text: Every palm tree was dressed in lights. Traffic zoomed by on either side of the median barrier. Crowds--families, couples, tourists--were all over the sidewalk. The open shops were packed. Cameras clicked and flashed at the decorations painting the downtown area. I was leaving too much of my fate to this coat. Normally, I wouldn't be caught dead wearing anything hooded. The hood on this oversized coat blocked at least a third of my vision. I had to turn my head to watch my six, a big no-no for me. Because it was a couple sizes too big, it hid my figure. Unless someone was standing right in front of me, they couldn't see my face. My hands were shoved in my pockets. I was mindful to keep my finger off the trigger of my micro nine-millimeter in my left hand. Keeping my head down, I avoided eye contact and kept moving. A few feet ahead, I saw a gray car pull up to the curb. Three older women got out of the back seat. They went straight to the shops. I walked up to the gray car, opened the door, and slid into the back. Hearing the back door close made the gray-haired man in the front seat jump. "Don't look in your rearview mirror and don't ask questions," I said, "and I'll make this trip worth your while." His wrinkled hands squeezed the steering wheel. The movement was subtle, but I could see his shoulders moving up and down. "Take me to Third Street. Drop me at the first stop sign you see. Your payment will be in the back, got it?" The man nodded before pulling away from the curb. When we reached Third, I tossed a couple of bills on the back seat before I got out. I turned my back to the car. Hearing it drive off, I went down Third Street on foot. It was as quiet as I remembered it. The occasional streetlamp was my only light. Noticing someone walking outside of their door, I turned my head slightly. My head was tilted down, but my ears were open. After walking for several minutes, I saw the house with a brick mailbox--the only brick mailbox on the street. I turned the corner to get to the side of the two-story home. Brown vines climbed up the white trellis on the side of the house, next to the fence. I looked to my left. Silence hung in the air. I looked to my right. Nothing stirred. I climbed the trellis up to the window right above it. To my surprise, the window was open when I tried it. Blackness was all I could see when I climbed in. When I hit the light, the pale pink walls were almost soothing. It was nine o'clock, according to the clock on the wall. I closed and locked the window behind me. It was quiet when I pressed my ear against the bedroom door. I slowly turned the doorknob as far as it would go before dragging the door open. I lunged across the narrow hallway, avoiding the loud floorboard that was right outside the bedroom door. Tiptoeing down the hall, I took light, shallow breaths. I pressed my back against the wall and peeked around the corner next to the stairwell. Blue light bounced on my mom's face. The volume was turned all the way down. Judging by her bathrobe, she wasn't expecting company. I pulled my hood back and turned the corner. "Jesus!" My mom clutched the front of her robe and panted loudly. "Hey, Mom." "God, Hannah!" "Nice to see you too, but this isn't a social call." My mom stood up and pulled her robe closed. "When did you get here," she yelled. "Few seconds ago. I'd tell ya to look into an alarm system, but we need to leave no later than tomorrow morning." She gasped. "Why?" "The less you know, the better." She stared at me. "Could you have called first?" I scoffed. "We can't afford for your turtle-necking church friends to tell anyone I'm back in town." "Are you hungry, at least?" "Starved," I said, sitting on the couch. I never knew why my mom got such a kick out of these game shows. I really didn't get why she turned the sound off just to watch them with the subtitles. My mom had done this ever since I could remember. After a few minutes, she handed me a plate of spaghetti and sat back in her warm spot. She sighed. "I'm happy to see you." Her eyes were glued to the screen. "Thanks." "Thanks?" I shrugged. "What do you want me to say?" "An 'I'm happy to see you too, Mom' would be nice." I could've watched my hair grow with how far my eyes went in the back of my head. "It's not enough that I came all this way for you?" I cracked my knuckles. My mom stared at my hands when I started wiggling my fingers. Tatted snakes coiled around my last three fingers on both hands. "I don't know why you marked your hands like that," she said, shaking her head. "Good." It wasn't long before I felt myself nodding off. I got off the couch and stretched. "Night," I said with a wave. My mom waived back. I made my way back to my old bedroom. The faint sound of a car door closing drew me out of bed. My heart was pounding. I rolled off the queen-sized bed and onto the floor on all fours. The coat I pulled off last night was next to the bed. I dug in the pocket and pulled it out. I crawled to my bedroom door. Pain stabbed my right shoulder. I clenched my jaw and held my breath. I released air slowly before I dragged myself on the carpet to the other side of the room with my left arm. I twisted the doorknob and took long, tiptoed strides down the hall. I was standing by the door when whoever was on the other side knocked. My mom entered the room. Locking eyes with her, I put my finger over my mouth. She went to the door. Standing on her toes, she looked through the peephole. She glanced at me. I motioned with two fingers for her to keep her eyes on the visitor. Sunlight hit my mom's face as the door opened. She smiled through her squint. "Morning, officer." "Hello, Mrs. Lee." A dark-skinned man in uniform crossed the threshold. "Sorry to show up unannounced, but I'm afraid--" He stopped when he saw my mom glance in my direction. I put my barrel to the back of his head. My mom's jaw dropped, and she took a step back. "Blink," I said, "and it'll be the last thing you do." The officer slowly raised his hands. "Hear me out before you blow my head off, Hannah," a smooth masculine voice said. I lowered my pistol. There was only one person in this town other than my mom, who called me Hannah. He turned to face me. His light gray eyes pinned me to the spot. "Boo," Tarrence said. "Boo" was right. I was looking at the ghost from high school past. He’d traded his shoulder-length locs for a fade with deep waves but still had the same flawless skin. "What are you doing here," I said. "Warning Mrs. Lee to get out of here." "Way ahead of you. We were just leaving." "Good. Word on the street is Viper isn't sure you're dead. This would likely be the first place he sent someone to draw you out." "Thanks," I said. Tarrence nodded and turned. "Before you go," my mom said, closing the door. "I think we should pray." The three of us held hands and bowed our heads. "Yay, though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death," my mom started, "we will fear no evil because You're with us." The only evil I feared anymore was my own. My only desire was to be out of this town and back to my new life in one piece. "Be a hedge of protection over us and extinguish the fiery arrows of the enemy." I nodded, opening my eyes. They were starting to sting. When my mom finished her prayer, Tarrence said goodbye to her. We locked eyes before he stepped out the door. "Tarrence," I said, walking quickly after him. He looked over his shoulder and turned his body to face me. "Thank you." His eyes glistened. I placed my left hand on his face. He put his hand over mine and kissed my palm. "If God wills it," he said, "I'll see you again." I prayed the first silent prayer of my life when he said that. He didn't let my hand go when I turned to walk away. "Since when were you left-handed?" I winked at him. "About nine months ago, sharpshooter." "That how it's gonna be?" I shook my head. "Takes a hitter to know one," I said, showing him the back of my hands. It takes a hitter to know that no one could miss at that range. Both my palms went to his cheeks. "Take care," I said before going back inside. My mom was packed and walking to the door with her suitcase. "You were always a bad influence on that boy." I laughed. She wasn't wrong. Tarrence's squad car had gone by the time we pulled out. Hopefully, God forgave me enough to do me a solid.