Page 64 of Hidden

Sixteen and already trying to prove he was a man.

I’d stopped reaching out to him as much, and he hadn’t made the effort, either.

“Relax, Gabby. I’m not keeping you prisoner,” Darren said, snapping me back to reality. “Just kiss me. Put your money where your mouth is, and prove to me I’m your first and only choice.”

He did not give me the chance to prove anything.

His lips crashed to mine, and my very first kiss was snatched away from me by someone with no permission to take it.

Shock had me freezing. Panic had me responding.

And then instinct had me retaliating.

Sinking my teeth into his lower lip, I bit down at the same time my knee came up, hitting between his legs.

He doubled over in pain, and I wasted not a single second. Shoving him with all my might, I hopped down off the wall, and took off running, too scared to spare even the slightest of glances behind me.

“Please, please, please,” I muttered, digging my phone out of the ridiculously small bag Natalie had allowed me to borrow for the night.

My heels clacked on the floor as the dialling tone sounded in my ears. My breath puffed out, my thighs burned, and there was no disguising the sound of running coming from behind me.

“Luke here, international man of mystery, absolute sensational looking beast, glory to mankind. How may I be of assistance?” came his voice, a voice that was almost drowned out by all the music and laughter in the background.

“Luke…”

“Gabby? What’s wrong?” he demanded, all playfulness gone from his tone.

“I… I’m on a date and…”

“Where are you?” All noise was gone now. There was nothing but the deafening silence on the other end of the phone.

“I don’t know. He drove me here. He—”

“Has he hurt you?”

“N-no…” I stammered, rushing to the back of the nearest building and crouching behind the bins. “He did kiss me, though. I didn’t want him to, and I—”

“Where are you?” he barked, his voice making me jump. “Describe your surroundings.”

“I don’t… We were in Leeds. Rider territory. He took me to the park near the abandoned church. We were walking along the trail and—”

“Where have you run to?” he asked, and my ears pricked as I detected the sound of two bike engines turning over.

“How did you—?”

“Not important. Listen to me, Gabby. Where have you run to?”

“I’m at the back of Sainsbury’s,” I whispered. “The one—”

“I know where you mean. Stay right fucking there. Yeah, mate,” he said, clearly speaking to someone else. “Fucking dog-shit alley of all places. Gabby?” he said softer, speaking to me again. “Stay put. We’ll be ten minutes.”

“Seven,” I heard Dante laugh in the background before the phone disconnected.

Seven minutes to the almost exact second, I heard the rumble of the motorbikes, and sent a silent prayer to whoever had been watching over me.

Darren had run past this alleyway a few minutes ago, and instinct told me he wouldn’t be long before he checked down here. He knew I couldn’t have got far, and since I wasn’t ahead of him, I must have hidden. He would be looking for me.

Pushing myself to my feet, I smoothed down my skirt, ran my hands through my hair, and wet my finger to swipe away the smudged mascara under my eyes.