Out of This World Read Online Free PDF Page B

the roof is watching you, I’ll bang him on the head and knock him out.”
    â€œYou want me to be bait.”
    â€œMore like a distraction.”
    â€œDude, he’ll probably just shoot me!”
    â€œI won’t let that happen.”
    My eyebrows go up.
    â€œBecause,” she says, “you’re going to give me a head start. Count to three hundred and twelve and then step out onto the street. I’ll be ready to do the rest.”
    â€œWhy three hundred and twelve?”
    â€œIt’s kind of a fun number.”
    â€œIn what universe?” I ask.
    She shrugs, then slips away.
    â€œHey!” I call after her in a loud whisper. “I never said I’d do this.”
    But she’s long gone. I sneak a peek around the corner of the house, but I still can’t see the sniper.
    Sighing, I start to count. When I get to Donalita’s “fun” number, I take a deep breath and walk along the side of the house.
    I realize I’m an idiot. Why did I let her talk me into this? If I’m also a target and she doesn’t get to the sniper fast enough, this could be the last chapter in the very short book of my life.
    I force myself to not look where the sniper is hidden as I step out onto the street. I imagine Marina hearing about this plan of Donalita’s. Are you a complete idiot? she’d say. Even Josh would try to talk me out of it.
    But they aren’t around and the only person in my corner is a bloodthirsty Wildling who’s more focused on the fun of taking out the sniper than what might happen to me.
    Let’s face it. I am an idiot.
    The hairs on the nape of my neck are standing straight up and I’ve got a crazy itch crawling up and down the length of my spine. I try to keep my pace casual, but it’s all I can do not to break into a run and take off as fast as I can go.
    Eventually—like about a century later—I turn up the walk to Josh’s house. I get all the way up to the front door when I hear a short sharp whistle.
    I freeze until it’s repeated, then I slowly turn to scan the flat roof on the other side of the street. I expect to see a rifle pointed at me, a muzzle flash. Instead it’s just Donalita, silhouetted against the sky, waving at me.
    I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding and wave back. Looking up and down the street, I trot across, stopping under where she’s standing.
    â€œIs everything okay?” I whisper up to her.
    She gives me a mad grin and a thumbs-up.
    â€œAnd he’s not dead?”
    â€œHe’s just tied up.”
    â€œOkay. Good. You should come—”
    Before I get to finish, she’s already jumped, landing lightly on her feet beside me. Man, would I like a little dab of Wildling in me to be able to do that kind of thing. The tricks I could pull off on my skateboard.
    â€œThat was so fun. Now what do we do?” she asks.
    â€œNow I call Solana.”
    I pull out my phone, punch in the FBI agent’s number and start walking. Donalita falls in step beside me. When Solana answers, I rattle off the address where we left the Black Key Securities guy and tell him to look on the roof.
    â€œWhat the hell did you do?” Solana asks. “I told you not to—”
    â€œRelax. I never even went up. I just saw somebody take him out and tie him up.”
    â€œYeah? And what were you—”
    I thumb the End button and stow the phone back into my pocket. When it rings, I see it’s Solana calling back, so I turn off the power and put the phone away again.
    All this time, Donalita’s walking along beside me, a bounce in her steps.
    â€œWhere are we going now?” she asks.
    I almost wince at the perkiness in her voice. I was already exhausted before we got into all of this. Now that the adrenalin rush has worn off, I just want to crash.
    â€œI don’t know about you,” I tell her, “but I’m beat. I’m going home to