by Xavier Neal
In a whisper, I sigh, “Things you love you never want far from you.” My attention turns to Nick, “You really are falling for me, aren’t you?”
I shake it off, grab the bottle, and sprint over to the map that’s laying out waiting for me. With my thumb, I flick the lid off and begin spraying, hoping there’s enough left in the bottle. To my relief, the map starts displaying roads, trails, and finally a marked area that I assume is our next adventure. Putting down the bottle on the bed, I roll the map back up, gently place it in my purse, and dash to the window. Time is nowhere near on my side—there’s the sound of a key in the front door.
As I pull the curtain back, I hear a gasp, “Oh God! Nick!”
Quickly, I unhook the window. To my surprise, I hear a voice croak at me, “Wait!”
I turn as one foot slides onto the ledge, making eye contact with Arnett as he croaks, “Is he dead?” The look of panic is not one I can bare, but before I have the chance to respond, Arnett shrieks, “Peyton! Did you kill him? Did you kill my son? Is he dead?!”
Startled, I raise my eyebrows, “Your son?!”
“Is he?” Tears crawl into his throat. “Tell me you didn’t kill him. Tell me you didn’t kill my only son.”
“I didn’t,” are the last words I say before I step out the window, setting flight for the hotel room where I hope Justin still waits.
Flying as fast as I can, I soar in through the bedroom window of the room we’ve spent the last few nights in, which now looks as perfect as the moment we arrived. Hyperventilating from the exhaustion, I grab the bag that’s waiting for me, placing my purse inside of it, safely zipping it up, while tossing the phone out the window before shutting it tight.
I rush out of the room to see Justin waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs, terror on his face, “You’re late.”
“Problems, everywhere,” I grumble, rushing as fast I can down the stairs. “Nick relocated the bottle to a highly unlikely spot, and before I could get out Arnett shows up, sees Nick passed out, and asks did I kill his son—”
“His son?” The word startles Justin as much as it did me.
“Yeah!” I snap. “Who saw that coming?”
“You know, sometimes it’s best to hide things in plain sight.”
“We have to go now! And Arnett saw me take the window out, so they’re going to be looking toward the sky for us. We have no choice but to use the front door.”
“Breathe,” Justin pulls out a small vile I recognize. “We will walk out the front door because that was the original plan. This’ll help just a little.”
He dabs a little on his fingertips and touches my top, transforming it into a long-sleeve, black, button-up dress shirt, and my bottoms into a white pencil skirt and heels with a fedora similar to his on my head. With a smile, I look up at him and shake my head, “Now we look like Bonnie and Clyde.”
“Ah, if Bonnie and Clyde were high-class criminals,” he grabs the briefcase bag and tosses it over his shoulder, a pair of eye glasses on his nose. Taking my hand, he smirks, “Follow my lead.”
The two of us rush out of the room for the last time, leaving no trace behind, and slip onto the elevator, where I feel anxiety grow once again.
Justin looks at me and says, “Keep your face down, use your hat to keep it hidden, and stay focused. Whatever you do, Peyton, whatever you feel, you have to remember whose side you’re on.”
“The Lost Boys,” I state as the doors open.
“You’re looking for who?” the girl behind the desk croaks. “Peyton? Just a second.” Hearing the keys type fast, she says, “No record of any Peyton staying here.”
I notice a pair of nude pumps at the counter, very scuffed around the toe, tugging at my heart as I recall the pair my mother often wore. Clutching my hand tighter, Justin leads me through the lobby. My head’s down, still focused on the heels, so focused that the woman’s voice sounds like a distant whisper, while Justin’s is held proudly up. “No ma’am. This shows no one has stayed in the penthouse for almost a month,” she follows up.
Almost out of the lobby, I shake off the thought of that being my mother, and I relax as I step out of the door but accidentally bump into someone.
“So sorry,” I apologize quickly.
“It’s OK, my fault,” the man’s voice says, turning to keep his body moving forward.
The familiar voice causes me to do the one thing I know I’m not supposed to. I look up over my shoulder at the same time my father does. His heartbroken eyes meet mine from across the lobby through the glass as Justin slides in the taxi. For just a moment, memories flood back to me from my childhood, to my early teen years, up until the last moment we spoke. A faint smile rests on my face. It looks like his body is moving in slow motion, first looking away then and looking back to see me disappear as the taxi drives off.
Unaware of what just happened, Justin rests a hand on my thigh, “You all right?”
Swallowing my anxiety, my pain, my doubt, I nod, “I will be.”
In silence, we enjoy a quick ride down to the dock where a little boat is waiting for us beside Jake. Justin pays the driver, and we jog over to the boat as another taxi arrives. Jake starts the motor and takes off full speed away from the dock, away from the possibility of being caught, away from Arnett, Nick, and my father. Away from my first long con, my first set of serious mistakes, and away from my mixed emotions.
Justin’s hand slips on top of mine as Jake pulls up to the shore near his horses, where we see Aiden, Eiden, Peter, and Belle on the main deck of the ship waiting for us. Keeping the motor running, Jake nods for us to get off.
“Thanks, Jake, it’s been real,” Justin extends his hand.
Jake shakes in return, “That it has.”
I lean over and place a kiss on his cheek, “You’ve been fantastic.”
“Peyton,” Jake calls my name as Justin flies to the ship.
“Yeah?”
“I know it’s hard to know it right now, but you’ll see family is really who you choose—nothing more, nothing less.”
With a swallow, I lift my body up and meet the others on the ship. As soon as I land, Peter rips open the bag, pulls out the map, and kisses it as he revels in the lines across it.
“Son of a bitch, you did it! You really did it!” Peter says, admiring the map. A proud smile comes across Peter’s face, “I knew having you on our side would be beneficial.”
At that moment, everyone stops and gives Peter the same sarcastic look. Being the only one brave enough to speak up, Justin chuckles, “You did, did you?”
“Of course,” Peter shrugs him off, rolling the map back up, “It’s my job to give everyone a hard time.”
“That’s a job?” Justin questions as Eiden walks over to the steer to the ship. “Is it low paying?”
“Shut up,” Peter rolls his eyes, wraps an arm around Belle’s waist, and plants a kiss on her cheek. “To Neverland.”
“Don’t say that,” Justin shakes his head as he drapes his arm around my neck.
“Yeah, you said that last time,” Aiden speaks up from beside his brother.
“And look where we landed,” Belle chimes in, pulling at her bright, sparkly pink shorts.
“Fine,” Peter tosses his hand up. “What do you want me to say?”
“How about, let’s go home?” I suggest, Jake’s words about family ringing in my ear and my heart.
“I like that,” Justin looks down at me, beaming even more so than the first time we attempted to leave.
“Me too,” Eiden and Aiden echo as the ship begins moving closer toward the stars.
“Fine,” Peter growls, hating to admit defeat, especially to me. “Let’s go home.”
Justin’s eyes are still on mine, and I rise to my tiptoes preparing to kiss him, but first, I whisper, “Our home.”
Acknowledgement
At this point I would like to just take a small moment and thank those of you who made this possible for me.
Crazy
Lady – Thank you for being my biggest fan from the day I was born.
Her Husband – Thanks for all the pride you have in me.
The Law Student – Thanks for being the first person the gang met outside of me.
Lumber Jack – You made this journey possible in more ways than I can describe. Thank you.
The Guru – Thank you for teaching me so much about writing, from the art to structure. I would’ve been lost without your constant help.
Betty Paige – Thanks for the constant faith and belief in me.
My Fans – Thank you for believing in this book before it hit the shelf, sticking with it until the end, and being excited that there are many more to come. Thank you for believing in my dream as much as I do.
Other books by Xavier Neal
Senses Series:
Vital (Prequel) Found in Interwoven
Blind (Book 1)
Deaf (Book 2
Numb (Book 3)
Hush (Book 4)
Savor (Book 5)
Callous (Book 6)
Agonize (Book 7)
Suffocate (Book 8)
Mollify (Book 9)
Senses Series Box Set (Books 1-5)
Havoc Series
Havoc (Book 1)
Chaos (Book 2)
Insanity (Book 3)
Collapse (Book 4)
Devastate (Book 5)
Havoc Series Box Set (Books 1-3)
Never Say Neverland
Get Lost
Lost in Lies
Lies Mistrust and Fairy Dust (Coming Soon)
Adrenaline Series
Classic
Vintage
Masterpiece (Coming Soon)
Connect with Xavier Neal
Links: www.xavierneal.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/XavierNealAuthorPage
Twitter: @XavierNeal87
Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4990135.Xavier_Neal
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