2025-12-10 21:53:40
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter Forty
The bus station in Racine was smaller than Sarah had expected. Just a single-story building with peeling paint and a handwritten sign that said "Tickets Inside." Three buses parked in the lot. Maybe a dozen people waiting. Most of them looked like they'd been traveling for days. Sarah and Park fit right in. They'd walked from the library to downtown Kenosha. Found a local transit bus that ran to Racine. Paid cash. Kept their heads down. No one had looked at them twice. Now they stood outside the Racine station, studying the posted schedule. Trying to figure out which route would get them to Chicago with the least exposure. "There's a bus at eleven-forty," Park said, pointing. "Goes to Gary, Indiana. From there we can catch another one into Chicago." "Two transfers. More time." "But Gary's smaller. Less security than going straight into Chicago." Sarah considered this. Park was right. Smaller stations meant less scrutiny. Less chance of running into federal agents or local cop
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Finding a place to park in Chicago was harder than Marcus had anticipated.They couldn't use a parking garage. Too many cameras. Too many attendants who might remember faces. Too much structure and control that could trap them if things went wrong.Street parking was better. Anonymous. Easy escape routes. But finding a spot in downtown Chicago at nine in the morning was like finding water in a desert.Marcus circled the same six-block radius for twenty minutes. Torres had stopped offering suggestions. Just sat quietly, watching the streets pass.Finally, Marcus spotted a space. Residential street. Lower West Side. Far enough from downtown that they wouldn't draw attention, close enough that they could walk to Willis Tower if they needed to.He parallel parked. Not perfect, but good enough. Killed the engine.For a moment, neither of them moved. Just sat in the sudden silence. The car ticking as the engine cooled. Traffic sounds muted through the windows."Now what?" Torres asked."Now
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Marcus had been awake for thirty-six hours straight.He knew this because he'd been counting. Marking time by the position of the sun. By the ache in his muscles. By the way Torres kept nodding off in the passenger seat, then jerking awake with a start.They'd stolen the car six hours ago. A Honda Civic. Gray. Forgettable. Parked behind a convenience store with the keys under the floor mat; either incredible luck or incredible stupidity on the owner's part.Marcus wasn't complaining either way.He kept the speed exactly at the limit. Five miles over would get them pulled over. Five miles under would draw attention. Exactly at the limit meant they were invisible. Just another car on the highway.Interstate 94. Heading southeast toward Chicago. About forty miles out now. Maybe an hour if traffic stayed light.Torres stirred in the passenger seat. Blinked. Looked around like he'd forgotten where they were."We close?" His voice was rough with sleep."About an hour.""Jesus. I was out.""
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Park looked worse than Sarah felt, which was saying something.Her clothes were torn. Mud caked on her jeans up past the knees. Leaves and twigs stuck in her hair. A long scratch down her left cheek, dried blood crusted at the edges. She was limping slightly, favoring her right leg.But she was here. She was alive.Sarah felt something loosen in her chest. Relief so intense it was almost painful.Park saw her. Their eyes met across thirty feet of sidewalk. For a moment, neither of them moved. Just stood there looking at each other. Confirming the other was real. Was safe.Then Park limped forward. Faster now, despite the injury. And Sarah was moving too, closing the distance between them.They met in the middle. Sarah wanted to hug her, to physically confirm she was solid and present and okay. But they were in public. In daylight. Had to maintain some semblance of normalcy."You made it," Sarah said quietly. Her voice came out rougher than she intended. Emotion catching in her throat.
Chapter Thirty-Six
6:31 AM.The sunrise was in full effect now. Gold light streaming through the windows, cutting across the diner in bright slashes. Sarah had to squint against it. Her eyes, already strained from lack of sleep, protested the sudden brightness.She shifted in the booth, angling herself so the light wasn't directly in her face. Her body complained at the movement. Every muscle stiff. Her lower back a knot of pain from sitting too long in one position.Sarah stretched as much as she could without drawing attention. Rolled her shoulders. Flexed her fingers. Tried to work some circulation back into her limbs.She'd been sitting here for over four hours now. Four hours of waiting. Four hours of watching the clock tick forward with agonizing slowness.One hour and twenty-nine minutes left.6:38 AM.The breakfast crowd was thinning out. People getting their food to go. Heading off to jobs and obligations. The family with the two kids left, the children still chattering excitedly about somethin
Chapter Thirty- Five
4:47 AM.The woman with the paperback left. She'd been there for forty minutes, reading and sipping her coffee with methodical patience. Now she closed the book; Sarah caught a glimpse of the cover, something with a lighthouse, tucked it under her arm, and headed for the door.The bell chimed. Then silence.Just Sarah and Denise now.The diner felt different without other customers. Bigger somehow. Emptier. The hum of the refrigerators behind the counter seemed louder. The fluorescent lights buzzed in a way Sarah hadn't noticed before.Denise was in the back somewhere. Sarah could hear her moving around in the kitchen. The clatter of dishes. Water running. The sounds of someone cleaning up between the late-night rush and the early-morning one.Sarah shifted in the booth. Her back ached from sitting too long. Her legs were stiff. She wanted to stand. To pace. To move.But movement drew attention. Movement looked suspicious.So she stayed still and tried to ignore the discomfort.4:53 A
You may also like
