heading toward the doors. “Such a rush.”
“Tanner …” Carina pressed close against him, taking advantage of the crowd to speak into his ear. “I was thinking, maybe you should just turn around. I’ll be okay from here, and your parents will be expecting you at home.”
Tanner scowled. “First of all, you
won’t
be okay from here—at least, I don’t have any guarantee that you will, and that’s not good enough. There’s no way I’m letting you do this by yourself. And second, my parents aren’t expecting me until tomorrow.”
“What do you mean?”
“I called them, when you were out cold. Told them I was heading over to Rob’s.”
Rob Stanton was Tanner’s best friend at the Borden School, the private school he attended twenty minutes from Martindale. Getting into Borden required both money and an off-the-charts IQ, and Rob was one of the students who came from outside the state for the opportunity and boarded there; Tanner occasionally stayed over in his dorm on weekends.
“I don’t like you risking your safety for no good reason,” Carina protested. “I mean, it doesn’t make any sense for both of us to be here, especially now that there’s people
shooting
at us. I would have told you to go home where it’s safe.”
“I know that. Why do you think I called while you couldn’t do anything about it?”
The doors opened and they were swept out with the crowd into the station. Carina put a few feet between her and Tanner, keeping her face down, staying with the crowd moving up the escalator. Moments later they were exiting the station. The evening sky was turning dusky purple. It was cooler in the city, and Carina felt chilly in her light dress. The stolen golf shoes were threatening to give her blisters.
Tanner caught up with her as they crossed Market. “I didn’t see anything,” he said. “You?”
“No. I think we managed to lose them. And at least here we don’t stand out as much.” They headed down Sutter Street, blending into the crowd, which represented a wide cross section of humanity. A man in his fifties with silver dreadlocks past his shoulders and a clerical collar stood ina doorway reading a take-out menu. Three young women with neon-colored hair and work boots crossed in front of them at the intersection, and a man in old-fashioned roller skates and a camouflage jacket bought flowers from a vendor across the street.
“Yeah, for all we know, golf shoes are the latest thing here. Or maybe you’ll start a trend.”
They walked quickly, Carina occasionally looking over her shoulder to see if anyone was following them. They turned right on Stockton into the heart of Chinatown, where paper lanterns festooned the streetlights above the crowded sidewalks. Crowds of people, residents of Chinatown and tourists alike, were out enjoying the beautiful spring evening. Delicious smells wafted from restaurants, and merchants hawked their wares.
“I’m starving,” Tanner said as they passed a restaurant whose window tempted passersby with a variety of roasted meats. “I could eat that entire duck myself—as an appetizer.”
“Me too. I didn’t think I’d be able to eat at all today, but for some reason I’m famished.” She’d had to force herself to eat in the days since Walter’s death, grief having obliterated her appetite. This morning she’d managed a little breakfast, aware that she had to keep her energy up for the entire day. Still, she hadn’t eaten since, and her stomach rumbled ravenously. But they couldn’t take a break yet, still terrified that their pursuers were on their trail. “Let’s figure out this key thing first and go from there, okay?”
Tanner nodded, glancing at the map on his phone. “We’re almost there anyway.”
They passed the street twice before realizing it was hidden between two imposing structures: a large restaurant with pagoda-like ornamentation and a multistory brick building with apartments overlooking the street. The
“Tanner …” Carina pressed close against him, taking advantage of the crowd to speak into his ear. “I was thinking, maybe you should just turn around. I’ll be okay from here, and your parents will be expecting you at home.”
Tanner scowled. “First of all, you
won’t
be okay from here—at least, I don’t have any guarantee that you will, and that’s not good enough. There’s no way I’m letting you do this by yourself. And second, my parents aren’t expecting me until tomorrow.”
“What do you mean?”
“I called them, when you were out cold. Told them I was heading over to Rob’s.”
Rob Stanton was Tanner’s best friend at the Borden School, the private school he attended twenty minutes from Martindale. Getting into Borden required both money and an off-the-charts IQ, and Rob was one of the students who came from outside the state for the opportunity and boarded there; Tanner occasionally stayed over in his dorm on weekends.
“I don’t like you risking your safety for no good reason,” Carina protested. “I mean, it doesn’t make any sense for both of us to be here, especially now that there’s people
shooting
at us. I would have told you to go home where it’s safe.”
“I know that. Why do you think I called while you couldn’t do anything about it?”
The doors opened and they were swept out with the crowd into the station. Carina put a few feet between her and Tanner, keeping her face down, staying with the crowd moving up the escalator. Moments later they were exiting the station. The evening sky was turning dusky purple. It was cooler in the city, and Carina felt chilly in her light dress. The stolen golf shoes were threatening to give her blisters.
Tanner caught up with her as they crossed Market. “I didn’t see anything,” he said. “You?”
“No. I think we managed to lose them. And at least here we don’t stand out as much.” They headed down Sutter Street, blending into the crowd, which represented a wide cross section of humanity. A man in his fifties with silver dreadlocks past his shoulders and a clerical collar stood ina doorway reading a take-out menu. Three young women with neon-colored hair and work boots crossed in front of them at the intersection, and a man in old-fashioned roller skates and a camouflage jacket bought flowers from a vendor across the street.
“Yeah, for all we know, golf shoes are the latest thing here. Or maybe you’ll start a trend.”
They walked quickly, Carina occasionally looking over her shoulder to see if anyone was following them. They turned right on Stockton into the heart of Chinatown, where paper lanterns festooned the streetlights above the crowded sidewalks. Crowds of people, residents of Chinatown and tourists alike, were out enjoying the beautiful spring evening. Delicious smells wafted from restaurants, and merchants hawked their wares.
“I’m starving,” Tanner said as they passed a restaurant whose window tempted passersby with a variety of roasted meats. “I could eat that entire duck myself—as an appetizer.”
“Me too. I didn’t think I’d be able to eat at all today, but for some reason I’m famished.” She’d had to force herself to eat in the days since Walter’s death, grief having obliterated her appetite. This morning she’d managed a little breakfast, aware that she had to keep her energy up for the entire day. Still, she hadn’t eaten since, and her stomach rumbled ravenously. But they couldn’t take a break yet, still terrified that their pursuers were on their trail. “Let’s figure out this key thing first and go from there, okay?”
Tanner nodded, glancing at the map on his phone. “We’re almost there anyway.”
They passed the street twice before realizing it was hidden between two imposing structures: a large restaurant with pagoda-like ornamentation and a multistory brick building with apartments overlooking the street. The
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