📌11

(edited)

I decide to eat a little after he leaves. My stomach has been growling for the past hour since I haven't eaten anything all day. The food has gotten cold by now but it doesn't bother me.

When I finish half of the pancakes, I decide to read that file. I have to clear my mind from Silvio and from what happened last night.

Crouching down and taking the file from under the couch. Once I have it, I walk into the bathroom and lock the door behind me.

I skip the part about Liam and go straight to Jade's. As my eyes scan through the info about my twin, I reach the bottom of it, Vince DeAllen. Who is he and why does my sister need to kill him?

I have to find this guy and if he is not already dead, I need to ask him a few questions about my sister Jade. He is her last known target so he most certainly must know something on her that I don't know.

***

The last few hours I wasted on thinking how to escape. I've thought of a few things but they weren't nearly as doable as I wanted them to be so now I'm laying in bed, unmoving and hardly breathing. The sun went down long ago so it's almost pitch black outside, the only light coming from the yard's lights.

In the last hour, though, I've been hearing some ruckus downstairs. It's just a  faint from my bedroom, but even if I know for a fact something is going on I haven't gotten out to check it out. Although, now when I think about it I can use it to my advantage. If there are many people downstairs, I can make myself invisible—not literally, of course—and escape. The key thing is what kind of shit is happening downstairs. I doubt it's a party.

Against my better judgement, I get out of bed, put my shoes on and head down with silent steps. I carefully peak from the top of the staircase and see that a good number of his men are around the dining table playing cards and laughing. They do this when Silvio isn't at home. It happens very rarely, but not never. They're distracted in any case, though. Good.

But Randy is nowhere in sight. He's usually in front of my door and if he's not he disappears to go to the bathroom or eat. I doubt it he's downstairs with all the others playing cards. Fearing he might catch me outside without his or Silvio's permission, I go back inside to make a plan.

I decide to pack another pair of jeans and a sweater, shove a jacket into the bag and hide it behind the sofa just in case.

While preparing, I went through all the possible scenarios in my head of what would happen if I do manage to escape and if Silvio catches me. Not even one of them was pretty.

11 pm comes around and Silvio still isn't home. I watched him drive off in his car and I'm now on alert of an incoming car.

I know he threatened me with my family if I escape, but I'm sure my dad sleeps with his Glock under his pillow. Especially now that his two girls are missing and his best friend is dead.

I take a deeo breath and open the door just slightly at first. As I suspected, Randy is right by it.

"Oh, Randy. Wassup? Doing good?" I awkwardly say to him and he only raises an eyebrow before grunting something under his breath. He's not much of a talker.

So the door isn't an option I guess. The window—Yes! The window is a solution.

I close the door and let Randy keep a watch outside while I climb out the window. It's pretty high but there are some wine roots attached to the side of the wall. That'll do, I think. I just hope he—or the two men patrolling outside the house—won't hear anything and catch me red handed.  Shit. How am I going to get past them?

I didn't get this far in my plan making.

Dragging my feet back to the sofa and sitting down, an idea pops in my head. Oh, I'm a genius.

Quickly running back to the window, I scan the area for an upcoming man on patrol and when it's mostly clear, I throw the bag in the bush bellow so they won't notice it unless they look in the rose bush. I walk towards the door and open it again.

"Hello, Randy. I'll just head to the kitchen for a bit to grab some food...and soda...and maybe some cake. Just food, you know, nothing else. Is that okay? " I ramble and hope he won't get suspicious. He just grunts again with a nod and when I start walking he walks behind me. Oh, right. Personal bodyguard given by Silvio. But he stops in the dining room to talk with one of the guys so I continue alone.

I walk slowly toward the kitchen, noticing every detail I can about the surroundings and the men in the dining room. Usually, a cook and two maids are scattered around the kitchen, but being 11 pm the kitchen is dark and empty. When I click the lights on, a grandiose scene greets me. This kitchen is out of this world. Modern contemporary gray cabinets and dark countertops make up the whole space with the addition of expensive appliances, barstools on the other side of the enormous island, and a small breakfast table in the corner with six gorgeous cushioned chairs. As soon as I'm done admiring this room, I get to business.

I open a few drawers and find different sized batteries and lighters. I grab them before Randy appears. I take three metal spoons, too. I put all the things I just got into an aluminum foil and scrunch it in a ball before putting it in the microwave. I set the timer to two minutes on high heat.

After that I quickly grab a bag of chips and a can of Pepsi, and start walking fast towards my room with Randy on my heels again. Just as I walk inside my room and close the door, I hear a faint explosion in the kitchen. Even if I expected it, it still startles me.

From the window, I can see the two men rush inside the house to see what's happening. They probably think we're under attack or something.

Taking this as a chance, I put the bag of chips in my blouse and start climbing down the wine roots on the wall as quickly as I can. When I safely land in the bush where the bag is I carefully, but quickly run across the yard, keeping to the sides and with a lowered stance. The climb over the brick fence isn't easy but I manage to go over it just in time before the men spot me.

***

I am currently somewhere in downtown Washington. Being just after midnight and a Saturday, too, many people are out partying in the clubs. Few of them shoot weird glances at me when they notice my bruised neck or disheveled appearance. My hands instantly go to zip the hoodie all the way and hide the purple marks. I notice a police car, too, just outside one of the clubs. I want to go to them and tell them everything, but I know that way I can't get to Vince or Jade. So I sacrifice my freedom and safety, and instead of going to the policeman I continue walking down the road.

Walking, I spot a phone cube with a phonebook next to it. For the last hour I have been thinking on how to find this Vince guy, but now I know. I just hope his name will turn up in the book.

After ten minutes of searching under the letters V and D, I find three Vince DeAllens. With the first call the lady machine says that the number is no longer available. With the second an old guy calls. After a few minutes of him not hearing what I ask him,I sigh and end the call. I doubt Jade has to kill and old man.

One number left.

"Hello?" A sleepy male voice travels through the speaker two rings after.

"Hi," I answer him in a hurry. "Is this Vince DeAllen?"

"Yes. Who is that?"

"My name is Willa. I am looking for my sister and I was told you may know her or at least where she is."

"What's your sister's name?"

"Jade."

"Jade? Jade Maxwell?" Vince asks in shock and panic as I mention Jade's name, any trace of sleepiness gone.

"Yeah..." My voice is uncertain and careful by now.

"Shit, shit, shit! I forgot to erase the phonebook. " I hear shuffling at the other side of the line before I hear a beep sound.

I groan when I realize he just ended the call, but because of it I know he knows Jade. Now I just have to call again and find out where he lives.

A couple more rings after, Vince finally picks up.

"Listen, man. I don't want to be rude but you're annoying. I don't know any Jade so please stop calling me."

"Vince, please. You're my only chance on finding her. If I don't find her she'll be dead."

"But if you find her I'm dead. I won't help you, okay. "

"Look, I don't know what's going on between you two–"

"She wants to kill me that's what."

"–but if you help me find her, she won't kill you, I guarantee. She'll have to go over her twin sister to do that and I know she can't kill me. I can tell you more once we talk in person. Please. Can you just tell me where I can find you?" I say desperately to him. Vince just listens quietly and after a few seconds of silence he speaks.

"23 Hawthorne street. There's a brownstone apartment, top floor. When you get there I'll know." With that he ends the call once again.

Twenty minutes later, I exit the bus and the apartment appears in front of me.

"Let's find out where you are, Jade." I mutter to myself and push the doors of the apartment building open.