kindred

Chapter 31 : Ring of fire

A/N: I changed the times of the last chapter from 4am to 11pm to make it fit into the story better. 

"Joe? If I ask you something will you promise to tell me the truth?" Addie asked, peering at her brother. 

They had been in the car for the last hour and a half, mostly in silence. She had already re-read the book that Riley had shoved in her bag, grateful for something to break the awkward silence.  

"What is it?" Not exactly answering the question. 

"I'm not a little girl" She told him, sitting up straight to prove her point. "I know something that you and Harlan are doing is wrong. Too many bad things happen. What is his job?" 

"That is not something I can answer." Addie huffed out. "But, after this has all blown over I think Harlan, Harry, you and I need to sit down and have a talk." Addie liked that idea, she would finally get answers. 

"And as for being a little girl, you'll always be a little girl to your brothers." He chuckled. 

"Even when I'm 18?" She asked, as if it was the worse thing that had happened today. 

"Probably even when you're 50 with kids."

"That will be annoying" 

"Probably" 

Silence settled in the car as the trees zipped past. 

"Where are we going?" 

Addie frowned when Joe placed a finger to his lips, indicating her to be quiet. He leant over and whispered into her ear.

"Anyone could be listening." 

"Oh." 

Addie flipped back to the front of her book, attempting to read it upside down, it wasn't like she had anything else to do. 

"Why did we all split up?" She eventually piped up. "Surely it would be safer to go together."

"So we aren't all together if something happens" He evasively answered. 

"So if some of us die, we don't all die?" Her question was met with deathly silence, no-one daring to speak up. 

'Awkward' she thought. 

Addie shut her mouth and went back to her book. 

They were passing through a town when the two men hesitated. Addie noticed the driver's eyes twitching continuously between the car behind them and the road ahead. They took a number of turns onto random streets, but the car still followed. 

"Sir, I think we're being tailed" The passenger said. Addie and Joe glanced out the back window, a dark coloured car driving behind them on the empty street. She could just about make out the figure of 2 men in the front, one with sunglasses on. 

"Shit" Joe swore. "If there's one, there'll be more nearby" He told the men in front, leaning over. 

"Do whatever you have to do to lose them" Addie's eyes darted to the back as they sped up, the car behind doing the exact same. 

The driver yanked the steering wheel to the right, skidding the car, Addie sliding along the seat. 

She yelped when she heard the peppering shots of bullets on their back window. Joe grabbed his sister, harshly yanking her to the floor of the car. 

Although the windows were bullet proof he wasn't taking any risks. The sudden contact with the floor made Addie wince, she still wasn't fully recovered from her surgery and her brother treating her like a rag doll didn't help.