AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I didn’t mean it that way. I’m sorry, Lilia. You’re not fragile.”
“I know. Just be a good servant and open my fucking door.”
Her use of servant instead of bodyguard humors me. I grab my door handle, throwing it open, eager for the chance to do something nice for her, and my seatbelt pulls me back.
“Oof!”
She chuckles and meets my gaze in the rearview mirror. That fleeting moment fills me with all sorts of hope that I can save her. Which causes me to realize how fucked my thinking is. She doesn’t want to be saved. I need to put that on repeat.
I unfastened my seatbelt, jump out, and just as I’m moving forward to open her door, she looks around the front seat.
“Is my purse still back there? Can you grab it?”
Damn. Purse wrangling will be good training for when I finally settle down and have a woman in my life. If ever. I return to the backseat, grab her purse, and as I close my door, the wheels of the SUV squeal on the pavement. The car blasts away.
I’m dumbfounded. She fucking took off.
Is this it? Is this the moment she was hinting at? Her father didn’t respect her, and she’s no longer going to be his daughter?
Fuck! What’s worse is that I’m standing here clutching her purse to my chest, still wanting to save her.
I shake myself from the momentary stupor and run to the garage, punch in the code, and grab the set of keys to the Bugatti, mashing the garage door opener in the process. I take advantage of the car’s low profile and slip under the bay door when it’s only halfway open.
If Lilia doesn’t calm down, she might miscue on the curvy mountain road leading off the family’s compound. She’d barely navigated a few of the turns on the way home. The good news is that a sports car can go a lot faster than an SUV.
If she sees me closing in behind her, will she speed up? I can’t be responsible for encouraging reckless driving. And if I catch her, wherever she’s going, what do I do? Take her back to her father? She’ll hate me forever.
I lean into Nikolai’s idea to come up with a plan. I have to convert her now or never. I can’t be sure that if I reveal myself, she won’t play me. I wouldn’t put it past her. I can’t trust anything she says once I put my cards on the table, and yet trusting her is all I can do.
They say blood’s thicker than water, but right now I need Lilia’s desire for freedom to be thicker than blood.
Six
Lilia
Speedingawayfrommyhouse, from Erik, hell, even from my favorite Chanel handbag that he’s clutching, I consider whether this is it. Am I denouncing my affiliation with my family?
I’ll lose protection. My accounts will be frozen. A solid reason I won’t need my purse and wallet. Money isn’t a problem, though, because with the help of my hairdresser, I’ve been stashing money away for a couple years now.
I hoped that it would never come to this.
Ironically, the hairdresser who helped me is a man. Proof that not all men are assholes. Erik might be a good guy too, but his acknowledgement that what I pulled off was amazing is a far cry from supporting me.
I take comfort in his not just seeing me as an individual, but that I’m capable, and that I have hopes and dreams. He handled me differently than the rest of them.
Handled. I rub my hand over my forearm as I remember his thick fingers wrapped around me. I almost melt at the memory of his eyes and the way I could tell hesawme.
I shake myself out of it. The only thing that needs to be seen are the curves and sheer cliffs of this road. Besides, Erik’s probably getting fired right now. I glimpse in my rear-view mirror and catch the faintest hint of red as I round another corner. Is that the Bugatti?
No fucking way. Is Erik chasing me? Shit. Who else would be coming from our compound?
I’m pushing the SUV to its limits. The vehicle sways resistantly and the tires screech as I round the next corner. I’m going too fast.
I slow down, not wanting to destroy my life in my attempt to earn freedom. Another turn and I end up on a straightaway, which gives enough time for the small red car to come into view behind me. No doubt it’s the Bugatti and Erik.
I slow down.
Can I convince him to let me go? I can’t outrun him.
