Evie had a feeling Luca made an effort to appear less threatening and less dangerous for her benefit.
At the sight of his powerful body so close, some of the fear started leaching out of her body. Reaching her front yard, she gave Luca a small smile before heading inside. She turned and bolted her door, leaning her back against it.
When would this end?
Closing her eyes against the threat of tears, Evie balled her fists. She was tired. Tired of the running, tired of hiding, and tired of the constant fear that threatened to consume her.
She didn’t just want to survive anymore. She wanted to live. Live without the paralyzing fear of every shadow. She wanted to be able to see a man like Luca and have the courage to flirt and ask him out like the old Evie would have. She wanted to be able to walk home from a day at work without being scared of rustling noises behind her.
Pain cut through her chest. Evie swallowed a sob that threatened to break out. She pushed off the door, tamping down all feelings. She would not feel sorry for herself. She would not let Troy win. He’d already stolen enough from her. She would not allow him to take anymore.
Evie made her way over to the kitchen, pulling out her favorite mug. She would make herself hot cocoa. As Evie heated the milk, the whiskey caught her eye.
Why the hell not.
Grabbing the bottle, she added a generous amount to her mug.
She heard the same scratching at her door as yesterday. Checking the window, she saw it was the same cat. Evie opened the door, and this time didn’t hesitate to lean down and pick him up.
“Hey Misty, I’m glad you’re here. I could use the company.”
Feeling better already, Evie nuzzled her face into his fur.
As she headed back to the couch, Evie snuggled up with Misty and her hot cocoa and pulled out the laptop. She was so close to cracking the file, she could feel it. She wanted answers. No, she needed them.
Faster. Evie had to move her body faster.
Branches scratched her bare feet as she pumped her legs faster than she ever thought they could go. Her feet pounded the unequal ground of the forest, and she stumbled every few steps. The feeling of wet soaked through the soles of her feet and up her legs. Whether that wet was blood or rain, she wasn’t sure. She hadn’t had time for shoes. Only time to get out. To run.
Since he’d been back, since he’d changed, he had never left the door unlocked. He knew she’d try to escape.
Months she’d been locked inside. A prisoner. Months of fear, of pain, of heartbreak. But today he’d slipped. Whether he’d grown cocky that he’d catch her or complacent that she’d stay, she wasn’t sure, but the moment she saw the unlocked door, Evie hadn’t thought, just run.
She’d been dreaming about this day for months. She thought it wouldn’t come, that she’d die in that house. She’d almost given up.
She had planned though. Hopeful that the day would come. Evie knew exactly where she would go and how she would get away, but she had to get as far as possible before he realized she was gone, because he was fast. Faster than he should have been. Faster than humanly possible. It was just another change since being involved in that project. Another mutation of what was once the man she loved.
The pain to her feet didn’t register. She’d had worse. HE’D done worse. The rain pounded down from the skies, softening the ground and making each step seem impossible. Her heart felt like it would beat out of her chest as the fear almost choked her.
Evie didn’t feel the broken rib that he’d given her the other night, or the fractured ankle from where he’d grabbed her two weeks ago. She felt nothing but the all-consuming need to get away. If he caught her, she would die. She felt it in her soul.
“EVALINE.”
At the sound of his voice, Evie’s foot tangled with the earth, and she tumbled down. Not staying down long, she shoved her hands into the wet dirt and pushed herself up with an urgency she’d never felt before. Her feet stumbled a few more times on the wet rocks and branches before she could keep going.
Not allowing herself to look back, she focused her gaze ahead. She could just make out the highway between the clusters of trees. That’s where she had to get. That was her goal. The busy road where there would be people and safety. Safe for the first time in months, years even. There was no other option because if he found her, if Troy caught her, it would all be over.
Behind her, the sound of breaking branches and pounding feet made her heart lurch. He was here, and he was getting closer.
Another sob threatened to break out, but Evie pushed it down, forcing her exhausted body to run, move.
The sound of cars drew her eyes up. She could almost see the cars ahead. Her body wanted to give out on her, begged for her to stop, to take a breath, but freedom came first. Run now, breathe later.
That’s when she saw the break in the trees, saw the flashes of cars and trucks. She was so close.
“I SEE YOU, BITCH. STOP NOW, AND I MIGHT NOT BREAK YOUR NECK.”
Pushing his voice to the back of her mind, Evie focused on breathing. On moving her feet. She just had to make it to the road before he did. Surely he wouldn’t drag her away with so many people as witnesses. Evie was betting her life on it.
“EVALINE!” He was so close, so much closer than he should have been.
Just before Evie reached the road, she turned her head. She had to see where he was. Her breath hitched again as she made out his figure in the distance. He was almost a blur from moving so fast. Evie turned back. She had to focus. She couldn’t let fear slow her down.
A couple more steps and she’d be there. Safe.
Evie pumped her legs for the last few yards and even as her feet hit the highway, her body wouldn’t let her slow. She turned her head just in time to see the truck, and the world went dark.
Evie’s eyes popped open, and she sat up from where she’d fallen asleep on the couch. It was just a dream. She wasn’t back there again. He wasn’t close.
Placing her hand on her racing chest, Evie shut her eyes, and focused on her breathing. In and out. She expanded her chest and breathed as deeply as she could.
Sometimes she swore she could still feel the metal of the truck colliding with her body.
As her breathing slowed, Evie opened her eyes. Lifting her gaze to the hall, she saw a dark figure standing in the darkness. Troy. Evie released a scream of terror that she wouldn’t have been able to hold back if she tried.
CHAPTER SIX
THE SOUND OF Evie’s heavy breathing pulled Luca from his sleep. How he was so in tune with a woman he’d just met, he wasn’t sure. His greatest concern at the moment was the unnatural nature of the breaths.
Then, as quickly as they’d started, the breaths turned into silence. Luca considered going back to sleep for a moment. Then a scream pierced through the night.
Luca shot out of bed. Throwing on some shorts, he sprinted out the house and across his yard. He didn’t worry about a weapon. He was a weapon.
Jumping the fence dividing his and Evie’s homes, he raced up the steps. Stopping outside the door, Luca forced his body to calm. He called on his SEAL training and relaxed his body muscle by muscle before listening to the other side of the door. The heavy breathing had returned, but other than that, silence. Only one breath that he could hear, which meant she was probably alone.