Running

Chapter 2

~Present Time~

"Run, Connor. Hide. Don't let them find you."

Those were the 911 operator's last words before he hung up, too busy running to hold on to the call.

He didn't know where he would go, all he knew was that he couldn't go home. Going to the station was out of the equation. The Washington PD was too far from where he was. Connor knew they would catch him before he could get halfway there.

He had to find the subway. He could hop onto the nearest train and get as far away from the alley as possible.

He had done all he could. He had called 911 and explained the situation. They were on their way. He'd been smart about it.

But he hadn't been smart when he had fallen on his butt thanks to a can of soup.

Of all the things to trip on...

Connor shook his head and took a sharp left, telling himself to focus.

He had to get away. He was sure the man who had been with Adler was after him, and he couldn't let himself get caught or he would be as dead as the woman in the alley.

There!

Connor's sudden relief almost knocked him off his feet, but he righted himself before he could faceplant on the floor.

He ran down the stairs and into the mass of people that packed the station. If he could find a baseball cap, ditch his school jacket, and keep his head down, he knew he could lose him.

He saw a guy sitting on the corner, a cap sitting low on his head.

Perfect.

He traded in his extra headphones for his hat and dumped his jacket in the nearest trash can. He turned his backpack inside out and put on his sunglasses. In less than five minutes, he had become a new person.

And mom thought all those crime TV shows were going to be a waste.

As he sat on the train heading to Georgetown University, Connor began to form a plan. He had enough money for a bus ticket out of town. He could sleep in a shelter, if necessary, and he could risk using an ATM before boarding the bus.

He had to get to Baltimore. His grandfather Matthew lived there, and he was the only person who could help him out of this mess. Matthew had enough contacts, inside and outside the police, to keep him safe and get him out of this mess.

He had to get justice for this innocent woman.

He just had to.

But first, he needed to get out of DC.