Chasing down prey is mine.
She can run as fast as she can. She can believe she’ll get far. But she’ll never be able to escape me.
Let the real hunt begin.
CHAPTER 22
Imogen
An opportunity presented itself and I took it with greedy hands.
I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I didn’t.
Even if I don’t succeed I will at least know that I have tried to gain my freedom. And to me, that means more than just sitting back and doing nothing.
In the new clothes I blend in perfectly with the upscale New Yorkers. I’m lost in a noisy bustling crowd of thousands. While it may not be impossible to find me it’s awfully close to it.
People shove past me and I take each shuck of the shoulder with my head down.
I try to be as inconspicuous as possible. So invisible that I could easily be mistaken as the wind that gently sweeps one’s hair.
But it’s a large mall. One of seven floors and I’m not even close to the exit.
Another person shoves into me and I grit my teeth as I walk past them. Every so often I look over my shoulder. I half expect to see him. And I can’t explain the deflating sensation in my chest when I don’t.
It’s best not to think of him. Maybe if I think of him hard enough he will conjure out of the shadows like the notorious predator he is.
I would probably see that ghost of a smile he seems to only have for me. Feel his hand collar my throat, his finger pressing down on my jugular artery. I would feel myself begin to slip in the waters of his eyes and not care that I’d be drowning.
And just maybe he will claim his promise of death. Killing me with hands that are surprisingly gentle.
This. . .this is why I am trying to escape him.
There’s a strange normalcy developing between us. An unexpected comfort. And I don’t want Rico Maroni to be the man I find comfort in. He can’t be.
If I am to not fight and stay, my battle with morale will lose. I know it.
I peer behind me once more. No sight of him. As I round the corner of the stairwell red flags wave urgently in my mind.
Three men are pushing past the prongs of people to come up.
Anxiety chokes me. My steps almost falter.
Damn him. He called reinforcements.
Of course he did. This is his city after all. He had so kindly reminded me of that.
While I may very well be way over my head I know I can’t back down.
And I have to do what I must in order to survive. So, I purposely shove the people in front of me. They all fall like dominoes and take the three men down with them.
As they begin to recover I quickly dodge past them, flashing them the middle finger with a wink as I flee the scene of the crime.
I pick up my pace. A speed walk that might as well be a light jog. I would run but I’m afraid it will only cause attention.
Eyeing my surroundings I notice a few more men scanning the massive crowd. My damn red hair is a fucking beacon. For once I wish I could rid myself of it.
Perhaps I can hide away in a store. Before the men can catch a glimpse of me I enter the nearest one. A nice woman greets me and I give her a tight lipped smile with a nod of my head. Hopefully not suspicious at all.
