Page 33 of Run with Me

“So if someone paid you to find me, you’d sell meout?”

“Who’s looking foryou?”

“Someone… maybe… is.”

“Anna, I can’t help you if you don’t helpme.”

I sighed. I’d been running for so long that it felt like I’d lost a few weeks of life and I really needed a break. Hoping it would be easier to hide in the big city, I’d chosen one of the biggest ones in the country and then landed in the apartment of a person who could profit off me. The city wasn’t turning out to be as welcoming as I’d originally thought — up until now, that is. Despite a weird career choice, Jack was nice. He was the first person I’d met who seemed to care. Xavier as well. If the business partners and Mary didn’t sell me out, maybe I could stay here for a while. The list of people I had to trust was growing too quickly, but I had someone else to think about as well. My nutrition hadn’t been as good as I would have liked in order to give my baby the best care possible. The stress of my trip itself had taken a toll on my body, but at least we were still alive. Once the word about me had spread, a bounty hunter would be the first to know. All I needed was a quick escape plan, just incase.

“You can’t help me. No one can help me. The man who’s looking for me is like a ghost.” It was still difficult to believe that people like Ben, who’d smuggled millions of dollars, could hide so well from the authorities. The feds had come to Pace more than once, but each time they did, the Cortez family was gone. They had eyes everywhere and it made my skin crawl withfear.

“If I stay, he’ll find me. Oh, he’ll find me and he’ll drag me back there by my hair if he has to, and he’ll kill anyone who helped me.” I saw Mary take a quick breath in. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he already hired you to find me, and you’re just buttering me up. And you didn’t answer my question.”

I wanted to know if Jack would sell me out. I wanted to know if I could rest for a couple of days in a small corner of the big city before heading out again. Or was I toolate?

“Maybe you should just let her go, Jack. I don’t want any trouble coming into our house. We have a baby to think aboutnow.”

Jack stood across from his wife and gently took her under her arm, whispering, “Mary, I think you should leave.”

“What? From my own house? How can you even ask that ofme?”

“Mary, you have a doctor’s appointment, and you insisted that your sister come with you this week. Remember?”

“Well, am I just supposed to leave you here withher?”

He was slowly nudging her toward the door, grabbing her purse off the kitchen counter on theway.

“Yes, you are, because I love you and I know that deep in that beautifully dark heart of yours, you love me as well. Go to your appointment. Stop by the spa on the way back and by the time you return home, we’ll have figured out how to helpAnna.”

Jack was sweet. Too sweet, it seemed for Mary. Yet I didn’t think she’d ever realize it. Had I judged her wrong? After all, people had judged me wrong so many times in the past month that it would be difficult to count.

“Fine, but I still don’t understand how you’re supposed to help someone who it obviously seems doesn’t want to be helped.”

Mary stuffed her purse under her arm. Jack covered her shoulders with a thick sweater and kissed her on her cheek. “I love you. Don’t stress, please. It’s not good for you or for thebaby.”

“I know. I’ll see you this afternoon.”

Mary left, and I inched closer to the hallway, still looking around for my shoes “Mary is upset,” I whispered.

“Mary’s hormonal. She’s a good woman and she’ll get over it. I don’t want to stress her, but I can see that you need myhelp.”

“How?”

“Xavier told me not to let you out. I don’t know why just yet, but I’m expecting he’ll tell me when he returns. One way or another, I do know that you showed up in my life for a reason.”

“You’re a strange man, Jack Madden.”

He shifted, bracing his shoulder against the wall, giving me an inquisitive look. He was good at asking questions, like a detective.

“You’re a bounty hunter. I should stay away from you. But you’re kind, and… there’s just something aboutyou…”

“I’m glad you feel that way, and I hope you remember that. You’re safe here, Anna, so make yourself comfortable. Breakfast?”

At the mere mention of food, my mouth watered, and I nodded. In that moment of hunger which could easily be sated, I forgot about my shoes and the elevator.

“Come, join me. I haven’t had any either.”

Jack motioned with his hand to the stool, and I almost tripped getting over there in a hurry. The white leather seat felt cold underneath me. It warmed as soon as I sat, the heat of my skin penetrating the soft cover. I reached for the black coffee and took a sip while Jack filled his plate. Except he didn’t sit down with it to eat; instead, he passed the heap of food tome.

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