Bound by Prophecy (Descendants Series) - By Melissa Wright Page 0,18

pressed Emily closer to the buildings as we ran, dodging an elderly couple with a pushcart. When I glanced down, I saw the long gash on my arm from the twisted metal of the car. “I’m fine,” I said. “Are you all right?”

She laughed breathlessly as we sprinted down another block and turned left.

When we finally stopped running, the whirr of emergency sirens was only a distant hum. Emily leaned against the back entrance of a Chinese restaurant, gasping for breath while I decided what to do first.

“I need to make a call,” I said.

Emily nodded and pushed against the wall to standing.

The door banged open and I shoved her back, pressing my own body alongside hers as a dishwasher slung a bin of food scrap into the trash. He spared us no more than a disapproving head shake as he turned and spotted us, a couple of delinquents making out in the alley, so I grabbed the door right before it slammed behind him.

“What are you doing?” Emily hissed.

“I’ll be right back,” I said. “Don’t move.”

I peeked in to find a short hall that split toward the kitchen and two alcoves. The one to the right, the only one I could see into from my vantage point, held the alarm system and electrical box. I was hoping the one on the left had what we needed.

Through the steam of stir-fry, I watched the cooks and staff for a pattern. Seeing there was none, I took a chance and slipped inside the door and around the corner.

Jackpot.

I found two jackets, a ball cap, and the cell phone before I threw a few more items on the haul for good measure. When I peered around the corner to check the coast, it was all clear. The sizzle and clatter of the kitchen didn’t falter so I didn’t expect anyone to follow us, but I didn’t test our luck. When I shoved the door open, Emily lurched back, having been standing right next to it, and I grabbed her arm to run with me to the end of the alley and behind another dumpster.

“What—” She stopped mid-sentence to examine the jacket I shoved at her. “You’re kidding,” she said.

I smiled. “It’ll look good on you. Besides, I didn’t have time to be picky.”

Her eyes narrowed on me, but she slid her arms into the gold silk sleeves.

I shrugged on a dark twill jacket and pulled the baseball cap low on my head. It only made things worse.

“This is so unfair,” she said. “You look like The Bourne Identity and I look like Big Trouble in Little China.”

I laughed. “What? I like the embroidered dragon on the back. It’s cute. Now put this scarf over your head.”

She jerked the red and purple crochet scarf from my hand. “Right, because I wasn’t standing out enough already.”

I took a few steps toward the end of the alley to scope out a car while she tied her scarf. When I turned back, another laugh escaped.

She crossed her arms, but the movement only made the material of her jacket puff up more. “It’s not my fault,” she said. “Tying scarfs was not covered in my mother’s curriculum.”

“It’s fine,” I said, reining in the laugher. “Let me.” I unknotted the ball she’d formed beneath her chin and draped it over her head to wrap around and cross over the lower portion of her face.

When I finished, she was staring up at me. “Did you find us a new car?”

I gave her a questioning look.

“Because I was thinking, a truck might be better. Or a tank.”

I shook my head. “That’s not what we’re using it for this time.” I held the cell phone up. “I’ve got to make a call. When I’m done, keep up.”

I couldn’t help but smile at her baffled expression. I dialed Brendan’s personal cell, the only one I was certain wouldn’t be tracked.

He answered, “Go ahead.”

“It’s me,” I said. I could almost hear the relief in his silence. “I need to bring something in.”

“I’ve heard. Is she hurt?”

“No, but not for lack of trying.”

“Should we pick you up?”

I glanced at Emily. “No. We’ll make it to the drop point late tomorrow. Just get us from there.”

“Got it. And Aern?”

I waited.

“Keep her safe.”

The call disconnected and I read the screen. One full second ahead of a possible trace time. I didn’t risk it.

I grabbed Emily’s hand and headed for the car that was double-parked on the busy street, pushing her around the rear quarter as I