Her eyes are filled with tears, but her words cause my lungs to seize. “I’m so sorry, they forced me to sign the paper. I didn’t want to, but they-“ Her words cut off with a sob and I’m left stunned.
She couldn’t give two shits I just murdered him, she’s more concerned they forced her to marry the abusive jackass.
Hesitantly, I step closer, wishing I could say any number of things. Mostly, that she never has a damn thing to apologize for, and I’d rather chew off my own leg than hurt her. Instead, I meow like a stupid cat, the sound conveying absolutely fucking nothing to her as I jerk my head towards the open door.
She swipes at her face, swallowing a few times, and when she speaks next, her voice is steady. “We need to get you out of here, now. I doubt anyone will come check on the room until morning, not wanting to interrupt his wedding night celebrations.” She sneers at his corpse, her disgust directed at the man himself instead of the carnage. “But people will likely be leaving the party soon and it will be harder to avoid getting caught.”
I lead the way out to the balcony, internally cursing. While it’s nothing for me to leap down, my mate is far more fragile. If she lands wrong, there’s a chance that she could break a leg, and then we’ll be royally screwed. I desperately wish one of the others were here, but they aren’t and I can’t waste precious time on what-ifs.
“Help me,” she whispers suddenly, gripping the skirt of her dress and holding a section away from her body. “I can barely run in this thing, let alone climb.”
My beautiful mate never ceases to amaze me. I may have only known her for a month, but I doubt that fact will ever change.
Careful not to scratch her legs, I claw through so it hangs in tatters just above her knees. She kicks off her shoes and lifts one of the large sections of silk, tugging on it to make sure it won’t tear.
“Thank gods for kids' movies always giving terrible ideas,” she murmurs and I have a spike of fear, unsure of what the hell she’s planning.
She straddles the stone balustrade and I whine low in my throat, pacing in agitated concern. Carefully, she locks her legs together as she leans down to wrap the silk around one of the smooth columns. Glancing up at me briefly, her features tighten with anxiety.
“This is probably going to be fine, but if I break my neck, I just want you to know something. That can’t have been an easy thing you did for me back there, and I’ll never be able to thank you enough.” I stare at her, mentally screaming and wishing she could hear me.
“You’re right.” She carries on the conversation in my silence as she always does, trying to make things less awkward in our situation. “I can’t die yet, I promised to get you out of the city. Can’t go back on my word or this will be a really one-sided relationship. Don’t want to go out remembered as nothing more than a mooch.”
She takes a fortifying breath before jumping and a strangled cry bursts from my lips that I promptly clamp shut, terrified about drawing attention our way. I put my paws on the railing, looking down to find her legs clutching the side of the pillar and silk wrapped around the back for support, gripping it tightly in her palms. Ever so slowly, she starts inching down towards the ground. I leap over to wait at the bottom, not like I can catch her, but at least I might be able to soften the blow if she slips.
A shot fires, chipping the stone above my head as I flatten myself to the ground and pivot. Standing a few yards away, a man dressed like security adjusts his aim, taking another shot at me.
“Back away from the lady, mutt,” the man snarls in my direction and I take a second to appreciate what this scene looks like from an outside perspective. Namely, like I attacked her and she’s attempting to climb out of reach as I pace below, waiting for her to slip.
Fuck.
Though, it does spur a long shot hope of getting out of here. I hiss, trying to get her attention and bare my teeth at her, praying like hell that she’ll understand what I’m trying to do. Leaping up, I swipe a claw beneath her feet and gouge the stone, darting to the side before the guard can hit me.
What sort of men are they raising in the cities? Couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn if you paid him. No wonder the humans are scared of us.
When she’s close enough to the ground to risk it, she drops, legs buckling beneath her as she falls on her ass. I waste no time taking the side of her neck in my mouth, abundantly careful that my teeth don’t so much as scratch her already abused flesh. The illusion is all I need, just enough to make him hesitate.
“Easy,” the guard growls, reluctantly holstering his weapon and raising the other hand in surrender.
As expected, several more people have started pouring out onto the lawn, and there’s more security among them. Gently, I step back, waiting until she scrambles along the ground to ensure I don’t accidentally pierce her skin.
Her father shows his face, absolute hatred radiating off of him in waves. “Let her go.”
Pulling my lips back to bare my teeth, I gently clamp down to show how serious I am. Not about willing to kill her to prove a point and get out of here alive as they assume, but of getting her away from this abusive, toxic place by any means necessary.
It’s slow going, getting to the back gate, and when no one immediately makes to open it, I snarl. Rin picks up on my cues, sounding on the verge of tears as she begs for them to open it, that she doesn’t want to die.
It hurts to hear, but I know it’s all for show. The gate eventually opens and I hear sirens in the distance getting closer. We won’t have long if we want any hope of running, so I start stepping back quicker and she matches my pace awkwardly.
“I’m going to enjoy killing you,” her father declares coolly, absolute disdain contorting his features. “And it won’t be quick.”
I ignore his threats, finally getting around the bend out of sight and licking her throat in apology before backing off. She scrambles to her feet, breaking into a dead sprint. We weave in and out of parked cars, through alleys, and circle back to the waiting SUV. She rips open the back door, the seat already folded and slid back to reveal the storage compartment underneath. I leap in and she slides the seat in place, flipping it back up.
No matter how much I try to keep myself calm, the sense of claustrophobia settles into my bones so deeply I doubt I’ll ever be rid of it again. I can barely move, curled in on myself, and it’s completely black. Worse, I can’t even talk myself into a state of calm, because there is absolutely no way I could escape with the seat locked into position above me. I’m completely at her mercy to let me out, and mate or not, being that powerless is terrifying. It takes all I have not to dissolve in a panic attack, and as the sounds of sirens increase, it’s even more difficult.
Mile after mile, the SUV smoothly coasts on well-maintained roads that the fringes could only dream of. It’s hard to have any sense of time when it’s taking everything I have not to lose my shit, but as she slows to a longer stop than normal, my heart practically stops.
I hear the checkpoint guard’s low voice and Rin’s easy going replies, along with a helpful addition of flirtatious laughter. She’s had far more practice than I have at staying calm under pressure, of pretending everything’s alright as it explodes around you. I hate that she had to become so proficient at it, but I’m damn grateful right about now.
