7:58 a.m.

 

Day Two

 

Jo yawned and stretched. Instead of cracking her knuckles against the bare wall behind her bed, she bonked into something soft. She opened her eyes and looked up at a padded headboard. She blinked a couple times, then looked around Bernard Krakow's bedroom, remembering where she was and what was going on.

Archer was sleeping next to her, stretched out on his stomach on top of the sheets. He must have gotten up at some point in the night, because she remembered them falling asleep naked, yet he was almost fully dressed, wearing his t-shirt and pants. He was facing away from her, but he had his left arm stretched out behind him, as if he was reaching for her in his sleep.

She smiled at the thought, then slipped out of bed. Her clothing was scattered about the room – Archer seemed to like to rip stuff off her and then just fling it every which way. She tip toed around and slipped on her panties and bra, then wiggled back into Krakow's sweater that she'd grabbed out of his closet. Then she headed into the bathroom and almost screamed when she looked at her reflection. After all their acrobatics the night before, and then sleeping on it all crazy, her hair looked beyond wild. Lank and frizzy around her face, and a big rat's nest on the back.

She leaned over the tub and stuck her head under the shower, getting her hair damp enough to calm it down. While she was trying to work her fingers through the tangle, she thought she heard something over the water. She frowned, holding still and trying to listen.

“Jo!”

She hadn't even realized Archer was in the bathroom, yet there he was, grabbing her from behind, his arms wrapping tightly around her. She shrieked as he pulled her off her feet, then they were both falling backwards, hitting the ground a second later. Her back was pressed to Archer's chest and she clutched at his wrists.

“What the fuck are doing!?” she demanded. One of his arms moved and suddenly his hand was clamped over her mouth.

“They're here,” he hissed.

“Hmoo's hmere?” she mumbled through his palm.

As if to answer her, a pounding sound reverberated through the apartment. Jo went completely still.

“Police! Open up!”

She was a little surprised to feel relief flooding through her veins. They probably should've gone to the police from the get go – now that they were at the door, she could just unload everything onto them. The body could become their problem, it couldn't be too hard to prove she hadn't done anything. She'd spend a night in jail, maybe two. No big deal.

Awfully convenient timing. Why are the police here?

“Don't say a word!” Archer breathed as he removed his hand and started shifting around underneath her.

“Why not? What's going on?” she whispered, rolling off him and watching as he crawled out the door. He moved awkwardly, and she realized it was because he was clutching his cell phone in one hand. They'd found some chargers the night before and had juiced up their devices. His screen was lit up with missed messages.

“Those aren't the police,” he finally answered her, and she followed behind him on her hands and knees. They left the bedroom and headed across the living room. A large sofa sat with its back to the windows and Archer came to a stop behind it. Jo sat next to him, resting against the piece of furniture and shoving her hair out of her face.

“How do you know that?” she asked.

“Call it a hunch. Wait here, and don't move,” he urged, then he stood up and started moving across the living room.

“Police! Open the door, now!”

She looked over the back of the couch, watching as he crept across the apartment. He lurked around the door and peeked through the peep hole. After a second, he ducked down, as if the people on the other side could see him. Then he hurried back to her. She stood up when he got close.

“That's not the fucking police,” he said in a low voice. “Two guys in plain clothes.”

“Maybe they're detectives?”

“Please don't talk right now. Let's find a way out of here.”

“But maybe they could be -”

“Seriously, are we arguing about this right now? Just do what I say! C'mon, the guest room is over the parking garage, maybe we can find a way to climb down to its roof,” he suggested, turning and looking back towards the bedrooms. She leaned around him, following his gaze. The pounding at the door was becoming violent, making the wood shake in its hinges.

“Alright, fine. Whatever, let's get out of here.”

Before either of them could make a move, though, gun shots ripped through the room. Whoever was on the other side of the door had decided they were done with knocking.

Most officers would just break down a door, not shoot through it. Archer was right.

The window-wall behind them exploded, glass going everywhere. Jo screamed as a gust of wind rushed through the apartment. She ducked down and Archer stepped in front of her, presumably to protect her from the flying bullets, but then he accidentally bumped into her. With all of her weight behind her, she was immediately thrown off balance. She windmilled her arms for a second, then proceeded to topple over backwards.

And this is how I die – falling out a window. Fuck my life.

Jo screamed as she went through the window, reaching out her arms to grab onto something, anything. At the same time, Archer lunged for her, grabbing her by the wrist. She screamed again as she slammed into the side of the building.

“I've got you! Hold on, I've got you!” he yelled through gritted teeth.

“Don't let me go, Archer! Don't drop me!” she cried. She watched as he glanced over his shoulder.

“Do you trust me?” he asked as bullets flew over his head.

“What!? No! Now pull me up, please!” she begged. He looked back down at her.

“Trust me, Jo!”

He used both his arms to swing her away from the wall. Before she could ask him what he was doing, though, he released his grip. Four stories above the ground, and he just let her go.

God, what a dick.

Jo screamed all the way down. She was mid-breath, ready to start screaming again, when she made contact with the ground. Only, it wasn't solid. She smacked into a body of water and was so shocked, she sucked in a lungful of liquid as she went under.

Falling forty feet into a pool wasn't a picnic. She'd hit the water hard on her thigh, it already stung. She hacked and coughed as she tried to orient herself and push off the bottom. When her head finally broke the surface, she gagged and spit out chlorinated water, then looked up just in time to see Archer land about three feet to her left.

“I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU LET ME GO!” she screamed, hitting him when he resurfaced.

“Stop it! I knew there was a pool, you're fine!” he shouted, managing to dodge her blows and get behind her. His arms wrapped around her middle and he began dragging her towards the side.

“I've been chased, I've been shot at it, I've been thrown out of a building, and I nearly drowned. What's next!?” she moaned, going limp in his arms.

“Oh, stop it. C'mon, upsy daisy.”

The concrete lip of the pool scratched against her bare stomach as Archer shoved her up over the side. She scrambled to her feet, trying to untwist the oversized sweater from around her chest. She watched while Archer hauled himself out of the water, then they both looked up.

“Holy shit,” she breathed, suddenly glad she hadn't been looking down during her fall.

“Right? We gotta go before they start shooting down here,” he urged, gently pushing against her back and guiding her to the front of the building.

“I'm not wearing any pants or shoes!” she squealed, running on tip toes over grass that ran alongside the sidewalk. Archer was at least mostly dressed, looking almost normal. Unfortunately, he hadn't had time to grab his shoes, either.

“Wanna go back up there and get them?” he offered, breaking into a jog and moving past her into some bushes.

“Not really. Shit, I forgot we have to take the bike!” she moaned, raking her hands through her wet hair as he rolled his motorcycle out from its hiding spot and into the road.

“Our only option. C'mon! They're coming out of the building!” he hissed as he jumped onto the bike. She chewed on her bottom lip while he kick started it, then looked over her shoulder. Two guys were hustling up the street towards an SUV. Then she looked back at Archer. He was leaning towards her, his arm outstretched, offering her his hand.

Beats walking down Ventura Boulevard in your bare feet with your ass hanging out.

She took his hand and climbed on, then clung to him as they raced off down the street.