Run Bad Boy Run

Chapter 37

Hayden and I decide to drive a couple of miles on the highway and stop a few towns over for dinner. Those jerks at the gas station might have friends.

The next stop is in a small city much bigger than the sleepy towns we'd passed until now. Steering off the highway, we drop into what has to be the city center of Janesville, Ohio. Large parking lots wrap around what has to be miles of elaborate, extravagantly lit up restaurants and shops tucked into old red-brick buildings. And not too far in the distance, an autumn festival shimmers under the moonlight.

"Do you think we could check it out after we eat?" I ask Hayden, pointing to stalls strewn in the massive park overlooking the main strip. There are tents of every size, shape, and color, while food trucks standing in wait along the perimeters, and off in the distance is a bonfire the size of a small house. Hayden doesn't look too pleased with the idea of wasting more time than necessary. "We have to stop for the night anyway.

"Yeah. To sleep," he snaps.

As we pull into the parking lot, advertisements for the best food in the Buckeye state make my mouth water. Little kids sprint past us with golden sparklers in their hands. "Come on!"

"Ember."

Yes, I understand that our time is sensitive. But Derek can't achieve world domination in two hours? How can Hayden just ignore how epic this place is? Propping myself against the front seat, I don't hold anything back. "Please?" I add my biggest pout for good measure.

Hayden isn't impressed. "You can do better than that."

"Fine. This isn't just your mission. It's mine too. So I'm saying that we're staying and checking the place out."

"Nope."

"You can't just say—"

"Yes I can. And I am."

"Cross! I swear if you—"

The car abruptly jolts to a stop and I summersault across the backseat. Propping the car into park, Hayden climbs out of the car and opens the back door, expectant. "We don't have all night."

"You can go ahead and eat inside," I tell him. "I'm getting street food."

"Emmy," Hayden groans.

"What?" I wonder, innocent. "I'll be right outside. It's not like Derek and his buddies are going to show up here. They're too busy in New York, right?"

Hayden clenches his jaw. "Yes, they're in New York, Emmy. It's not them I'm worried about. It's you. You attract danger like it's your fucking job."

The nerve of this guy!

"I do not!" I protest. Giving me a pointed look, Hayden reaches into our station wagon, grabs onto my jacket pocket, and hauls me out of the car before I have a chance to swat at him. And when I open my mouth to protest again, he raises his eyebrows.

"What are we doing?" he asks.

"What do you mean?"

"We're on our way to New York to take down a gang. You're involved in this. We were at the gas station and some guys jumped you. I'm not victim-blaming you, Ember. I'm just stating the facts. Right now, you—as well as I—have an affinity for trouble. The more cautious we are, the better off."

Under the hazy, golden lights of Jamesville, Hayden Cross is absolutely right. And I hate it.

"Do you think it's because we're bad people?" I blurt. Hayden flinches. "Because of what happened at homecoming?"

Long seconds pass with neither of us saying a word. Around us, the world moves in perfect harmony with the happiness of the people that belong to it. I try to focus on excited chatter and breathless laughter, but memories slip through: the beat of the music in the school gym, the whir of firecrackers being lit up, the deafening sounds of them exploding right next to us. Someone screams. Heat sears my skin. There's fire. There's so much fire—