Read Online The Trial (The Tree House) by Shay Lynam - Free Book Online Page B

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    A second later, Ben jumped back from the door and I followed just as the man rammed it again and it flew open with a shower of wood splinters from the door frame. He stood in the doorway panting with a gun held out in front of him. Ben and I immediately had our own guns up and fingers on the triggers. I hoped neither of them could see how badly I was shaking. The man looked a little surprised to see that there was more than one of us and for a second he held my stare. It only took a moment for him to regain his composure again.
    “W here's Allison!” he yelled at Ben.
    “That's what we want to know,” my brother replied in a much calmer tone. Maybe he was used to having guns pointed in his face. I wasn't though so I only felt a little bad that I wasn't the one staring down the barrel.
    “She was supposed to call me last night and she never did,” the man said now a little less angry. “Who are you guys?”
    “We've been staying with her the last few days,” I said shakily.
    Now they both looked at me, Ben's eyes telling me to keep my mouth shut. Then he turned back to look at the man. “She didn't come home last night,” he said. “Do you know anything about that?”
    “No,” he shook his head lowering his gun only a little bit. “She sounded scared though when I talked to her last.”
    “Are you David?” I asked getting another look from Ben. He narrowed his eyes at me confused.
    “Yeah,” the man said and dropped his arm down by his side. I followed suit but Ben kept his gun trained on the guy. “How do you know my name?”
    I glanced at Ben for just a second. “I heard you talking to her the other night on the phone. She sounded scared.”
    “She was.”
    My brother turned to look at this David guy again. “What was she scared about?” he asked, his voice not wavering for a second.
    David started explaining what Aly had been doing; what I already knew. Ben though was hearing this for the first time and didn't seem to be taking it well. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and glanced out the window. Whoever had been in that black car was now getting out. He was wearing a suit like the one the other guy had been wearing. I watched him straighten his jacket as he made his way across the street. Something metal in his hand caught the light. A gun.
    “Ben,” I said interrupting the two as they argued. “We need to go.”
    “You're Ben?” David asked.
    My brother ignored him and came over to look out the window. He cursed under his breath and trained his gun on David again. “Who sent you here?” he asked, his voice no longer steady.
    “What?” David sou nded surprised. “No one sent me. I was looking for Allison.”
    “Well , someone has been looking for us too,” Ben spat. “And thanks to you, I think they found us.”
    I pulled Ben away from the window just as the suited man looked up in our direction. “We need to go, now.”
    “What about the fire escape?” David asked heading for the hallway.
    Aly had said “I love you” when she'd talked to him last. Of course he'd been here before. Probably several times.
    “We think they have someone waiting for us down in the alley too,” I explained as we followed after him.
    My brother pushed his way past both of us. “I have an idea.”
    The three of us got out onto the fire escape and, to both David's and my surprise, Ben started heading up the ladder toward the roof. “How is this a good idea?” I called up to him, slipping on the wet rungs. Glancing down, I saw that we had been right. A second black car was parked in the alley below and now another suited man was out and pulling the ladder down to follow after us.
    “Just trust me!” Ben yelled.
    We made it up onto the roof just as the first guy popped his head out of the spare room window. Now what? Ben broke into a sprint across the flat rooftop and David and I followed close behind. I only looked back for a second and saw that both suited guys had reached the top