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Finley releases the knife, leaving it embedded in the guy’s chest and turns to me. “Have your fun. I’ll see you at the Fort. The girl will be okay.”
Taking over, I let my frustrations out, killing these men slowly. I’ll be sure to send their bodies back to my father and Cesare as a warning. They need to get it through their heads, I’m not playing these games with them. I’m not anything to them. And if they don’t back off, I won’t hesitate in taking them out.
Chapter One
Arwen
Present Day . . .
I need to get out of here. I can’t stand it anymore. It doesn’t matter that there’s a chance I could be caught and punished. With my family being who they are, I’ll be lucky enough to escape this time. My father and uncles have upped the security to make sure it doesn’t happen.
I’ve been attempting to run away since I was sixteen. Each time they’ve found me and made sure I regretted it. Especially my uncle, Stefano. Other people call him Preacher, but I call him Devil. My father may be the head of the house, but he allows Stefano to do as he pleases.
This time when I leave, I need to make sure they don’t catch me. Not this time. I don’t wanna do as they want—marry a man I don’t know. Then again, I don’t know many people as it is. I’m not allowed to leave the premises. Most of the time, I’m not allowed to step foot out of the house.
When I was younger, I had wished my mom would save me. It never happened. Cantara Petruccelli has and always will think of only herself. Her addiction to drugs means more to her than my brothers and me. According to Danti, she used to be a great mom until our father and uncles started her addiction. Now she prefers her drugs to us. They do this to keep her compliant to their wishes. Meaning they have easier access to her trust fund.
It’s probably why they want to sell me off as well. I overheard them talking about it. My trust fund left to me by my mother’s mother states I’m not to get it until I’m twenty-five or married. Being twenty-two, that’s only three more years.
With a small backpack, I sneak out of my room, doing my best to stay quiet. I don’t need anyone to hear or see me. I’ve paid attention to the guards, and know it’s close to shift change. It’s also when they slack the most.
My heart races in my chest, blood pulsing rapidly through my veins. I need to make it out of here. Getting to the back door, I silently open it and slip through, making sure to close it behind me.
Outside, I stay close to the shadows, not wanting to take a chance of anyone seeing me. I scan the darkness, scared of what will happen if they catch me.
No, I can’t let it happen. I won’t. I’ve dealt with enough in this lifetime to last me through the next century.
I make it far enough away from the security guards and decide to run for it. If I could get across the yard and climb over the gate, I’ll be able to breathe slightly better. In order to officially be able to escape, I need to catch the bus heading out of town. Unfortunately, thanks to my family never letting me leave the property, I don’t know where or how to do it.
I don’t even know if there’s one close to me. I’ve only ever heard my brothers and uncles talking about it.
Coming up on the fence, I glance behind me to see if anyone’s following me. I send a silent thank you to whoever I can that I’ve gotten this far. I stare up at the tall iron bars used to keep me prisoner my entire life. This honestly is the first time I’ve even gotten this close to officially escaping. I didn’t realize just how tall the dang thing is—really, really tall.
With me being five foot six, I consider myself average height. Still standing next to this fence, I know it’s gonna be a struggle to climb it. Swallowing my fear down, I jump up and start scaling upward. Using my feet, I grab hold and push myself to the top. Careful not to fall, I adjust my footing and slide down to the ground. Releasing a breath, I didn’t realize I was holding, I straighten up and look at the house beyond the fence.
Pivoting on my heel, I take off in a run, needing to put as much distance between this prison and myself. I don’t want them to catch me. I’m sure someone will find I’m missing sooner rather than later.
Coming up on a road, I stop at the corner. Cars are zooming past, though, I’m not necessarily afraid of them, I am scared. The only time I’ve been in one was when Uncle Stefano took me down to his club Tainted X.
A shiver of fear courses through my body at the thought. Thunder in the distance causes me to jump, and I nearly fall into the street with oncoming traffic. Someone honks a horn and I start panicking.
Get it together, Arwen!
Sucking in a breath, I scuttle my way down the sidewalk leading to God only knows where. I’ve got to find the bus station or at least somewhere to hide for the night. Rushing, I come upon another intersection, and I notice a bunch of other people waiting to cross. A few teenagers are laughing, talking about heading to the boardwalk to listen to some music.
Following them, I make it to the boardwalk and keep going further down. The farther I get, the better I’ll be. Maybe I could find a place to crash and hide until I locate the bus station to get out of here.
I don’t know how much time passes by, but I keep moving. My legs are starting to burn, and my hands are shaking. I need to find somewhere to rest and stay low-key.
Coming off the boardwalk, I start making my way through the streets looking for a place I can stay. Spotting a motel, I head in there and get a room. I guess it will be better than nothing and from the looks of it, I highly doubt my family would think to find me here.
Chapter Two
Cedric
Sitting back in my chair, I stare up at the security monitors hanging on the wall. I scan over each one making sure nothing is out of the normal. The club’s getting ready to open for the night, and I’ve made sure the team is prepared. Halton and Dalton are our lead men for security. They’re tasked with making sure all of the men who work for us are always on their game. We don’t need any fuck ups, too much shit can happen. I personally have seen it happen and had to stop it myself.
With Finley being pregnant, I’ve taken on more in order to make sure she relaxes. Since we’d all found out about her pregnancy, I guess you can say Mara-Lee and I’ve become even more protective. It doesn’t matter if she says she doesn’t need us protecting her ass; we’re still there. Vex finds it comical as she sits back and watches Mara-Lee and me argue with Finley over what she can and can’t do.
