Page 39 of Something Borrowed

It’s clearhe won’tkidnapme.

That would be insane.

No one is that crazy.

“Are you ok?” he asks, looking down at me. I nod.

Rufino takes my hand and starts walking too fast down a hallway. I stumble in my stilettos and grumble that he needs to slow down. He growls and bends down to scoop me up, cradling me in his arms.

“Where are we going for real though?” I ask with slurred words, wondering why he seems so tense.

“You’ll see.” He replies, focused on other things.

I can barely focus on his face never mind where he is carrying me off to.

Before I know it we are outside in the fresh night air. Bright, colorful lights shine from the surrounding buildings. Casinos, night clubs, restaurants - all trying to entice us to come inside.

A gorgeous girl walks past wearing nothing but feathers.

I grin and wave at her.

But Rufino doesn’t seem to be interested in any of it - instead he yanks open the door of a car and sets me down in the passenger seat.

I knot my brows, worrying that maybe this isn’t a game. My father is going to freak out when he finds out I’ve ditched the guards.

He’ll upgrade my convent stay from a nice comfortable room to a prison cell in their basement.

I wiggle in my seat, freaking out for a second. I grip the door handle with my fingers. Push it open. Get out. Go back inside. That’s the right choice to make.

But I am awful at making right choices.

My father constantly reminds me how terrible I am as a daughter.

Ishouldgo back inside - but the idea of my father finding out I ditched the guards sends a wild thrill through me. I giggle and when Rufino climbs into the driver’s side he glances over at me. “Are you laughing?” he asks. I let go of the door handle and settle into the seat.

“This is fun.” I grin.

He raises one eyebrow at me. “I’m glad you see it that way.”

The engine roars to life, and he wheel spins away from the casino that was hosting the afterparty.

I glance behind us, trying to see out the back window, but all I can make out is a colorful mess of neon lights blurring into each other.

“No one is following us.” He says confidently, skidding around a corner.

“Then why are you in such a rush?”

“Because the sooner we get this part of it done the happier I will be.”

“What part of what?”

He smirks and I can see he will not tell me. He’s enjoying this too much now. Escaping the guards was the hard part - the rest of it is the fun part by the looks of things.

I press the window button, winding it all the way down, leaning my head out of the window and letting the window whip my hair loose around my face I scream, “This is Las Vegas, baby.”

This is the most exciting thing I’ve ever done.

I am fully aware of how stupid it is.

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