He flew over it, skimming the top with millimetres to spare.
I leapt after him. The fence gave way with a crack, splinters driving into my palms as I crashed down hard on the other side. My weight had crumpled the rotting wood.
Pain bit deep, but I shoved it aside to roll over. Halfway up the lawn, the intruder sprinted on, not hesitating.
The bastard was quick. He’d flown over a wall by the time I’d shoved to my feet and kicked aside the broken panels tangled at my boots. It had cost me, slowing me for crucial seconds. By the time I cleared the wreckage, he was already spilling out into a lane, legs pumping in a desperate sprint.
A gate creaked somewhere ahead. I chased, my breath tearing at my lungs, but when I reached the end, all I caught was the echo of footfalls pounding away into the night. The intruder had a head start and knew the cut-throughs better than me.
A local kid, perhaps. My gut told me otherwise.
A car engine purred to life. Lights off, tyres spitting gravel, the vehicle tore away down the side street before I could even register the make.
Breathing hard, I stopped in the middle of the road, my fists clenched. I hadn’t brought the bastard down, but I’d rattled him.
It pissed me off that I’d failed.
“Fuck it,” I exhaled.
“Kane? Are you okay?” Mila was still on the line.
I turned on my heel and stalked back down the centre of the road, two streets out from Lovelyn’s house. “He got away.”
A pause followed. “Serious question. Is Lovelyn our half-sister?”
The hurt in her voice shouldn’t have bothered me. “No. Fuck. That isn’t why I’m here. With her expertise and contacts, she might be able to help me. I gave her my number, but she never sent hers.”
She exhaled a shaky breath. “Right. So you drove over to ask. I understand.”
Ahead, Lovelyn’s house came into view, this time with the exterior lights on. “I’m going to talk to her now. Thanks for the help.”
I hung up the call, my already fast pulse picking up at the outline of Lovelyn in the front door glass. I crossed her path, and she slipped outside, her arms folded over a cream-coloured knitted jumper that covered purple pyjamas. It was her hair that caught my attention. Loose and silky, it fell around her in a curtain. I hadn’t seen her with her hair down in a while, and need slammed into me hard, boosted by the adrenaline of the chase.
“Mila said you interrupted an intruder. Did you see who it was?” She kept her voice hushed.
I matched her low tones. “No. A man in black. Masked and fit enough to keep me running. I would have caught him if a fence hadn’t collapsed under my weight.”
Her cautious gaze soaked me in. I had no idea what she saw but held myself taller. Straightened my shoulders under her scrutiny.
I gestured at the silent house. “It didn’t wake your ma?”
Lovelyn shook her head, that silky hair flowing like water. “You’re bleeding. Let me take a look at your injuries.”
Blood dripped from my hand to the path. I hadn’t registered the sting from multiple small cuts until she’d pointed it out. “I don’t want to bleed all over your house. I have a first-aid kit in the car.”
She closed the door behind her and tapped her pocket for keys. “I wasn’t inviting you in anyway.”
At my car, I retrieved the kit from the back and dropped into the driver’s seat.
Lovelyn climbed in the other side and took it from my hands. “Was it real?”
“Was what real?”
“The intruder.”
“Why would I lie?”
“To scare me into needing protection and to give you a bargaining tool.”
