Adrenaline rushed through me at the prospect of a hunt.
Fuck was I letting her get away. I’d told her that if she ran, I’d chase her. Looked like that claim was about to be tested.
Chapter 7
Lovelyn
Sprinting like my life depended on it, I fled down Shore with its waterside restaurants and moored boats and dove into the first archway. It took me behind the pretty brick buildings and to car parks and narrow alleys. Perfect for hiding, but also where Kane had snatched me yesterday.
Anger and upset gave me the boost I needed to get away. This time, I was fully aware of my surroundings. He wouldn’t catch me again.
Knowing he would have to park somewhere off the busy street before he could pursue me, I made the decision to double back on his route, assuming he wouldn’t do the same. At the exit where Timber Bush Lane joined the main road, I paused to check the coast was clear, planning to dart through the traffic to the other side where I could get back to my parking spot unseen.
His black car should be far ahead by now. But a different scene met my gaze. Kane’s vehicle was still in the road, abandoned and blocking the way.
And obviously empty.
My heart lurched. I spun around, taking a breath when he wasn’t directly behind me. But still, he’d jumped out to chase me. He couldn’t be far.
I had absolutely no justification for the feral little smile that tried to form on my lips.
With a hand up to pause the slow-moving traffic, I weaved between the cars and slipped into another maze of roads and lanes. Leith was a mixture of old buildings and new, the streets firmly in the higgledy-piggledy design that had grown organically from when the port had been established a thousand years ago.
Made for smugglers, not women in boots trying not to die.
Down Maritime Street, I dodged puddles and almost tripped on a cobble, catching myself to push on into lanes that went through housing estates, graffiti boards and fallen leaves lining my path.
There were people all around. Getting into cars, going into their homes. No one paid me any mind.
All the while, I felt someone pursuing me. My senses brightened and came alive for the grasp of fingers. The snatch of a hand.
Under the archway of a large block of flats, I finally paused, clinging to a brick wall with my chest heaving with a need for oxygen. No oversized gangster followed.
Where was he? I hadn’t had that much of a head start.
Perhaps I’d been wrong about Kane’s car being empty. Would he really chase me? He knew about Dixie’s tablet, but then again, he’d known that at the warehouse. He could’ve just taken it from me then. I had no way of stopping him.
Yet he’d threatened to hunt me if I ran.
A delicious thrill ran down my spine, and the heat from my escape turned into something else. Anticipation of being caught.
He’d been stealing glances at me earlier. Or taking them without concern. I didn’t like him, but attraction burned in me as if he’d caught me on fire.
A heavy footstep rang out, echoing in the enclosed space.
I whipped around.
At the far end of the apartment building, under a matching archway to mine, a tall figure strolled. Dark clothes, close-cropped hair, cold fire in his eyes.
Unhurriedly, Kane advanced on me.
I was a deer in the headlights, caught on the predatory way he advanced. Slow and steady, as if there was no way I could evade him. Not for long.
His arrogance was breathtaking.
I allowed myself to enjoy the sight, strange as it was. He’d pursued me. I hadn’t been wrong. At last, my brain reset and unlocked my muscles. I staggered out of the cover of the arch. Then I turned and bolted.
This time, there was no disguising the hunter at my back. The sound of his steps ricocheted off the close buildings, faster than mine and only speeding up. My heart beat so hard I thought it might burst, and I put my all into my flight, diving into one side road then the next.
