Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 112069 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112069 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
But Remy didn't return and when I asked Aleks to check on him after Marilyn arrived and he still didn't make an appearance, a bad feeling washed over me. It was confirmed a few minutes later when Aleks returned to the living room with Stan in tow. The looks on their faces were enough to tell me what I'd already started to suspect…
That once again, Remy had run.
Chapter Nineteen
Remy
My fingers were shaking badly as I flipped the cheap lock on the motel room's door. I didn't take a complete breath until the deadbolt slid into place. While that familiar taste tickled the back of my throat like it always did, for once, it wasn't the need for heroin that had me so on edge.
It was the fear of being found.
Namely by Luca.
Although it was probably ridiculous to think the man would be searching for me at that point. It had been over a week since I’d left the house he'd been renting. I'd taken the coward's way out, literally. Of all the things I'd done in my past, none seemed to compare to the guilt and shame I felt for abandoning Violet like I had. And knowing just how much Luca likely detested me for being such a coward made me sick to my stomach.
Maybe if it hadn't been so easy to walk out, I would've felt just a little less ashamed. At that point, though, there'd been no reason for Stan or any of the other bodyguards to keep close tabs on me. Ronan's men had stopped watching the house several days before I’d left, and Stan had only accompanied me whenever I’d left the stately home. So gathering my few things after lying to Luca about wanting to get cleaned up the day Violet’s great-aunt had come to get her had been easy, logistically, anyway. There hadn't been much to gather up, since I'd left behind the majority of the things Luca had bought me over the several weeks I’d spent with him and Violet. I'd taken only what had belonged to me. Then I’d simply walked down the stairs and out the side door and that had been it. After that, it’d been easy to hitch a ride to wherever I’d wanted to go.
But for whatever reason, I’d ended up being far closer to Luca than I would've liked. I'd known better than to go back to my apartment in the city and I’d left behind the phone that Luca had bought me. However, I had gone out of my way to get what little cash I had left in my bank account out. I’d taken a bus all the way down to the Washington-Oregon state border to withdraw the last of my savings and had then closed the account. It should have been so easy to continue south or any other direction except back north, but north was exactly where my mind had decided to take me, apparently because it didn’t believe in doing things the easy way.
As jittery as I was, I automatically reached for the hem of my shirt as I began walking toward the small, dirty bathroom. The place I'd chosen to stay was a dump, but with limited financial means, I hadn't wanted to waste my money on a nicer hotel room.
I made it about ten steps into the room when I saw the dark figure sitting in the tattered armchair across from the bed. I jumped backward and let out a harsh breath. In my gut, I knew who it was. The scene was all too familiar, considering the man had broken into my apartment and had been sitting in a similar position the night after I'd slugged him at the wedding.
This time he didn't speak.
And this time, I was too terrified to move.
I stood with my back against the door as Luca slowly rose. There wasn't any light in the room except for the little bit that filtered in from the parking lot through the curtains. It most certainly wasn't enough to see his expression, at least not from where I was standing. But I didn't need to see his face to know he was pissed. I tried to remind myself that he wasn't someone who would ever hurt me, but admittedly, it was difficult. In all our previous situations, I hadn't gone out of my way to deceive him and avoid him. And I hadn't run out on the little girl who'd needed me.
The reminder of what a selfish bastard I was made my knees feel weak and I found myself leaning heavily against the door for support. I deserved whatever he would do to me. There was nothing he could say that would make me feel any worse anyway.
I forced myself not to move as he closed the distance between us, his gait almost predatory in nature.