“Umm…I. Did you check the bunker? It’s on the third story behind the painting of the naked woman. There’s a bulletproof room in there. He could survive in there with Maria for weeks if he had to. Otherwise, he has a property in Aspen, one in Milan, two in New York, Hong Kong. He could be anywhere.”
Officer Lucock sighs. Clearly, that wasn’t the answer he was hoping for. “Thank you, Skylah. We’re going to look into it. Just be careful, okay. Stay inside, lock your doors and make sure your family is aware of what’s going on. We don’t want you to get hurt again.”
I nod despite him not being able to see me. “Okay.”
“Bye, for now, I’ll give you an update when I have one.”
The call goes dead and I’m left with Slade, Nessa, and Damian staring at me. “What?” Slade demands, reaching across the table for me. “What happened?”
“It’s Lucien,” I say, unable to focus on any of them. “He’s gone. They couldn’t find him.”
Nessa gasps. “What does that mean?”
“It means he’s coming for me.”
Chapter 16
I sit on the sidelines of the old court, staring into space as Slade sits across from me, watching me like a hawk. He’s been doing it since the second we left school, which just happened to be the moment the words ‘he’s coming for me,’ slipped out of my mouth.
Slade grabbed my hand and stormed toward his car with Damian struggling to keep up. Nessa stayed behind as she had an assignment to turn in during her last class of the day, but promised to be on my doorstep the second school let out.
That’s how we ended up here.
A basketball sits between us, but it hasn’t been touched since Damian first put it down. Not a word has been spoken and not a muscle moved.
It’s kinda eerie. We all seem lost, unsure of what to do. Me, terrified that this happiness is all going to be stolen from me, Slade wondering what kind of monster he shares his DNA with, and Damian struggling to figure out how he can possibly help to make all of this bullshit go away.
My head has been in a fog since the phone call from Officer Lucock. I don’t even know what to make of my emotions. I’m panicked, scared and anxious, but most of all, I’m fucking tired. I just want this to end. I don’t like this feeling of always having to look over my shoulder. I want to be free.
I keep calling myself a bird set free but in reality, I’m not that at all. I’m still caged, it just happens to be a bigger one. I need these chains off my ankles so I can fly away and start being who I was always meant to be. I want to be the daughter my parents always hoped I’d grow into, I want to be the sister my brother can be proud of and I want to be the niece that Shay doesn’t have to be terrified for.
I just want it all to go away.
Damian sighs and reaches for the ball, rolling it back and forth between his legs, but not looking up. “So, what’s going to happen?” he murmurs, finally breaking the heavy silence. “Are you going to run?”
My eyes snap up at him as Slade’s lift to mine. “Run?” I demand. “Who the fuck said anything about running? I finally have everything I was supposed to have. This is where my mother grew up, this is where my aunt lives, this is where you guys are. I’m not about to tuck my tail between my legs and leave it all behind.”
“I know that,” he tells me with his heart on his sleeve. “But maybe you’re not getting how serious this is. Look what he did to Blake. Look what he did to you guys on that fucking bridge? This isn’t a game, Sky. Maybe you should run. Maybe you need to go somewhere he can’t find you until this all blows over. I can’t have you getting hurt again. I don’t know how it happened, but I consider you one of my best friends and I’d hate to see you get hurt because of this. You know he’s not going to stop until he either gets you, the cops get him, or one of us kills the fucker.”
My gaze flicks across to Slade and I see the same thoughts running through his head. He wants me to be safe and as far away from this shit as possible, but unlike Damian, he doesn’t have the strength to let me go and I can guarantee that he wouldn’t run with me because he’d never leave his family in harm’s way.
Seeing his answer loud and clear, I look back at Damian knowing Slade and I are on the same page. “I’m sorry, but there’s no other choice,” I tell him. “I have to stay and see this through. If he comes, we’ll be ready. I won’t let him win this.”