Page 8 of Runaway Girl
As I shuffled past Burt, he laid a hand on my shoulder, which sent a spark to my brain. Before I could talk myself out of it, I hit him with an offer that we both couldn’t refuse.
“Burt, if you message me when Miss Thorne returns, I will pay you $20,000.”
He narrowed his eyes. Professional façade gone. “She’s a good girl. I’m not letting you or any man loose on her.”
A spark of respect registered. But that didn’t help my situation. “I’m good for the money, if that's what you’re worried about?”
“I’m not going to let you hurt her,” he said, his voice hard as steel.
I huffed. “If anything, I’ll be the one who gets hurt.”When she slaps me upside the head. “I won’t even touch her.”
“There are other ways to hurt someone, Mr Harris.”
Awareness and disappointment flashed in the older man’s eyes, causing shame to ignite in mine. He had known who I was the whole time.
“Now, how about we make a deal,” he continued as if he didn’t just gut me on the spot. “You will give me $50,000 in return for one text.ButI come with you. You do not enter her apartment.You do not touch her. You do not threaten her in any way. I will be there… watching.”
Man, who does he think I am, some stalker?
Well, he’d have a point there.
“I swear. I only want to talk to her.”
He assessed me a minute longer, then offered a hard handshake. “We’ve struck a deal.”
“Deal.”
I had waited and waited for that pesky text to come through for days, wondering if I had been conned by the innocent-looking doorman called Burt. I had only sent him half the money as insurance, but after no word, I was definitely contemplating my life choices.
Until my phone beeped, and I was in the car and on the road in sixty seconds flat.
I gave myself a pep talk on the way to her apartment. Rallying towards my next play.
I’ll let her yell, scream, cuss me out—anything. Probably even consider letting her throw hands and land a few, too.
We were both fiery and hot-headed—that’s what originally attracted us to one another. Alicia was extremely passionate, and I didn’t hold back either, which usually converted to the best outcome in the bedroom. We were a burning inferno together in nature and personality, yet that often spilled over in overzealous words or regretful disputes.
As proven by Subject A—me. This time, I didn’t know if a weak apology would be enough… The thought had me terrified.
I didn’t even remember driving all the way to her apartment complex, but the next thing I processed was barging into the elevator with Burt chasing behind.
“Breathe,” he said from behind my shoulder, the reminder well-taken as I followed his command.
When the elevator slid open, I took one more deep breath, made my way to Alicia’s door and knocked.
I was ready for her rage.Come at me, love. Burn me up and spit me out. Just give me another chance.
After the longest five minutes known to mankind, the front door swung open, giving me the first glimpse of her in what felt like forever.
But what I found wasn’t what I expected.
I anticipated my fiery little vixen spitting insults and curses my way. But there was none.
Instead, there stood Alicia. Stone-cold, apathetic and utterly indifferent. As if I didn’t matter. As ifwedidn’t matter… As if I were a stranger.
Chapter 6
ALICIA
