Page 51 of Under Rusted Stars

“You’re welcome,” Bodhi says, kissing me.

“Wait,” I gasp, pointing at his chips. “What is that?”

“What is what?” he asks, looking around for the offending item.

“That!” I say, swiping a chip and stuffing it into my mouth.

“You little brat!” he says, tickling me as I eat his chip. I laugh and wiggle to escape him. I manage to slip away and jump up, but instantly freeze when I see two men behind us. They’re just watching us, but I know them.

“B-Bodhi,” I stammer. He is on his feet in an instant, turning to see what I am looking at. “Th-They work for Miguel,” I say quietly.

“Shit,” he hisses. “Let’s go. Come on.”

I walk around the table to keep my eyes on them as we start cleaning up. One of the men puts a phone to his ear. I can clearly read his lips when he says, “They’re leaving.”

“No, no, no. We’ve got to go. Leave it,” I say, grabbing his wrist and pulling him with me. We are on the other side of the lake from the truck, so we speed walk, trying to get out of here but not tempt them to chase us down. Bodhi is cycling through numbers to call as we go back, and one finally answers.

“Jett. We have a problem. Miguel’s men are here at the lake… Yeah… Willow Creek Lake… No, we are walking back around the lake to get the truck… No, they’re still back there, but not following… Okay… Thanks, man.”

“Jett?” I ask, glancing back to see the men haven’t moved.

“Yeah. He’s right around the corner. Fuck, I should have brought my pistol,” Bodhi says, scolding himself. He pulls me to walk in front of him when the men start walking toward us, and I have a horrible feeling.

When we are nearly at the truck, another man steps out from behind it and looks me dead in the eyes as he stabs a pocket knife into the truck tire.

“Shit,” Bodhi says, pulling me to his side. I glance back, and the men are closer now. “Liv, run. I need you to run…”

“No. They will kill you,” I say. Bodhi looks at me, and he looks just as terrified as I feel. “Bodhi, I’m sorry. I’m so…”

“Run. I’ll be okay. Please… Jett is close. Go with him,” he says. He shoves me toward the road that leads out of the lot, and he steps closer to the truck. I make a choice and start to take off, but I hear a gunshot behind me. Before I can turn around, Jett’s car comes screaming up next to me. He is out in a flash, dragging me toward the car.

“No! Bodhi!” I scream, trying to get away from Jett. “We can’t leave him! Please!”

“We’ve got to go. I’m sorry,” Jett says, pushing me into the car. When he gets in, all I see is Bodhi on the ground with those men around him as we drive backward toward the main road.

“Why did you do that?!” I scream at him, hitting his arm as I sob. “We can’t leave him. Jett, please!”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” he says, grabbing me so he can pull me to his side. He hugs me with one arm as he drives, and I fall apart.

I let Bodhi die. I did this. Not Jason. Not Miguel. I did this. I let myself get involved with someone, and now they’re gone. Because of me.

“What happened? Who were they?” Jett asks me.

“Uhm. Miguel’s men. I recognized them,” I say, wiping my face. “He’s dead. Isn’t he? He was on the ground.”

“I don’t know, sweetie. Don’t assume the worst,” he says, glancing in his rear-view mirror. “Shit.”

“What?” I ask, turning around. There is a car on our ass, and I recognize the driver as one of the men at the park. “Fuck. That’s them.”

I scream, and Jett shoves me down in the seat when they start shooting at us. He covers his body with mine, and I can feel the car run off the road. Jett stays over top of me, even when we are jolted forward when the car runs into something and stops. My whole body is shaking, and I’m terrified of what comes next.

Chapter Sixteen

Bodhi

I groan in pain as I lie in the gravel lot. I hear the car speed away, kicking up rocks as they chase down Jett and Olivia. “I’m sorry,” I mutter, wishing she could hear me. I promised her she wouldn’t get hurt, but they were always one step ahead. I didn’t realize until the gun went off that they let her run. They had no interest in me. The second Jett shoved her in his car, they forgot all about me. Now I’m lying in the dirt bleeding, and I feel defeated.

I pull myself up to sit, keeping my arm pulled to my chest. That fucker shot me in the goddamn arm. It’s bleeding pretty heavily, but it’s not anything vital, and there is an exit wound. I got lucky… but maybe not lucky enough. I refuse to believe she is dead.