Long folds of the skirts covered her toes, causing her to trip. Forced to stop before a fall made her twist an ankle, she tore at the bottom of the dress, leaving it shorter and pieces of fabric dangling.
“I’d love to see their faces if they saw me now.” A high giggle burst out, and her heart lightened.
Free, she was free.Now what? Keep moving.She glanced at the dark, gray sky.
“Please, don’t let his men find me.” Her words sounded more like a pathetic plea than a prayer even to her ears.
She took off again at a slow jog, determined to escapehisway of life.
The bottoms of her feet found every loose pebble and sharp rock scattered along the pavement.
Unable to miss the next hidden embankment, she slid then tumbled head over heels into a shallow, muddy hole.
“Dammit.” She groaned.
Dirty water covered her legs and hips. Other than a couple of scrapes, though, she was okay. Everything seemed in order, bones whole and unbroken. When she managed to stand, the once-white, silky dress sagged like a brown, filthy piece of tattered cloth.
“Great.” A sour, dank smell wafted to her nose.
Pulling the drenched skirt for a closer look, a line of rehydrated dog crap was smeared near the bottom.
“Fan-freaking-tastic.”
Using her fingers, she wiped away what she could and hoped the rain would take care of the rest. If she didn’t stop running, though, she risked breaking a leg or cracking her head open, which would be much worse than rolling around in crap.
Tangled locks hung in her face, and she pulled them behind her ears.
Rain continued to fall so fast and heavy, she couldn’t follow the winding road any longer.
How long had she been running? The bottoms of her feet ached, and she realized throwing the shoes away hadn’t been the smartest idea she’d ever had.
The shimmering, slanted curtain of moisture reminded her of swimming underwater. Hopefully, it was causing havoc with her father’s men and their tracking abilities. She really needed to avoid the road.
Something bright cut through the pouring water. It looked like a light shining through a window.
Over the past few years, she’d traveled this area and never recalled seeing a home before. Her father’s estate was recessed in the Illinois countryside, far away from the hustle and bustle of Chicago, and was one of the only consolation prizes of being Vito’s daughter.
The solitude and fresh air of the country invigorated her senses. Freedom, it smelled as sweet as imagined.
She walked closer to the building. It resembled an abandoned guard tower, which was utterly laughable considering it was the twenty-first century and this thing looked like it belonged in a fantasy novel.
Needing cover out of the driving rain, she edged closer to the tower’s base. The mortar between the black bricks seemed to crumble with a glance.
It might not be the most glamourous place to stay, but at least it was away from her father, Lorenzo, and a dreadful future. She needed a warm, dry refuge to ride out the storm, then she’d figure out how to stay out of Pop’s clutches.
Sacha followed the curve of the old tower until she came to a warped, wooden door.
Thunder continued to rumble throughout the sky, so she banged with four hard knocks.
Her teeth chattered. It felt like someone was pouring an ice-cold bucket of water over her head.
No answer.
“Hello.” Both fists clenched, she knocked again, putting everything she could into it. “Anyone there?”
After a few seconds, the door flew open, and an old woman stood at the stoop, gray and bent, hair pulled into a tight bun.
“Hi.” The word fell out of her mouth with a chatter. “I’m sorry.” Sacha once again wiped limp hair from her eyes. “I was, uh, caught in the storm and wondering if I could crash here for a few minutes and wait it out?”
