Too Far

25: Her

They moved me. I didn't understand what was going on, but they didn't even waste time to clean up the mess before shoving me into a different car, a black Lincoln Navigator, and stuffed me into the back of it. They'd long since confiscated my gun, so I wouldn't be pulling anything like I had before.

They put a black hood over my head and I sighed in annoyance. It was hot in this thing. "Can we pump up the A/C?" I called out, looking around blindly. To my surprise, they complied and cranked up the air. It hit me, and I could barely feel the coolness, but it helped. "Thanks," I said pointlessly.

"Shut up, God!" Robbie said, obviously irritated. "I'm trying to watch something."

"Put in earbuds!" I cried, throwing my hands up. My confidence was definitely back since I knew he really didn't want me to die yet. I didn't know when "yet" was, but I wasn't going to die for a little bit. Maybe, once we got out of this boring car ride, I'd die. Hopefully not, though. I still had a few insults for Robbie.

"Why don't you stuff a sock in it?" he retorted, obviously irritated. I really hoped his tools didn't take that suggestion to heart, because I was positive their feet would stink like rot and taste even worse.

"If you're planning on gagging me, know I would much prefer a rag of sorts or maybe a rope or something," I said to the men on either side of me. "Socks aren't really my style."

"Have we got any rags, boss?" the dopey one to my right asked.

There was no reply, and I was sure Robbie was giving him a harsh stare for trying to comply to my request. I wondered if it was because I was usually pretty high on the totem pole. They used to actually do something if I asked them to. I was just below Robbie.

Oh, how much my betrayal must have stung. He must not have known that I didn't actually want to be there. As far as he knew, I was pretty much already a criminal by the time he found me. He probably thought I wanted that life.

What a loon?

I didn't know where we were going, because they'd taken precautions this time even though I tried to persuade them not to. "I've got a bullet wound. What do you expect me to do, commendeer the cart and drive us to the station?" I had reasoned.

They unsurprisingly didn't listen.

"It only takes one leg to steal a phone and tell someone where you are," Robbie had retorted, though I knew I wasn't getting his phone off of him in the near future. It was always glued to his hand.

He knew I was stuck. He knew I knew I was stuck, and he relished in knowing that I knew that I was hopeless. I was going to die one way or another in the distant or near future. If he even tried to make me work for him or force me into some drug or otherwise inappropriate ring, I'd probably shoot myself just because that was preferable. I saw the way girls were treated.

I didn't like it.

I tried not to let my mind wander to Emmett. Was he still looking? Had Katherine persuaded him to give up hope? It sounded like her. If she knew Robbie at all, which she did, she knew I should already have been dead. If Emmett was smart, he would stop looking.

I briefly thought about Selena. I missed her so much, but I felt incredibly guilty. What if she held a grudge because I'd killed her father? Even though most of me had gotten over that fear considering she hated the man, it was still her father and I still felt wrong. All of this was my fault.

I wished they'd give children a say in which homes they were moved to or if they were moved at all. Instead, the children were like little fish in their own lives; just floating along, letting the adults control the current. It wasn't fair.