The door to the garden is unlocked, and I slip through into the cold night air that hits my overheated skin. I breathe it in deeply, tasting freedom for the first time in far too long.
Not yet. Not until I’m past those gates.
I move through the shadows, keeping low, using every bit of cover I can find. The trees along the eastern wall loom ahead, dark and promising. The blind spot in camera coverage. My only chance.
I’m halfway across the lawn when I hear it—voices from the front gate. The shift change happening right on schedule.
I sprint the last twenty yards to the tree line, my lungs burning with exertion and fear. Behind me, the house remains dark and quiet, oblivious to my escape.
I reach the trees and press myself against the trunk of an old oak, trying to catch my breath. From here, I can see the section of wall I need to scale. It’s lower here where the groundskeepers need access, maybe eight feet instead of twenty. I can make it. Ihaveto make it.
I look back at the house one last time. At the beautiful prison that’s held me for so long. At the windows of Luca’s study, dark now because he’s probably?—
I don’t let myself finish that thought. I don’t let myself care where he is or what he’s doing or whether he’s grieving what he destroyed.
I turn away and start climbing.
The wall is old stone, rough enough to provide handholds. My fingers find purchase in cracks and crevices, my running shoes gripping against the surface. Each pull upward sends pain shooting through muscles not accustomed to this kind of exertion, but I grit my teeth and keep going.
Almost there. Almost?—
“Dr. Conti! Stop!”
Danny’s voice is sharp with alarm. I don’t look back or stop climbing. Just four more feet. Three. Two?—
My hand closes over the top of the wall, my body hauling itself up through sheer desperation. I can see the other side now, the darkness beyond that means freedom, means safety, means?—
A hand closes around my ankle.
“No!” I scream as I try to kick free, fear enveloping me. “Let go!Let go!”
“I’m sorry,” Danny says, and he actually sounds like he means it. “I’m so sorry, Dr. Conti. But I can’t let you leave.”
I cling to the top of the wall with both hands, my legs dangling as Danny pulls from below. The rough stone scrapes my palmsbloody, but I don’t let go. Ican’tlet go. This is my only chance, my only hope?—
“Please,” I sob, still fighting even though I know it’s futile. “Please, Danny, just let me go. Justlet me go.”
“I can’t.” His voice is gentle but firm as he pulls harder. “I can’t, and you know why.”
My grip finally fails, my bloody hands losing their hold on the stone. I fall backward into Danny’s arms, still fighting, still trying to break free even though he’s twice my size and trained for exactly this kind of thing.
“Why?” The word comes out as a wail. “Why can’t you just let me go? I won’t tell anyone anything, I’ll just disappear, I’ll?—”
“Because the boss would tear Chicago apart looking for you,” Danny says quietly, already pulling me back toward the house. “And a lot of innocent people would get hurt in the crossfire. I can’t let that happen.”
I try to fight him, try to wrench myself free, but it’s useless. He’s too strong, too well-trained, and I’m just?—
I’m just a veterinarian who thought she could outsmart a crime lord.
The fight drains out of me all at once, leaving me limp in Danny’s grip. He carries me more than walks me through the gardens, past the kitchen, up the servants’ stairs. Past everything I tried so hard to escape.
Each step back into the house feels like a nail in my coffin.
We reach the main hallway, heading toward?—
Luca’s study. Of fucking course. Where else would he be?
Danny knocks once, briefly, before pushing the door open without waiting for a response.
