Page 133 of Oathbreaker

Fuck.

I look around and see the edge of Howard U right in front of me. I must have run five blocks away from the store.

When my breaths return to normal, I think of a place to go. And then panic as another realization sets in.

I’m out here. All alone. Vulnerable.

Winter, you are a stupid, stupid bitch.

Suddenly, I want to wail. To weep big tears with gut-wrenching sobs.

You need to talk this out.

I need Genevieve.

I put my hand in my bag, then remember that my phone is in pieces on the street.

But I know where she is. I point my feet in the direction of Banneker Park.

One block. Two. Three. Then I push open the door of the office building and knock.

All these years, she’s been close by. I’ve always known this, and yet....

I’ve never seen her in person. I’ve never been in her office.

I count my heartbeats, getting dizzy at the thought that maybe she’s not here. Maybe, right when I need her, she’s?—

Genevieve opens the door to her office, and her surprise at seeing me is evident.

“Winter,” she says with her soft island lilt. “It is so good to see you.”

I stare at her for a second and then say. “You’re so tall in real life.”

And then I break down in sobs.

TWENTY-SEVEN

HUNTER

When I get the call from Rio that Winter has run off, shock and rage prevent me from responding for a solid twenty seconds.

In those seconds, I imagine killing Rio and spreading his entrails across the Lincoln Memorial. Then I’d slaughter every one of the guards I assigned to protect her, Veronica, and Ella.

Clearly, they’re asleep at the wheel.

However, when Rio says, “But we’ve got her tracker, and we know where she is. She’s safe,” my bloodlust cools. But only by a slight margin.

I grip the phone, feeling the plastic strain under my palm, and say with eerie coolness that I do not feel, “It is for that reason alone that I may let you live, Rio.”

He is silent on the other line. “Yes, sir,” he says with resolve.

“Send me her location,” I demand and end the call. The fact that throwing my phone while on the plane would potentially harm one of the flight attendants is the only reason I place it on the side table with care.

Leo looks at me with impassive eyes. “She ran off, huh?”

I don’t answer him, but something in my gaze causes him to chuckle.

“This is funny to you, Leonardo?”

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