Chapter 9: Close Call

POV: Maya Chen

The lock pick snapped in my hands just as footsteps echoed down the empty school hallway.

I crouched behind Riley's locker, heart pounding against my ribs. The janitor's keys jingled as he walked past, humming some old song. I held my breath until his footsteps faded, then pulled out my backup lock pick.

Riley had been lost for six hours. Six hours since Eleanor's phone call. Six hours since I'd promised to come to the cannery alone if I wanted to see my niece living.

But first, I needed to know what Riley had been hiding.

The second lock pick worked. Riley's locker clicked open, and I quickly shined my phone flashlight inside. Textbooks, a water bottle, some crumpled school papers. Nothing unusual.

Then I saw the corner of something white sticking out from behind her math book.

I pulled out a folded piece of paper. My hands shook as I opened it.

"STOP ASKING QUESTIONS OR YOU'LL END UP LIKE TOMMY."

My blood turned ice cold. Someone had been threatening Riley. That's why she'd been so scared when we talked at the lighthouse.

I found two more notes hidden in her textbooks.

"YOUR AUNT IS CAUSING TROUBLE. MAKE HER LEAVE TOWN."

"LAST WARNING. KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT."

Each note was written in the same blocky style. Each one made me more angry and more scared.

Riley was just sixteen years old. A kid who'd already lost her birth mother and now had strangers trying to hurt her because of me. Because I couldn't leave well enough alone.

I stuffed the notes in my pocket and closed the trunk. The school felt creepy and wrong with all the lights off and no kids around. Every shadow looked like it might be hiding someone dangerous.

As I walked toward the exit, my phone buzzed with a text message.

"Stop looking for proof. Come to the cannery now. The girl is running out of time. - E"

Eleanor. She knew I was at the school. She was watching me.

I ran for the parking lot, my footsteps echoing in the empty halls. I had to get to the cannery, but I also had to be smart about it. Eleanor wanted me to come alone because it would be easier to kill me that way.

But what choice did I have? Riley was counting on me.

I burst through the school doors and ran to my Honda. The parking lot was dark except for one flashing streetlight that made everything look like a horror movie.

I stumbled with my car keys, my hands shaking so badly I could barely get the right key. Finally, the engine started, and I backed out of the parking spot.

That's when I saw the headlights.

A black truck sat at the far end of the parking lot with its engine going. As soon as I started moving toward the exit, the truck's headlights came on bright, blinding me.

I squinted and kept driving. Maybe it was just someone else leaving late. Maybe it was nothing.

But the truck followed me out of the parking lot and onto the main road.

I took a left turn toward the cannery. The truck took a left turn too.

I sped up. The truck sped up.

My heart started racing. Eleanor hadn't waited for me to come to the cannery. She'd sent her men to bring me there.

Or kill me on the way.

I pressed harder on the gas pedal. My Honda wasn't fast, but maybe I could beat them until I reached a place with other people around.

The truck got closer. Through my rearview mirror, I could see two guys in the front seat. The passenger rolled down his window.

I saw the gun just in time.

I yanked my steering wheel hard to the right as the first bullet shattered my back window. Glass burst everywhere, cutting my neck and arms.

The truck crashed into my back bumper, sending my car sliding toward the guardrail. On the other side of that rail was a fifty-foot drop to the rocky beach below.

I fought to keep control as the truck hit me again. My Honda skidded sideways, and for a frightening second, I thought I was going over the cliff.

But my front tires caught grip, and I managed to straighten out.

The truck pulled up beside me. The passenger pointed his gun at my head through the side window.

This was it. This was how I was going to die. Not saving Riley, not stopping Eleanor, but run off the road like some random accident victim.

I closed my eyes and waited for the bullet.

Instead, I heard the screech of brakes and the crash of metal hitting metal.

I opened my eyes to see another car had slammed into the side of the black truck, sending it spinning off the road and into a ditch.

The other car's door opened, and Jake Morrison jumped out with his gun drawn.

"Maya! Are you okay?"

I pulled over and stumbled out of my Honda on shaking legs. "Jake? How did you—"

"I've been following Eleanor's men all day," he said, running over to check on me. "I knew she'd try something like this."

Blood ran down my arms from the broken glass, but I was alive. Jake had saved my life.

"We have to get to the cannery," I said. "Eleanor has Riley."

Jake looked at the wrecked truck in the ditch. Both guys inside were unconscious but breathing.

"Maya, it's a trick. Eleanor wants you to come to the cannery because that's where she can control everything."

"I don't care if it's a trap!" I yelled. "Riley is my niece! She's the only family I have left!"

Jake grabbed my shoulders gently. "Then we go together. But we do it smart."

I nodded, feeling glad that I wasn't facing this alone anymore.

We got into Jake's police car and headed toward the cannery. But as we drove through the dark streets, I noticed something that made my heart stop.

"Jake," I said slowly. "How did you know Eleanor's men were following me tonight?"

He kept his eyes on the road. "I told you. I've been watching them."

"But I didn't tell anyone I was going to the school. The only person who knew where I was..."

I looked at Jake's profile in the dim light from the dashboard.

"The only person who could have told Eleanor's men where to find me was someone who was already watching me."

Jake's hands tightened on the driving wheel.

"Maya, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying," I whispered, reaching slowly for the door handle, "that you've been working for Eleanor this whole time."

Jake turned to look at me, and I saw something in his eyes that confirmed my worst fear.

"I'm sorry, Maya," he said quietly. "I really am."