We jaywalked, we ignored red lights and DON’T WALK signs, edging into the street until there was a stall in traffic, or sometimes just going for it in a mad dash and letting the cars honk and swerve, because getting run over was better than being dragged back to Leo’s loop. His goons had been on us like a bad cold, tailing us through the grit of Chinatown and up the streets of a touristy Italian neighborhood, then nearly catching up to us when we got stuck on the median strip of busy Houston Street. They were easy to spot in their old suits. Finally, just when I was beginning to wonder how much longer I could run, Noor poured on more speed to catch up with Bronwyn and pulled her around a corner. Hugh and I followed them, and a short time later Noor hauled Bronwyn to the side again, this time through a door into a seemingly random store. It was a cramped little bodega that sold beer and dry goods.
As the owner shouted something at us, we all saw two of Leo’s guys dash past the front door without stopping. Then Noor pushed us down a narrow aisle, through a door into a stockroom, past a surprised employee on a smoke break, and out through a swinging metal door into an alley lined with dumpsters.
It seemed we had shaken them off—for a moment, anyway—and we allowed ourselves to stop for a minute and catch our breath. Bronwyn had hardly broken a sweat, but Noor, Hugh, and I were gasping.
“That was quick thinking,” Bronwyn said, impressed.
“Yeah,” Hugh said. “Nicely done.”
“Thanks,” said Noor. “Not my first rodeo.”
“We should be safe here for a minute,” Hugh said between breaths. “Let’s give them some time to think we’re long gone, then move.”
“I should probably ask where you’re taking us,” I said.
“I’d certainly love to know,” Noor said, one eyebrow rising.
“Back to the Acre,” said Hugh. “Closest loop entrance ain’t pleasant, but it ain’t far . . .”
I couldn’t stop looking at my friends. Part of me had worried I might never lay eyes on them again. Or that, if I did, they would act like strangers.
And then Hugh drew back his fist and punched me in the arm.
“Ow! What was that for?”
“Why didn’t you tell us you were doing some daft rescue mission?”
Noor was gaping at us.
“I tried,” I said.
“Not very hard, you didn’t!” said Bronwyn.
“Well, I dropped some awfully big hints,” I said defensively. “But it was pretty clear no one wanted to help me.”
Hugh looked ready to punch me again. “Maybe not, but we would have!”
“We never would have let you do something like this alone,” Bronwyn said, sounding angry at me for the first time. “We were worried sick when we found you gone!” She turned to Noor and shook her head. “He was in a sickbed just yesterday, mad boy. Thought somebody’d kidnapped him in the night!”
“To be honest, I wasn’t really sure you’d care that I was gone,” I said.
“Jacob!” Bronwyn’s eyes went wide. “After all we’ve been through? That’s just hurtful.”
“Told you he was a Sensitive Sally.” Hugh shook his head. “Give your old mates some credit, man. My God.”
“Sorry,” I said meekly.
“I mean, really.”
Noor leaned toward me and whispered, “No friends, huh?”
“I don’t know what to say.” My heart was suddenly so full it seemed to crowd out the words from my brain. “I’m really glad to see you guys.”
“And we you,” said Bronwyn. She hugged me again, and this time Hugh did, too.
And then a gunshot rang out from one end of the alley and we all startled, then broke apart to see two men in suits booking it toward us.
So much for shaking them off.
“Follow me,” Noor said. “We can lose them in the subway.”
* * *
◆ ◆ ◆
I shot down the subway steps three at a time. Hugh slid on the metal banister. In the crowded vestibule we shoved through knots of rush-hour commuters. Noor shouted, “Like this!” behind her and then jumped a turnstile—we all followed suit.
We came to a train platform and ran along it. I looked back and saw Leo’s guys, distant but still chasing us. Noor stopped, planted a hand on the floor, jumped down onto the subway tracks, and shouted for us to follow. She yelled something about a third rail, too, though her voice got lost in the noise of a sudden station announcement.
We had no choice but to go after her.
“You’re gonna get yourselves killed!” somebody yelled at us, and I was inclined to agree—but right now this seemed preferable to the alternative.
We were dashing across four sets of tracks, stumbling over hidden pits and dark rails, when it occurred to me that Noor had obviously done this before, that she knew the city like the back of her hand, and that someone so hard to catch must have had lots of experience running away. And I wondered why and from what, and I very much hoped, as I noticed a train coming, that I’d get a chance to ask her.
The train was uncomfortably close as Hugh and I crossed the last track, the wind and noise it pushed strengthening by the second, and then Bronwyn and Noor hauled us up onto the opposite platform just before it thundered past, brakes squealing like some creature from hell.
Moments later the train disgorged its passengers, and suddenly there seemed to be a thousand people on the platform, but finally we were able to push our way on board. We crouched down on the floor so we couldn’t be seen—the car was nearly empty—and then the doors slid shut.
“Gee,” Bronwyn said, looking suddenly worried. “I hope this train’s going in the right direction . . .”
Noor asked where we were supposed to be heading, and Bronwyn told her. Noor raised her eyebrows. “Weird luck,” she said. “That’s just a stop away.”
It was amazing: Of the four of us, she knew by far the least about what was happening, but her certainty and calm had already become a guiding force.
An announcement blared and the train took off from the station.
“How did you find me?” I said to Bronwyn and Hugh.
“Emma realized what you were probably up to, after all your talk about her.” Hugh nodded to Noor and said, “Nice to properly meet you, by the way, I’m Hugh . . .” He reached over and shook Noor’s hand.
“It was a fairly simple matter to find you after that,” Bronwyn said. “Oh, and we had some help from a dog. Remember Addison?”