AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She had to get away from him. So she’d bolted. With his watch, sure, but that didn’t mean shehadto take his deal. If she decided not to meet him at his marina, she’d return it to him without him knowing it and stand him up tonight.
She pulled a face as she dove right into crowds, then swiveled out again. The marina, a boat with a stranger. She didn’t like the idea of traveling with anyone, let alone Lysias’s employee. Just her and somestrangerin the middle of the sea. Not even the unnerving man she’d met this afternoon—not that she trustedhimeither.
Al trusted no one.
She skittered down a tight alley, the hot sun beating down on her. She had a lead on her pursuer, but she could stillfeelthat shadowy figure following her—she knew too well what pursuit felt like. She hadn’t lost them yet.
Maybe a new location would be good. She had never heard of this island. Maybe it was because she was uneducated and unworldly, but maybe other people didn’t know about it either. It might be the perfect opportunity to escape everything breathing down her neck here in Athens on someone else’s dime.
She ducked down a wider alley, crossed a busy street, always keeping an eye behind her. She’d been the quarry in a few of these little chases, and she didn’t revel in it, but she knew how to escape.
Had to escape.
An island would be an escape, wouldn’t it? Strangers were dangerous, but the devil she knew was getting a little too close. A little too scary.
Maybe it was time for a new devil. Lysias definitely fit the bill.
Kings and murdered princesses worried her, but she’d been slipping in and out of the affairs of the rich and powerful for years now. Were royalty all that different? A change of scenery, a payout that would allow her to be herself, not Al...
It could all work out.
Ifshe escaped her current mess. She climbed a ladder up onto someone’s balcony, then took a hop over to the next and the next. Once she got to the other edge of the building, she jumped off, startling a young couple sharing a dessert on a bench. She flashed them a boyish grin, then darted across the street, holding her hat on her head as she did so.
And still someone chased her. Getting closer. Panic began to clog her lungs, but that was certain death. She had to think clearly, rationally. She was certain she was doing just that, but then she tripped over a man’s foot, and though she narrowly missed a fall, a group of men angrily shouted at her.
It startled her, rattled her as much as the meeting with Lysias had, and so she ran without fully taking into account where she was.
A fatal mistake, as she ran right into an alley with no exit. She studied the wall in front of her, looking for any sort of foothold. Some way to climb it. Some way out.
There was nowhere to run. She blew out a breath as her world crashed around her.
She supposed she should take her fate philosophically. She would die at the hands of someone else. It had always been possible. And she’d done some good with her insignificant life. Uncovered many a man’s misdeeds.
It was a shame she’d never truly gotten to live as herself. Have some sort oflife. For some reason, that made her think of Lysias and his golden eyes and wicked smile. Which was foolish enough she turned to face her attacker.
He had a long knife. A scar that ran from his temple to where it disappeared under the collar of his shirt.
“That looks bad,” she said, jutting her chin at the scar. “I suppose you’re going to do the same to me?” She eyed the knife and tried to breathe through the terror. Hold on to bravado. But she’d always had a fear of blades, more so than even a gun. A gun could take you out quick.
A knife took its time. A knife was torture.
Her legs shook, but she told herself to fight her way out. She’d get hurt. Stabbed, sure, and that was a nightmare of hers, but if she justran, she could stay alive. Maybe. If she didn’t bleed to death. If he didn’t fully overpower her.
So she went with that. She just ran. Plowed right into the man, hoping to dislodge the knife. She didn’t, but shedidsurprise him so that he fell back. Of course, that had her tripping overhisbody. But she got past him.
She scrambled to get to her feet, could see the daylight and the alley opening and all the freedom it represented. But the moment she wasalmostthere, the man’s hand caught her around the ankle and jerked, sending her sprawling on the hot, hard ground. She fought desperately, but she was no match for the man who crawled on top of her.
She clawed, she kicked, but nothing dislodged him from his purpose. He used the knife to roughly cut away her shirt, and panic beat so hard in her chest she couldn’t breathe. She saw the dawning realization on his face, even as she bucked and fought and kicked harder with panic, dread, the desperate desire to survive.
“You’re a woman. A shame we couldn’t have some fun, but my orders are clear. Consider this a gift from Mr. Pangali,” he said, mentioning one of the powerful men she’d uncovered as a liar and a cheatanda murderer.
Slowly—as if he enjoyed causing pain—her attacker began to press the sharp edge of the knife through the bonds that held her breasts down and then upward—not just cutting away the fabric but slicing into her skin. Trying to create the long, jagged line from chest to temple that he had.
Pain had an unholy noise escaping her throat, and she bucked with all of her strength. Much to her surprise, the knifeman flew off her. He let out a yelp of pain as he crashed hard against the wall of the building.
Now able to see the entire alley, Al realized she had not magically overpowered her attacker.
Lysias was here.
