The pain and anguish in his voice feel like a dull butter knife cutting through my flesh. Placing my hands against his chest, I fist the fabric and tug him closer. “I’m not going anywhere, and I’m not marrying anyone. All he’s trying to do is get you to react. You should know, I won’t just do what I’m told.”
A hint of a smile creeps onto his lips. “Oh, I know you don’t do what you’re told, but that’s with me. How do I know you won’t bend to his will if he threatens me, if he tries to hurt me or someone else you care about? I won’t put you through that. You aren’t any safer here than you were with Christian or Xander. We’re leaving, and we’re doing it tonight.”
Swallowing around the thick knot that’s formed in my throat, I ask, “Tonight?”
“Yes, tonight. We aren’t staying here another night.” I’m not sure we should try an escape so soon.
Part of me thinks Matteo will expect it, but part of me feels that if I tell Zane we can’t leave yet, he’ll think I want to stay when really I want to put as much distance between us and this house of terror as I can.
Ghosting his lips against my forehead, he pulls back and walks over to the window. He pulls the curtain back and peers outside. Slivers of sunlight enter the room but disappear when he lets the curtain fall closed. Turning back toward me, determination oozes from his pores. His gaze is hard, and I know there isn’t any point in trying to sway him.
“We’ll spend the day biding our time. Come nightfall, we’ll leave.”
“Okay.” I nod. I don’t tell him how nervous I am, or that I feel like something bad is going to happen. It’s probably nothing. Or at least, I hope it isn’t.
By the time night falls, I’m a nervous wreck, but Zane has shot down any of my reasonings. I tried my best to talk him out of this, but nothing has worked.
“It’s time,” Zane says, tugging me to the door. “Remember, stay behind me.”
I nod and follow behind him as he steps out of the room. We find the hallway quiet and empty, but we both know that Matteo’s guards are around here somewhere. I haven’t noticed any cameras inside this place, but that doesn’t mean there are none. Maybe he’s just good at hiding them. We have to be fast and precise because we’ll likely only get one shot at this.
On light feet, we walk down the hall, about halfway down the stairs, we catch sight of one of the guards. Luckily, he is facing away from us, so we have the element of surprise going for us. Silently and fast as lightning Zane rushes toward him.
The guard doesn’t see us coming, and Zane has an arm wrapped around his throat, squeezing the life out of him before he can make a single sound.
Shocked, I watch as Zane with nothing but a void expression in his eyes, chokes the man to death. I watch as he struggles until his body slowly sags to the floor. Strangely, I know I should feel some type of remorse, feel sadness, or at least some shame watching this happen right before my eyes. The truth is, I feel neither. At this moment, I’m numb, the void of feelings is confusing, but also liberating.
When the man lies dead on the floor, Zane searches him and takes his gun, giving me the sign to keep going. My feet move on their own, following Zane to wherever he is leading us.
Tiptoeing down the stairs, we make it through the kitchen and to the backdoor. There is no noise, no talking, nothing that makes me believe someone has seen us, but not seeing any other guards raises a huge red flag. When Zane turns the door handle, and we find the door unlocked, I really start to get worried. Can we really have that much luck? I doubt it.
It’s like we’re waiting for the other shoe to drop, the only question is, when? Hesitantly, I follow him outside and into the darkness. There is no light, only the stars above to guide the way. Through the darkness, Zane finds my hand, intertwining our fingers, and together we run across the lawn to the nearest line of trees.
Fear and adrenaline pump through my veins, and we’re so close to freedom I can almost taste it. We keep moving, getting further and further away from the house, but not far enough away before all hell breaks loose. Loud yelling carries across the yard and through the trees from the house, it has us both looking over our shoulders.
The once dark house is now lit up like a Christmas tree. Every room in the house has its lights on. The doors and windows are being opened, and men in troves start storming out the back door that we escaped from.
Shit. I knew it was too good to be true.
With a panicked expression, Zane turns to me. “Run!” he whisper-shouts, already pulling me away. Racing through the wooded area, low hanging limbs whip across my face, scratching my skin. The adrenaline coursing through my veins, keeps me from feeling the pain yet, but I already know it’s going to come later.
We run until we get to a large wrought iron fence, built in a way that makes it impossible to climb, leaving us with only one way to go. To run along the edge of it and find an end. We don’t get far before we spot a guard tower ahead. Spotlights move across the lawn, searching for us like magnifying glasses.
“Let’s backtrack,” Zane says, the uncertainty in his voice is hard to miss.
We spin around, ready to head back the way we came when we see them. A couple yards away, some men are walking, they’re headed right toward us, the beams of light from their flashlights flicker as they close in on us.
Fear bubbles up inside of me. Now we have nowhere to go. We’re surrounded, trapped like mice. Apparently, Zane isn’t as worried, or maybe he is just better at hiding it because his face doesn’t show an ounce of fear. Instead, he acts like we’re playing a fun game, rather than one that could get us both killed.
“Hide behind that tree,” he orders, pointing to a group of trees a short distance away before heading straight for the search party.
“Zane,” I hiss through my teeth, but he must not hear me calling his name because, like a rocket, he’s off, charging toward the group of men like a Viking.
Turning on the balls of my feet, I run in the direction he pointed. Flattening myself against the tree, I push my back into the bark and listen to the sound of men fighting. Skin hits skin, and grunts and groans fill the brisk air, making my heart race faster with each passing second.
We aren’t going to escape, there’s no way.
Lights flicker over where I’m hiding, and I spot more coming our way. Do I run or stay hidden? I decide to run. Twisting around, I step away from the tree just to come to a sudden halt once more. Ice fills my veins when I see three of Matteo’s men pinning Zane to the ground.
“I will fucking kill you,” he growls as he struggles against them. His voice is so vicious and dark, it even terrifies me.
Through the tree branches, I can see Matteo walking across the yard. It’s hard to make out his features, but even from a distance, I can make out his angry scowl.
“Find the girl! No one leaves this property until I say so.” Matteo’s venomous voice carries into my ears, and terror trickles down my spine. We never should’ve run. Looking back at Zane, something shiny catches my eye. A gun or knife. I don’t know. All I know is I can’t lose him. I can’t risk him dying, not after I’ve just found him again.
My heart lurches into my throat, and even though I shouldn’t, I run toward him, instead of remaining hidden.