AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Raine: Not tonight. But I’ll see you tomorrow.
Theo: Yeah, okay. Tomorrow it is.
I wince at his short reply, and even though you can’t deduce somebody’s tone from a text message, I know Theo well enough to know he’s pissed.
Or maybe even a little hurt.
But I don’t know what to do.
Vaughn is dangerous. And although the Heirs hold a lot of power and status in Saints Cross, I’m not sure they could go up against someone like Vaughn and come out unscathed.
Not that I’d ever expect Theo to go head-to-head with him for me.
Why would he?
It’s one thing to say I’m his but he doesn’t mean it, not really. He doesn’t know the things I’ve done. The secrets I keep.
Inhaling a sharp breath, I check my windows and door. Locking it won’t keep Theo out, not if he’s dead set on seeing me, but hopefully it will keep Vaughn out.
Who am I kidding?
Locks and bolts won’t keep Vaughn away.
My gaze lands on my backpack and for a second, I consider it.
I consider shoving whatever belongings I can in there and taking off tonight. Hoping to outrun him. But he warned me not to do anything stupid. And I know all too well what he’s capable of.
Leaving would be the sensible thing. The only shot I have at escaping him. But what if he hurts Theo? Millie or the girls? Because that’s the kind of man Vaughn is.
Part of me hopes Theo will text again and give me a small sign that we’re okay. It’s more than I deserve. But I want to cling on to the fantasy that we could have had something, that maybe we could have made it work.
Once he finds out the truth, he’ll never look at me the same again.
* * *
By the time morning rolls around, I’m a mess.
I barely slept, constantly tossing and turning, dreaming of Vaughn’s face. The wicked glint in his eyes as he stepped out of the shadows.
I go through the motions of getting ready for class but I’m hardly present, lost in a life I thought I’d left behind.
When you find yourself lost and alone in the world, it’s easy to latch onto the first good thing that comes along. And after a string of bad foster placements, Vaughn had been that for me.
He’d protected me, showered me with gifts and attention. He’d made me feel safe. And then when my guard was down, he’d lured me into his web and before I knew it, he owned me.
My phone taunts me as I grab it off my desk. I could text Theo. Confide in him and—
It doesn’t matter.
He’ll never want me once the truth comes out, and it will. Vaughn likes to play games. It’s what he’s best at.
Before fear gets the better of me, I grab my bag and make my way downstairs. Of course, Millie appears right on cue. As if she’s been waiting for me.
“Morning.” She smiles, quickly pocketing her phone.
“Hi.” I frown, unable to disguise the suspicion in my voice. “Who was that?”
“No one.”
