Page 71 of Wicked Truths
A police car zooms by and I dart into the road.
“Help!” I scream, waving my arms in the air, but I immediately regret the decision when the lights dim ahead of me.
I dash between two parked cars, crouch down, and wait to see if the police car turns around.
The lights of another car turn on in the distance.
My stomach clenches as I wait. My nerves are frayed. My feet are bleeding and throbbing with pain. But I know I need to run again—I wish I hadn’t stopped to hide.
Tears blur my vision as I scuttle from my hiding place and limp away. There is no big rescue for me today. I know that I can only help myself.
I have to escape from this place for good. My secret bank account has enough money in it to hide for a short while. But as my fingers touch my diamond bracelet, I know I’ll get enough money to fly to Europe once I land in London.
A small smile curves up as a plan forms.
My fingernails claw at my spaghetti strapped blouse.
I’ll drag it off my body, tear it, before I wipe my bloody feet on the top and leave it lying at the water’s edge.
Everyone knows that nobody would survive going into the sea at night. Bull sharks love the Queensland coast. They’ll scavenge on human flesh the moment they smell blood.
My family and the police will spend too much time checking the ocean for me, not knowing I’ve escaped.
I just need to cross this road to enact my plan.
The pathway to the beach is on the opposite side of the road. It’s my best chance of escaping. Dominic and his men will search for me in their cars.
I creep to the front of a parked SUV and dart out into the road, running in a diagonal direction.
A car roars behind me. I turn, but it’s in darkness.
Desperate, I throw my shoes away and sprint along the road, looking for the opening to the beach.
Safety is near. I can hear the sound of the water lapping against the shore, but the sound of the engine is getting so loud and close, I can almost feel the heat of the car on my legs.
A blast of a horn fills the air. I freeze in the darkness.
“Fuck!”
I spin toward the headlights when they flicker in my peripheral vision.
Thud!
I’m floating in the air as pain rushes through my body…
I groan as my head cracks against the road, and my eyes flutter as I try to move.
But I can’t move. It’s like my body is frozen.
And it’s quiet as I lie on the cold ground staring at the stars up above as every blink of my eyes causes the pain in my head to intensify.
I want to cry out for someone to help me, but I can’t speak. I’m struggling to swallow and I turn my head to one side as I gurgle on a coppery liquid.
My eyelids grow heavier with each slow blink. I stare through the narrow squint in my eyes as footsteps sound near me.
Help me.
Closer and closer the shadow gets, stealing the light and the stars.
