Page 19 of Anarchy Chained: Alpha Thomas

“Hey, trip chick,” he growls in my ear. “Snap the fuck out of it and get with the program. We need to leave.”

“Sadie,” I say.

“What?”

“My name is Sadie. So stop calling me that stupid name.”

He smiles at me. All the way up to his eyes. “Fine. Sadie it is. Now, do you want to get the fuck out of here or not? Because the longer we hang around the greater the chances that these people will get their shit together and stop us on the way out.”

I blink, realizing something. “It’s not supposed to work like that.”

“What are you talking about now?”

“The illusion. It took us at least five minutes to walk over here. I should not be able to throw a trip for more than a few seconds.”

He cocks another eyebrow at me. “Really?”

I nod. “I know I seem… confused. I get it. I don’t make much sense right now, but I know this. I just know this. It’s not supposed to last that long.”

“Well, Sadie,” he says, taking both my hands and giving them a squeeze, “I tell you what. As soon as we get out of here I’ll help you figure it all out. OK? But first, we have to get the fuck away from this place before they figure out I’m missing.”

“They want you,” I say. “They’re looking for you.”

“Yes,” he says. “But I swear, I’m not as crazy as they think.”

“Just a little bit crazy?” I ask.

He smiles again. And I don’t know why I find his smile so reassuring, but I do. So I wait. Holding my breath until he speaks. “Just a little, I promise.” He reaches inside the car, opens the door, then slips into the driver’s seat.

“How will you—”

But he’s already got it started before I can finish that sentence.

When he looks up at me from under his unruly head of dark hair, he winks. “I’ve got talents too. Now get the fuck in the car. We’re out of here.”

I walk around the other side, get in, and close the door behind me. Thomas is already backing the car out before I can say anything else. Like what if they recognize us on the way out? But it’s clear, there’s no one at the front gates to the asylum long before we get there.

We pass through unnoticed and drive south towards Cathedral City looming in the distance. After several nervous minutes of looking behind us, Thomas finally relaxes. “Thank you,” he says. “You saved my ass, Sadie. So I owe you one.”

He reaches over, places his hand on my leg, and squeezes. But oddly, it’s not creepy. It’s… comforting.

“And hey,” he says. “Don’t worry. Whatever’s happening to you, we’ll figure it out.”

“Where are we going?” I ask as I remove his hand from my thigh. It’s not creepy. That’s not why I removed it. It’s just… not something I allow. I might not remember much, but I’m a hundred percent sure I don’t let strange men touch my legs.

“Well.” Thomas sighs as he gets on the freeway going south. If he takes my rebuke personally, he doesn’t show it. “We can’t go to my place.” He looks over at me and smiles. “Obviously. And I’m pretty sure your place is also a very bad idea. We can’t go to my friends’. They’ll look there first. So I guess we’re stuck with a tower. It’s the only place I can think of right now.”

“A tower?” I ask. This day is so confusing.

“Yeah,” he says, pointing at the tower at the southern edge of the city. “I own those towers. They’re mine. And they have basements that weren’t in the plans, so no one knows about them but us.”

“Who is us?” I ask.

“So they won’t find us there,” he says, ignoring my question. “We’ll be safe until we figure out what to do.”

I slump back in my seat. The tower he’s pointing at feels far, far away. And I am way too tired to think for another second.

“Hey,” Thomas says, grabbing my shoulder to jolt me awake. “I don’t think you should sleep. You might’ve been hit after all.” He reaches up to tap my head. “Amnesia, right? You lost your memory.”