Runner

by A. J. Summer

  “What are you doing, Runner,” Jonah says again, this time gritting his teeth in the process. I pick the glass up and swirl the alcohol, inhaling the scent until it settles in my lungs and burns me from within. Then I swallow it in one go, hissing when the last of it swishes down my throat.

  “I don’t know, Jonah. Do you? Honestly? I don’t think anyone of us knows what the fuck we are doing anymore. And this waiting for Daniel to make a move, it’s fucking driving me insane,” I say, lowering my head into my hands.

  “That’s not what I meant. I’m talking about you, sitting here, in a bar, drinking, and Talon up in her room crying.” My head snaps up, and Jonah’s eyes narrow down on me.

  “Fuck you,” I snarl, staring at him dead on.

  “No thanks, man, I’ve got a great girl that does that for me,” he says seriously then shakes his head and looks back at me, “You’ve got to stop this self-depreciation shit, Runner. Why didn’t it work with Kels? She’s a great girl, but you pushed her away! Now you are doing the same with Talon.”

  “Stop.” I slam my hand on the counter to get him to shut his mouth. “Are you saying you don’t worry yourself to death every day about what happens to Mary?” I’m watching him carefully. I know he does. I’ve seen him pace up and down like a goddamn tiger in a cage every time something bad goes down.

  Jonah smiles then looks at the bar. “Every fuckin’ day, but that girl is mine. I protect what is mine.” He thumps his chest like a freaking silver back gorilla. “She’s been by my side for seven years, for seven years I’ve kept her safe. I started way before all this shit happened with Reno. You won’t even try!” he says, pushing his chair back on his last word.

  “Yeah, I did, and I had to die for the girl I loved. That’s how I kept her safe.” I down my next drink, and I don’t look at Jonah as he stares at me. They all knew I was running because I wanted to keep my family safe; they didn’t know about Jenna. The girl who is now married to another man. Fuck, I really did love her, maybe I still do.

  With Kelsey I just couldn’t do it. Yes, we had some major horny energy going on between us, but that was just normal attraction between two people. Talon, she spins my head around, climbs into my soul, and infects my veins with her essence. Drives me to do stupid things. Like thinking I can care for someone again. I’ve got to stop that. Attraction leads to love. And that silly little four-letter word has no place in my world. I will not allow myself to care for Talon!

  When I’m long over my limit and swaying back and worth on my feet, Jonah long gone after he realized there was no reasoning with me, I walk over to the hotel, with assistance. I could’ve just slept in my office, but Kelsey hooked up with me after her shift ended, and she insists on taking me back to my room. So I follow her as she leads me into the elevator and holds me upright with an arm around my waist. “Mmm, Kels, you smell so fucking good,” I murmur, running my nose along the smooth skin of her throat. She sighs softly and then moves away from me, just a little bit, so that my nose doesn’t touch her anymore. She tugs at her shirt nervously then smiles at me.

  “You always did like to do that,” she says still smiling. “What?” I take a step forward as the elevator stops on the third floor. “Smell me before we have sex.” She swallows nervously. “But we can’t have sex, Runner,” she says, looking down all of a sudden. “You’re a good guy, you should know that. But you hurt the ones around you by pushing us away. A-and I have a boyfriend now.” Kelsey avoids my eyes as she slips my key into the door. I don’t know why she looks ashamed, we agreed to let this thing between us go a long time ago. “That’s good,” I slur, my head suddenly swimming. I don’t deserve you anyway, I add in my head.

  “Find happiness, Runner,” she says, moving to lay a kiss on my cheek, but I move my head away and she freezes, looking hurt. I hold my hands up and back into the open doorway. What the fuck is with the find-Runner-happiness mission. Kelsey nods her head at me gently like she understands, but she doesn’t understand shit. I fling the door closed, and the crash is deafening in the quiet night air. I stumble over the stupid coffee table next to the couch, and when my face hits the floor, I don’t even bother getting up.

  “Runner?” “Runner?” The echo sounds a little louder the second time in my head. I must’ve passed out on the floor. I don’t open my eyes, I don’t move. The truth is, I’m ashamed of the way I treated Talon, and I can’t face her yet. I keep my face down toward the floor, let her think I’m still passed out. From the sound of her shuffling, she just sat down next to me. I almost flinch when her fingers touch my hair softly, but I keep my breathing slow and steady. “I’m a fool. I know that, but…” Her voice wobbles a little and she takes a deep breath. “I know you can’t love me. I wasn’t asking for love. I just want to be your friend. You always look so lost. God, you’re beautiful,” she murmurs, seeming to lose her train of thought.

  Her fingers trail down the inside of my shirt collar, and she caresses the skin lightly. Talon is feeling me up while I’m passed out on the floor. I almost laugh at that.

  “I messed up last night. I wanted to thank you, and instead I turned into a wanton whore. I’m not like that. But when I’m with you, everything in me changes. I just want to make you feel better about yourself. You deserve to be happy.”

  Fuck, not with the happy bullshit again. Am I that miserable? If that’s true, it’s because she’s in the picture. She’s fucking up my life. I’m about to slur-mumble something to get her to think I’m waking up, but suddenly her breath is on my ear and I stop breathing. “I can love you…I will love you. If you’ll let me, if you’ll just let me be your friend.” And then she gets up and leaves.

  When I hear Talon’s door close, I roll onto my back and stare up at the ceiling. What have I become? This isn’t the man I want to be. Drunk and terrified of tomorrow. Daniel Migelli has got me right where he wants me, waiting for something that might not come, and the wait is driving me insane. It ends now.

  DAY SEVEN

  *

  RUNNER

  The sun is just starting to rise when I finally make it up off the floor and into the shower.

  I’m sitting at the table drinking the strongest black coffee I’ve ever forced down my throat when Mike sits down next to me wearing only his boxers.

  “There are other people in this place, you know,” I say, holding my cup to my mouth.

  “Other people that are still sleeping at 6 a.m. Where are you going?” Mike asks, looking me up and down and then over to my gun on the table.

  I shrug, “I’m going to speak to Daniel. See what his deal is. I know this isn’t just about a cell phone. I need answers. I won’t be a player in a game when I don’t know what I’m playing for.”

  “Good, I’ll come with you.”

  “No, you stay here.” I shake my head at him just to be clear. “Too many of us might make him nervous. I just want to talk to him.”

  “Right, that’s why you are taking your gun,” Mike says, laughing under his breath.

  I don’t say anything else. I’m not letting him go with. If Daniel’s ultimate plan is to kill me, which it should be since I shot his son, then I don’t want Mike and Jonah around.

  “I’m coming with you, Runner. I’m as much a part of this as you are.” He stands up and starts walking towards his room. I get up and follow him.

  “I don’t need a babysitter,” I say, putting my hands in my pockets. I’m not looking to start a fight. “Besides, I need you to do something for me.” I lower my voice. “Come over here.” I walk back to the table. “I need you to find out if Jase survived that crash. I know you can’t just walk into the hospital, but make it happen. Check their records, pay someone. Just find out.” Not knowing if the guy is alive or dead is driving me insane.

  “I thought you knew. Mark came by yesterday,” Mike says.

  “What? How the fuck did no one tell me?”

  “Jonah went looking for you, came back, didn’t say anything about it. I thought it was
sorted out. Couldn’t find anything on LaVaas though.” Mike sits back down and crosses his legs at the ankles.

  “So? Is he alive?” I’m losing my patience fast. “Is who alive?” Talon asks, walking up to us. Oh, for fuck’s sake!

  “Uh, LaVaas,” Mike mumbles, looking at me and shrugging.

  “I’ve got to go,” I say quickly, feeling like Talon is staring a hole right through me. I won’t get anything else out of Mike now anyway.

  “Where?” She doesn’t look away when my eyes meet hers again. I’m pretty sure she can see I’m pissed at her.

  “To work,” I say, stuffing the gun into the back of my jeans. “On a Sunday?” She grabs hold of my arm. “With your gun?”

  “Just let it go, Talon,” I say, pulling my arm from her grasp.

  “No! I’m coming with you,” she says, latching onto my arm again.

  “No.”

  “I’m going.”

  I look at Mike to get her off of me so I can leave. She sees me looking and throws a death glare at him. “Don’t you dare. I will kick your ass so hard your caveman brother will feel it all the way back in the prehistoric ages. I’m going, or you’ll have to tie and gag me because I will bring this whole hotel down!” she yells.

  I shake my head and look at Mike again. He moves toward her quickly, and I turn my back on them. Stupid move, because Talon grabs my gun from the back of my jeans.

  “Stop!” she shouts. When I turn around, she has my gun aimed at Mike’s balls. “I said I’m going with him.” She backs up slowly, keeping the gun on Mike. When she bends to pick up her red stilettos at the front door, she points the gun at me. “Let’s go.” She looks down at the tank top and short PJ bottoms she is wearing and her face falls, but she recovers quickly. “I said let’s go,” she says, swinging the gun towards the door.

  “Are you going like that?” I ask, indicating her outfit. Her eyebrows lift and there’s a challenge in her eye. “Yeah, why not?” She’s serious. This girl is insane. But she doesn’t know how to use a gun; the safety is still on, and I could probably take the gun from her. I try not to look at Mike who is coming up behind her, but she spins around and elbows him in the face. Mike goes down in a spurt of blood and covers his nose with both hands. Talon adjusts the shoes hanging from her fingers and points the gun at me. “Go!” she says a little louder. “Stupid bitch!” Mike mumbles where he is bent over and dripping all over the floor. Talon laughs and opens the door. She holds the gun out to me and looks me in the eye. “I’m going with you.”

  “Mike, give her your jacket, I don’t have time for this shit,” I say.

  Mike mumbles but takes off his grey hoodie and throws it at her. Then I take off down the hall with Talon pulling the hoodie on and hobbling after me.

  I can’t believe Talon is sitting next to me in her pajamas wearing a hoodie and stilettos. She is quietly staring out the window as we drive toward Warehouse 9. We haven’t said a word to each other since we left the hotel. And that’s fine with me because I’m pissed at her for making me bring her along and I’m fucking pissed at myself for bringing her, and just because of that I’m fucking pissed at her for turning me into such an asshole.

  I pull into a parking spot right in front of the front door. I want Daniel to know I’m here. “I don’t suppose you’ll stay in the car?” I ask while I take a look around the place. It’s too quiet. I don’t even think anyone is here.

  “Nope,” she says, opening her door. Her heels crunch on the gravel, and she walks straight for the door. I grab my gun and follow behind her. Talon lifts her hand and knocks. A few moments of silence pass and then she knocks again. “I don’t think anyone is here.” She peers up at the small camera positioned over the entrance. Talon starts walking around the building until she finds a window. “What are you doing?” I ask, pulling her back.

  “I’m just taking a look.” She pushes against the glass. “I bet…” She breaks off and bends down to pick up a small piece of metal. Then she slides it against the pane. “Stop it. We are not here to break in. I want to speak to Daniel,” I say, pulling her away. She’s definitely insane. We are out in the open, and she wants to break the window?

  “What if there’s something inside that we can use. Something that can help us,” she says. “No. This isn’t a game, Talon,” I try reasoning with her. “Wait, what was that?” she asks, going still. “I think I heard the door,” she whispers. I didn’t hear anything because I was too busy listening to her crazy talk. “Come on then,” I say. This is what we came here for, isn’t it? “No, this already looks suspicious. You go,” she says, wrapping her arms around herself. Oh so now she’s scared. I look back at her, not trusting this one bit, but if she really heard the door, whoever opened it already saw my car. She’s right, snooping around does look suspicious.

  “Stay here, don’t move,” I say. She nods, and I walk back around to the front. I look around, making sure no one is going to jump me when I round the corner, but the parking lot is clear. When I reach the front door it’s closed. I’m not surprised. I’m taking Talon back to the hotel right now. She’s reckless, and she’s going to get us killed. But when I get back to the window, she isn’t there. My anger simmers but I clamp it down. I’m going to kill her. What’s worse is my racing heart. I know fear, and I hate feeling it. I’m not afraid for myself, but if she gets hurt, that’s a whole different torture.

  “Talon,” I hiss through my teeth. The sound of the window sliding up behind me whips my head around. “No alarm, come on,” she says softly before she disappears again. Worse fucking mistake of my life, I mumble as I pull myself through the small window frame. The room is dark and I don’t see her anywhere, but she comes back into the room with her shoes in her hand. “They were making a noise,” she says, lifting them higher. “I don’t think anyone is here.” She turns slowly, taking in the room.

  “We have to go, this place will have cameras everywhere.”

  “Yup” she says, pointing to one in the corner. “Shit,” I mutter, ducking along the wall.

  “It’s already got you. Now we have to find something to make this worth it,” she laughs while opening drawers as she moves around the room. She’s right, so I start searching. Might as well make my screen time on Migelli’s surveillance system worth it. But when I’ve combed the room and all I can find are receipts and a lease contract, I’m anxious to leave.

  I can’t find Talon, and I’m starting to think something’s happened to her. Or she’s left me here. Warehouse 9 doesn’t have that many rooms, and I’ve searched all of them. I’m just about to climb back through the window when she speaks from behind me. “Were you going to leave me here?” She looks confused and hurt.

  “Where were you? I thought you left me here!” I say, pointing my finger at her dusty face. “Sorry, I was in the attic.” She dusts her shorts off then blows her hair off her face. “Nothing up there but dust and rats,” she says.

  “You didn’t think I’d keep anything important in here, did you?”

  Shit, fuck, I reach for my gun, but it’s not in the back of my jeans. It must’ve fallen out when I climbed through the window.

  “Why don’t you tell me what you are looking for, maybe I can help you find it,” Daniel says, strolling into the room casually. I don’t answer. My eyes dart between Talon, Daniel, Thug One, and Thug Two. There’s no way we are getting out of this.

  “Get over there,” Thug One says to Talon as he pushes her towards me. She stumbles but rights herself and stands next to me with her back straight and her face defiant. She better cool that temper of hers.

  “I received a call from my security company informing me I had an unknown man lurking around my premises. I thought it best to check it out myself. Look what I found,” Daniel says. He crooks his finger towards the door. Thug Two disappears for a moment, and then Mike stumbles through, duct taped and gagged. His nose looks even puffier now, and I don’t know if it’s all Talon’s doing or the duct tape that’s squishing his fa
ce up.

  “I’m going to ask you one more time what you were looking for. I thought our deal was done,” Daniel says.

  He looks at me with dead calm eyes. Bullshit. Men like Daniel always have unfinished business.

  “Well, Mr. Parker?” Talon’s head snaps around and her lips part, like some unasked question has frozen them in place.

  I don’t know if that’s because she doesn’t understand why he’s calling me that or because it’s the first time she’s heard my surname. I don’t answer Daniel, I just keep staring at the older version of the scumbag I gunned down in front of the library six years ago. Thug One slams the butt of his gun into the side of Mike’s head, and he goes down like a dead man. Flashbacks of Reno’s house zip through my brain, and I just know one, if not all, of us are going to die. And again I don’t have the answer the mad man wants. I don’t even know what we were looking for—anything, we were looking for anything. But I know that answer won’t be good enough. He’ll never believe that’s why we broke into his building.

  “Come get me when he talks or she talks. Make someone talk,” Daniel says, sounding almost bored before he leaves the room.

  Thug One and Two move closer to Talon, eyeing her like she’s something sweet that they can’t wait to devour. Talon’s back shoots ramrod straight, and her breath hitches. I don’t respond. I’m unbreakable because I care about no one. It would be stupid to let them know I give a shit about what happens to the other people in this room. Weaknesses get used against you. That’s why you have to stick to the rules.

  So I watch everything they do. Their leering smiles, their dirty roaming hands, teasing her, driving her backwards until she finally has her back against the wall. Thug One grabs her face and Talon kicks out, but he dodges her leg easily. Thug Two grabs her hands and pins them to her side. Thug One turns Talon’s face and her eyes fall on me. They stare at me in anger, begging me to stop this madness, but I still don’t do anything.