Salvation

by Land, Alexa

  He lowered his speed slightly, though it was still way too fast for city streets, and wove through a quiet neighborhood. My heart was pounding. I braced my feet against the dashboard, both hands white-knuckling the little grab bar above the door.

  “You really shouldn’t put your feet up like that,” he said, his tone surprisingly calm and conversational. “If the airbag goes off, it’ll break your legs.”

  “So don’t crash into anything. Then the airbag won’t be a problem.” I kept my feet right where they were.

  He glanced over at me and said, “You’re surprisingly calm. I expected you to start screaming.”

  “I still might, if you don’t keep your eyes on the road.”

  Vincent grinned just a little and took another sharp left. Though he was driving fast, he kept it below the point where the tires would squeal and give away our location. The Escalade, on the other hand, was loudly laying down rubber around every corner, so I could tell they were about a block over. “You’re weirdly good at this,” I said.

  “It’s not my first rodeo.”

  “So, you routinely terrorize the streets of San Francisco while outrunning random thugs. If we live to tell about this, we’re going to have a long talk about your lifestyle choices.”

  “You’re even being funny,” he said, flying around another corner. “That’s absolutely extraordinary.”

  “I’m really good in a crisis. Instead of panicking, I use humor as a coping mechanism. At least, that’s how my shrink explained it to me when I was a kid.”

  “Why were you in therapy as a child?”

  “It was court-ordered, and part of a long, ugly story that I’m not about to share with you right now. Holy crap, look out!” We’d just cut across a major intersection on a red light, and Vincent had to swerve wildly to avoid an oncoming vehicle. It was pure luck that we made it through unscathed.

  Just then, the Escalade shot out of a side street and made a wide turn, so they were now directly behind us. “Shit,” Vincent muttered, changing gears and stomping on the accelerator. “I really thought I could shake them back there.” He got quiet then, his brows knit in concentration.

  After a few moments, I said, “I can’t believe there aren’t fifty police cars chasing us right now. Surely someone must have reported this.”

  “If this goes on another few minutes, I guarantee there will be.”

  The Land Rover must have had an incredibly powerful engine, because we climbed a big hill without slowing down in the slightest. When we reached the top, we shot across an intersection and actually became airborne as we took the slope on the other side. Despite myself, I let out a whoop, adrenaline coursing through my system. The SUV landed with a sharp jolt, and Vincent glanced at me. “I always wanted to do that,” I told him. “But that doesn’t mean I think this is okay.”

  I braced myself as we took another wild turn. We were headed south now, toward the outskirts of the city, and I said, “Please tell me you have a plan, other than driving like a maniac until either you or the people chasing us run out of gas.”

  “I do have a plan, but it’ll never work unless I can widen the gap between us.” He took a couple more turns in rapid succession, and I twisted around again and watched as the bigger SUV behind us swung wide, very nearly hitting a parked car. They straightened out though and just kept coming.

  Vincent continued weaving through streets narrowed by parked cars on both sides. With every turn we gained just a bit of ground, since our vehicle cornered slightly better than theirs did. Finally, when we lost sight of them for a few moments, he took a sharp right into an apartment complex’s tiny parking lot, pulled into a space beside a van, and cut the engine. “Get down,” he said, releasing his seatbelt and ducking below the line of the dashboard. I did the same, my face inches from his.

  He smiled at me then. It was the first time I’d ever seen a full smile from him, and it lit up his whole face. “You’re amazing,” he whispered. “I still can’t believe how well you’re handling all of this.”

  I watched him for a long moment, then said, “Tell me you’re not a criminal.”

  “Oh, I’m definitely a criminal.”

  I frowned at that. “I can’t be so totally wrong about you. I just can’t.”

  “You’re not.” He was still smiling at me.

  “You’re really frustrating,” I told him, and started to sit up.

  Vincent grabbed me and pulled me back down. “Stay low for just a few more seconds. Once I know we’re clear, we’re going to have to run for it.” He looked deep into my eyes for a few moments, then reached up and brushed my hair from my face, so incredibly gently, his fingertips sweeping down and lingering on my cheekbone.

  “Stop being nice. I’m trying to be mad at you.”

  “As well you should.” He raised himself up a bit and looked around. “They’ll circle back around soon, we have to do this now.” He reached across me and opened my door. “Run for the shadows at the back of that building and get behind those recycling bins. I’ll meet you there in a few seconds. If the Escalade pulls into the parking lot, just run. Don’t look back and don’t stop for anything. Find a twenty-four hour convenience store and call the police.”

  “I thought we couldn’t go to the police.”

  “I can’t. You can. Run, Trevor, and stay low.”

  I bolted from the car and did as he said. Being out in the open was a lot scarier than being inside the SUV, and my pulse was racing as I reached my destination and wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. Vincent climbed out the passenger door too, clicked it shut as quietly as possible, and ducked out of sight among the parked cars.

  Fear prickled through me as the Escalade rolled slowly past the entrance to the parking lot. A huge white guy with a buzz cut and some sort of tattoo on his cheek leaned out the open window, scanning his surroundings. I held my breath and pressed myself against the building, trying to make myself invisible.

  After a few seconds that felt like a lifetime, our pursuers continued on down the street. A moment later, Vincent appeared beside me, startling me so much that my heart leapt in my chest. He took my hand and said, “Come on.”

  We cut through the apartment complex, then down a back alley. We had to cross a fairly big street next, and Vincent crouched down behind a parked car and looked both ways. “What happens if they catch us?” I asked.

  “Let’s not find out.”

  He was still holding my hand as we bolted across the street, then cut down another alley. “Where are we going?”

  “I know someone with an apartment not far from here, that’s where we’re headed.”

  The city was really quiet this time of night, so we heard the big SUV before we saw it. “Shit,” Vincent muttered, and pulled me into a darkened doorway right before the Escalade turned into the alley. He let go of my hand and took something from his pocket, then fumbled with the locked doorknob. Fear welled up in me and I whispered, “Oh God,” as the front bumper came into sight.

  A split second later, Vincent dragged me through the door, quickly shut it behind him and relocked it from the inside. “They may have seen us,” he whispered. “Come on.”

  Vincent took my hand again and we ran down a long corridor of a grade school, past rows of little lockers and children’s artwork. We could hear a door being kicked in, presumably the same one we’d come through. “I really wish I had my gun,” he muttered, then stopped running and looked around. “But, failing that....” instead of finishing his sentence, he pulled a nearby fire alarm. Immediately, a deafening shriek filled the building and red lights began flashing.

  He pulled me into what turned out to be the library, looked around, then led me to a little storage closet. It was a tight fit, so he sat on the floor and I ended up straddling him, sitting on his lap. The alarm was slightly muffled once the door was closed, but still painfully loud. I pressed one side of my head against his shoulder and clamped my hand over my other ear.

  It was several very lon
g minutes before someone cut the alarm. A moment later, the lights came on, spilling under the door of the little closet.

  “How long do we have to stay here?” I whispered, my ears ringing.

  “It’ll be a while. The people chasing us probably cleared out as soon as the alarm went off, but I assume they’re watching the outside of the building now and waiting for us to come out. The fire department must have arrived and shut off the alarm, and they’ll most likely sweep the building room by room to check for fire, which will take some time. That’s actually who we’re hiding from now, since I don’t want to get arrested for breaking and entering.” Vincent shifted a bit and took out his phone, fired off a fairly lengthy message, then returned it to his pocket and wrapped his arms around me.

  I made myself comfortable on his shoulder and asked, “Who did you text?”

  “My version of the cavalry. They’ll make sure no one’s outside waiting for us when we can finally leave the building.”

  It took maybe an hour for the fire fighters to search the school. When they got to the library, we heard one of them say, “What is it with kids and false alarms?”

  “We were just as bad at their age,” another said.

  “Yeah, but at least we had the sense to pull the alarm during the school day, so we’d get out of class. We never busted any doors down to do it, either.”

  I relaxed a little after they left the library, and Vincent began stroking my back soothingly. “I’m sorry about all of this,” he said, his tone hushed so he didn’t give away our location. “I’d never forgive myself if something had happened to you.”

  “I know,” I whispered. “Just get us out of here after the fire department clears out.”

  “I don’t know that I want to get us out of here.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because you’ll probably never speak to me again after tonight, so I want to make this last as long as possible.”

  “I really shouldn’t, you know.”

  “I know.”

  His hand found my chin in the darkness and Vincent kissed me softly. When I didn’t stop him, he took the kiss just a little deeper, sliding his arms around me. But after a few moments, I pulled back and said, “I’ve known you for less than a day, Vincent. In that time, I’ve been taken on a high speed car chase, run from dangerous thugs, and committed felony breaking and entering. What do you do for an encore?”

  “This.” He kissed me again and my entire body responded. Despite everything, the attraction between us was overpowering. It was another couple minutes before I wrestled down my lust and sat back, my palms on his shoulders.

  Vincent wrapped his hands around my waist and said quietly, “Tonight you’ve gotten to see the world I live in, Trevor. You saw way more than I ever would have wanted to show you. My life isn’t always going to be like this, just so you know. But right now, this is my reality. It’s ridiculous to think you’d want any part of it, but I’m asking you anyway to please give me a chance.”

  He kissed me again and I murmured, “You’re making it really hard to say no to you.”

  “Good.” He took me in his arms and cradled me against his chest. It felt wonderful to be held by him like that. The fire alarm beeped once and then the lights went off. Vincent said, “They’ve just reset the system, so the fire department will be clearing out soon.”

  “Think it’s safe to open the closet door? It’s getting hot in here.”

  “I think so.”

  I opened it a crack while Vincent sent another text, the screen lighting up his face in the darkness and reflecting off his glasses. I peered into the library, then crawled out on my hands and knees and leaned against the back of the big checkout desk. “Damn, you’ve escaped,” he whispered.

  “I have, but I’m easy to catch.”

  “Let’s see.” He crawled over to me, swung me onto my back and planted a kiss on my neck. “Catching you was too easy. There was no sport in it,” he said before kissing my neck again.

  “That tickles.” I squirmed under him and tried to suppress a laugh.

  “Does it? How about this?” He ran the tip of his tongue up my neck.

  I flailed around, biting my lip to hold in my laughter, and he caught my wrists, pinning them to the carpet as he chuckled and said, “Oh man, that’s so cute.”

  “Shh! We’re going to get busted.”

  “The building’s empty, no one can hear us. So there’s no reason not to do this.” He licked my neck again, continuing all the way up to my ear this time. I let out an embarrassing squeal, and then we both burst out laughing.

  Suddenly, we were illuminated in the bright beam of a flashlight. “Wow, I must have stepped through some sort of alternate dimension portal when I entered the library,” a woman’s voice said. “Because in the normal world, I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard you laugh, Vinnie.”

  He let go of me and sat up, his expression instantly grim as he brushed back his hair. “I thought I told you to wait outside, Carla.”

  “And I didn’t. So sue me. Are you going to introduce me to your playmate?”

  Vincent got up and held out his hand to me, then hauled me to my feet. “Carla Dombruso, Trevor Dean. Carla’s my cousin,” he explained. She looked like she’d just stepped off the Jersey shore, all big hair, big chest, and big jewelry.

  I was a bit flustered since she’d walked in on her cousin licking me, and mumbled, “Nice to meet you,” as I straightened my clothes.

  “Wow, he’s a cute one,” she told Vincent. “Young, though. You meet him here at the elementary school?” She flashed him a wide, teasing grin.

  “How old are you, Trevor?” he asked me.

  “Almost twenty-one.”

  “He’s almost twenty-one, Carla.” Vincent sounded exasperated.

  “I was kidding! Don’t get your shorts in a bunch, Vinnie, especially right on the heels of me finding out you actually have a personality!” She brushed back her thick, black hair, then flung an arm around my shoulders and walked me out of the library, a cloud of perfume enveloping me. “You, I like,” she said to me. “That one there,” she tilted her head toward her cousin, who was eyeing her warily, “he’s the most uptight person in the history of uptight people. Or, he was, until tonight. I have no idea what’s going on between the two of you, but keep it up, because I could get used to a Vinnie that actually laughs.”

  Her assessment of Vincent surprised me. Okay, sure, that was exactly how he’d seemed at the party (which now felt like it was a lifetime ago), but all evening he’d been animated and fairly talkative. I wondered if it was the danger or me that brought it out in him.

  “Alright, boys,” she said, stopping in the hallway, “we’re going out a window. This place has an antiquated alarm system and Lenny couldn’t tell which doors it’s wired to, so we decided not to take any chances. Give me a boost.” She hopped up on a bench in her spike heels and Vincent hoisted her up to high window before we climbed out after her.

  There were five cars and eight people lined up in front of the school. “So that’s the cavalry, huh?” I asked. It was kind of a rag-tag group, several of them dressed in pajamas and overcoats. It was hard to believe they’d somehow chased away the thugs that had been following us. But then a sixth vehicle pulled up and a bunch of huge guys piled out and joined the gang on the sidewalk. Okay, now that I could believe.

  “Kind of. They’re all my cousins,” Vincent said. “I texted one of them, by the way, but they travel in herds.”

  “You’ll never believe what I walked in on!” Carla yelled. “Our boy Vinnie was rolling around and giggling on the floor of the library with this cute little snack cake! Isn’t that a hoot?”

  “I was not giggling,” Vincent insisted. “Men don’t giggle.”

  No one heard his protests. They were too busy guffawing and making cat-calls, which was super embarrassing but also pretty funny. I had to grin, even as the color rose in my cheeks.

  “So, snack cake, is it serious be
tween you and our cousin?” someone called. “Or was it just a case of lust in the library?”

  “His name is Trevor.” Vincent said.

  Again, no one heard him. They were off and running on the lust in the library theme, all of them trying to outdo one another by throwing out suggestions like Shagging with Shakespeare, Fucking with Faulkner, and Diddling with Dickens. Man, what a family. My grin turned into a smile.

  When the ruckus died down, I said, “You left out Humping with Hemingway.”

  “Oh, I like the snack cake!” someone exclaimed, and there was much gleeful agreement.

  “Can we please break this up sometime before the S.F.P.D. shows up and wants to know why we’re loitering at an elementary school?” Vincent said.

  “Yeah, let’s get out of here. The sun’s comin’ up soon and I for one need my beauty sleep,” a young woman with messy bleached blonde hair grumbled.

  “We can see that, Dorie,” someone said, and there was more laughter.

  Carla linked her arm with mine. “I’ll drive you home, sugar. Vinnie, your cousin Guido is waiting at the house for you. He wants a full report on what went down tonight, ASAP.” She pronounced it ‘ay-sap.’

  “Cousin Guido? Seriously?” I asked.

  “No, not seriously,” Vincent said. “His name’s Jerry, but Carla thinks it’s hilarious to call him Guido.”

  “He’s my brother, I can call him what I want,” she said, then began to lead me to one of the parked cars.

  “Wait, I’m taking Trevor home,” Vincent told her.

  “No you’re not. Guido wants to talk to you now. You got some ‘splaining to do, Lucy,” Carla countered.

  “I’ll go see him right after I drop Trevor off.”

  “No way, Vinnie. You need to get your ass over there.”

  He pressed his eyes shut, then opened them and said, “Fine, but give us a minute.” He took my arm and pulled me aside, turning his back to the cousins.

  “I thought you said no one calls you Vinnie.” I grinned at him.

  “I lied so you wouldn’t start calling me that, too.”

  As he slipped a business card in the pocket of my cardigan, he whispered, “That’s my cell number. Please call me.”