Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 132512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 663(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
He shouldn’t have looked down.
Five storeys worth of air parted him from the ground, and if the fall didn’t kill him, it would render him incapable of running any farther.
“They must have gone down,” someone roared so close that Cole glanced over his shoulder, realizing the lawmen had found their way to the fire escape. It would be only so long until they got the same idea as Ned and Cole and climbed the roof. And then, it would be over.
“Cole! Come on,” Ned urged him in a low voice and waved, standing closer to the edge on the other side. It only made Cole more aware of the height when he worried Ned might fall.
With the policemen still shouting uncomfortably close, he stepped back, trying to assess how much momentum he needed to cross the gap, but it was broader than he was tall, and as he looked down, his heart started to spin, bringing back memories of water foaming under his feet in fury. The officers were a threat, like the speeding train had been, and just like back then, he couldn’t bring himself to take one risk to avoid another.
It was pathetic. He was an outlaw. An orphan who’d managed to survive despite nothing playing in his favor. But somehow this gap between buildings, the perspective of dying when happiness seemed so close, was unbearable.
Ned’s expression softened. “I’ll catch you. Trust me.” He held his arms out over the void, and the gesture felt like an invitation into his heart.
What was the point of everything Cole had done today, if the cops caught him? For so long, he’d thought of Ned as the man he shouldn’t have trusted, but Ned had proven himself too many times to count, and if Cole couldn’t leave aside his fears now, the journey he’d been through would have been for nothing.
On the day of their first ever kiss, Ned had saved him twice. First—by keeping him from falling from a railway bridge, then—by pushing him off it before the locomotive turned them into minced meat.
And he would do it again.
Ned urged him once more with his hand. “Remember, Cole? Hesitation is death!”
Death to hesitation!
Cole’s head spun, and his legs felt heavy, but he took several steps back and dashed forward, focused on the man whose survival had made all of his efforts and suffering worthwhile. Still, once Cole pushed himself off the edge and gravity pulled at his ankles, the past played at the back of his eyelids like pictures in a magic lantern show.
Dancing with Ned until their feet were sore. Teasing a kiss out of Ned under false pretenses and finding out Ned’s hunger matched his. Ned burning down his own tent to prove his commitment.
And then, Cole was falling, falling, falling into the river below the bridge.
Ned grabbed his arms and pulled. One of Cole’s feet managed to hit the edge of the other building while the other hung precariously in the air, and he would have tipped back if it wasn’t for Ned’s strength.
“I’ve got you!” Ned rasped, taking a step back from the edge, but Cole held on to him, still feeling as if the floor might open under him.
“We—we need to go,” he uttered, breathing in the salty scent of Ned’s sweat. Fresh mountain air was nothing when compared to the soothing musk, but while it was so hard to pull away, he made himself move and squeezed Ned’s wrist, dragging him into a cloud of smoke exhaled by a chimney.
Under the bright blue sky around them was a landscape of lead sheets, drainpipes, and towers, but with the police whistles ringing below, they needed to get out of sight.
“Where are we even going?” Ned asked between one huff and another, following Cole along the dangerous slope on the top of the tall building.
“That church,” Cole said, gesturing toward the tower shooting into the air some ten rooftops away. If Ned had any questions, he didn’t voice them, and followed Cole’s lead as they hopped from building to building, scaling narrow gaps and using balconies or fire escapes to move ahead.
The insistent whistling had quieted, but any hopes Cole had for continuing their journey without risking their necks were crushed every time he spotted a police uniform below.
Jan had told him the circus would march through this part of town around 5 p.m., and that was when they were expected in the basement of the Crying House, for whatever reason. They had another hour, but considering the circumstances, he would only be at peace once he and Ned left Denver far behind them.
Cole groaned in frustration when he spotted the haunted house across the wide avenue below. They might be at their destination, but uniformed policemen were still on the lookout for the Wolfman and his accomplice, and might spot them crossing the street to reach the rundown mansion. Four of them stopped carriages in the street below, as if all lawmen in the city had been called for the manhunt.