Page 7 of Tied in Knots
I just run.
Well, a hobbling run while trying to stuff the money into my jeans pocket for safe keeping.
With the backpack hitting me in the back as my feet hit the ground, almost winding me, I keep going. My heart is hammering in my chest, my breath is coming is harsh, lung-burning pants. I’m not that fit. I’m not that strong, but I’m free and that will keep me moving even if my body tries to give out.
I won’t be sold like a slave. The indignity of it makes my cheeks flame with humiliation. How could they do that to me? Knowing I’m so close to my twenty-first birthday and my first heat makes it even worse. I wouldn’t have even had time to get used to the alphas, or even know them before they took my body and mated with me, implanting a baby inside me to grow and raise.
Chancing a look back after I’ve been running through the neighbourhood streets, weaving in and out of the roads to throw him off my trail, I don’t see anyone following me. That doesn’t mean I’m safe. He could just be hiding, or maybe he will suddenly appear in front of me somehow. That thought makes me spin my head back to face the front. Gasping for breath, I finally see a bus pulling up at a stop. Almost crying with relief, I pick up my pace and run as fast as I can with a twisted ankle.
I see the open doors. I see the steps leading up to the bus driver.
He looks over at me, and with a smug smile, he pulls away before I can climb aboard.
Skidding to a stop, I yell after him, “You fucker! I’m in danger!”
But he doesn’t stop. He keeps trundling along sitting in his swill of self-righteous power.
“Bastard,” I rasp, my throat burning, my mouth so dry, I bet it feels like the desert.
Glancing around in panic, I can’t see Pete anywhere, and now that I’ve stopped, I can’t keep going. My ankle feels like it is on fire and my head is swimming. My vision is blurring, and I can’t breathe.
“Fuck. Fuck,” I pant and start to stagger along to the next bus stop. I can’t linger.
The sun is shining in my eyes, making them sting. Raising my hand up to shade my eyes, I keep going.
“Please, please, please,” I whisper as I push myself more than I ever have physically. I want to curl up into a ball and die while crying.
When I see the next bus stop, there is a shelter with a metal bench running along the inside.
I can’t.
I mustn’t.
I have to.
Sinking onto it gratefully, with a low moan, I slump my shoulders, hunching them with my backpack still on. I hope the next bus will be along shortly.
With something going my way, a bus pulls up a few moments later.
Hauling my battered body to my feet, I lurch for the doors as they swing open and grab onto the railing to help me up.
The female beta bus driver gives me a smile. “Where to?”
I almost weep with gratitude. “As close to the train station as you can get me.”
Glancing over my shoulder in a panic that Pete is going to show up and drag me off the bus while I’m standing here vulnerable and afraid, her gaze sweeps over me.
“As it happens, I’m going right by,” she says steadily and shuts the doors behind me. “Take a seat,” she adds, looking back at the road and sets off.
“Thank you,” I whisper in relief and sway over to the nearest seat. I sit down and stare out of the window, just in time to see Pete running after the bus, his arms waving, his face full of rage with blood pouring into his eyes.
Averting my gaze, I look straight ahead, numb, scared and alone.
ChapterSix
Faith
I reach for my phone and send a text to Derek, telling him to pick me up at the station and then I switch it off. I don’t know if Pete has the ability to track my whereabouts, but on the off chance he can, I won’t give him the opportunity.
