Classified ☑

[ chapter 24 ]

The sound of a country song stirred me awake. I blinked a couple of times, trying to remember where I was as my head rested on cold glass.

The dark and quiet world outside passed by in a blur as something familiar hummed. Bumps could be felt underneath my seat and that's when I realized I was in a car.

I couldn't remember how I got there. My head felt cloudy, like it was trying to push something out.

"How're you doing?"

My body jolted awake as I pressed myself against the locked door, temporarily forgetting that someone had to be driving the car. "Ah," I gritted as my hip pulsed in pain from moving too quickly.

That's when every memory of what happened came flooding back in. Finding out that Lucille was murdered. The way Angel and I fought, resulting in me killing her. A shadow walking in through the door, checking Angel for a pulse, and then walking towards me. That's all I could remember though. Everything else was a blur after that.

I felt like I was going to be sick at that moment. I was disgusted with myself. I had killed someone and here I was alive and well.

"Nina."

My hands shook as I tried to sit correctly back in the seat, still weary of his presence. He acted like he hadn't seen Angel's dead body. "I killed her." My voice came out hoarse, cracked and broken from Angel trying to strangle me to death.

Dante's knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel with his hand, his jaw clenched in some type of emotion that I couldn't read. "She was trying to kill you."

I bit my bottom lip as I looked out the window, using it as a distraction. "How do you know that?" He wasn't there for any of it as far as I knew.

He looked at me pointedly. She was supposed to finish the job he failed to do that night at the gas station. "I know you wouldn't kill someone unless you had to." I turned to meet his gaze. His dark blue eyes flickered from mine and back to the road.

Dante's answer surprised me, considering we both knew the real reason she tried to kill me. "How?"

The corner of his mouth turned up the slightest as a short laugh escaped. "You didn't pull the trigger on me when you had the chance," he said, referring to when I had chased him out the back of the convenience store.

"Is that why you gave me money to leave town?"

His eyes narrowed as he watched the road, glancing at me skeptically. "You think I gave you money to leave town because you didn't kill me?"

I nodded my head, a little confused by his tone. He sounded offended that I thought that was the only reason he gave me the money.

"I gave you the money so you wouldn't have to live this kind of life. There's no joy, ever. It's full of misery. Plus, when I told you to get out of town, I meant go to another state. Not go somewhere you can get to in a day." Dante shook his head like he couldn't believe I'd been so stupid. "You made it way too easy for them to track you down."

"Who's them?" I asked.

A long and silent moment passed before he spoke. "Angel, my dad, who else knows."

My blood turned cold as I shifted in my seat to get a good look at him, being mindful of my hip. "Did you just say your dad?"

For the first time since I met him, I saw how worn out and tired he looked as he heaved a heavy sigh. Tousled hair dipped over his forehead. His shoulders sagged like they were weighed down and he had bags underneath his eyes from lack of sleep. My first impression of him when I saw him in that convenience store was that he was a weirdo. Turned out there's a whole lot more to him than meets the eye.

His eyes met mine briefly, stirring something deep inside my stomach. I looked at the road, not able to keep my eyes on him. "I didn't choose this life, Nina. I was born into it like you and Joseph, but lucky for you your dad got you out. I'm just trying to keep it that way."

I didn't say anything in return. I didn't know what to say. So I changed the subject. "How'd you find me?"

Dante shifted in his seat, looking uncomfortable as he glanced at me sideways. "I may or may not have put a tracker in your backpack when I put the cash in there before you got on the train."

In all honesty it should have shocked me, but after all I had learned the last month and a half about my family and what they did for a living, Dante putting a tracker in my backpack didn't surprise me. That seemed to be the most normal thing out of everything, considering what TIA stood for and what they did.

"So you've known where I been there this entire time?" I asked, finally looking back at him.

He kept his eyes on the road as he drove with one hand on the wheel, keeping his other arm on the arm rest between us. "Yeah, I have. I knew it was only a matter of time before my dad found you."

"How'd you know Angel was there today?" I guessed it was the same day since the clock on the dashboard read eleven-thirty p.m.

His thumb tapped the steering wheel a couple of times before he continued. "I noticed Angel was gone this morning so I asked my dad about it. His words were along the lines of her finishing up unfinished business. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he meant since he's been angry with me since the night at the gas station."

I let out a sigh as I watched him. "You mean since you missed the opportunity to kill me."

He didn't respond, him and I know it's the truth.

"How did you know I was going to be at the gas station anyways?" I didn't see why he wouldn't be truthful with me since he was helping me after all.

"I didn't. Running into you was a surprise." That'd explain why he kept staring at me that night. "I was supposed to kill you at the cabin while you were with your friends. My dad had found out you were going there and he knew your Uncle and Joseph wouldn't be around to protect you."

I shifted away from him in my seat, resulting in him giving me a knowing smile.

"I'm not trying to kill you anymore, you know."

I believed him for the most part since he hadn't ended up killing me at the gas stain. Plus finding me at Lucille's house while being hurt and vulnerable was a perfect opportunity to kill me as well. "What stopped you from killing me?"

Dante's eyes lingered on my face. He looked at me like the answer should've been obvious and he couldn't tell whether I was being serious or not. A laugh escaped his lips after several heartbeats of silence before turning into a small smile. "You."

What kind of answer is that?

"Me?" I pointed at myself to make sure we were clear.

Dante gave a curt nod. "You." He mimicked my cynical tone.

I leaned back into the seat, looking out the window. "That doesn't make any sense."

He huffed. In the reflection of the window I could see a small smile on his face. "Maybe one day it will."

I wanted to know now, but Dante didn't seem like the type of guy to give information up that easily, especially if he didn't want to give it up.

So I changed the subject again. "Why did you come get me tonight? Won't your dad know you're helping me now?"

He put his blinker on before turning down a road. "I think he has known. Pretty sure he only told me what Angel was doing as a test to see what I'd do. Staying would've meant I was okay with you dying. Following Angel meant I wasn't."

And he'd followed Angel. That meant he couldn't go home. We were on our own together now.

"What would've happened if you found me dead instead of Angel?"

His Adam's apple bobbed up and down. "I just hoped I wouldn't have."

I looked away, not able to watch him anymore. Something about him seemed to stir all sorts of weird feelings inside of me. I didn't know what to make of it.

A/N: If there are any errors or inconsistencies, please point them out. My brain feels like mush, but I wanted to get the chapter out. Enjoy and thanks for reading. :)