48
I took turns driving now, my shoulders throbbing with pain as we drove down the road, now off the highways and into the quieter streets of New York. The dashboard light blinked, catching my attention. The fuel gauge was dangerously low, the needle hovering just above empty. We had no idea where we were going and with Vaughn My stomach tightened, and I spared Dominic a glance. He sat rigid, staring out the window, his jaw clenched tight.
“We’re almost out of gas,” I said, keeping my voice steady despite the tension in the air.
“Keep driving,” he muttered, not looking at me. “There’ll be a station soon.”
I nodded, gripping the wheel tighter as my eyes scanned the dimly lit road ahead, praying we’d find one before the tank ran dry. The silence in the vehicle was oppressing, wrapping around us like steel. I wanted to talk to Dominic, apologize for just killing his sister, get him to speak more words about how much he was hurting on the inside. He couldn’t be mad at me…right? Right? I had done what I did to save him and us. Analia had killed Clarice without a thought behind those eyes. She wouldn’t think twice before she put a bullet through both her brother and I.
“She was…different.” Dominic’s hoarse voice caught me off guard.
I spared him a quick glance, uttering a dumb, “Hmm?”
He cleared his throat, straightened against the seat of the vehicle. “Analia.” He said. “She was different,” Dominic repeated, his voice rough, like he’d been swallowing glass.
My grip tightened on the wheel, my heart thudding hard in my chest. I didn’t respond, waiting, letting him have the silence to keep going.
“I thought... I thought everyone had died that night,” he said finally, his eyes fixed on the darkness outside. “When Vaughn’s men came, there was nothing left but fire and screams. But seeing her...” He trailed off, his voice catching.
I glanced at him briefly before returning my focus to the fuel gauge, the blinking light nagging at my nerves. “Almost,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Maybe I was hoping too much. Maybe I thought, somehow, I’d still see her. The little ten-year-old girl from twelve years ago.”
He laughed bitterly, a sound so empty it made my chest ache. “But that look in her eyes—” He stopped, his words breaking, as if even saying it hurt too much.
I stayed quiet, my lips pressing into a thin line. My chest burned to tell him I understood, that I was sorry, but the words lodged in my throat like stones. Instead, I kept glancing at the fuel gauge, praying for a sign of a gas station up ahead.
Dominic shifted, leaning forward to fiddle with the car’s radio. His hands shook as he twisted the dial, flipping through static and broken voices. He didn’t stop talking.
“She used to love the dumbest songs,” he murmured, a faint, trembling smile on his lips. “The kind you couldn’t get out of your head no matter how much you hated them. It drove me crazy.” He snorted softly. “She’d dance around the kitchen, pretending to be a pop star. Always making a damn mess.”
The radio found a station, and a crackling tune filled the car—an old, wistful melody. He paused, listening to the song like it was a ghost whispering to him. His hands fell to his lap. “I don’t think she even recognized me anymore,” he said quietly, his voice breaking again. “Not really. That wasn’t her.”
I swallowed hard, my throat tight. The road stretched endlessly before us, the dim lights of the occasional house blurring through my tears. Still, I didn’t speak. I just kept my hands on the wheel, my foot steady on the gas.I tightened my grip on the steering wheel as my thoughts churned. Dominic’s family had been like a second home to me. Our fathers were close, and our lives intertwined so much that the lines between our families blurred. Maya, Jess, Analia. I still remembered their faces, each one full of life, each one utterly unique. Dominic had been the protective older brother, the only boy among three sisters. And now, he was the only one left.
Analia… My stomach twisted painfully as I thought of her. Whatever torment she had endured in Vaughn’s hands for twelve years, it had been enough to strip away every piece of the girl I once knew. Cutting off her tongue? That was probably just the beginning. My body shuddered at the thought of what else she must have gone through, horrors I didn’t want to imagine but couldn’t stop my mind from piecing together.
The soft click of the radio dial pulled me from my spiraling thoughts. Dominic was flipping stations again, static and snatches of music filling the car. He stopped briefly on a channel, and a woman’s voice broke through, clear but tense.
“This just in—an anonymous caller has reported a bloodbath at a cabin in Black Rock Forest…”
“Back,” I said sharply, cutting Dominic off before he could flip away. My heart pounded in my chest. “Go back!”
He glanced at me, his brow furrowing, but did as I asked. The channel crackled as he flipped it back, the static cutting in and out before the woman’s voice returned, steady and deliberate.
“Authorities are on their way to a remote cabin located in Black Rock Forest. According to the anonymous caller, the property—believed to belong to a couple who have been evading law enforcement for several years—was the site of a violent altercation. Early reports suggest at least five bodies have been found at the scene. Among the deceased is Clarice Dane, a nurse at Westchester County Medical Center.”
My stomach lurched violently, and my knuckles turned white as I gripped the wheel. Clarice. A nurse. The woman Analia killed.
“They’re talking about us,” Dominic muttered, his voice low and taut with tension.
I swallowed hard, forcing my breath to slow. “Keep listening,” I whispered.
The voice on the radio continued, each word driving home the reality of the situation. “The cabin, identified as a hideout for wanted criminals, has been surrounded by local authorities. Preliminary investigations suggest that this may be connected to a larger operation tied to organized crime. Updates will follow as more information becomes available.”
Dominic turned the volume down, his jaw tightening. He leaned back in his seat, running a hand through his hair. “They’re spinning this into something bigger,” he said flatly. “They’ll say whatever they need to justify coming after us.”
“We have to get gas,” I said, my voice trembling as I glanced at the dwindling fuel gauge. “We can’t risk being stranded out here.”
“Yeah,” he said, his tone clipped. “But we can’t be seen either. If they’re already onto us…”
“Then we better move fast,” I said, my stomach knotting.
Dominic gritted his teeth as the newscaster’s voice continued, her tone heavy with urgency.
“The anonymous caller provided a detailed description of the vehicle believed to belong to the couple. It’s been identified as a gray Isuzu, model unknown. Witnesses state it has significant wear and tear and was last seen leaving the area of the cabin at high speed. Authorities are urging anyone who sees this vehicle to report it immediately, as the suspects are considered armed and extremely dangerous. The caller also identified the suspects as a man and a woman.”
Dominic slammed a fist against the dashboard, his nostrils flaring. “It’s Vaughn,” he said, his voice low and deadly. “That bastard’s playing us. Setting us up. He’s making sure every cop in the state is gunning for us now. So when we’re in custody, we’ll be easily killed. The bastard!”
My throat tightened, and I fought to keep my hands steady on the wheel. “If the police are already on our trail—”
“We need to find Dane,” Dominic interrupted, his words sharp. “If Vaughn’s made his move, Dane’s next on the list. He’ll know something. He has to.”
I nodded, though my mind spun with fragments of what had just been said. My chest felt tight, and I could barely think straight. Then, like a ghost in my mind, a memory surfaced, Analia’s broken voice, the one name she’d said before the light left her eyes.
“Alaric…” I whispered, my voice shaky.
Dominic turned his head sharply to look at me. “What?”
I licked my dry lips, sparing him a glance. “Before Analia died, she said his name. Alaric. Do you know why she’d mention him?”
His jaw tensed, and for a moment, he didn’t answer. His silence was thick, his eyes forward, but his grip on his knees tightened.
“Dominic,” I pressed, my voice quieter now. “Do you know something?”
He stayed quiet, his chest rising and falling heavily.
The hum of the engine and the distant crackle of the radio filled the silence between us. When it became clear he wasn’t going to answer, I turned my eyes back to the road, but my mind wouldn’t stop racing.
“How did Vaughn even find out about the cabin in the first place?” I asked, more to myself than to him. “You’ve been there for years, and no one found it.”
Dominic’s fingers drummed restlessly on his thigh, his expression dark and brooding. “We’ve got bigger problems right now. Whoever Vaughn’s working with, they’re not just after us anymore. They’re making sure the whole damn world is.”
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