I forced my feet to keep moving, away from the sound of Marco’s tempting voice, letting it fade behind me.
Beyond the kitchen was a maze, filled with turns. Marco's home was massive. Left, right, through the second door. More crystal chandeliers. Oriental rugs spread across polished hardwood, luxury stitched into every corner of the house. Finally, I reached the foyer which contained a winding grand staircase, stretching to the upper floor.
Then I saw them.
The front doors.
Two massive wooden panels stood at the entrance, stained glass set into their frames and a three-dimensional lion carved into the interior wood features. Opulent and gaudy, just like Marco. I rushed toward them, grabbing the handles and shaking them, trying desperately to pry the doors open.
They didn’t budge.
I forced my mind to focus and spotted the deadbolt holding the doors shut. My hands fumbled as I turned it, then shoved hard against the wood.
It gave way.
I pitched forward, stumbling out and rolling down a short flight of exterior steps.
My knees and palms scraped against the paved stone, stinging sharply. My head thudded, pain blooming dully behind my eyes. Luckily, my contractions had eased a bit, signaling the end of my heat, and that slight relief made it easier to drag myself upright.
I looked around, struggling to get my bearings.
Behind me, a massive mansion loomed, every bit as decadent as its interior. Ahead, a wrought-iron privacy gate marked the edge of the property, a narrow road stretching beyond it. In the distance, the skyscrapers of Falcon City rosehigh, shimmering with warm light against the pitch-black sky.
I scrambled across the lawn, desperate to reach the gate. It creaked open just as headlights flared to life. I dove behind a bush, holding my breath as a car passed through. I waited until it cleared the driveway, then slipped out behind it, moving fast before the gates could close again.
I didn’t look back as the gates closed behind me. I hurried as fast as I could down the road, toward the towering city in the distance. Its lights called me like a beacon, growing brighter as the narrow road curved and fed into its heart.
At first, the streets were quiet. Long stretches of asphalt broken only by the occasional car passing too fast, headlights washing over me before disappearing into the dark. I kept to the edges, slipping between shadows, flinching every time an engine slowed. With each block, the city thickened around me. More cars. More noise. Voices drifting from open windows. Neon signs humming overhead.
I blended into the night as best I could, trying to fit in, despite being nude. Another figure moving with purpose, head down, limping but still going. The farther I went, the safer it felt.I read every street sign, looking for familiar roads. Years of watching and listening told me that Bellini’s territory thinned here. His control didn’t stretch this deep into the city.
That was when I saw the checkpoint.
Barricades cut across the road ahead, floodlights mounted high, bathing everything in harsh white light. Armed personnel moved with practiced precision, uniforms crisp, weapons slung low. The symbol on their badges and uniform burned into my memory. I knew to whom they belonged.
Arca.
Relief surged in my chest, followed by fear and uncertainty.
Bellini had men everywhere. I couldn’t be sure who was loyal to Arca and who Marco had already bought. If just one of those men was on Marco's payroll, I would end up right back where I had just fled from.
I veered off the road, trying to slip past the barricade through a side street, keeping my head down and my pace steady. I almost made it.
"Hey!" a stern voice snapped sharply behind me.
I broke into a run.
“Stop!”
Footsteps thundered close, faster than mine. I didn’t get far as a beta soldier lunged, tackling me with ease. We hit the pavement hard, air ripping from my lungs as my cheek scraped against the ground.
Hands pinned my wrists. A knee pressed into my back.
“Got you,” he muttered.
I lay there shaking, breath coming in ragged bursts, the city roaring around us as floodlights swung in my direction.
I’d escaped Marco, but I wasn’t free.
