Free Zip by Ellie Rollins Page A

of the dock. She had a feeling that even she wouldn’t be able to talk her way out of trouble this time
    Lyssa heard Demo crawl up behind her
    “Demo,” Lyssa whispered. “What should I do?”
    “Okay,” he whispered back, peering over the side of the dock to where the police were standing. “They know you’re around here somewhere, but they don’t know where—no one knows where the Lotus gang hides.” He gestured to the short man in jeans. “That’s Mr. Haddy,” he explained, keeping his voice low. “He’s the property manager for the marina or something. If he ever finds us, he’ll turn us over to the police.”
    “So what’s the plan?” Lyssa asked
    Demo bit down on his lip, looking determined. He picked up a large flat stone
    “Wait for my signal,” Demo said. He paused to make sure the police were still deep in conversation with Mr. Haddy and then stood up and chucked the stone
    It landed in the water just past the police. All three men turned and glanced behind them
    As soon as their attention was distracted, Demo darted across the dock, ducking behind a sailboat on the other side.
    Lyssa didn’t follow him. She crouched next to Zip, steadying her scooter with one hand. She had a feeling they were going to need to be ready to go—fast
    “We just have to watch for the sign,” she whispered to Zip, giving her scooter a reassuring pat
    Demo climbed down the other side of the dock, looking a little like a spider monkey as he swung from the wood and darted across the ropes connecting the boats to the marina. Lyssa glanced nervously from Demo to where Mr. Haddy stood with the police. They were heading down the dock now, Mr. Haddy in the lead
    “Hurry,” Lyssa whispered
    Demo loosened a rope and a large sail dropped with a thud, already billowing in the wind like the boat too was eager to escape. Then Demo hopped out and unknotted the rope that connected the boat to the marina. When it fell free, he leaned against the side of the dock and pushed the boat away with his foot. The sailboat rocked in the water, then started to drift away
    One of the policemen gave a muffled shout and pointed to the sailboat. Lyssa ducked farther behind the dock as the cops ran toward it. She could still see Demo—his mohawk was just visible above the dock—and it looked like he was swinging from boat to boat, untying ropes and pushing them into the waves. Soon the water was spotted with boats, all floating away, like massive white swans coasting over the bay
    Demo swung onto one final boat, quickly undoing the knot. Then he waved at Lyssa and dropped into the water below
    “Demo!” she called, as loud as she dared. He didn’t resurface. She poked her head above the dock and saw the police scattered across the marina, all pointing in different directions
    “She’s on one of the boats,” an officer called out, and dove into the water. The remaining officers followed until they were all bobbing up and down in the water, trying to swim after the boats. Mr. Haddy stayed on the dock, but his back was to Lyssa now
    “This is it,” she whispered. She stood up and climbed onto Zip, wrapping her fingers tightly around the familiar grooves of the handlebars. She kicked off, shooting down the marina, sneaking past Mr. Haddy and over to the road. She chanced a glance behind her when she reached the end of the marina. Mr. Haddy was still gazing across the water at the police officers bobbing up and down in the waves. He had one hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun
    “I think I saw someone moving in that boat,” he called out, pointing to a sailboat several yards away. Lyssa threw a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. No one had seen her escape. Maybe she had inherited a little of her mom’s magic after all
    She pushed off again, rolling down to the end of the block. Zip’s wheels squeaked excitedly, as though it toowas pleased with their bold escape. Demo was leaning against a stop sign, soaking