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Then the monster had crawled into my life, the metaphorical darkness Giovanni had sequestered me to more oppressive than any absence of light. I’d learned to hate the inside of his house, relishing the warmth and light the sun could offer.
I’d also learned to temper my anxiety, refusing to back down to the bastard, but tonight everything was different. One single weapon had been anonymity. Now even that had been taken. What I feared the most was not knowing which man would retaliate against Maverick, ripping apart his world before taking his life. But I was certain one or both would do so.
I couldn’t allow that to happen. Maybe if I left now, the man I’d fallen in love with could be spared. But I had to leave quickly. It was entirely possible Giovanni had sent men to find me, or that he’d come himself to lock me away, taking me back to a life I wouldn’t be able to tolerate. All I could think about was getting away. I had to. I’d grab my things, tossing them in the truck. Then I’d leave.
My single dream of learning what had happened to my mother would need to be put on hold.
Anger had started to replace fear as I threw myself inside the cab of the truck, almost flooding the engine in my attempt to get it started. If Maverick caught me, he’d never let me go.
I floored it, noticing he’d made far too much headway toward me. As I smashed my hand on the steering wheel, I continuously looked into the rearview mirror. I’d almost found something special in the beautiful town. I’d been allowed to grasp onto my dream one last time. Now it was being taken just like everything else had been. Oh, God.
I was sick to my stomach, trying to remember how to get away from the ranch. It was so dark. My nerves were shot, the monster’s words racing through my mind like a broken record.
“If you run, I’ll hunt you down. You will never get away.”
The combination of rage and terror continued to ride me, chilling me to the bone.
While I didn’t see any headlights directly behind me, I knew it was only a matter of time before I saw them. Maverick wasn’t the kind of man who left any stone unturned. He also knew the city and the mountains like the back of his hand. He’d stop at nothing to find me. I wanted him to. I longed to simply collapse in his arms, allowing him to protect me against all the evils of the world, but I continued to remind myself that would get him killed.
My thoughts drifted to Sam, horrified at knowing what the monster would do to him first. God. This was a living nightmare and one I’d caused.
I pushed the truck, skidding around a blind curve, almost losing control.
“Breathe, Lily. Just breathe.” I pulled my foot off the gas, slowing to a crawl as I tried to figure out where I was. Seconds later, it hit me hard that I was headed further up the mountains, not toward the cabin. The mistake would cost me more than just time.
I had to find a turnoff, risk returning the way I came. The road remained curvy, completely unfamiliar. At least there wasn’t snow on the ground. Fortunately, I noticed a turnoff, but it was little more than a gravel path surrounded by trees. That would make backing out difficult.
After pulling in, I opened the windows, listening for any traffic. There was almost none on this road. I’d passed two cars. That added another layer of fear fucking with my mind. When I was confident no one was coming, I pulled out, only to hear a hard blast of a horn. The massive truck almost rammed into the bed, swerving just in time. When the driver slowed, I thought for certain he was going to come back to finish it off.
He rolled down his window, cursing before gunning the engine. I remained in the middle of the road, gasping for air. I had to get control of myself, or I’d have a wreck. Swallowing, I brushed my hand through my hair before pressing my foot on the pedal. A moment of true loneliness sank in, hitting me hard enough nausea replaced the butterflies I always felt when Maverick was around. Now I’d never see him again.
I’d lost the ability to ugly cry years before because doing so only led to a beating or something worse. I’d found that by holding in my emotions, I’d win a small victory of control, denying the monster what he reveled in the most.
My terror.
Once I’d learned to do that, I’d become less the victim and more the survivor. But now, I was a bitter root of nerves, the anger sweeping through me so intense that I knew I wouldn’t hesitate to kill him should he find me.
And he would.
The tears flowed, pent up for so long that I couldn’t stop them. After a few seconds, I could no longer see clearly, my chest heaving as every emotion collided. “No. No.” I squeezed my hands around the steering wheel, leaning forward, blinking so hard yet I couldn’t stop crying. With every muscle tense, I accidentally served to the right, almost running off the road. There was no guardrail to protect me, no strong arms to hold me while I cried.
I was all alone.
When I went to rub my eyes, I started to lose control all over again, hysteria coming dangerously close to taking over. Something crossed the road and I was forced to slam on my brakes. That started a cataclysm as I spun out of control, rotating several times.
Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Don’t panic.
But of course I did, pressing on the brakes in an effort to stop the catastrophe. Just before I jettisoned off the side into the unknown, the truck rolled to a stop. I was shaking all over, still gasping for air. Several knots had formed in my stomach, my throat closing. As I peered out the windshield, I realized just how lucky I was.
Breathe. Just breathe.
All the mantras in the world weren’t going to help, but I continued to say it as I righted the truck, slowly heading down the mountain. My luck was in the toilet, headlights just up ahead. As soon as I was close, I sensed the driver was slowing down. I picked up speed once again, but sensed Maverick was the other driver. I was determined to keep the truck under control, constantly scanning the rearview mirror for the next several seconds. I almost breathed a sigh of relief thinking I’d been wrong when it became clear the driver was turning around.
My head was pounding, my heartbeat echoing into my ears. As soon as I rounded another corner, I came to a longer stretch of road. I had to lose him. Still shaking, I slammed my foot on the accelerator, quickly picking up speed and distance between the other vehicle. Then the lights were right there, getting closer with every passing second. I had to find a way to get off this road. I had no clue where I was, the area all residential without any excess lighting.
He was getting closer.
Closer still.
