AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I collapse. The blood on my leg and lip is hot. The breeze on my sweat-slicked face is cold. Inside of me is cold, too. It’s dark and cold and I’m shivering and all I can think is, Am I going to die here? Drunk in a bar parking lot?
What about Olivia? What about Violet? Will they miss me? Who will tell them I’m gone?
“Hey! Yo, what the fuck?—”
Dante’s voice cuts through the night. As the guy winds up for another kick, he suddenly stops. One moment, he’s there, and the next, his running steps fade away into the distance. I stare up at the sky, the stars a faint flicker of clarity before they blur and retreat into the night.
“Shit! Reese, are you alright?”
My leg is on fire and jaw is sore. Both throbbing with a sharp pain I’ve never felt before. I’ve taken my fair share of punishment on the ice, but this is different. It comes with a different sting of embarrassment and anger as my vision slips deeper and deeper into darkness and the sounds of Dante and Marcus fade into my subconscious.
If I die, I just hope someone tells Olivia I love her.
33
OLIVIA
The bodyguards have been especially grim since I woke up this morning. For two weeks, they’ve been the definition of boring. They never speak to me and if they speak to each other, it’s usually to check in on “shift change,” which is a fancy way for clarifying that one is taking a nap while the other stays up.
But there’s a shift in their demeanor today that has me wondering if I need to be on my own guard. All morning, they’ve been going back and forth, checking their phones or their watches again and again. When I first came downstairs, they were huddled together in the living room, talking to each other in hushed whispers that stopped as soon as I came in.
Should I ask them what’s going on? Does it have anything to do with Reese?
I take the initiative. Maybe this will give me information that’ll end up being important.
I’m making my big break today, after all.
“Morning,” I say to Blondie.
He glances over to me, giving me an up nod with an expression that screams, I’d rather be anywhere else than here.
I hold back my snort. You and me both, buddy.
“Something up?” I keep my voice light, casual. It’s just an innocent question, after all. No devious escape schemes being set in motion whatsoever.
Blondie grunts at me. “Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”
I frown back. “You know, we’ve been living in the same place together for two weeks. The least you could do is not be a total jackass.” Before he can respond, I shrug. “But suit yourself. I’m gonna make breakfast soon. You and Bozo can fend for yourselves since you want to be all asinine and secretive.”
I march myself into the kitchen. I make a show of getting coffee ready, clanking and banging and making lots of noise along the way. It’ll sound like I’m being petulant because they’re not giving me any details, but my real motivations are hoping the sounds hide what I’m actually doing.
I’ve discreetly scoured the little cabin for anything I thought might end up helping me. There are no radios, computers, or phones, aside from the ones Blondie and Bozo keep on their hips next to the guns. For obvious reasons, I wasn’t able to get my hands on them.
As far as weapons went, there isn’t much of that, either. All the silverware in the house is fairly old and dull.
Aside from a single, well-kept steak knife.
I snorted a laugh when I found out. This is still Texas, after all.
So the knife became the centerpiece of my grand plan. So, while I’m making noise in the kitchen, I slip it into my pajama pockets and go to the bathroom. I click the lock behind me, just in case. Then I take the knife out of my pocket and slip my pants down to expose my leg.
Cue a very, very deep breath.
Alright, Olivia. You got this. It’s not going to be the worst pain that you’ve ever experienced. It’s going to be all sunshine and rainbows. Like a butterfly kiss to the thigh.
My fingers tremble as I hold the blade to my flesh. The easy way would be to use ketchup, but something tells me these guys know a thing or two about real blood versus fake blood. I can’t risk getting caught before I even get a chance to succeed.
I take in a breath and brace myself. Then one more breath for good measure.
