today. To her, this is just an interesting adventure. I smile and hug her tight, realizing that it finally feels that way to me, too.
Kim, however, is a bit more concerned. It would be impossible to blame her for that.
“Thank you, so, so much, Kim,” I tell her, putting my sister down. She hands me the bag with the jeans in it and I run back inside to toss them to Ryder, then come back out.
“Lindsey,” I say to my sister. “Why don’t you go back in the car and start on your homework for a little while so Kim and I can talk.”
“Okay!” she beams back, and heads back into the car. I can hardly have her overhearing everything I’m going to explain to Kim about what happened today.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen, Kim,” I confess. “But I trust Ryder with my life.”
“Please don’t forget that you can call me for help no matter what,” she assures me.
I thank her and give her a big hug. “Once we’re settled wherever we’re getting to, I’ll give you a call,” I tell her. I call Lindsey out of the car and we say our goodbyes to Kim.
“I want you to meet someone very special to me,” I tell Lindsey, and lead her into our room.
CHAPTER SIX: Ryder
Jessa walks back through the door and tosses me a bag containing a new pair of jeans.
“I’ll be back with Lindsey in a couple minutes, okay? I have to talk with Kim.”
“Of course,” I respond, smiling. “I can’t wait to meet her.”
She smiles back at me and goes back outside. I put on jeans and they fit perfectly. It’s a real relief to have a clean pair of jeans back on. Not only that, but Jessa did a damn good job taking care of my wound. I’m sure I should still see a doctor about it whenever that’s possible, but for now it hardly even hurts, and the bleeding has stopped.
Now that I’m left alone, but mind wanders back to my best friend, Tristan. I’ve been so concerned with my safety, and with Jessa’s safety, that I haven’t had time to think about him. Was Cole really able to kill him? It’s hard for me to believe. But I don’t think Cole would have made his move up here if he wasn’t confident that he had taken care of Tristan back in Texas.
Just as I’m thinking all this, I hear my cell phone ring on the nightstand next to the table. I rush over to it – it’s Tristan!
I pick up and phone and accept the call. “Tristan, is that you?”
“Yeah, it’s me brother,” he responds back on the other end. I’m so happy and relieved to hear his voice. “I’m glad to hear you’re still kicking up there.”
“Fuck, man,” I respond. “You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice. You tell me first, what the hell happened down there?”
“My house was bombed in the middle of the night. Cole’s behind it. I’m sure you know all that by now. Luckily, I wasn’t home, but I’ve been hiding out since. They all think they got me, so I’m pretty sure I’m safe for now.”
“Cole tried to take me out up here, but I got away. I’m still hiding out, in some rinky dink motel in Georgia. Man, there’s so much else I need to tell you … but right now, we need to figure out what the hell we’re going to do.”
Tristan chuckles on the other end. “These sons of bitches were so busy with their plot, they forgot to guard our stash houses. Before I left down, I cleaned them out. I’ve got a clean four million in cash. By the time they notice, we’ll be long gone. We can go wherever we want man, start over.”
I think about what he just said. Start over. I always wanted to, but never thought it would be possible. But now that I’ve been driven out of my home, I can’t go back. I’ve still got Tristan, and now I have Jessa, and her little sister. It’s … it’s a real family. And Tristan’s got all the cash we’ll ever need. I made most of it for The Warriors anyway.
“Damn right,” I tell him. “Look, I’m hid out in a motel in Georgia, like I said. Are you on your motorcycle?”
“No,” he answers. “I had to leave that behind. It kills me, but I needed to so they won’t immediately know that I got away. Plus, I need to carry all that cash. I’m in a car.”
Perfect. “I’ll give you the address where I’m staying,” and I read it out to him. “You think you can get here by tomorrow?”
“I’ll drive all night he tells me.”
“Alright then,” I reply. “I have someone with me here. Two people, actually. I’ll explain it all when you get here. My dad has a house up in Illinois, been with the family for generations. I inherited it. None of the guys know about it – my dad always wanted a place secret from everyone else except family in case we ever needed it. We can go there.”
“Alright brother,” Tristan responds on the other end. “I’ll see you soon. Here’s to a new life.”
We hang up.
Just as I end the call, Jessa comes back in the room with her little sister, Lindsey. When I see the two of them standing there, I’m overcome with emotion. My new love, her little sister, my best friend … it really is a new life. I can leave the crime and violence behind me and start over with a new family.
“Nice to meet you,” I say to Jessa’s sister, gently shaking her hand.
“Hi!” she replies back.
I give Jessa kiss. “I talked to my friend, Tristan,” I tell her. “He’s coming by. We have a place to go and all the money we’ll ever need. We can start over. A real new life.”
“Oh, Ryder,” she says, tears of joy in her eyes.
I hug them both.
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