Page 2 of Catching His Runaway

Pulling back, I shrug off my jacket. It’s one of my favorites. Made of leather, and plenty roomy, this jacket has kept me warm on cool days, and made me look cool during the hot ones.

Unfortunately, I have nothing better to keep me from slicing up my body from the blades above.

Apologizing softly under my breath, I climb the fence halfway and chuck it over. Once it snags, I drop back down to recollect myself.

A good seven years have passed since I last needed to climb this thing. I could’ve sworn it wasn’t this tall, but I don’t have time to question it. I need to get over. Even if my body isn’t a fan of gravity, I have to get over this next obstacle.

Pumping myself up, I get a running start. Reminding myself of what’ll happen to me if I don’t get over, I use the fear to fuel my adrenaline to make it up.

Just when I think getting up is the hard part, getting down is more challenging. Thanks to my hands getting sweaty from the solid ten-foot climb, my fingers slip when I try to lower my body down the links. Unable to catch myself, I hit my feet unevenly and stumble back, falling directly on my ass.

Gritting my teeth as pain shoots up my spine, I swallow down the yelp that tries to escape, and fist the blades of grass beneath me as my agitation grows.

Agitation toward myself for getting into this position in the first place. Sighing, there’s no point in getting upset now. I’ve already had this conversation ten times over. Can’t change the past, but I can do something about the future.

Staring up at my jacket with a frown, I know there’s no use in trying to fetch it. The blades have surely already ruined the fabric.

Getting up, I rub at my sore ass as I turn toward the building in the distance.

With the assumption that my family has guards patrolling, I carefully make my way through the grass with my eyes peeled. Coming in from the back, I’m relieved to see the gardens are as lush as ever. Obscuring my presence as I move, it’s thick enough to ease the knot in my chest.

Hunching down, I keep my eyes peeled for any signs of movement. Surprisingly enough, the back of the estate seems quiet. No footsteps or casual conversations are happening between guards. Just pure, peaceful silence.

When I stayed here, these men had scheduled rounds. There wasalwayssomeone. So, unless Santino has changed our family’s business ethics, there is no reason for it to be quiet.

Finally, I hear steps. Heavy footing belonging to someone who has to be big, I carefully look around to see what I’m dealing with here.

Seeing a body of muscle moving along the brick exterior too close for comfort, my heart flutters, and I inhale sharply. Ducking below a bush, I pause before lifting back up in confusion. Squinting, I try to get a better look at the guy.

My heart stops.

Just—full fucking stop. Like my ribs are a cage, and some traitorous part of me justdroppedthe keys. Then it kicks back in, violent and uneven, pounding so hard I swear he can hear it from across the park.

It’s him.Tommy.

Tommy, as in the guy who got the order to follow me around and make sure I never got in trouble? He’salive?

Not only is he alive, but he’s beefed up. He’s aged in the handful of years I’ve been gone. Frown lines mark up his face like he hasn’t smiled since his youth.

Even when he was my bodyguard, I left him so stressed that I don’t think he smiled much back then, either. Something’s different, though. Something has changed.

Shaking my head, I take in my surroundings to refocus myself. Now that I see the back entrance isn’t safe, I need another plan.

Now isn’t the time to get distracted by the past. I left all that behind when I slipped out. No point in resurfacing old feelings.

The garage. Surely, there’s a car inside I can take. Something that can stand a few scrapes and dents that’ll be an easy fix. Something that won’t be hard to sell to the right people.

Will I find something worth enough value to pay off this debt? As a last-ditch effort, I can only hope so. Even if I can get a chunk of my debt paid off, maybe it’ll put me in a better light. I can get a little more time before I’m hunted down and picked off.

Grass stains my palms as I crawl. Smart enough to stop and listen, I feel a little better when silence welcomes me. Once I’m reaching the end of this hedge, I’ve got no choice but to stand up and hope no one will be around to get in my way.

Unfortunately, luck hasn’t been on my side lately. Ever since I got into my current mess, I’ve had one hell of an unlucky streak building up against me.

I don’t know how I pissed Karma off, but she’s really got it out for me.

Tommy has only not continued around the building like I’d hoped, he chose to take a seat at the bench looking out at the entire garden like he needed space to unwind.

And now, we’re staring at each other. Just like that, time feels like it’s standing still. All I can hear is the beat of my heart. Like a crescendo, it goes from steady to racing. Soon, it’s pounding against my chest.

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