Page 128 of Charity's Redemption

“What was this Manning business? I was, um… distracted.”

“He doesn’t want to take the risk.”

“Take the risk of what?”

“He’s concerned about his family and any blow back this might have.”

“Tell him we’ll make him so rich he can buy a new family.”

A strange humming noise along with the distinct roar of my Maserati firing up in my garage had me bolting out of my office, down the hall, and throwing open the garage door to find it empty.

“I’m going to kill her.”

“Who?”

“Charity.”

Spur of the moment.

Split decision.

Sudden impulse.

Those were all the phrases I could use when Luca called me asking why I’d taken off with his car, but what I really said only made him angry.

“Because you wanted to?”

“That’s what I said.”

“You better get your ass back here now, or I’m going to hunt you down, and beat it in front of everyone.”

“Like a game of cat and mouse? This sounds entertaining.” I laughed. “See, I knew you’d help me with my boredom.”

“This isn’t a game, girl. Get back here with my car intact or so help me—”

“I’ll be extra careful. Catch me if you can.”

I hit the ‘end call’ button and floored it down the freeway, towards a place that held peace and quiet.

Would it piss him off?

That was apparent.

Would I enjoy every minute of his wrath?

Most definitely. In fact, I was banking on it.

I was like a rebellious teen who wanted attention by any means necessary, and in this case, it was stealing his car and making him find me—even though it was simple since I wore the bracelet.

Pulling into the grocery store, I ran inside and grabbed three colossal heads of lettuce, paid, then hopped back in the car, all the while keeping an eye out for Luca.

Back when I’d kissed Max and took off with embarrassment, I went to a pond filled with ducks.

I’d watched a momma with her babies swim away across the water with wiggling butts. They’d placed a sense of freedom in my soul that day, a day that seemed like forever ago when things were up in the air and complicated.

The sky was blue without a single cloud, and the grass had turned brown as it went dormant. But that didn’t take away from the beauty I noticed when I parked his car and made my way towards the water with the bags of lettuce.

Weeds. The only thing still green brushed against my ankles, making me thankful I’d worn jeans.

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