Page 10 of Sinners Keepers
Just as I was about to round the corner to where I hoped I’d find Alec, I stopped dead in my tracks. His low voice rumbled from inside the hospitality room, “Yeah. We’re leaving today. Yes… She’s well, actually.” There was a pause. “It’s fine, Ijah. I have everything under control.”
Ijah.
In retrospect, I hadn’t felt eager to discuss how to deal with himormy dad during my recovery, but Alechad to knowthat I would have wanted to know if he’d remained on speaking terms with him.Of coursehe knew that.
I’d known they were close, best friends at one point. But I had stupidly assumed that Alec cut him off once he’d learned what happened between us, or else he wouldn’t have been here. I’d felt like he’d chosen my side—chosen me.
I wouldn’t have wanted him here at all if I’d known that wasn’t the case. It didn’t matter that I’d been safe all this time, blissfully in the dark in regard to his motives. I would have rather gone through every second of recovery alone than have someone by my side who, at the end of the day, I couldn’t trust.
And the fact that they were speakingabout memade it so much worse.
Now Alec was just another fucking man to add to the list of assholes in my life who I thought had my best interest at heart, only to fuck me over as soon as I found it within myself to let my guard down even the smallest amount.
The thought made me fucking sick.
What had I been thinking, just blindly trusting him all this time? Trusting that he had cut ties with someone who had been as close as a brother to him?
I rushed down the hall as quickly and quietly as I could, heading back toward my room. Nelia was still waiting by my bedside. The look on her face turned from joyful to worried upon seeing how frazzled I’d become. “Are you okay, sweetie?”
“No. I’m not,” I said honestly. “I need your help. I need to leave—now. Before Alec comes back and finds me here.”
“I thought you were leavingwithhim?”
“I was. But I’m not now. Ican’t,” I said urgently. “I desperately need you to get me out of here without him knowing I’ve left yet. I’ll walk back to my apartment, or call a car. Just… cover for me?”
She looked at me, concern etched on her face. She huffed out an exasperated, worried breath. “I’m not letting you walk. But I know how stubborn you are when you want to be.” She slipped her hand into the front pocket of her scrubs and pulled out a set of keys. Sliding one off the ring, she handed it to me. “I’m in the staff parking lot—spot 107. Take this and go.”
I hugged her quickly, thanking her profusely. “I’ll bring it back super soon. Promise.”
“I know you will. It’s fine.Go,” she said, shooing me away. “You best be thanking your stars that you’ve already signed all of your release paperwork.”
I snorted and checked to be sure Alec wasn’t in the hallway before slipping out the door. I didn’t bother grabbing any of my things. I didn’t have much there that I cared enough to keep anyway.
As I drove away from the hospital, I thanked every corner of the universe that I hadn’t told him—oranyone—about the apartment I’d gotten just before I was injured. I had planned on telling Ijah, but hadn’t yet because I knew he wouldn’t have let me go out on my own while my dad was still a threat.Little did I know.
It wasn’t as if staying there for any significant amount of time had ever really been an option anyway. I had no money, no job, and no way to provide for myself. I’d spent every last dime I had on the place, just hoping I’d find a way to make it—money I’d drained from Mattia’s accounts before they were frozen. It was the first and only step I’d taken toward starting a new life without having to depend on anyone but myself. The chances of me ever actually having that work out were low, but it was something I had to do if only for my own peace of mind; I needed a place to go that no one knew about. Not my dad,or Ijah, or any fucking person. There was not much of anything in it aside from the bare necessities, but it was the best option I had for a place to hide until I figured out what to do next, and I was incredibly thankful that I’d made that decision for myself despite the fact that it was just a hope and a dream that I’d ever find a way to stand on my own two feet.
CHAPTERSIX
Hunt
Ipressed my back against the front door as I closed it behind me, the electronic lock whirring as the deadbolt snicked into place. Sliding to the floor, my ass hit the cold tile and I released a relieved breath.
Being there again brought back the small, fleeting feelings of elation I’d experienced at finally being able to dosomethingfor myself. Throughout the process, the thought remained in the back of my mind that it was all borrowed time. It couldn’t last because my dad would always be somewhere lurking, waiting for the moment he could snatch me up and do with me whatever would most benefit him at the time.
I had known I needed to remove him from the picture if I really wanted a fresh start; that’s why I’d been so desperate. I hadn’t even fully formed a plan for my future before everything went to shit. I’d tried taking the easy way out and very obviously failed. And even with the possibility of things going badly always fresh in my mind, I wouldn’t have ever imagined in a million fucking years that Ijah would have been the one to bring everything tumbling down around me.
I hugged my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around them tightly and resting my head in the dip between them. I groaned, contemplating my next move.
“Such a flighty little bird.”A dark, vaguely familiar voice came from just in front of me, causing me to screech like a fucking… bird.
I scrambled to my feet, grabbing the nearest thing to wield as a weapon—which happened to be a shoe—and chucked it directly at the man’s head.
I hadn’t turned any lights on and the curtains were drawn. In the dim light of the room, I could barely make out the outline of his form when he caught the heeled boot with catlike reflexes.
Bastard.
I grabbed another shoe, this time aiming for his crotch. He let out a loud grunt and I knew I’d hit my mark.
