And for a while, I just lie there, trying to make sense of this dread in my heart, wondering if I’ll ever see him again.
I know what I asked would be an impossible task, but to not even try feels like something Lex or my father would do. Something only a monster would think of. And I don’t want to be that kind of monster.
Even if my father betrayed our location, who knows what they did to him to make him give it away. He can’t have stumbled back into Lex’s hands … right?
My eyes open wide.
Lex.
His men are coming for me now. Who knows when they’ll be here, but it’ll be soon.
I push myself off the floor and look around.
I have to find something to defend myself. Put on something strong, something thick that can resist a bullet. But Beast packed all my clothes, so all I have left is a cutting board I found in the kitchen and a piece of rope used to tie the curtains.
I fish the same big butcher’s knife my father used on Beast from the kitchen and tuck it into my pocket.
It’s not much, but it’ll have to do. I’ll have to put my fears and worries aside and focus on trying to get myself to safety. Because if I know anything about Lex, it’s that he won’t stop until he finds me.
Even if I run now, he’ll probably still be on my tail.
And this time … I won’t have Beast to protect me.
* * *
Beast
I rushto the nearest store I can find that sells knives and stuff a few in my pocket, then bolt off. The alarm goes off, but by the time the owner runs out of the shop yelling his ass off, I’m already long gone.
I do the same in a different shop that sells building supplies like big chunks of rope. I swoop it all up and tuck it into a bag I kept empty, then run like hell to my car and drive off without paying.
I head into a store that sells groceries and take only the food and drinks I need, stuffing it all into another bag when no one is watching, then head out again.
The cops must have been called numerous times already, but I don’t care. I don’t have a home, and I go wherever I need to go. They won’t find me. I put on my cap and avoided all the cameras, which were easy to spot.
Even if they capture me on tape, finding me will be impossible, as no one will recognize me from anywhere. I haven’t been in the system since I was a little boy. I’m like a ghost that never existed.
A monster trained only to kill.
And I don’t steal without purpose or for money.
I steal to prepare.
When I have everything I need, I hop back into the car and race right back to the beach house. Adrenaline courses through my veins as I ignore the traffic lights and go as fast as I can, hoping, praying she’s still there.
Since the minute I left, I’ve been wrecked by nothing but guilt.
Not a moment has gone by when I didn’t wish I could take back the words I said.
But it’s too late now.
My words are floating through her head, and when I spoke them out loud, I became the kind of monster I swore I’d never be.
* * *
Aurora
Screech.