Page 44 of Catching His Runaway

Once we’re in the car, I’m punching it away from the estate. “He’s not going to want to come. We’ll be wasting our time. Every second counts.”

Urzo pulls out his phone, scrolling through his contracts. “Trust me, he’ll come. Even if Elijah is paying twenty men to protect him, it won’t be enough. It’ll be worth the pit stop.”

Knowing Urzo won’t give me the information of Elijah’s whereabouts even if I threaten him, I know my only option is to go along and hope Valeria is still in one piece by the time we get to her.

If not, then that rat-faced bastard better be prepared for hell to rain down on him.

15

Valeria

My eyelids feel heavy, my head sluggish. The weight isn’t just on my face, it’s everywhere. Like someone dipped my body in wet concrete and let it dry.

Whatever bastard got the jump on me also jabbed me in the neck with something sharp before we were even a mile away from the estate. The gun he used as a threat was a big push toward not wanting to put up a fight.

If someone wanted me dead, I doubt they’d care whether they killed me on Bertelli land or not.

The fear of the unknown doesn’t jump out at me, not immediately. When I try to move and realize that there is stained rope wrapped around my wrists, not even that is enough to get my heart pounding. Whatever drug they used on me has left me feeling eerily calm.

I’m almost tempted to close my eyes and get a little more sleep. Anything to get rid of the exhaustion prickling in the corners of my vision.

In the distance, I hear the crackling of a fire. Blinking my eyes a few times, I stare at the artificial flames for a few seconds. Hell, maybe it’s for minutes. From the way my eyes burn from getting lost in the view, I have to snap myself out of it.

First things first, I need to figure out where I am. Then I need to get out of these bindings. Then–

“You’re finally awake.”

Elijah.

I know his voice like the back of my hand. In every nightmare, it’s his voice that whispers threats in my ear. His voice haunts me.

It takes a moment before I realize it’s not just him. There are a few others in this small room as well. All of them are hugging their weapons, keeping them close to their bodies. Some have pistols, a few have much larger weapons clutched in their hands. Assault rifles.

I can’t focus on them, not when the only man who actuallywantsme dead is the one standing up from the couch pressed against the wall. While his dark eyes remain on me, he kicks something near his foot as he steps toward me.

The last time we were together like this, we were in a room far cooler than this. There are no distant sounds of slot machines or muffled speech. We’re not beneath the casino.

He’s had me taken somewhere far more personal to him.

If he wanted to kill me, why would he take me to a place that looks lived in? A place I can only describe as his home.

God, I’m in this monster’s home. From the looks of my surroundings, I want to place myself in what looks like a cabin setting. Meaning, we’re out in the middle of who knows where. Just my luck.

How am I supposed to get out of here in one piece?

Is anyone looking for me? Have they noticed my disappearance yet? I don’t even know how much time has passed since I’ve been taken.

My eyes close, and the first face to come to my mind is Tommy. I have no doubthe’snoticed I’m gone. The question is, does he think I’ve run away once more? After what we’ve done, did he think I used his lowered guard to abandon him all over again?

“No use in tears, Valeria. You know I’m not a man who can be swayed by them,” Elijah muses, his hot sticky breath brushing my cheeks as he reaches me in all but a few steps.

My eyes are wet, but not for him.

I never got the chance to tell Tommy how I felt about him. I should’ve taken the opportunity while it was right there, and now I know what my biggest regret will be with what little time I have left.

Elijah will kill me. He made his intentions clear enough the last time he had me tied up.

“They’re not for you,” I hiss between my teeth, offended that this monster thinks I’d cry because of what he’s doing. I spilled enough tears last time, and they got me nowhere.

---