Good.
I tilted my hips just enough to make him think I was giving in. Giving him something that I never gave him willingly.
Then, I drove my knee up so hard into his dick, catching him off guard. He gasped and his body folded forward, then I shovedhim off with everything I had. He hit the floor with a thud, cursing, and reaching for me. But I was already moving.
I bolted from the bed, sprinted to the door, and yanked it open. “You bitch! I’m going to kill you!” he roared behind me, but I didn’t look back. I ran down the hallway with adrenaline surging in my system, as I ran out the front door.
The cool night air hit my bare skin, and I couldn’t care less that I was barefoot and naked. I ran into the forest that loomed in front of the house. The clean, crisp smell of pine needles filled my lungs with each stride as I tried to get as far away from him as I could.
I was out.
I was alive.
Chapter Twenty-One
Sergio
“What do you want to do?” Finley’s voice sounded from beside me, raw with panic. His eyes darted between me and the chaos unraveling in front of us while he waited for me to give him his orders.
My breath had caught in my throat as I watched Seraphina burst from inside the house, naked, barefoot, and wild-eyed. She didn’t look back. She just vanished into the thick forest, swallowed by the darkness.
I couldn’t move. It was like my blood had turned to ice. My limbs were locked in place as dread crawled its way up my spine.
Finley grabbed my arm, snapping me out of it. “I’ll find Dorian,” he said, already turning toward the house. “You go after her.”
I nodded, though my legs felt like they might collapse beneath me. The forest loomed ahead, dense, and challenging. It was going to be hell finding her in there.
I hesitated at the edge of the tree line as my heart hammered inside my chest. Then I walked in trying my best to follow whatever trail she had left behind. Seraphina couldn’t have gotten too far, especially without shoes or clothes.
Branches clawed at my arms as I pushed deeper into the forest chasing someone who looked like the Devil himself was chasing her. The forest floor was a treacherous maze of roots and dips in the uneven soil that threatened to twist my ankles with every step.
I moved fast, but not recklessly, each stride a balance between speed and not busting my ass. I couldn’t afford to fall. Not with Seraphina still running for her life.
“Seraphina!” I called out, not too loud but loud enough were the sound wouldn’t get swallowed up by the dense, dark forest.
No response. All I heard was the frantic drumming of my heart in my ears and the rustling of a bird’s wings as it darted between branches.
I froze mid-step just so I could listen again. My breath was stuck inside my chest. It was hard to breathe. But I didn’t want to move and miss something.
The forest seemed alive. The air hung thick and damp with the smell of rotten vegetation and animals. Branches groaned overhead and leaves rustled in the light breeze.
“Seraphina!” I called out again.
However, this time other than silence I heard a whimper. It was low, but the sound of fear was clear.
I turned toward what I believed was her voice as my heart hammered against my ribs. Then the sound of a gunshot followed by another echoed through the forest. I panicked. Finley could be in trouble, but I couldn’t be concerned with him. I needed to focus on getting to her.
Taking a deep breath, I centered myself and concentrated on finding her.
“Seraphina!” I shouted again, my voice raw and cracking with panic.
She didn’t have any fucking clothes on, and it felt like the temperature had dropped at least ten degrees while I’d been looking for her. She had to be fucking freezing.
“Fuck, I can’t see shit.”
I pushed forward, a little faster now. Twigs snapped under my feet. My heart thundered in my ears, louder than the breeze around me.
I ducked under a low branch, almost tripping over a root, but kept moving in the direction I thought I heard her voice even though now I wasn’t sure if I’d imagined it. The trees blurred past, and the cold bit at my skin, but I didn’t stop. Then, I saw it. A flicker of movement. I veered toward it, stumbling into a small clearing.
