Page 7 of Runaway Hearts: Seduced by Danger

“Ah! Believe me, he’s all big and grown…” She finishes in Russian, and I’m glad I don’t understand everything.

“I should never answer your calls when you’re in post-coital bliss,” I mumble.

“Say what?” She snaps back to reality.

“I’m happy for you and your dirty bunny cop. Now, can I please proceed with my vacation?”

Arietta continues the conversation on her own. “Maybe you could even have sex with a fisherman. I heard they’re quite the catch.”

I burst out laughing at the pun, my cheeks cramping from the lack of it. “I hate how much I love you.”

“Oh, Marianne… Ya lyublyu tebya do luny i obratno.”I love you to the moon and back.“Now, go have some wild adventures for both of us.”

“I’ll try,” I say as I hang up.

A smile curves my lips. Arietta’s infectious energy always lifts my spirits, even when I’m reluctant to admit it.

Once packed, I toss my suitcase into the car, the black clouds morphing over me like a warning.

On the positive side, I’ll see my family soon. It will take me approximately thirteen hours of driving to reach my uncle’s house in St. Gabriel and another twelve hours to reach Nay, where my beach house is located.

The stop at my uncle’s house is a mere pit stop.

Recharge and go.

It’s been two years since I last saw my family. When I think about them, an invisible weight presses on my lungs so hard I wheeze instead of breathing. My uncle Corey and his wife, Nina, are the only family I still talk to. When I fled the nest to study to become a nurse, just before I turned nineteen, I wanted to leave all the bitter memories that came with it. I wanted to prove Richard—my father—was wrong about me.

Erasing myself from my family meant healing. An accomplishment on my own. I thought I could leave the pain behind and forge a fresh path.

But the wounds of my past were too deep to heal, and I sought solace in the arms of Eric. It was a huge mistake; he only left behind a trail of shattered dreams. I would’ve been safer playing Russian roulette with a fully loaded gun. And now, as I sit in my car, the memories of our breakup, four months ago flood my mind.

The air in our living room crackled with tension as Eric loomed over me, his tall frame casting a menacing shadow. His face twisted into asneer of pure disdain; his hazel eyes narrowed. “Oh, princess. This isn’t a mistake. We’re over,” he said, and his jaw ticked at my stillness.

My eyes stung from unshed tears as I tried to avoid his gaze.Don’t break.

“You’re a real piece of work, you know that?” he spat out as his hand scratched his buzz cut. He stepped closer, invading my personal space and making me shrink back against the wall.

“Why? What did I do?” I asked, my mind already retreating into a protective fog.

Hush, crazy lady, don’t say a word...

Eric’s laugh was harsh and cruel. “Look at you, Marianne. How pathetic,” he said, wrapping his massive hand around my throat. “I said it’s over, and you just stand there like a lost little girl.”

“O... Okay.” The words were barely audible as they fell from my lips, my heart breaking into even smaller pieces with each passing second.

Nobody’s gonna buy you a mockingbird...

Eric’s grip tightened around my neck, his scent of leather and rosemary wafting through my nose. “Who said you can talk back?” he growled, shaking me roughly. “Do you have any idea what’s gonna happen now, princess?”

I shook my head, trying to apologize and appease him before it was too late. Eric chuckled darkly, and I knew whatever came next would be nothing short of a nightmare.

In the labyrinth of your mind, where demons crawl...

“You’re going to realize no one else can put up with you without your fucking pills,” he snarled, his voice dripping with sadistic pleasure. “Nobody but me.”

Silent screams echo, haunting the hall...

“You’ll beg me to take you back, and I can’t wait to break you all over again.”

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