AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I started walking down the drive, expecting to get someone’s attention and flush them out of hiding. I took my time, as if I were just on a morning stroll. Small shrubs lined the pavement; evergreens and an assortment of other trees dotted the nearby landscape. The area around the house had been cleared, but behind that was a forest area. How deep, how dense, and how much of it did Sebastian own?
As I made my way down the drive, I passed a clump of trees that partially hid a smaller house I hadn’t noticed before. I saw no signs of life at the ranch-style home, so I kept walking. I could see as I neared the fence line the gate was massive. I’m not particularly knowledgeable about security and fencing and stuff like that. In my world, security is Dante’s area of expertise, but I could tell by the sheer scale of the gate that it wasn’t just for show.
And it came with a gatehouse. Curious to see what would happen, I walked past the house and approached the gate. When I was just within feet of it, a man stepped out of the gatehouse.
“Ma’am, I’m going to ask you not to approach the gate.”
He tried to be polite in his attempt to tell me not to go near the gate. And like the brat I was supposed to be, I tested the waters. If I was going to be successful in my escape, I had to know what I was dealing with.
So I took another two steps closer.
And so did the guard.
“Ma’am, Mr. St. Valentine specifically said you were not to leave the property. Please don’t get closer to the gate.”
“Mr. St. Valentine also told me... uhm, what’s your name?”
“Timmy, ma’am.”
Timmy was a tall, blue-eyed blonde with enough muscle to physically keep me away from that gate if he wanted to.
“Well, Timmy, Mr. St. Valentine, also told me I could go anywhere on the property that I wanted to. And I want to get closer to the gate.”
He stepped in front of me. “No, ma’am. This is as close as you can get.”
I smarted off to him, but an annoying buzzing over my head stopped me. I shielded my eyes and squinted up at the blasted drone that hovered not far away.
So, this was how he got away without having security guards around every corner.
“Friends of yours?” I asked Timmy.
He didn’t appreciate the humor. “The entire property is under drone surveillance.”
“It records?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I looked up at the drone and gave it the middle finger. Let them play that back all they want.
Timmy sighed. “You shouldn’t have done that, ma’am.”
“Stop calling me ma’am. I’m not a school teacher. Now, Timmy, I want–”
The drone got closer, the buzzing got louder, and the drone got closer still.
“What the–—” I backed up, and it followed me.
I turned, and it followed me. It sped up and launched itself toward me. I moved faster, and it followed. The damn thing chased me all the way up the drive, getting too close if I slowed down for even a second. I wasn’t sure where it was going, so I ran up the steps to the door, but the thing cut me off. I had nowhere to go but forward. It was herding me. If I didn’t go where it wanted me to, it flew lower and blocked my path. At one point, I almost ran into it. I thought about just stopping on the spot and standing still, but there was clearly an agenda on where I was expected to be, so I kept running, finally reaching the patio where breakfast had appeared since I’d been there earlier.
The drone hovered above me. Apparently, I’d reached my destination.
Play the game. Play the game.
I sat in a chair and tried to act like the compliant prisoner. I reached for a muffin, keeping watch on the drone out of the corner of my eye. He must have been convinced he’d won—I put the muffin on my plate and away it went.
Fool.
I put the muffin back on the platter and returned the chair to the exact position I’d found it. I looked around the patio and grabbed a few items I didn’t think anyone would miss—two small potted plants, a cushion, and the mug from the coffee I’d had earlier. Still half full.
