Page 1 of Catching His Runaway

1

Valeria

Weeds lick at my ankles, those with sharp edges, leaving lines of red against my skin. The sting is short-lived, hardly lasting when I’ve got a weight resting against my shoulders, keeping my mind preoccupied.

I shouldn’t be here. Fuck, I promised myself that I’d never return home.

Now look at me, sneaking between trees and holding my breath like I expect a familiar face to jump out and yellboo.

Nothing out here except for some squirrels that are asking for their asses kicked since they keep jump-scaring me and making my body flinch each time they skitter through the greenery.

No matter how many times I jerk, it doesn’t matter. I have to keep pushing forward. I don’t have time to worry about anything out here in the wilderness.

The real danger is up ahead.

The Bertelli estate. In short, the place I grew up for the first eighteen years of my life. Not against my will or anything of the sort, but that never made it feel less like a prison. Especially during my teenage years, when I wanted to leave the most. Once they stuckhimat my side, everything changed.

If I’d stayed, my life would have likely been restricted like that of my family.

My relationship with my family is shaky. My upbringing lacked the idyllic suburban setting often portrayed as normal, with friends and a golden retriever as a pet.

Sure, I had three older brothers who picked fun at me as we grew up. Sometimes we fought, but most of the time, we used each other for support. They made life feel as normal as they could. We were all raised for our positions in the future, like pieces to an overly complicated puzzle. Unlike my brothers, my piece wasn’t cut out to fit the missing hole.

The only brother I wasn’t as close with was Santino, and that wasn’t his fault. As the eldest, he had responsibilities to take care of and a role to claim once our father passed down his title of Don. He had the most weight on his shoulders, morphing him into someone I hardly recognized.

Has he continued down the same path and become cold-hearted and bloodthirsty when it involves his enemies?

I shiver at the thought, knowing full well that I won’t be returning in good graces.

How will they react when they see me? Will they welcome me back with open arms, or string me high with a traitor sign hung around my neck for everyone to see?

Okay, that’s a bit dramatic. They wouldn’thurtme.

Even better, they won’t even know that I’ve stopped by for a brisk visit. I’ve snuck out of this place before, I’m sure I can do it a second time without letting anyone know.

Once I get my hands on what I need, I can once again promise myself that I’ll never return. When the time comes, I’ll keep the promise this time.

Hopefully, I can make my way back out with ease. I don’t have time to get lost. Once I have my hands on something of value, I don’t want to risk someone else catching me with my arms full and stealing it away before I can sell it off.

That’ll be an issue for future me. Right now, present me only needs to focus on getting to my destination without attracting any attention.

It doesn’t take much longer before I reach my first obstacle. The fence wrapped around the estate. Looking up at the metal coiling around the fence, I scowl.

At what point did they add barbed wire? The last time I checked, no one ever dared to come straight to our home to pick a fight. Who in the hell are they trying to keep out? Better yet, there’s the chance they’re trying to keep someonein.

If I knew coming and going would be such an issue, I would’ve brought some cutters. If I weren’t in such a rush to get here to begin with, then maybe I would’ve thought about stopping somewhere before making my way out so far into the countryside.

Though, could I have risked making any stops? Even if I have been playing it safe these last handful of weeks by paying everything with cash, cameras are everywhere nowadays. I had to leave everything behind to avoid being followed.

If I’m caught before I have what I need, I’m done for. Can’t even dig my grave, not when I’d end up underwater with a brick chained to my ankle instead of being six feet under.

Lowering my gaze back to the fence, I hesitate at the thought of them improving on their defense with more than some blades. What if I try to touch the fence and it shocks the hell out of me?

Nothing better than someone on the other side finding me unconscious. That would beverybad. Especially if they still do their rounds by the hour.

As cautiously as I can, I inch closer. Close enough to see if I can hear any signs to show it’s safe. Holding my breath, everything remains silent besides the occasional squawk coming from birds. Knowing there’s only one way to really test out how safe it is, I touch it with a wince.

Realizing that I’m not getting electricity pumped through my system, I sigh in relief.

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