Page 138 of Manacled Hearts

Oh, god. I cannot fathom not being part of her life, her growing up without me. Would these people take her in if I’m not here? Would they keep her safe or put her in the system? They wouldn’t, would they? No. I can trust them. But I’ll leave a note just in case, or maybe I’ll text before I meet with Frankie and ask them to take care of her.

Yes. That feels right.

Fuck! No, it doesn’t!

None of this is right, but I don’t have a choice.

I wrap a strand of my hair around my fingers, nervously rolling it as I force myself not to visualize what consequences I’m going to face. Surrendering myself to Frankie is a terrible idea. Mentally I haven’t escaped him yet, but I’m also not trapped in his clutches like I used to be. This will physically bring me right back there. He’ll destroy me.

Picking up my phone I go back to his message and the photos of my sister—if I don’t do this… he’ll destroy her. There is no other way, no other choice.

I push myself back up to my feet and walk over to the window, then slowly pull the blind up, revealing the moonlight touching the tops of the trees.

Will I ever see this again if I make this choice? Will I see the outside?

Will I be alive for it?

No!

I cannot think like that. Plan—I need a plan. Finn will want to take me back to the apartment tonight. How am I going to sneak out? There are so many variables, the man has security everywhere in that building, Katya lives there too, people have started knowing me there. However, before they even come into play, it’s Finn I have to worry about. There’s no way I can sneak out without him hearing, noticing, or searching for me, and I have a feeling he won’t be asleep in time for me to leave.

I’ll have to sneak out from here. Even with Vincent’s cameras or the men patrolling the vicinity and the rest of his forest-covered land, it’s not the same as an apartment building. So I tell them I would like to stay tonight with Maya too.

The peculiarity of this situation dawns on me—I’m planning my demise. In my gut I know that this will be my end, because there is no way I will allow a man like Frankie B to own me. No one can own me. I will find a way to escape him, even if it will mean my end.

Now, I just have to act normal in front of the others for another hour and a half.

Deep in my chest a stabbing pain cracks everything I managed to build in the last few months, the shield I formed around the visceral emotions I allowed myself to feel for Finnigan. I love the others too, but Finnigan… what he built inside of me happened gradually. It has a foundation and serrated claws embedded in the edges of my heart, one by one until he became fully seated there. Part of me.

He isn’t wrapped around my heart, he is part of it. Right next to my smart, silly little sister.

And I’m about to rip my own heart out and abandon them both.

* * *

I counted twelve more breaths after my decision was made, each of them on the rhythm of my slow, dragging steps, but I haven’t changed my mind. It’s time to walk out of this room so I don’t arouse suspicion. Just as I grip the doorknob, steps sound on the other side, on the corridor, and I freeze.

“He’s with a woman.” That’s Carter’s calm, leveled voice.

“With a woman?!” Finnigan exclaims.

“That’s what I said, yes.”

“You can’t possibly imply that Frankie is currently on a date. That’s not what you’re telling me, right?!”

They found him! Pure excitement grips my chest, spilling into goosebumps over my skin, and I cover my mouth to keep from crying out.

“That, or he plans on taking her. It’s irrelevant,” Carter answers, nonchalant.

“Let’s go get him then.” Maddox.

They’re all here, but they’re still walking and their voices are starting to lose volume. They must be going into the office at the end of the hallway.

“How many men did he have with him?” Finnigan asks.

“Cameras showed three.”

“Three?! Fucking hell, the man is bold. His confidence is ridiculous if he thinks three is enough to protect him. Why the fuck is he feeling so untouchable?” Finn curses.

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