I’m not a runner.
I wasn’t a runner when I was a kid. Or in high school. Or as an adult. It’s just not my thing. So running for my life is proving more difficult than I would like.
Every step is harder than the last, and the moisture in the air definitely isn’t helping. I knew there was a reason I moved out of this hellhole state. It’s too damn humid. The waves crash against the rocks at the bottom of the cliff, but thankfully I’m running in the opposite direction with Mia hot on my heels.
“We shouldn’t leave them,” she pants.
“They’ll be okay,” I promise her, but I have no right to do that. I have no idea if we’re all going to make it out of here alive. But I have to keep us both moving and if she thinks even for a moment they may be hurt, she’s going to turn around and go back for them.
Gunshots near the house make my stomach seize, and my feet stop moving of their own accord. Oh god. What if Tommy’s hurt? Mia stops next to me and follows my eyeline, but we can’t see anything. We’re too far away from the house, and our only option is to keep going.
I grab her hand and tug her toward what I assume is the wall Tommy said we would find. I wish he was here to lead the way right now because I’m not capable of rational thought, not with the week we’ve just had.
Figures in the distance make me pause, but the moonlight illuminates one of them, and I recognize his dark features immediately.
Rayne.
“Do you know them?” Mia asks nervously.
I nod. “Rayne Saint James and Elijah Russo. They won’t hurt us.”
“Russo?” She stops in place, and I almost trip at the sudden stop. Her pale skin turns a shade whiter as if she’s seen a ghost, and my stomach drops. Please tell me Angelo or his cousins aren’t part of her sordid story.
“Elijah is married to Rayne’s sister. The rest of the family has been wiped out.”
She looks at me nervously, but we don’t have time for her to hesitate, so I tug her forward again. I don’t want to force her into anything she doesn’t want to do, but right now, my options are pretty limited if I want us all to make it out of here alive.
Rayne steps forward and wraps his arms around me. “Good to see you, kiddo. Glad you’re okay.”
I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. I’m not particularly close with any of the Saint James siblings aside from Wynter, but it’s a relief to be with someone familiar who makes me feel safe.
“Thank you for coming.”
“Always. You’re family.”
A weak smile tugs at my lips. If we were in any other setting, I might stop to enjoy the sentiment of those words, but right now, all I can think about is getting back to Chicago as soon as possible.
“This is Mia.” I gesture behind me.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mia. We’ll get you both out of here as soon as we can.”
More gun fire fills the night, and my stomach seizes again. Please let Tommy be okay. Please don’t let me lose him.
“He’s fine, Clara,” Rayne reassures me. “Let’s get you over this wall so we can get out of here.”
I nod and gesture toward Mia. “You go first.”
She seems hesitant, but when Rayne lifts her onto his shoulders, she’s forced to grab hold of the brick wall and pull herself up.
“Storm’s on the other side. Jump down, and he’ll catch you,” Rayne tells her, and a second later, she does exactly as she’s told.
I look back over my shoulder into the quiet night, but I can’t see anything. The shots have stopped and I’m not sure if that’s comforting or not.
“Clara?” Rayne says softly.
“Are you sure they’re okay?”
Branches snapping nearby drag all our attention back toward the house, and a few seconds later, four figures emerge. It takes a few seconds for my mind to put the pieces together and realize Ronan and Damon are holding Tommy and Ace at gunpoint, and my stomach drops.
“It seems you have something of ours,” Ronan rumbles. His gun is held tight against Tommy’s temple, and I ache to move toward him, but I remain perfectly still.
“Looks like one of the somethings has already fled,” Damon adds, his eyes moving from Rayne to Elijah before settling on me. “But I suppose one is better than none, wouldn’t you say, brother?”
“Get her over that wall right now,” Tommy demands, his eyes flaring with so much intensity I swear it’s searing my soul.
“No.” I shake my head and step forward. “Let them go, and I’ll stay.” The words are tumbling from my lips before I can process them, but I can’t let them die trying to save me. And they’re the only people who know Mia, who might be able to take care of her. I don’t want her to be alone in the world, not when I’m the one that convinced her to run.
“Absolutely not. Get the fuck over the wall, Clara.” His angry words are followed by a moan of pain when Ronan lands a sharp punch to his side. The only sign he’s been hit at all is a slight grunt on impact, and I almost shake my head at how ridiculous that is. If someone hit me like that, I’d be writhing on the ground in agony for at least an hour. Probably two.
“She’s not very obedient,” Damon comments.
“No, but I’m sure we can train her to be a good little doll.”
Tommy’s growl is dark and primal, and if I didn’t know he’d never hurt me, the sound would likely have me taking a step back, but instead, I move toward it like a moth to a flame that will almost definitely burn me.
“Clara,” he warns.
An arm around my waist tugs me back into a hard body and when I look up, I find Rayne staring down at me with anger vibrating through his entire being. I’m going to be in so much trouble if we get out of this alive, but all I can think about is getting Tommy and Ace out of here as well, even if it means I don’t.
“Let me go,” I whisper.
Rayne assesses me for long seconds, and then I feel something slip into the waistband of my leggings. The cool steel is unfamiliar, but I know what it is immediately. Rayne just gave me a gun and a way to end this once and for all.
