Fake: The Scarab Beetle Series: #3 (The Academy) Read Free Page B

here by now. She knows better and doesn’t give a shit about me to stick around. You won’t get close to her again.”
    I gulped at the irony, considering I was watching the scene from only a few feet away.
    “Don’t worry,” the German said. “We found her once. She’ll call the police and we’ll find her again. She’ll call your pals, and we’ll find her. Any way you look at it, we’ll have her soon, so you may as well assume we’ve already got her.”
    Calling the police means they’ve got me?
    “I’m not helping you,” Brandon said. “You don’t have shit. And your job is impossible. Just walk away now before anyone gets hurt. Untie me.”
    “Thought you were smarter than that,” the German said. He turned to his pals. “Let’s move, gentlemen. If that girl finds his brother, it won’t be long before they get here with help. She’s probably on her way to that apartment. We’ll get someone in the lobby to keep an eye on those friends. Maybe we’ll find his brother, too.” His shape against the light loomed closer to Brandon. “Think that will be enough leverage?”
    Brandon struggled against his bindings, yelling and cursing. I felt the wave of his anger even from the distance.
     The lights suddenly went out. The darkness swallowed them up. My eyes strained to adjust.
    When they did, Brandon was gone from the couch, I could hear him yelling and fighting. They dropped him to the ground and then there was a spark from a Taser. Brandon went rigid, helpless.
    They picked him up again and shoved him into the back seat of the car. No chance to jump now.
    I looked for an opening, but in the shadows, I knew there were too many of them for me to fight. I had tied hands and a cell phone with no one to call. My anger made me want to shout and make them eat the cell phone and save Brandon, but I knew that I couldn’t take on four of them with Brandon down for the moment. I had no backup coming.
    They piled into the car. I couldn’t leave Brandon. I ran as hard as I could to the street. The adrenaline running through my veins made me feel like I could outrun them, keep up and follow them to the next location.
    How long would it take for them to figure out he wasn’t Corey?
    Brandon wasn’t about to let them know they’d made a mistake. He was saving Corey from this, just like he’d saved me. Sacrificing himself. Giving me enough time to call the police after him and those goons before they came after Corey, or me.
    I couldn’t let that happen. They seemed to be in with the police somehow, since they said calling them would lead them to me. Was one of them a cop?
    The car turned off the road before I could get too close. I caught the plate number, the make; it was similar to the German’s car before. It turned, and was gone down the street within seconds.
    I was alone. For a moment, I dazed out. I couldn’t believe it. I’d been running without thinking, just to keep up with what was going on. But now it weighed on me so much that I sunk down to my knees, ignoring the pain as the asphalt ripped my flesh. My butt was still sore, my skin scraped. None of it mattered, but I still felt every little cut and bruise. They were throbbing reminders of what had just happened.
    Brandon. My heart ached so much. He’d made sure I’d escaped. He should have jumped with me. He should have jumped first. We could have made it.
    Why didn’t I hear them coming?
    How was I going to find him?
 

INTRODUCING THE MAGICIAN
     
     
    P anic filled in my heart, threatening to take over. Instinct told me to steal a car and go after them.
    But my hands were still bound, and I wasn’t sure where I’d find a car in this broken-down district. Still, I needed to act fast if I was going to help myself or Brandon. Rage bubbled inside me, but I smothered it as best as I could to focus and try to formulate a plan.
    I touched the cell phone, holding it close to my chest. I was tempted to try and call their bluff about the police.