Innocent (Stark's Daughter 7)

Chapter 10

The worker at the till in the petrol station starts to scream as the black car continues to race at full speed into the shop. Ward pulls me back as the black car smashes through the door, causing shards of glass to float down over us. 

"Get out! Everyone get out now!" Ward screams, pointing towards the now open shop. 

People scream, panicking as they sprint out and grab their cars. I glance up at Ward, his hand links with mine as he pulls me behind him and clutches the gun in his pocket. 

"This can't happen again." 

"It's okay. Everyone is going." Ward points out. 

I watch as the customers jump into their cars and race out of the petrol station, running for their lives. 

The jet black car stops abruptly in front of us, the doors are swung open as four men dressed in black suits with white shirts climb out. They all expose guns, aiming them at us as they stand proud with their sunglasses hiding their emotions. 

"What do you want?" Ward asks. 

"We want Skye to help us." One of the men admits, his voice laced with determination and confidence. 

"These are different people. The gang at the hotel wanted to show me as dangerous. This gang wants to keep me alive to help them." I whisper into Ward's ear. He nods and squeezes my hand tighter in his. 

"Will you help us, Iron Girl?" 

"Why should I?" 

The man raises his gun in the air, it hits the ceiling light and glass shatters over me, piercing my skin as blood seeps out. 

"That's why." The man smirks, aiming at me again. 

"What do you want me for?" 

"Just get in the car, Skye." 

My eyes turn ice cold and i throw his gun out his hand. He curses and races towards me, Ward fights him with punches as the other men charge at me. I kick against them and they collapse on the ground, moaning in pain. Ward is being pinned into the corner by the main man, I spin him around and punch him straight in the face. Slight pain rushes through my fingers. 

Ward glances up at me and i quickly grab his wrist. I drag him out of the destroyed petrol station shop and notice a blue shining motor bike at the washing station. The keys are already in the engine, I turn them and it bursts into life. Ward stands by the side, his eyes scanning me over and he seems reluctant. 

"Hop on." 

Ward climbs on and i pull his arms around my waist, I feel him tense but I swerve out of the petrol station as police lights blind us from behind. 

"Who leaves the keys in the engine?" Ward shouts. 

"You don't want me to answer that. You did." 

Gun shots ring my ears, i try to think where to go, but the bullets burst my thoughts, causing me to nearly crash the bike. 

"We've got to stay on the main roads, they won't shoot." Ward shouts in my left ear, his voice just loud enough to be heard of the revving engine. 

"Were you not standing in that shop with me? They don't care who they hurt." I yell back as I race off the main road and down a country lane. 

They continue to shoot at us, the bullets soaring a few centimeters from our faces. 

"Stop the bike and we'll run." 

I swerve to a stop and we jump off the bike, sprinting into the forest as the men are hot on our heels. I dig my nails into a tree trunk and pull myself up the branches. Climbing as high as I can go, I sit on a thick branch and lean down, pulling Ward up behind me. 

I pull my legs up and we watch as three police men race past us on the ground, dressed in bullet proof clothes and holding their guns high. Leaning back on the tree trunk, I glance over at Ward. He has a few scratches on his face and is breathing heavily, his eyes shining under the sun light. 

"Are you alright?" I ask, smirking slightly. 

"Yeah. You?" 

"Yep." 

"You're bleeding." Ward points out. 

I brush my hands over my face and look to see blood dripping from my fingertips. 

"Damn." I curse. 

Ward pulls the rucksack off my back and finds the first aid kit. He hands me a antiseptic wipe and I clear up the blood on my forehead. 

"I suggest that we stay up here for a while, until we are certain it's safe." Ward announces. 

"Good idea." 

"I grabbed everything i could when we were attacked." Ward admits, pulling bags of crisps, sandwiches, drinks, sweets and other essentials out of the rucksack. 

"Wow, I didn't see you do that." 

"I hope the security cameras didn't either." He mutters. 

"Cameras? If the media get hold of the pictures, I'll be ruined." I whisper, realisation suddenly hitting me. 

"They won't get hold of them. The gang shot the cameras." Ward points out, swinging the rucksack onto his back, too fast. 

He falls back and I quickly grasp his wrists with both hands. His body swings under the branch and he tries to climb back up. I use all my strength to pull him up. Ward sighs in relief as he sits back on the branch, holding on tightly. 

"Are you okay?" I ask, hiding my laughter. 

"Yep." He hisses through his teeth. 

I burst out laughing and Ward can't help, but join in.

* 

We sit in the tree for about an hour, my mind still tries to take in what is happening. The hotel incident. The petrol station incident. Two completely different, caused by two different gangs that want me. 

"Shall we get down now? I am not a great fan of heights." Ward admits, peering over the edge slightly. 

"Only because you nearly fell out of this tree." I point out. 

I swing my legs over the edge and climb down, placing my feet carefully on the ground. Ward throws the rucksack down, I catch it and swing it onto my back. Watching Ward climb down from the tree is so funny, he checks before he moves his feet and holds onto the branches like he never wants to let go. He finally reaches the ground and hides his fear with a weak, fake smile. 

"That's one of my fears tackled." Ward mumbles. 

"Sort of." I tease. 

"What's the time?" 

"Judging by the suns position, Id say its about 7pm." I guess. 

"Okay. Shall we stay here?" 

I throw myself onto the ground, leaning against a smaller tree. Ward sits beside me and sighs heavily. 

"Hungry?" I question. 

"Definitely." 

I pull the rucksack off and find two packs of sandwiches. Ward takes the ham and i have the tuna. 

It's great to have some decent food now. 

I find the blanket and drape it over our legs. Leaning myself against the tree, I find a comfortable position and my eyelids flicker shut.