The Runaway

4

Lisa had no idea what the fuck was going on, but she sure as fuck wasn't letting Roseanne get caught, even if the predator at their heels was Roseanne's own brother. The adrenaline rush was like a line of coke burning through her nostril, and she led the way through the mall as if they were two fish swimming downstream. The people around them became a blur, but danger could come from any direction, which tempted her to slide her hand over the holster she kept hidden under her clothes.

"Who should we look out for?"

"If there's a reward, anyone could be tracking us down. We need to lay low and then quietly exit the mall."

Lisa walked as fast as she could without breaking into a run, because that could have drawn too much attention, but their destination was obvious. They would go to Sehun's shop and exit through the back. Roseanne would have a lot of explaining to do as soon as they were alone, because Lisa wasn't about to get dragged into her dirt.

The store wasn't too busy when they entered, and the bored staff member barely looked up from her smartphone. Lisa didn't have time for pleasantries and stormed past the girl, who only woke up from her daydream once Lisa pulled Roseanne into the staffroom.

"Hey, it's staff only!"

"I'm here to see Sehun," Lisa called back, but her brother's head popped out from the door at the end of the short corridor inside before she could have reached the office.

"Err, that's not what I had in mind when I told you to come over."

Lisa rolled her eyes. "Look, I'll explain this another time. Can we go out through the back?"

Sehun's shoulders stiffened, and he left the office, filling the narrow corridor with his presence. "What did you do? I can't lose this job!" he lowered his tone to a whisper.

"Someone's after us, so you haven't seen us, okay? That's all I'm asking."

Sehun's frown deepened. "No, not okay. There's cameras everywhere. Fuck. Is it the cops?"

Roseanne shook her head. "It's my brother, but he's dangerous."

Lisa swore in her mind. 'Dangerous'? Maybe knowing Roseanne as the enigma she'd been before was preferable to finding out there was much more to her arrival after all.

Lisa pushed Sehun farther down the corridor. "Just show us the way out."

Sehun opened a door that turned out to be a small, windowless restroom. "There's no way out in the back because we have a delivery truck blocking it. Wait here until I come back for you. Jesus Christ. Can't it ever be normal with you people?"

As if he weren't part of the family and hadn't almost died at twelve when he'd gotten shot while serving as a lookout.

But okay.

"Tell that girl at the front we're out already. Though she might not even remember our faces for all I know."

Roseanne licked her lips, already walking into the restroom. "Can you wipe the security footage?"

This time, even Lisa shook her head, somewhat freaked out by this sudden change in atmosphere. What was it that Roseanne brought into their lives? "Shut up."

The girl made a sulky face and seconds later Sehun plunged them in darkness when he closed the door behind them. Lisa instantly started patting the wall for a light switch.

"Can you now kindly explain what the hell's going on?" she asked, already on edge. "Keeping secrets is one thing, everyone has them, but this? Are you putting my family in danger?" She tried to grab Roseanne in the dark, but she must have moved. Lisa wasn't having any of it, and as soon as she found the switch, she stared right into Roseanne's eyes, unmoved by the fear in them.