Locket full of Secrets (7 page)

“The knife was just centimeters from rupturing my lung and spleen,” she explained, her fingers tracing the large scar. “I stopped the bleeding enough to make it to an animal clinic. I paid a vet tech to stitch me up just enough so I could keep driving. I had lost so much blood I thought I was going to die.”

“Why didn’t you go to the hospital?” I asked, staring at the scars until she slipped her clothing back on.

“They would have turned me in to the police,” she shrugged, slipping her coat on once again.

“Won’t the police be able to help with this big mess?” Steven asked, his hand rubbing soothing circles on my back.

“No,” Olena said simply. “These men are not going to be stopped by the police. Nothing will stop them from killing me. Getting the police involved just means putting more people in danger.”

“So if we go to Ohio it all ends?” I asked, the pieces slowly falling into place.

“Yes,” she nodded. “They will follow me after I leave, so you should be safe.”

With a sigh I turned to face Steven. His look was one of concern, but he gave a slight nod, letting me know he was going to stick with me through this. Somehow just knowing he was by my side made my decision that much easier.

“Okay,” I finally mumbled. “When do we leave?”

As we loaded into Olena’s car the clock on the dash read 4 o’clock. Steven and I sat in the back, our hands still connected, as Olena sped off. I was still shocked Steven had agreed to come with us, but it was becoming clear that even talking to Olena could have put him in harm’s way.

“Thank you for this,” I whispered to Steven as we wove through traffic. I knew Olena could probably hear us, but still wanted to keep the conversation as private as possible.

“It’s nothing,” he replied. “If I just let you go and something happened, I could never forgive myself.”

“But what if something happens to us while we are helping her?” I asked, finally putting a voice to the fear that had been wracking my brain since I agreed to travel with Olena to Ohio.

“Nothing bad is going to happen,” he assured me. “I won’t let anyone or anything put my girlfriend in danger.”

Smiling for the first time since running into Olena, I snuggled closer to Steven. He just called me his girlfriend. Sure, it was a small thing in light of everything else we were facing, but it still felt nice to know we were on the same page with our feelings.

Too wired to sleep, I stared out the window, replaying the last few hours in my head. I still didn’t know everything that was going on, but it was clear that Olena was in a terrible spot. I trusted her that she never wanted to involve me, but now that she had it was important for us to get the necklace before anything else happened.

“We need gas,” Olena announced after a few hours of driving. We had recently passed through Saginaw and a large number of gas stations. Olena, however, managed to pull off at an exit with nothing but a small gas station and what appeared to be an old boarded up McDonald’s.

“Let’s get some snacks,” Steven said as we got out of the car to stretch as Olena began pumping gas. I wasn’t particularly hungry, but knew we still had a long drive ahead of us.

Entering the small station we said hello to the attendant before walking up the aisles looking for something we could snack on. Everything was covered in a thin layer of dust, but thankfully had still not reached its expiration date. Finding a few bags of chips, candy, and bottles of pop that would serve to ease our hunger, we headed to the counter to pay.

As the clerk rang up our purchase a sudden burst of headlights shining into the store windows made dramatic shadows on the walls behind us. Lifting my hand to shield my eyes I could just barely make out someone opening their car door when the glass shattered and what I could only assume were bullets flew into the room.

A scream escaped my lips as a hand on my back threw me down to the ground. Glancing back, I watched as Steven leapt forward, covering my body with his. The momentum slid us towards the safety of a stack of beer cases. Pulling my arms up I covered my ears to block out the shots that were still ringing out. I could feel glass crunching under my body as Stevens’s weight pushed me farther into the ground.

Taking deep breaths I waited for what felt like an eternity before a stillness blanketed the gas station. Afraid to speak I peeked over my shoulder towards the exit of the gas station. The door was still closed, its glass now scattered on the floor. In just a few minutes the small store was a shell of what it once was.

“Claire?” a voice called from outside.

“In here,” Steven answered, rolling his body off of mine. “We’re okay.”

“We need to leave,” Olena called out, the sound of a starting car punctuating her announcement.

“Are you okay?” Steven asked as I rolled over and sat up slowly.

“Yeah, I think so,” I nodded, leaning on the stack of beer cases to stand up. My eyes scanned the room, immediately spotting the clerk’s body slumped across the counter. “Oh no!”

“We need to go, Claire,” Steven urged me, taking my hand and walking over the broken glass towards the exit.

Stumbling after him I averted my eyes from the body lying on the counter. The sound of his blood dripping to the ground was a reminder to me of just how serious things had suddenly become.

“Hurry up!” Olena called from the idling car. The back door was open, ready for us to climb in. I could feel my head swimming from the fall but did my best to keep moving forward.

As we exited the now destroyed store I took in the scene around me. A black SUV was parked facing the building, its lights now off along with its engine. Most of the tinted windows had been blown out,; bullet holes were scattered along the side of the vehicle. The driver’s door was still open, and as we moved past it I was finally face to face with our assailant. I could feel my stomach lurch as I took in the sight of the man who was now lying in a pool of blood with three obvious bullet holes in his chest. I glanced away quickly and tried to shake the image from my mind. As we continued on our way I heard the crackle of a radio coming from inside the SUV. Although dead, the man that attacked us clearly had backup on the way.

Stumbling the rest of the way to the car I slid in and reached for my seatbelt before crying out in pain. Steven had bumped my right arm as he slid in the car after me, causing shooting pain from my wrist to my shoulder.

“You’re bleeding,” Steven gasped as he closed the door in time for Olena to speed off once again. “We need to stop.”

“It is too dangerous still,” Olena barked, taking sharp turns back to the freeway.

“Is it bad?” Before I could think better of it I took a quick peek at my arm. At the first sight of my injured arm I could feel my stomach roll. My sweater was ripped to shreds, my blood staining the cream fabric crimson.

“Just try to hold still,” Steven mumbled, pulling off his sweatshirt then pressing it to my arm to slow the blood flow.

              Leaning my head back I willed myself to not throw up. This felt too similar to the last time I was reunited with Olena. A man was dead, in fact two this time, and here I was losing blood and feeling sick.

              “How are you doing?” Steven asked as he applied pressure to areas of my arm not full of glass.

              “I...kind of-” I paused to swallow, my head starting to spin thanks to the motion of the car. I took a deep breath before finally answering. “Dizzy.”

              “We need to stop,” Steven tried again, his voice raised to ensure Olena could hear it over the car accelerating.

              “Not yet!” Olena yelled over her shoulder, weaving along the road much faster than before.

              Combined with the shock and blood loss, the motion of the car was too much for my system to handle. The edges of my vision began to get fuzzy, my eyes suddenly heavy.

              “Claire?” Steven asked, his voice suddenly sounding farther and farther away.

              “...please…Steven….” my mouth mumbled, many words lost in the haze my brain was fighting through.

              As the blackness overtook my vision I heard Steven speaking to Olena again; this time his words reached my ears in a jumble of sounds I could not understand. Olena’s reply was equally as confusing. No longer wanting to fight with consciousness, I closed my eyes and allowed their conversation to fade completely.